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Dear Hunter,

Like many in Washington, I watched with great interest several of the confirmation hearings for President-elect Trump's cabinet, particularly Rex Tillerson's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

As expected, the discussion was dominated by global hotspots and his views on Russia - yet I was very pleased with the significant time and attention Senators took to raise the importance of global development, diplomacy, and overall foreign assistance. More than half the committee raised these issues!

You'll see our GLOBAL GAB email in the next day or so, but wanted to share this insider analysis with you with our top takeaways on what was said at the Tillerson hearing on America's international affairs programs.

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC

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INSIDER ANALYSIS: Rex Tillerson Confirmation Hearing
January 13, 2017

In a 10 hour marathon hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State-nominee Rex Tillerson found himself largely responding to questions dominated by geopolitical issues such as U.S.-Russia relations, the Middle East, and the Iran nuclear deal.

However, a good portion of time was dedicated to the importance of U.S. development and diplomacy programs with more than half of the committee members questioning the nominee on the value of these programs. Chairman Bob Corker also opened the hearing by discussing the power of the 1% of the federal budget we spend on international affairs programs and the return on investment Americans get from the successful execution of development and diplomacy programs saying "the world's at its best when American leads."

Here are seven key takeaways on what was said on development and diplomacy during Tillerson's confirmation hearing:

1. Putting Politics Aside: Support for global development remains strong and bipartisan.
Despite all the competing pressures of global hotspots, half of the committee members - Republicans and Democrats - used some of their time to question the nominee on how he will work to maintain and strengthen development and diplomacy programs, showcasing their interest and commitment to these issues. Senators Corker, Cardin, Coons, Isakson, Gardner, Kaine, Booker, Markey, Flake, and Shaheen raised issues from the importance of fully funding the International Affairs Budget, to global health and women's empowerment, and the success of programs like PEPFAR, Feed the Future, and Power Africa.

2. Tillerson called for renewal, reassertion of U.S. global leadership.
There were no signs of isolationism or pulling back from Tillerson. Instead his testimony centered on a core message that "to achieve the stability that is foundational to peace and security in the 21st century, American leadership must not only be renewed, it must be asserted." He consistently highlighted our nation's values and our "moral clarity", making the case for American diplomacy and our indispensable role in the world based on our unique history as "the only global super power with the means and the moral compass capable of shaping the world for good."

3. Tillerson endorsed foreign assistance as central to advancing our interests overseas.
Tillerson called development programs "powerful tools" that "project the best of American compassion." He praised the Millennium Challenge Corporation and highlighted USAID's important work on both humanitarian assistance and development programs saying that "there's a lot of opportunity through our USAID programs to strengthen the institutional capacities and set standards of expectation in the developing part of the world" and that foreign assistance programs should be designed to "advance America's values" and help countries on their "journey [to] better governance". He also agreed strongly with the importance and success of initiatives like Power Africa, Feed the Future, and the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).

4. Tillerson affirmed need for budget resources.
Tillerson underscored the "importance of ensuring the resources are available to advance our foreign policy and diplomacy goals." Responding to a question by Senator Coons, Tillerson even used a quote by General Mattis that "If you don't fund the State Department fully, then I need to buy more ammunition", noting that the issues of adequately resourcing the programs was so important that "even the nominee for the Secretary of Defense has recognized."

When pushed by Senators Paul, Barrasso, and Johnson on inefficiencies, "entrenched bureaucrats", the national debt, and hugely inaccurate corruption statistics, Tillerson noted that the State Department's objective is "America's interest and America's national security" and took pains to stress the importance of effectively delivering assistance and achieving results for the American taxpayer - never taking the bait on a cut for the International Affairs Budget.

5. Tillerson prioritized effective, accountable assistance programs.
Tillerson emphasized the need for foreign assistance programs to be effective to ensure a "better use of the taxpayers' dollars." He applauded the Millennium Challenge Corporation as "one of the most successful programs I've seen" because it requires countries to take ownership of the implementation. Similar to previous statements and proposals by Republicans, he did suggest that "to the extent we can" we should apply MCC principles to programs at USAID.

6. Global health achievements in the spotlight.
With his background at the ExxonMobil Foundation, it was clear from the outset that Tillerson understood the impact of U.S. global health programs. He spoke extensively about the importance of U.S. leadership in addressing global health challenges including Zika and Ebola. He called PEPFAR "one of the most extraordinarily successful programs in Africa" and talked about his personal experience with malaria eradication efforts.

7. Tillerson embraced economic interdependence as key to global engagement.
The nominee made a strong case for the importance of trade and economic ties to a successful U.S. foreign policy. He noted that "having strong economic alliances" provides "an enormous opportunity for us to know one another as people" and stressed that trade "allows us to project America's values" and bring "American standards of conduct, honest dealings, ethical behavior, a structure around honoring our deals."

Click here<https://www.c-span.org/video/?421335-1/secretary-state-nominee-rex-tillerson-testifies-confirmation-hearing> for the hearing webcast