2013 Study on Congressional Attitudes
In early 2013, AFSA commissioned a study to measure the attitudes of a diverse and bi-partisan group of congressional staff toward the Foreign Service and the Department of State. The study was also designed to identify opportunities to deepen understanding and promote awareness about the Foreign Service and to improve our relations with Congress.
AFSA engaged journalist and author Nicholas Kralev to conduct the study. Interviews were conducted with 28 congressional staff members, on both personal and committee staff to gauge their views of the Foreign Service and whether relations and communications between Capitol Hill and the Foreign Service and Department of State could be augmented or improved. Staff members from both the House and Senate were included, and the sample is completely bipartisan with 14 interlocutors each from Republican and Democratic staffs.
This study follows up on a 2002 study done by Tom Melia for Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, funded by the Una Chapman Cox Foundation.