WASHINGTON – The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition President and CEO, Liz Schrayer, released the following statement on the nomination of Ambassador Mark Green to be the next Administrator of USAID:

Ambassador Mark Green is an exceptional choice for USAID Administrator, able to arrive on day one ready to ensure that America’s global development programs continue to deliver results for our nation. Mark is a proven conservative leader who has been at the forefront of transforming America’s foreign assistance programs for more than a decade.

Mark gets what it takes to make foreign assistance work and why these programs are so vital to our national security and economic interests, having served as an original sponsor of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and overseen the programs first-hand as our Ambassador to Tanzania. As a colleague and board member of the USGLC, he has played a vital role in driving the aid reform agenda – and has the track record to build upon these game-changing reforms.

As Secretary Tillerson reviews the State Department and USAID, Mark will be an invaluable partner to maximize our nation’s development and diplomacy impact. Given the growing humanitarian threat of at least four famines, the Senate should urgently consider and confirm Ambassador Green for USAID Administrator as soon as possible.

Background and profile of Ambassador Mark Green

Highlights from the USAID Administrator nominee’s background on global development and diplomacy

Ambassador Mark Green is a recognized conservative leader who has long championed American development and diplomacy programs. A self-proclaimed fiscal hawk and bold supporter of effective foreign assistance, Green was heavily involved in the bipartisan reform efforts of the last decade that have made U.S. foreign assistance more efficient, transparent, and accountable than ever before.

Green understands that an “America First” agenda can – and must – include strategic investments in development and diplomacy. Maintaining that when used effectively, “these programs are strongly in our interest.” He has consistently defended the International Affairs Budget underscoring how these programs are vital not just for “demonstrating our core American values” but also for “achieving our national security and foreign policy goals.”

Green has had a distinguished career in public service and global development, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007 and as Ambassador to Tanzania from 2007 to 2009. In Congress, Green helped draft and pass legislation that created the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which has become a model for effective development assistance, and President George W. Bush’s signature global health initiative, the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved the lives of more than 11 million people.

As Ambassador to Tanzania, Green led a mission of 350 civil servants and was responsible for managing and improving the effectiveness of some of the largest development projects ever implemented, including an MCC Compact with Tanzania worth nearly $700 million. Additionally, he oversaw major PEPFAR programs in the country during his tenure.

In 2011, Green was named Senior Director at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. He would later lead the Initiative for Global Development, a non-profit organization that engages business leaders to reduce poverty through investment and economic growth in Africa. Green currently is President of the International Republican Institute and recently served on the Board of Directors at the Millennium Challenge Corporation. He is also a Co-Chair for the Consensus on Development Reform, which supports global development through effective and accountable foreign assistance programs.

 The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (www.usglc.org) is a broad-based influential network of 500 businesses and NGOs; national security and foreign policy experts; and business, faith-based, academic, military, and community leaders in all 50 states who support strategic investments to elevate development and diplomacy alongside defense in order to build a better, safer world.