WASHINGTON (AP) — The Soviet Union was the Cold War threat, Ian Fleming's creation James Bond was headed to the screen as Sean Connery in "Dr. No" and the U.S. established a new system for doling out foreign aid.

Fifty-one years later, a leading House Democrat closing out three decades in Congress says a new structure to provide U.S. assistance worldwide is long overdue, and he has a plan.

California Rep. Howard Berman, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, unveiled a 923-page bill on Wednesday that would replace the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with a framework for providing developmental and economic U.S. aid. Berman's Global Partnerships Act of 2012 would change the aid system to focus on mutually agreed goals instead of the emphasis on donor-recipient ties, increase accountability and oversight, and eliminate duplication.