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Legislation aimed at putting the U.S. Congress’ stamp on the Trump administration’s overhaul of U.S. foreign assistance was introduced in the House of Representatives, where the debate is already shaping up to be a bitterly partisan one.
Also in today’s edition: The House also begins debate on a reauthorization of the U.S. DFC, and we look at the promising potential of Asian and Indian philanthropy.
The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee called it the product of months of bipartisanship. The top Democrat on the committee said the text wasn’t even shared with his party.
And we’re off to the races! That’s just a taste of the acrimony to come as Congress seeks an elusive reauthorization of the State Department.
The Republican-backed legislation introduced yesterday would codify the sweeping changes made to U.S. foreign assistance by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, writes my colleague Michael Igoe, who waded through everything so you don’t have to.
The legislation includes a collection of bills authorizing different parts of U.S. diplomatic and development operations, leadership, oversight, and policy — and aims to “fix what was once a broken State Department by reasserting command and control,” according to a press release from Republicans on the committee.
The committee’s chair, Republican Rep. Brian Mast, said the legislation “prevents ideologues masquerading as diplomats from using their posts to push left-wing agendas instead of America's interests. This bill is not just a reform for today, or for President Trump; it is a lasting framework that will strengthen the State Department and benefit every commander-in-chief who follows.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the committee, countered with a rebuttal of his own: “While the Administration took unprecedented actions to dismantle core instruments of soft power, the Committee has stood idly by … moving forward with a sweeping State Authorization bill, the text of which you have refused to thus far share with the Minority, but which we understand will codify a diminished State Department and repeal all statutory reporting requirements and other bipartisan provisions passed as recently as last December by a Republican-controlled House,” Meeks wrote in a letter obtained by Devex.
The committee will debate the text next week. And in case you couldn’t tell, the legislation faces a long road to bipartisan agreement, with previous attempts to reauthorize the State Department failing.
Read: US lawmakers propose sweeping State Department reforms
+ Listen: For the latest episode of our podcast series, I join my colleagues Adva Saldinger and Ayenat Mersie to discuss the latest from the court battles over the Trump administration's foreign aid moves and other top global development stories from this week.
Alongside the State Department reauthorization, the House Foreign Affairs Committee released its vision for the future of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, or DFC, less than a month before the agency’s authorization is set to expire, my colleague Adva Saldinger writes.
The DFC Modernization Act of 2025 hews closely to the suggested text that the Trump administration sent to Congress earlier this year, though it differs from a Senate proposal introduced last month.
Among the provisions: increasing DFC’s total lending cap to $250 billion from $60 billion; allowing it to invest in high-income countries; a revolving fund for equity investments; and rules that require DFC to inform Congress of all investments over $100 million, up from the current $10 million which the Senate bill maintains.
Beyond having to reconcile the House and Senate versions, there’s another possible hitch. The DFC reauthorization is set to be debated alongside the one for the State Department.
“I don’t like that idea, honestly, because there’s a fair amount of controversy around a State Department reauthorization, and there’s not nearly that kind of complication or controversy over the DFC,” Rob Mosbacher Jr., former CEO of the defunct Overseas Private Investment Corporation, DFC’s predecessor agency, tells Adva. “The DFC enjoys this incredibly broad bipartisan support, and I would hate to see anything that would diminish that or jeopardize that.”
Read: US House committee debates DFC reauthorization
The Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that it expects the State Department to deliver the lion’s share of foreign assistance (although DFC could play a significant role as well). But a new report from the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network argues that the State Department lacks the operational readiness to effectively and accountably manage the foreign assistance portfolio. The organization outlines a multitude of shortfalls in the administration’s plan, along with recommendations for course-correcting those shortfalls.
“Foreign assistance delivers life-saving aid and advances America’s national interests — but only if it’s managed effectively,” says Tod Preston, MFAN’s executive director. “As the State Department takes over this aid portfolio, it urgently needs more staff, clear strategy, and stronger oversight to succeed.”
At the AVPN conference this week, one of the largest annual events in Asia which attracts business leaders, funders, and philanthropists, there’s heightened energy about Asian giving and investments.
The potential is huge: The number of millionaires in several Asian countries surpasses many in Europe or the Middle East. In Hong Kong alone, where the event took place, there are 647,000 millionaires.
But global organizations looking for new funding sources need to temper their expectations, my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo tells me. Many Asian funders focus their giving domestically, or in communities where they have a presence.
One such example: The Hong Kong Jockey Club, the largest corporate giver in Asia, channels its horse racing and other gambling revenue to support causes within Hong Kong. In fact, its CEO, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, didn’t shy away from inviting conference attendees to the Happy Valley Racecourse, saying wages will go back to the community.
“It is community-based giving that happens in Asian country after Asian country after Asian country,” says Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO of AVPN.
This same pattern extends to Chinese philanthropy, which remains focused on the country’s backyard. Where Chinese philanthropists are funding outside China, it’s the diaspora supporting their communities, Batra says.
That should give pause to anyone who believes China will save the day and fill the funding gap left by the U.S.
Nevertheless, there's plenty of interest for Asian donors to step onto the global stage.
Larry Kramer, former president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, says, “Funding globally actually does have … benefits for the region. The soft power that the U.S. developed was very much attributable to U.S. global philanthropy, which was no way controlled by the government.”
Related: Asia’s wealth is booming. What about its giving? (Pro)
+ For exclusive insights on how to tap into Asian giving, check out our downloadable on Asian foundations. In this in-depth report, we spotlight seven of the most influential philanthropic organizations across Asia, examining their financial commitments, funding priorities, geographic focus, and engagement strategies to help you unlock new opportunities.
Indian philanthropy is also experiencing a renaissance. Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, says India is drawing on over a century-long tradition of giving “to advance urgent solutions to challenges of the moment.”
“The scale of this sector should not be understated,” he writes in a Devex opinion piece. “Last year, India’s private philanthropists gave more than $16 billion — a number that only promises to grow. Over the next five years, private philanthropy in the country is expected to outpace overall economic growth, and grow at a rate of approximately 10% to 12%.”
“At the Ford Foundation, we’ve witnessed this evolution since establishing our offices in India in 1952,” he adds. “In the ensuing seven decades, we’ve seen Indian philanthropy shift from individual acts of giving to collective movements of impact, the effects cascading across India and beyond.”
Opinion: A new era of Indian philanthropy
The Ford Foundation itself has been revolutionizing philanthropy with its $2 billion BUILD initiative that offers trust-based, flexible, long-term support long before that type of giving came into vogue.
To date, BUILD has supported more than 500 organizations across 44 countries, my colleague Raquel Alcega writes. BUILD isn’t just about what the Ford Foundation funds — it’s also about how it influences the broader philanthropic landscape, according to Victoria Dunning, director of the initiative, who spoke during a recent Devex Pro Funding Briefing.
From evaluation sharing to public speaking, the Ford Foundation uses BUILD as a platform to advocate for long-term, trust-based approaches. And while the current funding environment is rocky, Dunning sees no backtracking from peers: “I certainly don’t see a retrenchment. … I think we’ll only see more.”
Read: What Ford’s $2B trust-based initiative can teach fundraisers today (Pro)
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