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March 4, 2015

Dear USGLC Board of Directors,

I am about to land in Addis Ababa for the USGLC's second overseas education trip, and I wanted to share a few items with you, along with the minutes from the last Board meeting.

1. Africa Trips. Our guests this time include senior advisors to Governors Christie, Bush, Walker and Jindal. General Chuck Wald and Coca-Cola's Matt Echols are accompanying the group as our security and business experts. Our trip in November had advisors to Senators Paul, Rubio and Cruz, as well as to Senator Ayotte and Governors Haley and Martinez - three potential VP candidates. Few items:

* We will return to Ethiopia and Tanzania, where we will showcase how our international programs advance America's security and economic interests.
* Thank you to Board member Mark Green, our sendoff dinner guest speaker.
* In April, I'll be in Kenya and Ethiopia with members of Congress. The target audience for this Co-Del, led by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), will be veterans in Congress. We will be joined by former NSAC Co-Chair and retired General Mike Hagee, among others.


2. Governor Rick Perry. Confidentially, last week we held a very small dinner with Rick Perry while he was in town for CPAC. With less than a week's notice, we were able to put together a high-level group, largely from our military community. With the advice of one of our consultants, we added a few faith and business leaders, constituent groups that would resonate with the Governor - along with some of our top activists from NH and SC, key primary states. Few takeaways:

* While I would be very surprised if Governor Perry emerged as a top-tier candidate, it was important to engage him on our issues as he remains on the national scene, especially since he embraced a "zero-based" budgeting approach to foreign aid in 2012.
* Our leaders, especially the Generals and veterans, were very persuasive on why investments in global development and diplomacy matter to our security.
* The Governor seemed better prepared as a candidate, was squarely in the international camp, and while he didn't commit on foreign assistance, he nodded throughout the discussion as we outlined our main points.
* We have established a strong relationship with Governor Perry's team, and while we won't know until the debates, I would be surprised if he took the same harsh positions on foreign assistance again.


3. Budget Roll-out. Since our January retreat, the USGLC has been busy on Capitol Hill with the budget. We followed the strategy developed at the Board meeting to reset the dialogue. Few thoughts:

* Our big push was to convey to that the request was not a 15% increase as was reported, but a mere 2.4% increase - hardly enough to address the myriad global crises and threats.
* The strategy worked, with no backlash that the increase was too large.
* Our Freshman Lobby Day two weeks ago involved more than 60 Hill meetings. First-term member and former Ambassador Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) did an excellent job as our kickoff speaker.
* In March, we will hold our annual Military Lobby Day with a dozen Generals and Admirals.
* Next week we're hosting a Capitol Hill Budget Briefing for staffers with the Congressional Caucus on Effective Foreign Assistance.
* Secretary Kerry testified on the budget before four Committees last week and Acting USAID Administrator Al Lenhardt will do the same later this month.
* Budget committees will mark up their resolutions in two weeks, with floor votes expected in both chambers by Easter.
* In addition to the Budget issues, Senators Corker and Coons introduced the Food for Peace Reform Act (S. 525), which goes further than a similar bill introduced in the House in 2013.


4. USGLC in the Field. We continue our work around the country, expanding into several new states, and hosting meetings with members of Congress over the past few weeks. Here are some highlights:

* Wisconsin: Partnered with the Milwaukee Business Forum featuring Ex-Im Chairman Fred Hochberg and Representative Gwen Moore.
* Illinois: Boeing served as our host for a high-level business and national security-focused breakfast in Chicago featuring Lt. Gen. Dan Christman.
* Florida: Hosted an in-district meeting in Jacksonville with Representative Ander Crenshaw and Rear Admiral Gerry Mauer.
* Georgia: Launched our effort in Savannah at an event featuring General Richard Hawley.
* Outreach trips to IA, IN, ND and TX have also taken place this month.

Lastly, I thought you would like to see President Obama's interview on VOX<http://www.vox.com/a/barack-obama-interview-vox-conversation/obama-interview-video> with a strong defense of foreign assistance. Not bad!

I conclude with this thought - the isolationist views of last year have waned, largely due to the instability and chaos throughout the world. However, the partisan sniping has come knocking on foreign policy's door and we have to be very vigilant to keep it away from our issue. Last month's snafu by State Department's Marie Harf on why investing in job creation is key to stopping ISIL, while part of the strategy, was mishandled and unleashed an ugly debate about soft power vs. hard power.

We are preparing testimony for our NSAC Chair Admiral Jim Stavridis for March 26 before the Senate State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee, where he will join Bill Gates and others to advocate for the International Affairs Budget. Stay tuned.

Best regards,

Liz

Liz Schrayer
President & CEO, USGLC
liz@schrayer.com<mailto:liz@schrayer.com>