The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2004

4 AFSA NEWS • JULY-AUGUST 2004 P articipants in AFSA’s fourth annualDayOn theHill tookan urgentmessage to their legisla- tors: Both military force and diplo- macy are essential in meeting our national security interests abroad. The Congress must give the same strate- gic priority to foreign relations as to the military, including in funding. While legislators and staffers didn’t exactly jump to agree, the group of more than 50 Foreign Service retirees, spouses, AFSAstaff andAFSAGoverningBoardoffi- cialswhomade the trip to theHill onMay 6 found a perceptible concern about diplomacy and foreign assistance. “Foreign aid is viewed differently now than before 9/11,” is the way Rep. Charles Bass, R-N.H., put it to theAFSAdelegation fromNewHampshire. “The State budget should be well treated,” Bass said, adding that the prospects for funding were improved by the issues of the day but not by the government’s fiscal situation. This year, AFSA also foundmore per- sonal responsiveness fromlegislators. Rep. FrankWolf, R-Va., warmlywelcomed the AFSAdelegation toCapitolHill in a room securedbyRep. TomDavis,R-Va. “There’s a growing appreciation of the role of federal employees in the war on terror- ism,” Wolf, chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Com- merce, Justice, State and the Judiciary, said. Despite severe budget constraints and extraordinary demands, funding for the State Department is expected to increase, with particular emphasis on security, he added. Davis, a leader in the RepublicanParty and chairman of the House Government ReformCommitteewith jurisdictionover Civil Service and retirement issues, request- ed more information on FS retiree con- cerns. Retirees from nine states and the District of Columbia participated inmeet- ings scheduledat 32 legislative offices. Two senators — Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., and John Sununu, R-N.H. —met personally withAFSAdelegations. Twomore—Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa—were called away from theirmeetings to the floor to vote on John Negroponte’s appointment as ambassador to Iraq. Three con- gressmen — Charles Bass, R-N.H., Jim Moran, D-Va., and Chris VanHollen, D- Md. — met personally with their AFSA constituents. Retirees met with the aides of 13 more senators and 12 congressmen representing California, New York, Washington, Ohio, Maryland, Iowa, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Besides thanking legislators for their sup- port in strengthening the State Department’s budget last year, and for responding to theneed toprotect “soft tar- gets” in particular, AFSA delegates urged positive action on the president’s FY05 international affairs funding request and passage of the State Department/foreign assistance authorization bill. The budget increases in thepast three years, theypoint- ed out, have been “catch-up.” AFSAdelegates alsoexpressed their con- cernover threats to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and began a processof educating lawmakerson theneed to eliminate the pay disparity currently affecting Foreign Servicemembers as they serve abroad. AFSA delegations received useful feedbackonFS concerns and issues, and made new contacts for follow-up by AFSA’s LegislativeAffairs department over the coming year. Timed tocoincidewith thevisit ofmany State Department retirees to Washington for Foreign Affairs Day, Day On the Hill has become one of AFSA’s highest-profile efforts to increase its visibility and secure congressional support for legislative ini- tiatives of greatest importance to the FS. Thanks to the work of AFSA’s Legislative DirectorKenNakamura, LegislativeAffairs Intern Melissa Fitzgerald and Executive Assistant Austin Tracy, this year’s exercise was a great success. ▫ DAY ON THE HILL AFSA Takes Retirees to the Hill BY SUSAN MAITRA Clockwise, from left: AFSA & retirees meet with Rep. Wolf; meeting with Sen. Sarbanes; getting ready to make the trip to Capitol Hill. MIKKELA THOMPSON MIKKELA THOMPSON MIKKELA THOMPSON MIKKELA THOMPSON