The Foreign Service Journal, October 2013

46 OCTOBER 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS On April 15, President Barack Obama signed into law S. 716, a bill modifying online finan- cial disclosure requirements under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. The law required public, online financial disclosure reporting by congressional staff (except members of Congress and congressional candidates) and executive branch officers and employ- ees, of certain financial disclosure statements and related forms. NOT JUST ANOTHER B I L L For AFSA, this was not just another bill, but a bill that had the potential to jeopar- dize the safety of members of the Foreign Service. In fact, we were one of the first orga- nizations to recognize that a bill prohibiting members of Congress and their employ- ees from using nonpublic information derived from their official positions for personal benefit, requiring federal employees to post their personal financial infor- mation online, could end up putting thousands of federal employees and their family members at risk. AFSA, along with a coalition of organizations representing federal employ- ees, focused on eliminating certain provisions from the STOCK Act, in particular, the provision requiring personal financial information from more than 28,000 federal employees to be posted pub- licly online. For months, AFSA worked diligently to highlight the fact that Foreign Service person- nel serving overseas already face the risk of being tar- geted. Posting their financial information on the Internet for all the world to see would constitute an even greater threat, including the possibil- ity of abduction for ransom. AFSA also worked with our coalition partners to pursue a legal challenge to the STOCK Act’s public posting require- ments on the basis that they violated federal employees’ right to privacy. THE VO I CE OF THE FORE I GN SERV I CE The victory demonstrates the strength of AFSA’s relationships with its coali- tion partners, our members and its advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. We succeeded thanks to the tenacity of our coalition leaders, the merit of our arguments and through our outreach efforts to mobilize AFSA members to write to their members of Congress by arming them with information provided through AFSAnet messages, press releases and a STOCK Act page created on our website. Those efforts helped secure temporary waivers of the provisions in September 2012 and March 2013, before passage of S. 716 finally fixed the problem. WHAT DOES THE V I CTORY MEAN FOR AFSA MEMBERS? First, it means that we should not underestimate what AFSA can accom- plish when we bring all our resources to bear. Second, it means that when given the freedom, our advocacy efforts make a difference. Third, that legislative suc- cess is within reach as long as we speak with a clear voice. Most importantly, that we acknowledge that our members are our greatest asset and that we continue to remind Congress of that fact every chance we get. H I STOR I C SUCCESS This achievement was a group effort that drew on the support of many people: most notably, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, former Under Secretary of State for Politi- cal Affairs Nicholas Burns and Ambassadors Thomas Pickering and Ryan Crocker, who all wrote to Congress on AFSA’s behalf. AFSA’s team was led by Susan R. Johnson, AFSA’s former president; Keith Curtis, former AFSA Foreign Commercial Service VP; and the association’s advocacy, communications and outreach departments. Together, our efforts serve as a model of what working collaboratively can accom- plish. SHARE YOUR V I EWS We invite you to send us an e-mail at murimi@afsa.org to let us know how you feel about our advocacy efforts. Send us your suggestions on what our legislative goals should be; what issues are most important to you; what would you like to hear about from us; and do you view AFSA’s efforts as effective? We are here for you. n AFSA on the Hill is a new regular column covering the association’s advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. AFSA ON THE HILL STOCK Act: AVictory for AFSA and Federal Employees BY DAVID N. MURIMI, LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT