In the Center for Global Development’s (CGD) “Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Blog,” Kate Almquist Knopf, a visiting policy fellow at CGD, states, “The FY14 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill passed out of the House Appropriations Committee last week is a stinging reminder of the low esteem in which many members of Congress hold global development and [USAID].” She writes about the need for “development policy coherence” in U.S. policy, writing, “With the right support and changes, … USAID has the potential to be a premier development agency. What’s required is a development voice at the highest levels of national security and foreign policy decision-making.” Knopf describes four actions that might achieve such involvement. “Until development is treated as an end in its own right rather than a subordinate means for fighting terrorism or winning friends, the United States’ foreign aid architecture, resources, and objectives will continue to be woefully misaligned and USAID is destined to disappoint,” she concludes (8/2).