President and CEO January 22, 2009

Samuel A. Worthington

Chair Mr. Kent Hill

Charles MacCormack,
Save the Children Acting Administrator
U.S. Agency for International Development
Vice Chair Ronald Reagan Building
Ritu Sharma Fox, Washington, D.C. 20523-1000
Women Thrive Worldwide

Treasurer
Amy Coen,
Population Action International
Board of Directors
Nancy A. Aossey,
International Medical Corps
Kenneth Bacon, Refugees International
David Beckmann, Bread for the World
Carol Bellamy, World Learning
Sekyu Chang,
Korean American Sharing Movement
Julius Coles, Africare
Helene D. Gayle, CARE USA
Anne Lynam Goddard,
Christian Children’s Fund
Lee H. Hamilton,
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps
Elizabeth Lathem, US Committee for UNDP
Lelei Lelaulu, Counterpart International
Jo Luck, Heifer International
John McCullough, Church World Service
Stephen F. Moseley,
Academy for Educational Development
Daniel E. Pellegrom, Pathfinder International
Linda Pfeiffer, INMED
Robert Radtke,
Episcopal Relief and Development
Yolonda C. Richardson ,
Centre for Development and Population Activities
George Rupp,
International Rescue Committee
Zainab Salbi,
Women for Women International
Ron Sconyers, Physicians for Peace
Kathy Spahn, Helen Keller International
Richard Stearns, World Vision
Tsehaye Teferra,
Ethiopian Community Development Council
Sam Worthington (Ex-Officio)
Dear Kent,
I’m writing to follow up on a letter I sent to Gayle Smith and Aaron Williams of the
Obama-Biden USAID Transition Team on January 13, 2009 with regard to USAID’s
Partner Vetting System and the publication in the Federal Register of the Privacy Act
rule that authorizes it (Privacy Act of 1974, Implementation of Exemptions, 74 Fed.
Reg. 9, 16 [January 2, 2009] [to be codified at 22 CFR pt. 215]). I have attached a copy
of that correspondence to my cover email for this letter.
In my letter to Mr. Williams and Ms. Smith, I requested that the Obama administration
withdraw or significantly extend the effective date of the Privacy Act rule cited above.
InterAction has been engaged in a dialogue with USAID for a year and a half as we
sought to support USAID in ensuring that our funds are not diverted to terrorists or
terrorist organizations, but in a way that does not undermine critical humanitarian and
development programs or put NGO staff at additional risk of violence. Given that we
have yet to find a resolution that achieves these shared goals, I believe that those
discussions with USAID’s leadership must continue. Accordingly, I respectfully
request that you withdraw the rule, or extend the effective date of the Privacy Act
rule by at least sixty days – per the January 20 memorandum from White House
Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to all executive departments and agencies (Section 3
applies to regulations that have been published in the Federal Register but which have
not taken effect).
The NGO community is committed to working with USAID to resolve this issue
amicably, and I hope that we can develop a consultative process very soon by which an
agreement might be reached. As I wrote in my letter to Ms. Smith and Mr. Williams,
allowing the Privacy Act rule to go into effect on February 2nd may, unfortunately, set us
down a path that is not in the best interests of USAID or the NGO community. My goal
remains to reach an amicable resolution that works for everyone. I look forward to
discussing this with you soon.

1400 16th St., NW Best,

Suite 210
Washington, DC 20036
PHONE: (202) 667-8227
FAX: (202) 667-8236
E-MAIL: ia@interaction.org Samuel A. Worthington
http://www.interaction.org President & CEO, InterAction

CC: Aaron Williams, Gayle Smith, Jonathan Addleton

InterAction is a membership association of US private voluntary organizations engaged in international humanitarian efforts including
relief, development, refugee assistance, environment, population, public policy, and global education.