U.S. Global Leadership Campaign Applauds Major Commitment to Rebuilding State Department and USAID Resources and Capacity

Washington, DC – The U.S. Global Leadership Campaign released the following statement from Executive Director Liz Schrayer on today’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the nomination of Senator Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State:

“At today’s confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Designate Hillary Clinton urged adoption of a ‘smart power’ approach as the pillar of a new U.S. foreign policy, requiring major new investments in civilian-led tools of diplomacy and development as essential to protecting America’s interests and addressing serious global challenges. As Clinton said, ‘We must use what has been called ‘smart power,’ the full range of tools at our disposal – diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural – picking the right tool, or combination of tools, for each situation.’

“The U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and our more than 400 member organizations around the country strongly support Secretary Designate Clinton’s comments, as well as the broad, bipartisan consensus reflected in today’s hearing, that a smart power approach requires increased resources for revitalizing the State Department and USAID.

“We are very pleased that increasing foreign assistance and revitalizing USAID and the State Department will be a high priority for the Obama Administration and Congress. As Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry said, ‘I was heartened to hear Senator Clinton signal her desire to radically improve our diplomatic capacity and finally give the State Department the tools it needs to put civilian functions back in civilian hands-and she can count on our support in this endeavor.’

“This consensus is also reflected in letters sent to President-elect Obama last month by a historic record-breaking 217 Members of Congress – 51 Senators and 166 Representatives – calling for a robust U.S. International Affairs Budget in the incoming Obama Administration’s FY 2010 Federal Budget request. We look forward to working with Congress and President-elect Obama and his national security team as they move towards his goal of ‘moving our foreign-assistance agenda to the center of our national-security conversations as opposed to the periphery.'”

Interested parties can find key excerpts from today’s hearing and read the House and Senate letters to President-elect Obama on the Campaign’s website, www.usglc.org, and learn more about Obama’s global engagement platform and his national security and foreign policy team by visiting the website of the USGLC’s educational arm, the Center for U.S. Global Engagement, www.usglobalengagement.org.

USGLC Executive Director Liz Schrayer and other USGLC spokespeople are available for comment and interviews on today’s hearing, adopting a “smart power” approach to foreign policy, prospects for the International Affairs Budget in FY2009 and FY2010, and related topics.

USGLC Spokespeople:
Liz Schrayer is the Executive Director and one of the founders of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and its sister organization, the Center for U.S. Global Engagement. She serves as President of Schrayer & Associates, Inc., a political consulting firm based in Washington, DC that works extensively in the international, health care, and child advocacy fields.

Bill Lane is Co-President of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign. He serves as Washington Director for Government Affairs for Caterpillar, representing the company on trade policy and other international affairs.

Nancy Lindborg is Co-President of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign and the President of Mercy Corps, an international relief and development organization that operates in challenging, transitional environments around the globe.

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The U.S. Global Leadership Campaign (www.usglc.org) is a broad-based, nationwide coalition of businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community leaders that advocates for a strong U.S. International Affairs Budget. Members of the USGLC – a vibrant, influential network of 400 organizations and thousands of individuals – engage policymakers in the nation’s capital and educate the public around the country to build support for these essential programs.

The Center for U.S. Global Engagement (www.usglobalengagement.org), the educational arm of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, unites business, civic, military, faith-based, and political leaders around the country to broaden understanding of America’s interests in building a better, safer world.