The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

12 DECEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL sponsor the Foreign Service Civil Relief Act. This bill, which I plan to introduce in the next Congress, will allow Foreign Service officers with the State Depart- ment and USAID to terminate domestic residential leases without a fine when they are posted abroad. We already extend this benefit to active duty members of our military, and there is no reason why members of our For- eign Service should not have the same opportunities. America’s Promise One of the most transformative experiences of my life was the semester I spent studying in Kenya as a college junior. Away from the comforts of home, awash in new experiences, I learned a lot about myself and my country. That view from afar also gave me a Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) at the Bidi Bidi refugee camp in Uganda in 2017, during a tour with Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to get a firsthand look at the global food crisis threatening 20 million people in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. The world’s largest refugee camp, Bidi Bidi houses some 270,000 people who have fled from war-torn South Sudan. The senators sought to elevate attention to the humanitarian crisis and ensure that U.S. foreign assistance was effective and efficient. OFFICEOFU.S.SENATORCHRISCOONS (DE) new perspective on America, one that included its faults and failures, but also its principles and promise. It is that last piece—the promise of America—that I am excited to work toward in partner- ship with each of you. That promise and our founding ideals are what drive all of us serving the American people, whether on the Hill, at Foggy Bottom or out in the field. So please keep serving your coun- try, stay true to your oath to the U.S. Constitution, and let me know what more those of us on Capitol Hill can do to ensure America remains, as former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said, “the indispensable nation.” And when I travel abroad, please share your thoughts with me. I certainly promise to ask a lot of questions. n AFSA Online Marketplace afsa.org/afsa-marketplace Clements Worldwide www.clements.com AFSPA www.afspa.org Federal Employees Defense Services secure.fedsprotection.com Carrington Financial Planning www.carringtonfp.com Property Specialists, Inc. www.propertyspecialistsinc.com Per Diem Suites perdiemsuites.com Washington Management Services www.wmsdc.com WJD Management https://wjdpm.com Chambers Theory chamberstheory.com Greenway Funding Group www.dannylends.com When Contacting An Advertiser, Kindly Mention The Foreign Service Journal