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Dear Board of Directors,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. I wanted to share a few insights - some in the news, and a few items from behind the scenes. Lots happening, and a very serious discussion coming up for our Board retreat on February 1st and 2nd. Please make every effort to attend and RSVP to Emily at ebenovitz@usglc.org<mailto:ebenovitz@usglc.org>. Details below.

1. REX TILLERSON HEARING. While the primary focus was on global hotspots, and of course Russia, I was very pleased that the issues of foreign assistance, global development, and diplomacy were so prominent during the nearly 10 hour confirmation hearing. We worked very hard to ensure the right questions were asked, and even harder with some high-level people to ensure that Tillerson's responses were on target - and the effort paid off! Here are some highlights:

* Half of the Committee raised questions on our issues - which is no small feat given all the competing issues - thanks to Senators Corker, Cardin, Coons, Isakson, Gardner, Kaine, Booker, Markey, Flake, and Shaheen. Here is our tweet<https://twitter.com/USGLC/status/819329435287646209> thanking them - please retweet!
* And Tillerson is now on the record saying positive things on:
* USAID as a critical tool of foreign policy and programs as a "projection of American values"
* The Millennium Challenge Corporation and importance of country-ownership
* Sustainable and effective foreign assistance
* Ensuring strong resources for development and diplomacy programs
* Disaster relief and humanitarian assistance
* Global health programs, including PEPFAR, the Global Fund, and malaria
* Women's empowerment and health
* Initiatives like Power Africa and Feed the Future
* And combatting modern slavery - Chairman Corker's top development priority.

Under the leadership of two Board members - Chris Policinski of Land O'Lakes and Michelle Nunn of CARE - we placed an op-ed in The Hill<http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/313734-mattis-and-tillerson-have-a-chance-to-strengthen-us> yesterday morning to highlight the opportunity for General Mattis and Tillerson, if confirmed, to work together to strengthen civilian resources, similar to the partnership of Bob Gates and Condi Rice.

On Friday, after the Mattis testimony, we will put out a full update on both hearings, but here are just two examples of Tillerson's responses:

* Asked his views on programs like PEPFAR and Power Africa, Tillerson said: "I think all of those have proven to be extremely valuable programs, successful programs. We look for the successful programs to understand why they are successful, and how they can be replicated - either for other geographic areas, or addressing other issues we want to advance."
* Asked about defending the International Affairs Budget, Tillerson said: "To quote General Jim Mattis, I think he said that 'if the state department doesn't get the money it needs, then I have to get more ammunition.' I think clearly the recognition of the importance of ensuring the resources are available to advance our foreign policy and diplomacy goals are important and elevate to a level that even the nominee for the Secretary of Defense has recognized."

2. HAL ROGERS TO SFOPS. This week, the House Appropriations Committee announced that Kay Granger will be replaced as Chair of the State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee by none other than the USGLC's 2016 Tribute Dinner Honoree, Hal Rogers! How nice and as a reminder, his speech at our event in December couldn't have been better.

3. SENATE BUDGET VOTE-A-RAMA. The Senate GOP introduced and has now passed a budget resolution as "the vehicle" to repeal Obamacare. The International Affairs Budget is often vulnerable to cutting amendments (especially by Rand Paul) during these debates and yet, given all of our work over the past year, we avoided controversial amendments. This is good news, but we still have a tough road ahead and so Lindsay Plack, our GR Director, has already been up to the Hill meeting with our champions. More at the Board retreat and our upcoming coalition strategy meeting on January 25th.

4. TRUMP TRANSITION. Derek Gianino and our team continue to engage with the transition team to impact both policy and personnel. There is a new person leading the USAID Agency Review Team who served on USGLC's Pennsylvania Advisory Committee. We're working hour-by-hour to counter any efforts to either restructure or diminish USAID or other development agencies - and promote effective, strengthened civilian tools. We'll share more detailed information at the retreat and need your input and wisdom about moving forward.

5. THE BOARD RETREAT. A few quick updates:

* Our speaker schedule is still in the works, so please hold from 8:30am on Wednesday, February 1st through 10:30am on Thursday, February 2nd. We will fine-tune the exact times by COB next week, but hope you will make every effort to join us as we have much to discuss as we prepare for the new Administration and Congress.
* You will receive a pre-retreat packet of material via email no later than January 25th with all the Committee Reports. Please note the following will be included:
* Nominating Committee report with recommended Officers and Board of Directors slate for 2017-2018.
* Finance Committee report with recommended USGLC Budget for 2017.
* Development Committee report with proposed membership dues structure for 2018.
* Public Policy Committee report with proposed language for USGLC's position on the upcoming budget debates.
* Strategic Planning Committee report update.

Please do RSVP to Emily at ebenovitz@usglc.org<mailto:ebenovitz@usglc.org> if you haven't already.

All eyes are on Mattis today - and look for an update tomorrow with our analysis and readout from this week's confirmation hearings.

Best,

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGL