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Dear USGLC Board,
(Not for forwarding)

While the Cherry Blossoms are certainly a welcome site, the turmoil in the political and global arena are of great concern. I wanted to share a few items.

1. Concerning Budget Intel. While Congress is on recess, a few of us met with Senate Appropriations leadership, and I fear that our Senate 'safety-wall' could be in danger this year. We may be looking at a serious cut to base funding in both the House and the Senate, so we are launching a full mobilization over the next two weeks in hopes of influencing the all-important 302(b) funding-level allocations before they are released. Watch for our action alerts and an invitation to our "Rapid Response" conference call for you or your colleague.

2. USGLC Around the Country. Despite the ongoing unrest about trade and foreign policy that we are seeing in the exit polls, I am pleased to share that our crowds are strong. Some highlights:

* Indiana. Last week, Bill Lane and I went to Indianapolis for our inaugural kickoff where we originally planned a small roundtable discussion. Instead, over 150 Hoosiers joined us to hear Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN), who had participated in an Aspen Congressional trip last summer. We announced our new Advisory Committee, led by former Senator Richard Lugar and Representative Lee Hamilton, who penned a powerful op-ed in the IndyStar<http://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/2016/03/18/hamilton-lugar-us-must-stay-engaged-world/81964858/>, and the event garnered great press<http://www.wibc.com/news/local-news/brooks-building-roads-agriculture-overseas-key-component-terror-war>.
* Utah. Our team has held dozens of in-district meetings this quarter, including one big surprise with Senator Mike Lee - yes, the same one who authored and supported cutting amendments to foreign aid just a few years ago. Surrounded by highly influential leaders, the Senator concluded the meeting with a new-formed appreciation for aid saying, "I guess we can either send bullets or butter and butter is better. It doesn't kill people." I think Chris Policinski and the Land O'Lakes team should go meet with Lee. He clearly has shifted his views.
* Colorado. Two years ago, I brought a group of CO military leaders to visit with Rep. Lamborn, a conservative Congressman who has opposed our issues, and he refused to meet while we waiting in his foyer. After a great deal of work and a successful in-district meeting, Rep. Lamborn asked that we host a public event in his home district where he can pro-actively discuss the importance of development and diplomacy. That's a turn around. These in-district constituent efforts work!

3. Presidential Outreach Continues. Our effort continues, despite the difficulties, uncertainties, and very concerning rhetoric. Some updates:

* As you saw, Trump announced his foreign policy team. While they are far from the traditional advisors, we have some connections and are reaching out, including setting up a meeting with Trump's National Security Advisory Council Chair, Senator Jeff Sessions. In January, we started organizing in AL and our new State Chair, former Rep. Bonner is a close friend of the Senator.
* Through interlocutors, we have been in touch with several other key principals including his lawyer who is likely setting up his transition team; Ivanka Trump; and his top 3 staffers handling policy. While we are not naïve about their influence, this engagement is likely more than most.
* Here is some background on Trump's foreign policy team:
* Dr. Walid Phares - BAU International University Provost, terrorism academic
* George Papadopoulous - energy consultant, former Carson campaign advisor, London Center of International Law Practice
* Joe Schmitz - former Inspector General of the Department of Defense
* Carter Page - formerly a fellow at the CFR and longtime energy consultant
* Lt. General J. Keith Kellogg - executive vice president at CACI, former commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne division, served as COO of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq
* Lt. General Michael Flynn - former director of Defense Intelligence Agency, has spoken with Trump occasionally but claims he hasn't endorsed
* Stephen Miller - former top aide to Senator Jeff Sessions
* Major General Gary Harrell - former Delta Force commander at Special Operations
* Major General Bert Mizusawa - served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also served as Commander of the Combined Joint Interagency Task Force - Afghanistan
* Rear Admiral Charles Kubic - retired as Commander of naval construction division and engineering group during Operation Iraqi Freedom

4. Candidates & Our Issue. On substance, a few statements are worth noting since we last met:

* Nearly every presidential candidate was in Washington two weeks ago for AIPAC's Policy Conference. Despite some of the isolationist exit polling trends, all of them affirmed that the U.S. must play a vital role in defending our allies in the Middle East.
* Cruz. Cruz's top National Security advisor recently said the Senator would "blow up the foreign aid structure" and emphasize national security interests more strictly when it came to federal spending abroad. We immediately reached out to several key players in the campaign, including his chairman and chief policy staffer who assured us that this comment does not reflect Senator Cruz's views and that the Senator supports humanitarian programs like PEPFAR. We are engaged in continual dialogue and hope this will open up an opportunity to meet with this one challenging advisor.
* Trump. In his long NYT interview, Trump declared he is "not an isolationist" but has a philosophy of "America First". He questioned our leadership in NATO, calling it "obsolete" and qualified U.S. humanitarian intervention as depending on "the country, the region, how friendly they've been toward us." This language is in stark contrast to both Republican and Democratic administrations, which have supported humanitarian needs, regardless of the country's origin.
* Trump. In an interview with the Washington Post's editorial board, Trump contrasted the importance of "nation-building" overseas with needing to "rebuild our country" saying "I watched as we built schools in Iraq and they'd be blown up. We build another one, we get blown up. We rebuild it three times and yet we can't build a school in Brooklyn. We have no money for education because we can't build in our own country. At what point do you say, 'Hey, we have to take care of ourselves?"
* Kasich. Several of us had a productive conversation with the Governor's top foreign policy staffer. His foreign policy advisors include Tom Ridge, Jim Kolbe, and several longstanding friends.

While we continue to engage all candidates at the presidential level, we have turned our attention heavily towards educating House and Senate candidates as well given the uncertainty in the down ballot races.

We will discuss these and other challenges, as well as some unique opportunities at our upcoming Board of Directors meetings on May 24-25. We're planning an important array of outside guest speakers and discussions, so I hope you will make every effort to join us. If you have any questions, or to RSVP, contact Emily Benovitz at ebenovitz@usglc.org<mailto:ebenovitz@usglc.org>.

And last but not least, congratulations to Aaron Williams and RTI International who were just recognized by Forbes Magazine<http://www.rti.org/newsroom/news.cfm?obj=6A940093-FE01-D043-C084BEC16D17F3E9&ref=email> as one of the top 10 employers for midsize companies!

Best,
Liz

Liz Schrayer, USGL