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Dear Board of Directors,

As I watched the NATO Summit unfold, I couldn’t help but wonder what USGLC’s former Texas Co-Chair, now U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchinson was thinking as President Trump began his tirade against NATO and Germany.

I do think that what took place is very damaging and encourage you to watch Shephard Smith’s take<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReUDJ6rEB6Q> – an unusual criticism of the President on FOX News. Other good articles are Nick Burns in the NYT<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/opinion/what-america-gets-out-of-nato.html>, and Admiral Jim Stavridis on the cover of TIME<http://time.com/5336615/democracy-will-prevail/>.

Some items to share:

1. ON CAPITOL HILL. As Congress (or at least the House) winds down its last few weeks of session before August, I am pleased with where support for the International Affairs Budget stands among Members of Congress – so far. A few updates:


* RESCISSIONS. For now, the conversation around rescissions has receded. And we aren’t going to rest on our laurels – but after the Senate voted down the original rescissions package (that included cuts to a few international affairs programs), the Administration seems to have backed off its push to rescind prior year funds. But we are watching this closely as we keep hearing rumors about our programs.

* FISCAL YEAR 2019. Because of all the work you have done over the past year, Congress has responded and we are already in a much stronger place than this moment last year when it comes to the Appropriations bills. Last year at this time, we were looking at significant cuts in the House and Senate. This year, the House SFOPS bill includes level funding and the Senate includes a slight increase. Still many months to go before the President signs the funding bill – but so far, we are in a much better spot.

* NATO. On the same day the President took the alliance and our allies to task, the Senate voted 97-2 on a resolution supporting NATO. Of course, the resolution is non-binding and has little to any “teeth” – but it nonetheless is a step forward allowing Senators something to hang their hat on when they see their constituents. Yet, as one reporter said, “without a bite, it means the White House won.”

2. SHAPING THE DEBATE. Given the complexities of the foreign policy environment, we want to avoid getting into debates that are not ours, but there are several hot topics that lend themselves to amplify our message – from the China trade war to Central America migration. Here are a few examples of our work that are paying off:


* CHINA COMPETITION. Just as Washington declared the official start of the trade war with China, I wrote an op-ed – “America Stands to Lose as China Places Bets on Developing World<http://thehill.com/opinion/international/395621-america-stands-to-lose-as-china-places-bets-on-developing-world>” ­– to help focus attention on China’s foreign aid efforts in the developing world and the need to increase our investments in development and diplomacy or be left behind. This op-ed really struck a chord, with more positive feedback than any other we have written. I received extensive notes from across the membership, including capturing the attention of a few 2020 hopefuls, one who even shared it on Twitter.


* CENTRAL AMERICA MIGRATION. Given the continued coverage of the heartbreaking images at the border, the USGLC is drawing attention to the importance of focusing on the root causes of migration by investing in effective foreign assistance in the Northern Triangle.
* We updated our fact sheet<http://www.usglc.org/faq-violence-migration-and-u-s-assistance-to-central-america/> and circulated it on Capitol Hill.
* Plus I have an op-ed that will land shortly on the same subject, and we have been a source for many press articles.
* Bloomberg’s editorial board published a piece that included a line on how “Those billions [on the wall] might be more effectively spent in addressing the factors that drive Central Americans to flee north in the first place.”
* An important fact: We spend 2% of our entire foreign assistance in Central America and Mexico. But if we get it right, it works: For every 10 additional murders in the Northern Triangle, 6 more children have sought safety in the U.S. Yet in neighborhoods where USAID operates in El Salvador and Honduras, homicide rates have plummeted by up to 78%.

* OPIOIDS CRISIS. The next issue we’ll be tackling very soon – and also with great sensitivity – is on the international dimensions of the opioids crisis and how our diplomatic tools are essential to this fight. We will have a fact sheet and an op-ed.


At the October board meeting, I look forward to discussing more about how we can use our platform to drive relevant content on the international issues of the day.

2. MAYORS AND GOVERNORS STEPPING UP. The USGLC has been working with Mayors across the country and have more than 100 current and former mayors on our State Advisory Councils.


* U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS. This year at our annual Summit, we honored three mayors for their work with us, including Columbia (SC) Mayor Steve Benjamin, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. At their 86th Annual Meeting, Los Angeles Mayor and potential 2020 hopeful Eric Garcetti led a remarkable resolution that certainly looks like it came right off our song sheet.
* Here are the key snippets: “The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) calls on the President and Congress, as an urgent priority, to invest in diplomacy by funding the U.S. Department of State and United States Agency for International Development to operate at full capacity” and “for the Administration to fill expeditiously the vacancies in all foreign policy leadership positions.” (You can find the whole resolution here<https://www.usmayors.org/the-conference/resolutions/?category=c9178&meeting=86th%20Annual%20Meeting>.)


* AND THE GOVERNORS. In a week and a half, we’re headed to New Mexico for the summer meeting of the National Governors Association. The USGLC was invited by the NGA to host a roundtable on how America’s governors can promote their international agenda.

* So far, we’re meeting with the governors of Utah, Tennessee, Arkansas, and South Dakota – and more are still to be confirmed. A big thank you to our Co-Chair Sarah Thorn who is joining along with General Castellaw and Governor Ridge.

4. SUMMIT RECAP. A special thank you to all of our board members (too many to name!) who joined at last month’s Summit – which came the same week as House and Senate appropriators passed their SFOPs bill in committee. It was one of our best Summit’s ever – watch the 2-minute Summit recap video<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpmYvx4K0dY>, it’s worth the click!

A few highlights:

* 500+ state leaders including several former governors and sitting mayors alongside 150+ veterans
* General Paul Selva, Vice Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff, joined USAID’s Mark Green on stage
* Secretary Madeleine Albright – our opening headliner
* Governors Chris Christie and Howard Dean on the 2018 mid-terms
* A special Impact Investing track focused on development finance – with a panel featuring Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and OPIC’s Ray Washburne
* Our Hill Day was kicked off by 2020 hopeful, Youngstown Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), and Senator Todd Young (R-IN)
* And we capped off Day 2 with 200+ meetings on Capitol Hill

I wanted to close with a powerful message from Andrew Tisch. He recently wrote a book called “Journeys, An American Story” that is a collection of 70 stories of individuals and how their families immigrated to America. Writers include Tim Scott, Corey Booker, and Elaine Chao (Secretary of Transportation and McConnell’s wife).

The book was launched on July 4th as Andrew participated in an annual naturalization ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. I’ve attached is his speech – it is a beautiful reminder of what makes America great. I hope you’ll read it – and trust you are as proud as I am to call Andrew a friend and colleague.

More soon,

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC