The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2023

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2023 29 1975 After years of effort, legislation passes creating the Foreign Service grievance system. 1980 AFSA contributes to the drafting of the Foreign Service Act of 1980. 1998 The first of two decades of increased annual funding to upgrade embassy security is secured following the terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. 1999 Legislation mandating Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) for Diplomatic Security Special Agents is enacted. 2001 Increased funding for hiring is secured under Secretary of State Colin Powell after years of AFSA documenting the need in congressional testimony and public statements. 2002 Legislation is passed authorizing retirement credit to eligible family members who performed part-time, intermittent, temporary (PIT) service abroad between 1989 and 1998. 2003 Virtual locality pay is established so that Foreign Service members serving overseas prior to retirement have their pensions calculated based on theWashington, D.C., locality pay rate. 2003 Legislation exempting Foreign Service members from capital gains taxation on the sale of their primary residence after overseas service of up to 10 years is enacted. 2009 Overseas comparability pay is established, which currently boosts the salaries of overseas Foreign Service members by 21 percent (two-thirds of D.C. locality pay). 2009 A proposal to eliminate all funding for the Foreign Commercial Service is stopped. 2017 The beginning of four years of successful efforts to build a bipartisan coalition on Capitol Hill that rejected massive budget cuts to diplomacy and development sought by President Donald Trump. 2021 Legislation is adopted giving the Foreign Service parity with the uniformed military on benefits including in-state college tuition for students in their state of domicile and the ability to break certain leases/contracts without financial penalties. 2021 Legislation is signed into law providing employees additional financial support for brain injuries from anomalous health incidents (AHIs). 2021 Legislation is blocked that would have authorized a large mid-level entry program for the Foreign Service at the State Department. AFSA Legislative Victories Legislation for which AFSAwas the leading proponent or played a critical advocacy role. members subpoenaed to testify in the Trump impeachment hearings so they would not suffer personal financial ruin. While ethics rules usually prohibit federal employees from accept- ing gifts, including free services, as a union AFSA is allowed to arrange for outside attorneys to represent its members. In effect, those private attorneys are providing services to AFSA, not to the employee. Thus, AFSA’s payment of those legal bills is a benefit of AFSA membership, not a prohibited gift to the employee. Not a Typical Union Like other unions, AFSA works to address the concerns of individual members. But because AFSA is also a professional association, it sometimes puts greater priority on the long-term institutional well-being of the career Foreign Service. This focus on long-term issues contrasts with management officials at the State Department and other foreign affairs agencies, who some- times seek to address short-term problems without considering longer-term implications for the Foreign Service career. For example, when Secretary of State Colin Powell decided to require leadership and management training after each mid-level Foreign Service promotion, the Bureau of Person- nel wanted to phase in the requirement over a decade. AFSA objected, urging a more rapid implementation to compel train- ing-resistant members to comply for the good of the Service.