The Foreign Service Journal, May 2009

O n March 20, AFSA President John Naland, State Vice President Steve Kashkett and I met with Sec- retary of State Hillary Clinton. My accurate, though not very elegant, open- ing words were,“Madam Secretary, USAID has been beaten up over the past few years.” I pointed out that the environment within the agency is confusing, hy- percentralized and wasteful, and that its overall mission is unclear: is it national security, poverty reduction, economic development or something else? Em- ployees are upset with the radical orga- nizational changes under the previous administration, especially the creation of the F Bureau at State. Morale has suf- fered. Lastly, I informed her that em- ployees were anxious for news about the new administrator. Sec. Clinton listened patiently and then expressed her views. She agreed that USAID needs a sense of mission and pointed out that this was of great per- sonal concern to her. However, her belief is that the Department of State and USAIDmust jointly implement a unified foreign policy and that by having diplo- macy and development closely allied, there is a greater chance of getting increased resources than with USAID acting alone. Sec. Clinton also pointed to the FY 2009 budget: Deputy Secretary Jack Lew successfully asked for increased funding and staff on behalf of USAID and State. She believes that USAID has become too much a contracting agency rather than an implementer, which she feels is wasteful and strips the government of in- house expertise. Finally, she declared that no one was more interested than she in having theWhite House nominate the new administrator; she hopes this will hap- pen soon. At 30 minutes, the meeting was too short and many things were left unsaid. For example, there was no hint of how the PEPFAR (HIV/AIDS) office and the Millennium Challenge Corporation would interact with USAID in the future. The issues of mid-career hiring and Foreign Service Limited staff concerns were also not discussed. Nevertheless, I left a packet of Foreign Service Journal articles on these subjects and a summary report of numerous authoritative studies rec- ommending fixes for the sad state of foreign assistance today, and requested that she read these when she had the time. In addition, I offered Deputy Secretary Lew, also at the meeting, a more detailed briefing at his convenience. Sec. Clinton seems genuinely interested in development and has a history of public support for our foreign aid programs. What will be the effect of our meet- ing, if any? I do not know, but I hope that the new administration will see the need for an entirely new direction for our agency and will heed the very thorough and intelligent input from hundreds of knowledgeable experts on the topic. Our country and USAID employees deserve no less. ❏ 48 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 9 A F S A N E W S V.P. VOICE: USAID ■ BY FRANCISCO ZAMORA A Meeting with the Secretary Transition Center Schedule of Courses for May-June 2009 May 4-5 Security Overseas Seminar (MQ911) May 8 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief (MQ950) May 9 Explaining America (MQ115) May 13-14 Mid-Career Retirement Planning (RV105) May 16 Protocol and U.S. Representa- tion Abroad (MQ116) May 18-19 Security Overseas Seminar (MQ911) May 20 Legal Considerations in the Foreign Service (MQ854) May 22 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief (MQ950) May 28 Special Education Needs Workshop May 30 Going Overseas for Singles/Couples without Children (MQ200) May 30 Going Overseas for Families with Children (MQ210) May 30 Going Overseas Logistics for Adults (MQ220) May 30 Going Overseas Logistics for Children (MQ230) June 1-2 Security Overseas Seminar (MQ911) June 3 LGBT Issues in the Foreign Service June 4 Post Options for Employment and Training (MQ703) June 6 Protocol (MQ116) June 8-10 DCM Spouse Seminar (MQ110) June 8-11 Retirement Planning Seminar (RV101) June 12 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief (MQ950) June 15 Young Diplomats Day (MQ250) June15-16 Security Overseas Seminar (MQ911) June 16 Youth Security Overseas Semi- nar (MQ914) June 18 Realities of Foreign Service Life (MQ803) June 24 Maintaining Long-Distance Relationships (MQ801) June 25-26 Regulations, Allowances and Finances (MQ104) June 26 High-Stress Assignment Outbrief (MQ950) June 29 Young Diplomats Day (MQ250) June 29-30 Security Overseas Seminar (MQ911) June 30 Youth Security Overseas Seminar (MQ914) To register or for further information, please e-mail the FSI Transition Center at FSITCTraining@state.gov . ❏ Sec. Clinton believes that USAID has become too much a contracting agency rather than an implementer.