The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2003

4 AFSA NEWS • JULY-AUGUST 2003 A group of approximately 50 Foreign Service retirees, AFSA Governing Boardofficials andAFSAstaffmade the journey toCapitolHill onMay 8. This was AFSA’s third annual Day on the Hill event, timed to coincide with the visit of many State Department retirees to Washington for ForeignAffairs Day. The daywas a great success. Following a rough start in 2001, when Day on the Hill took placeonSept. 11, this event hasbecomeone of AFSA’s highest-profile efforts to increase its visibility and secure con- gressional support for leg- islative initiatives of greatest importance to the FS. The AFSA delegation went to speak to lawmakers about the administration’s Fiscal Year 2004 budget request for international affairs as well as other pro- fessional andbread-and-but- ter issues. The group urged increased funding for secur- ing “soft targets” abroad. There has been progress makingU.S. embassiesmore secure, but less has been done to provide security for members of the ForeignService and their familieswhen not on the embassy or consulate grounds. The tragicOctober 2002murder ofUSAID employee Laurence Foley in Amman, Jordan, while standing inhis driveway, fur- ther illustrates the serious need for more resources. This year, theAFSAdelegation includ- edmembers fromMaryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, California, Idaho, Ohio, New York and Florida. During a brunch at AFSA head- quarters, the participants received a brief- ing, as well as talking points, from AFSA on key issues of concern for the Foreign Service. Following the preparatory meet- ings, the group boarded a bus and head- ed to the Hill. The first stop was the Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee hearing roomin the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Brian McKeon (Democratic Chief Counsel for the Foreign Relations Committee and a staffer for Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.) addressed the group and answered ques- tions. He welcomed the AFSA members and thanked them for the dedication that they had shown throughout their careers. He thendiscussed the recent agendaof both the committee as well as the Senate itself. McKeon acknowledged that in the post- Sept. 11 era, there is a natural increase in awareness of foreign affairs and diploma- cy, which could lead to further funding in some cases. However, he cautioned that the current situationdoes not lookpromis- ing for further increases in foreignassistance funding. Following McKeon’s speech, the AFSA group fanned out andmet with 23 different congressional offices, including meetings with fourmembers of theHouse of Representatives. The AFSA groups were warmly received during their meet- ings, and many members of Congress provided a sympathetic ear. Frederic Baron, a member of Maryland Demo- cratic Senator BarbaraMikulski’s staff, was especially enthusiastic receiving the AFSA delegation, since he had been a Foreign Service officer himself. He emphasized the senator’s support for the Foreign Service and its concerns, but warned that because of a potentially “ugly budget year” ahead, increased budget allocationsmight be hard to come by. The AFSA delega- tion visiting Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., was pleased when his office promised strong support on the issue of securing soft targets. Overall, theAFSADay on theHill par- ticipants received a positive and support- ive reception and left theHill satisfied that their concernswereheardby thosewith the power to address them. Thanks go to AFSA’s Legislative DirectorKenNakamura, LegislativeAffairs Intern Suzanne Sivertsen, and Executive Assistant Marc Goldberg for the tremen- dous effort that made the visit a success. AFSAwill buildon the success of this year’s visit toCongress toensure evengreater suc- cess on the legislative front in the coming year. ▫ DAY ON THE HILL AFSA Members Go to the Hill BY ASGEIR SIGFUSSON, PUBLIC AFFAIRS INTERN Retired FSO Bruce Byers and other retirees arrive at Capitol Hill (left). AFSA Governing Board members and retirees are briefed by a Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer.