The Foreign Service Journal, March 2009

56 F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L / MA R CH 2 0 0 9 A F S A N E W S Y E A R I N R E V I E W AFSA Annual Report 2008 Legislative Report I n2008, AFSAcontinued tobe a strong, trusted and respected voice on Capitol Hill asweadvocatedonavarietyof issues of importance to the ForeignService com- munity. The Overseas Pay Gap AFSA was consistently aggressive in working toward getting Congress to cor- rect the overseas pay gap in 2008. Despite the great odds ofmoving anything forward in the late days of the 110th Congress, we have successes to highlight. AFSAbrokered a bipartisanagreement in the House Foreign Affairs Committee that resulted in the passage of a bill to solve theproblem, inaddition toraising thedeath gratuity benefit for Foreign Service per- sonnel killed overseas. In the House, we had direct discussions with key leaders at critical junctures. We built up House co- sponsors on the bill, going office-to-office and relying on our members to capitalize on trips thatmembers ofCongress andstaff tookoverseas. Never beforehad theHFAC passed a bill solely focused on correcting the pay problem, an indicationof our suc- cess inelevating the discussionof this acute problem in Congress. In the Senate, we convinced key sena- tors tooffer a companionbill to theHouse version. These efforts, coupled with our close relationshipswithkeymembers of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, allowed us to get the bill passed out of the SFRC. By the close of 2008, in the last days of the congressional session, we were in a good position for passage; but, unfortu- nately, certain senators exercised a proce- dural right to block the Senate pay gap bill over cost concerns anddisagreement over the importance of fixing the problem.We waged a final aggressive push that consist- edofmobilizing scores of constituent calls to the blocking senators, but theywere not willing to relinquish their holds on the bill, and that ended our chances. Despite this disappointment, AFSA is proud of the strategic and focused leader- ship that enabled us to get as far as we did. Funding for Diplomacy and Staffing AFSA has consistently focused on the vital need to augment the Foreign Service ranks and find creative solutions to fund- ing that increase in personnel. AFSAwas very effective in 2008 in our efforts to advance this priority. Wemade convinc- ing arguments that the ForeignServicewas critically underfunded and that a lack of appropriated funds over the last several years had resulted in a fiscal emergency. We secured key meetings early in the process and made specific suggestions to senior congressional appropriators and their staffs. As a result of that direct advocacy, $25 million for staffing and training was locked into the president’s Fiscal Year 2008 supplemental spending request for Iraqand Afghanistan. We then shifted to ensuring that the president’s call for a significant increase inForeign Service positions in the Fiscal Year 2009 budget request was funded. Wemade substantive contributions in 2008 to the American Academy of Diplomacy andHenry L. StimsonCenter landmark study, which detailed specifi- cally what human and financial resources the State Department, the Foreign Service andUSAIDneed to accomplish theirmis- sions. We then helped bring these argu- ments to Congress. The specific appro- priations bill that was to fund these addi- tional positions and provide greater resources was, unfortunately, not com- pleted by Congress in 2008, but we are hopeful that our efforts will bear fruit when the new111th Sessionwraps up the pending budget process in 2009. In en- gaging on these fronts, we have advanced our broader goal of bringing to our fel- low citizens a greater awareness, knowl- edge and respect for what the Foreign Service does. Other Legislative Fronts AFSA also engaged on issues of critical importance toUSAID. Particular areas of focusin2008includedadvocatingforagency operating expenses and increased staffing, and strongly expressing our concerns about the pitfalls related to mid-level For- eign Service hiring atUSAIDandhow this well-intentioned initiativepotentiallyunder- mines the career Foreign Service. We also forged partnerships with out- side organizations and humanitarian and development nongovernmental organiza- tions in an effort to raise our profile in this community. And we offered key insights as the debate on foreign assistance reform heated up. AFSA tackled many other priority issues during the year, such as retirement benefits,maternity leave questions for fed- eral employees, tax issues specifically affect- ing civilians working overseas and serving in combat zones, and ambassadorships for political appointees. — Ian Houston, Legislative Affairs Director Pictured left to right: AFSA Legislative Director Ian Houston, AFSA President John Naland, House Ways andMeans Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., AFSA State VP Steve Kashkett and State Governing Board Representative Daphne Titus. OFFICE OF CHARLES RANGEL