The Foreign Service Journal, March 2004

American Foreign Service Association • March 2004 AFSA NEWS O n Jan. 22, we ended the year of the goat andbegan the year of themonkey. The past year broughtmuch thatwas positive for AFSAmembers. Therewere those, however, who seemed to see 2003 as the year of the scapegoat, and blamed the Foreign Service for whatever made them unhappy about American foreign policy. Mr. Robertson would “nuke” us andMr. Gingrich would “re-educate” us. AFSAwouldhave none of it. Our responses havemade a simplepoint: weneednoone togiveus lessons incourage, devotion to duty and patriotism. FINANCIALLY SOLID AFSA is a financially soundorganization that spends about $3millionper year. While increasing our services tomemberswe have built operating reserves and an endowment to support our awards and scholarshippro- grams. AFSA’s operating reserve as of the end of 2003, thanks in part to a recovery in the stockmarket, was valued at $1,043,600. This is in addition to the debt-free head- quarters building at 21st andEStreetsN.W. The AFSA Scholarship endowment is val- ued at $4,474,042 and the SinclaireAwards Fund at $375,590. AFSA’S PUBLIC FACE: A BETTER JOURNAL We can be very proud of the success of the Foreign Service Journal . There is more advertising income — check out the full- page color ads in recent issues — and the articles are superb. I would especially note the September issue devoted to Foreign Service specialists and the lively debate that those articles provoked. Some of the best writing inthe Journal , inmyopinion, appears in the “Letters” section. Please keep writ- ing us. Itwas alsoaverygoodyear forAFSAout- reach: the Speakers Program, media place- ments, Elderhostel, and the Essay Contest explained the importance of U.S. diploma- cy to recordnumbers of audiences andpar- ticipants nationwide. AFSA also launched its all-new edition of Inside aU.S. Embassy , which is nearing 20,000 copies sold world- wide. MEMBERSHIP Our membership is at an all-time high of about 12,500. Among our active-duty constituencies, FCS takes the prize with a membership rate of over 80 percent. USAIDmembership is about 75 percent and State membership stands at 70 percent. Retirees, with about 3,700 members, are the second-largest constituency. NewForeign Service employees are signing up in record num- bers. At ourmost recent recruit- ing lunches for new generalists and specialists, over 90 percent have joined AFSA. BREAD AND BUTTER None of us are in this business for the money, but AFSA did make progress on improvingbenefits. Our largest step forward was securing passage of the law allowing ForeignService employees serving overseas to benefit from tax exemptions on sale of a principal residence. Passageof this lawcame after years of work by AFSA and our mili- tary colleagues. AFSA has also been push- ing a complex of related issues involving locality pay and Senior Foreign Service pay and performance. These are a tough sell in today’s political climate inWashington, and in meetings we encounter persistent con- fusionbetweenbasepay andallowances and differentials. Much of our work is educa- tional, explaining two realities: • First, the gap between base pay in Washington and overseas is growing, and that increasing inequality is affecting the Service’s ability to staff itsmost difficult over- seas posts. • Second, differentials and allowances serve adifferent purpose frombasepay. For example, employees at many of our most difficult posts receive noCOLA, yet current laws have themtaking a cut inbasepay,with accompanying cuts inTSP, retirement and survivors’ benefits. AFSA has been pushing other legislative fixes, including restoring prescriptive relief, implementingthePITbuy-back,andchang- ing the low-ranking requirement. These changesareallintheFiscalYear2004 and 2005 State Department autho- rization bills, which are stuck in the law-making process. We will keep pushingthese,buttherearenoguar- antees of immediate success. AFSA has been active in pro- moting the interests of retirees, pro- viding counsel and assistance to retirees with annuity and benefit problems. AFSA convinced the Retirement Office to apply more transparent and humane proce- dures in annuity overpayment cases. AFSA has also increased its focus on legislative and regulatory actions that could affect retiree benefits, particularly health benefits. THANKS TO ALL Kudos toall of our committee andboard members—VPs, representatives, and oth- ers — for their hard work. Post represen- tativesandmembersinthefieldareproviding vital support throughmessages that help us make our case with management, the media and the rest of the government. Your impressive support to the legislative action fund,thescholarshipfund,etc.,isvitalinhelp- ing us fight for you. Special thanks also go toAFSA’s superbprofessional staffmembers whoproducethe Journal ,dealwiththemedia, run the office, maintain membership lists, keepus solvent, andwhoprovide represen- tation,adviceandgrievancecounseling. Well done. ▫ 2003 PRESIDENT'S REPORT NO SCAPEGOATS, NO MONKEY BUSINESS Annual Repor t 2003 John Limbert