December 2009
Senate and House negotiators approved late yesterday a $446.8 billion appropriations bill that provides FY 2010 spending normally allocated in six separate appropriations measures, including the State Department and foreign operations programs bill (by which exchange programs are funded). It is not yet clear when this omnibus appropriations measure will move through Congress, though CQ.com notes that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said “leaders hope an additional continuing resolution will not be needed.” The current continuing resolution expires on December 18.
President Obama announced Friday his intent to nominate Ann Stock as the Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State. Stock’s nomination appears on the Senate record, and was also reported by the Chicago Sun-Times and by the Washington Post’s Reliable Source.
Policy Monitor Weekly Digest, November 30 - December 4, 2009
- The Alliance covered two key Obama administration nominations this week: Dr. Rajiv Shah, nominee for the position of administrator of USAID, made his case during his Senate confirmation hearing, while Doug Wilson received his nomination for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs at the Department of Defense.
The White House announced yesterday the nomination of Doug Wilson for the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs at the Department of Defense. Wilson currently serves as Executive Vice President of the Howard Gilman Foundation, overseeing the development and implementation of the Foundation’s domestic and international policy programs, including the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Initiative. He previously held the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State announced that the FLEX Academic Year 2010-11 Host Family and School Placement Request for Grant Proposal (RFGP) has been published and can be viewed on the ECA website.
The FLEX team welcomes questions regarding the solicitation package. Staff contact information can be found in the text of each RFGP.
The demand for H-1B visas has increased over the last six to eight weeks after being flat for months, Computerworld.com reports:
“The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service released data showing that in two weeks alone it had received 3,300 H-1B petitions, continuing a spike that began in October that has increased the number of visas petitions to 58,900, approaching the 65,000 cap.”
Noting how his childhood experiences visiting his parents’ home country of India, as well as his time volunteering during medical school in rural South India, shaped his worldview and his desire to pursue a career in global health and development, Dr. Rajiv Shah outlined the principles by which he would guide the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as administrator during his Senate confirmation hearing this morning.
Citing President Obama’s proposed approach to development that “begins with the view that the purpose of our aid must be to create the conditions where it is no longer needed,” Shah noted that the five principles by which he would guide USAID all would “require significant changes in the way the Agency does business.” Those principles include: working in strategic partnership with nations; narrowing USAID’s strategic focus to key areas; better coordinating with stakeholders and donors; leveraging the resources and reach of multilateral organizations; and fostering a “focus-for-decades,” long term approach.
