The Foreign Service Journal, April 2004

Spotlight on the Senior Management Group Back in July, shortly after the newAFSA Governing Board took office, AFSA requested a briefing fromUSAIDmanagement regarding certain senior management group decisions that did not appear to pass the transparency test. AFSA was concerned about the way these decisions, and others like them in the future, might influence promotion possibili- ties and whether the decisions might thwart the career advancement of some members. Every week since July, either by e-mail or in face-to- face meetings, AFSA has repeated this request. To date, no briefing has taken place or even been scheduled. “Of such stonewalling,” says AFSA VP Bill Carter, “collaborative relationships are not made.” USAID-State Cross-Assignment Program Gets Started AFSA VPs for State and USAID met with State Human Resources staff con- cerning the start-up of an excursion program designed to bring five State employees to USAID and send an equal number of USAID employees to State. AFSA supports this initiative, and hopes our consultations with man- agement can result in a better program with a higher chance of success. The meeting was productive, and AFSA appreciates HR’s openness. USAID has already posted five State jobs, and State HR agreed to put five USAID jobs on its bid list. “KidVid” Contest Entries Due April 15 The Foreign Service Youth Foundation and the Overseas Briefing Center are sponsoring the Ninth Annual Worldwide KIDVID Contest for production of a video that depicts life for children and teens at your post. Winners are honored at the Youth Awards Ceremony at the Department of State. The FSYF awards cash prizes to the top three winners. This contest is open to Foreign Service kids ages 10 to 18. Foreign Service families visit the OBC to research their assignments. The OBC needs videos that show life at post —housing, school, recreational facil- ities, community life, city life — from the vantage point of the younger members of the Foreign Service community. Videos should include views of what children and teens do in their free time. All submissions become the property of OBC and will not be returned to contestants. The videos will be kept in the OBC Information Center and other Foreign Service reference libraries for use by Foreign Service employees and family members. As OBC property, these videos may also be made available to the public. Find details and the rules at www.fsyf.org/kidvid/2003KidVidRules.doc Submissions should be sent to: KIDVID Contest, Overseas Briefing Center, Room E2126, Shultz Center, Department of State,Washington, DC 20522-4201. Submissions must be received in the Overseas Briefing Center by Monday, April 15, 2004. Contest winners will be announced by the end of May. Questions? Contact Maureen Johnston at the Overseas Briefing Center: E-mail johnstonm5@state.gov, cal l (703) 302-7277, or fax (703) 302-7452. APRIL 2004 • AFSA NEWS 9 Continued from page 8 THE FS & THE PRESIDENT’S 2005 BUDGET REQUEST The International Affairs Account in the Fiscal Year 2005 budget request totals $31.5 billion. This amount represents a 10.53 percent increase over the FY 2004 request, and an 11.3 percent increase over the FY 2004 appropriation (not counting funds carried over from the 2003 supplemental or the across-the-board omnibus recission). Budgets were increased for nine departments or agencies and decreased for seven. The International Affairs Account was given the largest percentage increase. The increase in the administration’s request for the International Affairs Account was approximately $3 billion, most of it earmarked for three programs — the Global Aids Initiative, the Millennium Challenge Account, and the Andean Counter Drug Initiative. The accounts of special interest to AFSA did not do badly. The State Department personnel account (Diplomatic and Consular Programs Account) was increased to accommodate additional hiring of 184 employees above attrition, 63 addi- tional consular officers separate from those to be hired through the normal use of visa fees, and 71 additional for DS. The Information Management Account was significantly higher than the 2004 appropriation but slightly (1.21 percent) below the 2004 request. The Worldwide Security Account was level at the agreed-upon $1.5 billion. At USAID, the Operating Expenses Account was up, to allow for the hiring of 50 additional staff above attrition for the agency’s Development Readiness Initiative. The USAID Capital Investment Fund was down. As the personnel accounts were increased, some of the program assistance funds were either flat or reduced in order to accommodate increases in other areas of the account. For instance, develop- ment assistance was down 1.19 percent when com- pared to the 2004 request or down 4.04 percent from the 2004 appropriation. Likewise, assistance levels for the Former Soviet Union and the African Development Foundation were down. In the next phase of the process, the budget com- mittees work on House and Senate budget resolu- tions, and after that, it’s on to appropriations. Most people involved in the process predict this will be a tough year. The administration’s request is tight, and Congress will have its own priorities as it tries to stay within budget limits. AFSA NEWS BRIEFS