The Foreign Service Journal, September 2020

16 SEPTEMBER 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and Black Ameri- cans cut sharply against my core values and convic- tions,” Taylor wrote in her resignation letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “I must follow the dictates of my con- science and resign as Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.” COVID-19 Challenges Continue for Foreign Service A s COVID-19 cases increased dra- matically in the United States in June and July, the Foreign Service sought to adjust to numerous challenges brought on by the pandemic. One of the foremost issues on Foreign Service families’ minds was whether their children would be able to attend school in person this fall, and how that would affect parents’ ability to work. In the Washington, D.C., area, for example, Arlington Public Schools Super- intendent Francisco Duran proposed a virtual-only start to the school year, with the goal of beginning in-school instruc- tion for some students in the Virginia district in October. The District of Columbia on July 30 announced an all-virtual start to the school year through at least Nov. 6. Overseas, many parents also faced difficult school choices, depending on the severity of the pandemic in their host countries. On the popular Facebook group Trailing Houses, some parents shared homeschooling resources to supplement virtual education. In the foreign affairs agencies, many members of the Foreign Service still did not know when they would be permitted to travel to their onward assignments, another factor in school attendance. Some FSOs who were allowed to travel to new posts found the experience bewil- dering. Some countries required new arrivals to quarantine for up to 14 days, forcing FSOs to perform the embassy check-in process virtually. And for some, the usual excitement of arriving at a new post was tempered by not being able to meet embassy colleagues in person or explore the city. Many who have been on global autho- rized departure were unsure when they would be allowed to return to their posts, or whether they should curtail. And many who have stayed at post wondered if it was safe to take a vacation and what to do with their accrued R&R leave. While COVID-19 cases dropped dramatically in some countries in Europe and Asia, other parts of the world—such as the Middle East and the Americas— became hotspots. More than 500 FSOs signed a July 27 letter to Under Secretary of Management Brian Bulatao, asking the State Depart- ment to delay its move to the second phase of its reopening plan. In Phase 2, up to 80 percent of staff members would return to the office. The letter asked the under secretary to “provide definitive guidance to all bureaus and overseas [m]issions direct- ing them to allow all telework-ready employees to continue to telework full- time, without retribution, until all local school districts have discontinued virtual options and public transportation is available and safe.” AFSA also sent a July 27 letter to Secre- tary of State Mike Pompeo about the issue, and in a July 29 statement to its members, said: “AFSA believes that the criteria set out by the department—data, conditions on the ground in specific locations, and employee safety—have not been met. … [F]ive of the seven indicators on the Diplo- macy Strong dashboard show clearly that the Washington metro area should not be moving to this next stage.” Packing the USAGM O n June 4, days after the FSJ reported on unprecedented White House attacks on the Voice of America, the Sen- ate confirmed documentary filmmaker Michael Pack as chief executive officer of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the U.S. Agency for Global Media. USAGM encompasses VOA, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Television and Radio Martí), Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. Pack’s June 2018 nomination was so controversial that it took more than a year to pass through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and still had not reached the Senate floor at the end of May 2020. But after heavy administration pres- sure, Pack was confirmed even though he remains under investigation by the District of Columbia attorney general for allegedly channeling money from a non- profit group he oversees to his for-profit film production company. Shortly after he was appointed, VOA Director Amanda Bennett and Deputy Director Sandy Sugawara, both civil servants, resigned on June 15. Two days later, on his first official day in office, Pack fired two more network heads: Bay Fang, president of Radio Free Asia, and Emilio Vazquez, acting director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Next, Libby Liu—a George H.W. Bush appointee and former head of RFA now directing a special program, the Open Technology Fund, aimed at developing digital tools to penetrate the so-called Mary Elizabeth Taylor STATEDEPARTMENT