The Foreign Service Journal, March 2011

26 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 1 1 uring the past year, AFSA remained very active on the legislative and advocacy front. Here are some highlights from 2010. AFSA continued to press for full im- plementation of Overseas Comparability Pay, to close the pay gap once and for all. Overseas Comparability Pay In late July, we were pleased to report more progress: The second tranche of back pay was authorized in the Fis- cal Year 2010 Omnibus Appropriations bill and imple- mented on Aug. 15. With this development, 16.52 percent of the gap has been closed (7.7 percent last August, plus 1.12 percent in January 2010, and 7.7 percent in August 2010). The 1.12-percent increase in January was the lo- cality pay portion of the increase that D.C. workers got over and above their base pay increase of 1.5 percent. We were also successful in helping the International Broadcasting Bureau obtain the necessary funding to im- plement OCP. While this is real progress, the fight is not over. Over- seas Comparability Pay will continue to be authorized under the continuing resolution, but the federal fiscal sit- uation is very tight, and we have already seen federal em- ployee pay and benefits being targeted — Overseas Comparability Pay in particular. AFSA remains focused on securing a permanent fix to this problem. Funding the Foreign Affairs Agencies 2010 started out with a bang for the Foreign Affairs agencies and has, very frustratingly, ended with more of a fizzle. On Feb. 1, 2010, President Barack Obama released his Fiscal Year 2011 budget request, which was very ro- bust for all our member agencies. It called for 610 new Foreign Service officers at the State Department and USAID and provided increased resources to help meet the new demands being placed on all agencies. The Sen- ate Appropriations Committee also reported out bills that would have provided increased funding, but none of those bills were ever passed by the House or Senate. Since no appropriations bills were signed into law, the government is operating on a continuing resolution — signed into law by Pres. Obama on Dec. 22 — to fund the government at enacted FY 2010 levels, through March 4, when the new Congress is scheduled to finish work on FY 2011 funding. Foreign Relations Authorization One of AFSA’s top priorities is passage of a Foreign Re- lations Authorization bill, which would make some much- needed changes to the State Department. On April 27, 2010, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee marked up and voted out of committee S. 2971, the Foreign Rela- tions Authorization Act (the House passed its version of the bill in 2009). This bill would have fully implemented OCP, provided much-needed personnel expansion of the Foreign Service and prompted a renewed focus on train- ing and professional development. Historically, it has been a challenge for Congress to pro- duce a comprehensive Foreign Relations Authorization bill; while important strides were made this year, the full Senate never considered the bill. AFSA will continue to work closely with both the House Foreign Affairs Com- mittee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, en- couraging them to move swiftly on drafting and passing this crucial legislation early in the 112th Congress. AFSA on Capitol Hill Once again, AFSA remained the strong and present voice of the Foreign Service on Capitol Hill during 2010. We met with key members and congressional staff in both chambers and sent letters on issues critical to the Foreign Service. In addition, AFSA joined forces with other fed- eral unions to expand our outreach efforts on the Hill. AFSA President Susan Johnson, State Vice President Daniel Hirsch, USAID Vice President Francisco Zamora, Foreign Commercial Service Vice President Keith Curtis, and Foreign Agricultural Service Vice President Henry Schmick had a busy summer of meetings with House and Senate Appropriations Committee members and their staff, including one with House State and Foreign Opera- tions Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., to convey how important the continued investment in our Foreign Service agencies is for FY 2011. ANNUAL REPORT American Foreign Service Association 2010 Legislative Affairs: Successes and New Challenges ■ B Y C ASEY F RARY , L EGISLATIVE D IRECTOR D