The Foreign Service Journal, March 2011

M A R C H 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 45 F OCUS ON THE AFSA 2010 A NNUAL R EPORT M AKING A D IFFERENCE IN C ONGRESS FOR O UR M EMBERS t is axiomatic that Foreign Service officers know the political structures, intricacies and nu- ances of every country save their own. Perhaps that phe- nomenon explains why it has taken AFSA more than 30 years to evolve a highly effective congressional operation. But we have done so, to the great benefit of the people of the Foreign Service and the processes of diplomacy. Shortly after becoming the “exclusive employee rep- resentative” for all Foreign Service employees following an 1973 election, the AFSA leadership was called to the office of the senior active-duty FSO at the State Depart- ment, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Alex Johnson. He had heard that we intended to “petition the Con- gress” independently of the department, and wanted us to know he thought that was “unthinkable.” A few months later, we met with Secretary-designate Henry Kissinger to explain our views and intentions. When I told him we intended to testify against clearly un- qualified, politically appointed ambassadors, he smiled and told me, “And you must remember, I can always send you to Chad.” We did testify against several political appointees but, after being ignored by Republican and Democratic sena- tors alike, we ceased quixotically breaking our lances against that particular windmill. But we continued to lobby the Hill on “bread and butter” and personnel issues. This activity became particularly intense when a later iter- ation of AFSA leaders led by Ken Blakesley played a major role in drafting Public Law 96-465, the Foreign Service Act of 1980. The members of the Senate Foreign Rela- tions Committee wanted to be sure the people of the For- eign Service (through their elected union) supported the legislation. AFSA made significant contributions to the substance of the law and learned significantly more about “working the Hill” as a result of these experiences. In the later 1980s and 1990s, AFSA built on those gains. First, the Governing Board engaged a series of consultants with long experience in positions on Senate and House staffs for advice on how to proceed. Some years later AFSA created a full-time position for legislative relations, and our knowledge of Capitol Hill, and ability to operate effectively there, increased markedly with such experts on staff. AFSA’ S CONGRESSIONAL OPERATION HAS ADVANCED KEY INITIATIVES BENEFITING F OREIGN S ERVICE MEMBERS AND ENHANCING DIPLOMATIC EFFECTIVENESS . B Y T HOMAS D. B OYATT I Thomas D. Boyatt, an FSO from 1959 until 1985, served as ambassador to Colombia and Upper Volta (nowBurkina Faso) and chargé d’affaires in Chile, among many other postings. Currently the treasurer of AFSA’s political action committee, AFSA-PAC, Ambassador Boyatt has been AFSA’s president, vice president and treasurer, and is pres- ident of the Foreign Affairs Council.