Shah confirmed by Senate to head USAID

The Senate has "confirmed Rajiv Shah as head of USAID, putting the 36-year-old doctor in charge of the sprawling $20 billion aid agency which stands poised for a major funding boost," Reuters reports.

The new USAID administrator "won widespread bipartisan support in his confirmation hearing," the news service writes, adding that he "will report directly to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton." According to Reuters, Shah "takes office as the Obama administration plans a big increase in U.S. overseas aid ... Officials aim to double overall U.S. aid funds to $52 billion by 2015, although the final size and scope of that increase are now under discussion as part of a four-yearly review of diplomacy and development policies expected to yield final results next year" (Quinn, 12/24).