The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2014

62 JULY-AUGUST 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSA ON THE HILL Who Said It’s All About Congress? BY JAVIER CUEBAS, DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY People sometimes make the assumption that congression- al leaders and their staff will disregard state legislatures and city councils when strategizing about public policy. The truth is quite the opposite. Because members of Congress are elected officials, many of them pay very close attention to local elected officials and commu- nity activists when making decisions. As former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill used to say, “All politics is local.”What does that mean for Foreign Service employees and their families? Many of the issues that affect FS employees and their families are directly related to local laws and their interpretation. When it comes to local taxes, residency, driver’s licenses or plate registration, for example, our members often find themselves in a predica- ment. How many of you know or have heard of colleagues who received a bill for taxes they did not owe from a jurisdiction where they are not domiciled? And what about choosing a domicile? I’m sure you’ve all got some stories to tell on that subject. The most common com- plaint is about equity: Why is it that FS employees do not enjoy the same guarantees and rights as their brothers and sisters in uniform? How can this be fixed? More often than not, these challenges are based on a lack of information about the reality of the Foreign Service profession by federal, state and local officials. Aware of that reality and commit- ted to effecting positive change through a proactive approach to public policy, the AFSA Advocacy Depart- ment is working with several AFSA members to help them advocate for themselves, and in some cases we can help them get regulations changed. Two quick examples come fromWisconsin and Virginia. In Wisconsin we are working with one of our members to promote changes to the state law that deals with driver’s licenses, to ensure that FS employees on orders receive the same treatment as military personnel. And in Vir- ginia, the General Assembly recently passed House Joint Resolution 406 commending AFSA on its 90th anniversary. Both of these initiatives are aimed at educating elected officials about your reality, the Foreign Service career and life. No matter how worthy the cause, people are unlikely to support it if they do not know you or your circumstances. So the first step to address the challenges that affect FS employees is to tell your stories to elected officials at every level, to remind them that your job has a positive impact on their communities and that you and your family are part of those same communities. These state and local initiatives are part of AFSA’s efforts to tell your story while promoting partnerships with locally elected and appointed officials. At the end of the day, it is not always about Congress. Feel free to share your story and any challenges you or your family may be facing. Send an email to advocacy@ afsa.org. We are here to help. Remember that you are our greatest asset, and elected officials know it! —Javier S. Cuebas, Director of Advocacy Foreign Service Park Cleanup The Congressional Black Associates, the American Foreign Service Association and a local Washington, D.C., flag football group, Routelife, teamed up on Saturday, May 31, to clean up the Foreign Service Park opposite AFSA headquarters in downtown Washington. The group of vol- unteers spent the morning picking up trash and restoring the park before congregating at AFSA for networking and refreshments. —David Murimi, AFSA Senior Legislative Assistant and Andrew Keyes, Legislative Correspondent, Office of Representative Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) CAMERONTRIMBLE