The Foreign Service Journal, September 2016

16 SEPTEMBER 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Though seldom the object of travel advisories itself, the United States fre- quently issues travel warnings on other countries to its citizens. In July alone, the Department of State issued warnings for Bangladesh, Venezuela, Iraq and Mali. —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor Opening a Window on Foreign Aid O n July 15 President Barack Obama signed the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 into law. The new law requires government agencies to closely monitor and evaluate all foreign aid programs based on their outcomes. The legislation also requires data to be publicly shared down to the award level, improving transparency and allowing the public a window into what’s working and what’s not. This is to be done through the foreignassistance.gov portal (see the September 2015 Site of the Month ). The stated purpose of the law is to: “(1) evaluate the performance of covered U.S. foreign assistance and its contribution to the policies, strategies, projects, program goals and priorities undertaken by the government; (2) support and promote innovative programs to improve effective- ness; and (3) coordinate the monitor- ing and evaluation processes of federal departments and agencies that adminis- ter covered U.S. foreign assistance.” Guidelines for evaluation are to be cre- ated by the president within 18 months, and the State Department is required to update foreignassistance.gov to make “comprehensive, timely and comparable information on covered U.S. foreign assis- tance” public. There are some caveats, however: If the administrators of a particular program can prove that making a certain piece of information public would jeopardize the security of Americans, or negatively affect U.S. interests, they may not be required to make it public. —Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Assistant Securing Our Secrets Act Introduced O n July 13 Senators Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), James Risch (R-Idaho) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) introduced the Securing Our Secrets Act in the Senate. The act appears to be a response to the controversy surrounding Hillary Clin- ton’s use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State. The bill would require State Depart- ment officials to use only government- managed platforms for work activity— unless their private alternative receives a national security waiver. The legislation would also create information security training programs and allow for random scans of depart- ment emails to check for improperly transmitted classified information. It would also require a report of any viola- tions to Congress every year. The Federal Bureau of Investigation determined that Mrs. Clinton would not face charges relating to possible mishan- dling of classified data. However, State has reopened its internal review into any mishandling of information. It is not clear how long the investigation will take. FSJ Editorial: Senior Seminar Grads in the Rose Garden I t was a hot, muggy afternoon Thursday, June 9. The Rose Garden was nearly filled with Senior Seminar graduates, their families, some well-wishers and a few Presi- dential aides. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s message was pointed yet sweeping. … He said: “The … special ties between the President and the Foreign Service should always be close. …The Foreign Service, like the Office of the President, belongs to no one department. It serves the whole of government.” We agree fully that our relation- ship with the President must be extraordinary if we are to do well the jobs facing us in the area of foreign affairs. Moreover, we fully endorse the concept that ours is the Foreign Service of the United States (and not merely of any one organiza- tion or agency). The President looked to us for answers to the questions of what we can do now “which will enlarge the prospects of life” for all peoples a generation and more from now. He urged us neither to grow impatient nor to be overawed by the tasks ahead—reminding us that politics or diplomacy is not magic and recalling that 13 years witnessed the interval between our Declaration of Inde- pendence and our first President’s Inauguration. We applaud the President’s remarks and join with him in con- gratulating the graduates of the Senior Seminar in Foreign Policy. —From the September 1966 Foreign Service Journal 50 Years Ago