EMAIL DETAILS

Dear Board of Directors,

Lots of news this past week, but wanted to share a few thoughts from our vantage point.

1. General Kelly’s Record on the 3Ds. Incoming White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly has a solid track record on development and diplomacy. Our profile is below but a few items to share:

* Some of you may recall that the USGLC hosted then-SOUTHCOM Commander General Kelly for a salon dinner in 2014. I was taken at how well versed he was about the importance of the 3D strategy and how fully supportive he was on the need for development and diplomacy.
* He was complimentary about his work with NGOs and made it clear that without a strong development operation, there was no way to stabilize the SOUTHCOM “area of responsibility.”
* While different in style, his message on our issues was very consistent with other four-stars we’ve hosted. He has publicly reiterated similar themes in his confirmation hearing, op-eds, and other statements.
* Privately, I’ve heard that he and General Mattis tried to minimize Bannon and Mulvaney’s original budget cuts to international programs.
* We have no idea if this support will translate into a counterbalance to the isolationist forces within the Administration, but at least we know his instincts are strong.

2. USGLC Pushes Out Economic Brief. In an effort to reinforce the link between the economy and investments in the International Affairs Budget, the USGLC is promoting our new Economic Brief<http://www.usglc.org/2017-econ-brief>.

* During our State Leaders’ Summit in June, the USGLC released this new report co-chaired by board members Chris Policinski, Andrew Tisch, Bill Lane, and John Murphy. Our state business leaders from around the country brought the brief to Capitol Hill and it was extremely well-received.
* This week Chris Policinski and Andrew Tisch sent the brief to our nationwide network, and we’re already getting fabulous feedback.
* Watch for a series of op-eds that will continue the economic case for development and diplomacy.

3. Senate Moves on Authorization. The Senate was busy with more than just health care this week, despite what the news coverage suggested. A few highlights:

* The SFRC approved a State Department Authorities bill this week, in keeping with Chairman Corker’s vow to get an annual bill done. Interestingly, an amendment to keep USAID separate from State was approved. But because of the desire to keep the bill as “clean” as possible to ensure Senate approval, Senators Corker and Cardin opposed the amendment. But, rest assured, it was only opposed for procedural reasons.
* The Senate will likely take up a big package of nominations next week. We’re working to get Mark Green in that package and expect to see a few others in our space as well, including possibly the nominee for NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and the nominee to lead OPIC, Ray Washburne.
* There were a number of new ambassador nominations this week – both career and political appointments – including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Haiti, Mauritania, the Netherlands, Vietnam, and the International Religious Freedom post. A nominee for USTDA could be any day now.

4. August Recess in the States. The USGLC has a very busy schedule of events planned with House and Senate members next month despite the shortened recess – and if you’re interested in joining us, please be in touch with Emily Benovitz (ebenovitz@usglc.org<mailto:ebenovitz@usglc.org>):

* Senator Tom Udall: Albuquerque, New Mexico – August 14
* Senator David Perdue: Atlanta, Georgia – August 25
* Senator Todd Young: Indianapolis, Indiana – August 28
* We also have scheduled more than a dozen in-district meetings from Texas to Washington to Arizona.

More to share later this week.

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC

________________________________

General John F. Kelly
White House Chief of Staff
Highlights from the General’s background on global development and diplomacy

During his nearly five decade career in military and public service, General John F. Kelly has been a strong advocate for development and global economic engagement to combat violence and increase security throughout Latin America, saying that it should be “viewed as an investment and not foreign aid.”

At the Atlantic Council in May 2017 – as Secretary of Homeland Security – General Kelly promoted development as a key tool for combating poverty and reducing illegal migration stating that, “You may ask why is a four-star Marine general… interested in economic development in three countries in the northern tier [of Central America]? The answer is because that’s a solution to a lot of things that plague them, that then cause them to leave their country and move north.”

In an opinion piece General Kelly co-authored with Secretary Tillerson in June 2017, the two leaders endorsed a new regional focus for the Trump administration on El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras arguing that “international support at this critical juncture could be the decisive factor in ensuring a turn-around” to stop the “poverty, ruthless gangs, and transnational crime.”

Throughout his distinguished military service, General Kelly was a strong proponent of U.S. global leadership and the importance of foreign assistance to prevent instability. As the Commander of U.S. Southern Command, he testified in 2016 before Congress on American efforts to curb drug trafficking south of the border: “Addressing the root causes of insecurity and instability is not just in the region’s interests, but ours as well.” At the time, he called on public officials to “never surrender” in their support for increasing “assistance to Central America, Colombia and other partners in the region.”

General Kelly has also praised America’s long-standing partnership with the Colombian government, stating that Plan Colombia “is nothing less than miraculous” and that “it taught us that U.S. interagency cooperation, coupled with a committed partner, can help bring a country back from the brink – and for a fraction of the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

General Kelly has led Marines in battle and held senior positions at the Pentagon. He commanded Marines in the Iraq War as the Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Marine Division and as the commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force as well as the Multi-National Force West in Iraq. He also served as the Senior Military Assistant to then-Secretaries of Defense Bob Gates and Leon Panetta. He was Commander of the U.S. Southern Command from 2012 to 2016.

In 2014, General Kelly participated in a USGLC event in Washington, D.C. to discuss America’s leadership in Latin America.

Additional Quotes

“The cost of investing now to address Central America’s challenges is modest compared with the costs of letting festering violence, poverty, and insecurity become full-blown crises.”

“The U.S. military plays an important role in addressing these and other challenges to our hemisphere’s security and stability. Despite significant resource constraints, U.S. Southern Command remains postured to contribute to a whole-of-government approach to advancing U.S. interests in the region.”

“But at the end of the day, really, to use an overused term, it’s really improving the security on the ground and investment. Not just more money to you know, investment monitored in the right way by the right organizations. The Inter-American Development Bank is a particularly good one in that part of the world. I am not suggesting we give them money. I am suggesting we rely on them to tell us how we invest that money.”

“If we improve… the situation of violence then my belief is investment would come, and if so there’d be economic opportunity there. The three countries in the northern tier – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – have banded together and developed their own approach called the… Alliance for Prosperity, that we helped them develop, and so they're putting their own money against it. And they really seek foreign investment, not money from the United States, but investment maybe from the United States.”

“When in SOUTHCOM and from my entire career, every discussion really began and ended with human rights and the discussion of human rights. I have a very good relationship up here in Washington and every country, every time I visited a country, I would make it a point to meet with the local human rights groups because you get a far different view of what is needed, what the real conditions are from the local human rights people.”