{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-castro-urge-usaid-to-boost-innovative-solutions-to-address-international-development-challenges", "Booker, Castro Urge USAID to Boost Innovative Solutions to Address International Development Challenges", "2022-10-19", "2022", "2022-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "NJ", "Cory A. Booker", "B001288", "www.booker.senate.gov", "booker", "https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20) urged the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to boost innovation through Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) and other similar programs in order to help address many of the world\u2019s biggest challenges related to international development.\n\nUSAID\u2019s DIV program provides grant funding to innovators and researchers to test new ideas and advance solutions for developing countries in various fields, including renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and health technology, while increasing the return on investment of U.S. taxpayer dollars. By allocating resources to scale up effectual milestone-based projects supported by DIV, USAID has a unique opportunity to deploy innovations that can help solve dynamic global development challenges.\n\n\u201cWith over 80 offices around the world and programs in over 100 countries, USAID is uniquely positioned to harness the very best of American innovation to source and scale effective programs that can better solve complex international development challenges,\u201d wroteSenator Booker and Representative Castroin a letter to USAID Administrator Samantha Power. \u201cWe encourage USAID to allocate sufficient funding within sector-specific Agency budgets to scale relevant and successful DIV programs.\u201d\n\n\u201cAmerica has a storied history of promoting innovation, but if we are to solve some of the biggest challenges of our time, we must do more to catalyze research and development, foster new partnerships with accountable and innovative non-traditional partners, and improve evidence-based contracting,\u201d continued Senator Booker and Representative Castro. \u201cThese kinds of investments are not only critical to improving outcomes for millions around the world, they also position the United States as a more effective partner vis-a-vis China for countries that want to make rapid progress towards achieving development goals.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe scale of our shared, global challenges is enormous. To tackle issues like climate change and a growing food crisis, we\u2019re going to need far more innovation, which includes bringing new voices to the table and finding new ways to solve problems. Senator Booker and Congressman Castro remind us that America can show global leadership through innovation \u2013 and that agencies like USAID need to play a key role,\u201d said Walter Kerr, Executive Director of Unlock Aid, a global coalition of change agents bridging the gap between innovation and global development.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:20:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-castro-urge-usaid-to-boost-innovative-solutions-to-address-international-development-challenges"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.536305993795395, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}