The Foreign Service Journal, September 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER 2018 19 Taking Risks to Support the Nation If you don’t want to be in endless wars, if you want to have more tools than dropping bombs, it is essential we have a robust foreign assis- tance account. It is essential that our diplomats, under your command, serve safely. To the public, I often talk about the military because they deserve it. But I don’t talk enough about the State Department and the USAIDmembers who serve in very dangerous locations without the security footprint that we would like. But they take risks on behalf of this nation every day, and they are very much heroes. —Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), chairman of the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Sub- committee, from the Senate SFOPs Review of the FY2019 Budget Request for the Department of State on June 27. Funding Support for Diplomacy The committee unanimously reported the Fiscal Year 2019 State foreign operations bill—it’s hard to get a unanimous con- clusion that the sun rises in the east, but we did it. We rejected the cuts proposed by OMB, and our goal was to enable the United States to be the global leader that somany Americans have sacrificed for over these decades and generations. It means we have to lead by example. We have to stand up for our values and principles. We have to pay our fair share to support international organization and alliances. We have to protect our interests, support policies and programs that enhance our reputation and credibility. I will close with this, I think we have two choices. One is to cut the budget for the State Department and USAID by 25 percent, slash our contributions to the United Nations, withdraw from international agreements and treaties, embrace corrupt despots who trample the rights of their citizens, close our borders to people fleeing violence and war, bully our neighbors, ignore the fact that our strongest competitors are methodically expanding influence as we pull back. The other approach is to be a leader when we’re still the world’s only superpower— thanks to sacrifices of generations of Americans coming before us. That is the approach the subcommittee has taken. The lion’s share of the credit goes to the chairman because he com- mitted at the beginning, and we did it together, that we would try to be bipartisan and try to have a unanimous vote. And we did. —Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) from the Senate SFOPs Review of the FY2019 Budget Request for the Department of State on June 27 For the Record According to the non-partisan American Foreign Service Association, funding for core diplomatic capabilities has fallen by about 25 percent over the last decade and, during the same period of time, diplomatic spending by China has increased over 40 percent. Mr. Chairman, I would ask if we could include an article on the subject from the American Foreign Service Association in the record. Without objection. Thank you. —Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) at the Senate Foreign Rela- tions Committee “Nominations Hearing for Mr. Brian Bulatao and Dr. Denise Natali” on July 18, submitting Ambassador Barbara Stephenson’s July-August FSJ President’s Views column, “Getting Our Team on the Field, ” for the record. Serving in Baghdad I met with Ambassador [Douglas] Silliman and several Foreign Service officers at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Our diplomats abroad are our eyes and ears on the ground in some of the world’s most challenging places—and they often put their lives on the line as well. —Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), on her Facebook page. Heard on the Hill JOSH Mystery Illness Hits Embassy Staff in China Posts T he mysterious illness that resulted in a drawdown at U.S. Embassy Havana now seems to have spread to China. Sev- eral employees and family members were evacuated fromGuangzhou in June after complaining of similar symptoms. “We don’t know who is responsible, and we don’t know what is responsible for this,” Kenneth Merten, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, said at a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Commit- tee hearing on July 11. A total of 26 Americans have been sickened in Cuba since 2016, according to