The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2019 15 Squaring the Budget Request with the Challenge from China The State Department’s proposed budget… requests the largest drop for any cabinet depart- ment by total dollars, and by percentage, it’s 24 percent. And yet at the same time, we have seen over a period of the last few years an increase in the Chinese diplomatic budget. So from 2011 to 2017, China nearly doubled its budget. I know you know these numbers. Their spending increased by 12.3 percent in 2018. Just last month before the Chinese parliament, Beijing presented a budget for 2019 that would increase foreign affairs spending by another 7.4 percent. American diplomats are already outnumbered five to one by Chinese diplomats doing economic and commercial work in Africa and elsewhere, and we hear from ambassadors of many of these countries who say to members of Congress, they would rather do business with the U.S., but they can’t find us. —Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), questioning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs hearing, “Review of the FY 2020 Budget Request for the State Department,” April 9. The Problem of Unfilled Positions We need our people out there, working with our security partners, advancing human rights and the rule of law, and pushing for American business. These are things we simply cannot do well enough by sitting at a desk behind several lay- ers of security in an embassy. First and foremost, though, the department needs to be fully staffed. —Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch (R-Idaho), from his opening statement to the full committee hearing, “Review of the FY 2020 State Department Budget Request,” April 10. The Problem of Timely Nominations, Properly Vetted We cannot confirm diplomats that we do not have. All too often, the committee has received nominations late or not at all. The Trump administration took nearly two years before it nominate[d] General Abizaid, leaving a gaping hole in our diplo- matic posture to Saudi Arabia and the region. The United States and our allies continue to face tremendous challenges around the world. We must continue to lead on the international stage and work in collaboration with interna- tional partners to achieve our shared security goals. But to have our diplomats in place, they must be nominated in a timely fashion and vetted properly. —Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, speaking on the Senate floor, March 27. Diplomacy in Support of Business The bipartisan Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act will bolster U.S. economic and commercial diplomacy, help facilitate greater market access for our com- panies in emerging markets, and rededicate the Foreign Ser- vice to one of its founding missions: to support U.S. business. —Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Michael McCaul (R-Texas), introducing the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act to the House of Representatives, March 13. Bipartisan Support for Diplomacy and Development The United States is strongest on the global stage when we conduct a foreign policy rooted in core American values—support for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law—and when we use the tools of diplomacy and development in conjunction with like-minded friends and allies. —Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), in his statement, “Engel & McCaul Offer Legislation Reaffirming the Pillars of American Foreign Policy,” introducing three pieces of legislation to the House of Representatives, March 13. Heard on the Hill JOSH