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The Weekly GAB Friday, August 4, 2017
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition | www.usglc.org
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=hRMo_iasTASBwQ5kjEePAw

USGLC in the News

TIME
The Fight Against Famine Needs More Voices
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=-UKFPgzovkI_aNTHpfhmOg

Liz Schrayer, President & CEO, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition

If you were a teenager in the '80s, you remember "We Are
the World" - a song that became the fastest-selling
American pop single in history. It's hard to forget the iconic
images of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan,
Cyndi Lauper and Bruce Springsteen... wearing their big headphones
and singing together to raise awareness about a hunger crisis in
Africa... Sadly, the reality of today is that there is far too
much competing noise for a simple 45 record to break through about an
even more widespread famine...Thankfully, there are leaders and
lawmakers stepping up.

BROOKINGS
The Politics of Foreign Aid
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=yWjzysMqp_UGm0KA8oiohw

Liz Schrayer, President & CEO, U.S. Global Leadership Coalition

In 2011, as the annual budget resolution hit the Senate floor,
multiple amendments were offered to cut the foreign assistance
account. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky offered the most dangerous
amendment to cut billions from the International Affairs Budget. While
it was defeated, it still garnered 20 votes. In the intervening years,
Senator Paul offered similar amendments-but his final effort in
2015 was different. It was soundly defeated by a 96-4 vote. What
happened in between-and ultimately over the past two
decades-is part of an important storyline of the politics not
just of foreign assistance, but of America's global leadership.

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
World Needs American Leadership

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=JGA8uQrSG4KvpI0ZSaJ3ew

Jim Morris, Vice Chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and former
Executive Director of the United Nation's World Food Program
(2002-2007) and Jeff Cardwell, former Chair of the Republican Party of
Indiana

Despite living in a world of plenty, we are experiencing the worst
humanitarian crisis since World War II. Violence has forced more than
65 million people to flee their homes. And with famine threatening
four countries Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen 30 million
people are at risk of starvation. To put this in perspective, the
population of Indiana is a little over 6.6 million. The world needs
American leadership, compassion, and generosity now more than ever
before. As the former executive director of the United Nation's
World Food Program the world's largest humanitarian agency and
as the founder of the Indianapolis-based non-profit People Helping
People, we have seen the transformative impact of U.S. foreign
assistance across the globe.

Who's in the News

BROOKINGS

State Department and USAID Employee Survey Shows How to Redesign US
Foreign Aid

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=P7PTMZYkeK7lcEgNopCwjA

George Ingram, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's "Listening
Report," which surveyed the thoughts and opinions of State
Department and U.S. Agency for International Development employees,
should be foundational to any redesign discussions. What comes through
in the words of the career staff of the Department of State and USAID
is that they are, first, patriots who believe deeply in America and
are honored and proud to serve their country. The American people,
Congress, and the Trump administration should be grateful that we have
them at our service. Second, they have strong views on how their
agencies should function.

Development & Diplomacy

REUTERS
Senate Confirms New USAID Administrator Mark Green |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=3crL-eTny5AX3TZfBHQjXA

Lesley Wroughton

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed former congressman Mark Green as
President Donald Trump's choice to lead the U.S. Agency for
International Development at a time the administration is proposing
cuts in foreign aid and a reorganization of the agency. His term at
the main U.S. aid agency starts amid Trump administration plans for a
31 percent cut in the budget of USAID and the State Department, a
major refugee crisis spilling into Europe and the Middle East from
wars in Syria and Iraq, and famine and drought in parts of Africa that
have displaced tens of thousands of people.

THE WASHINGTON POST
Why Editing Out 'Democracy' Matters |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=m8SXcFxERQw67JtHVy4-hA

Jennifer Rubin

Republicans of all people should know that scrubbing words from an
administration's vocabulary (e.g., "Islamic
terrorism" or "Islamic fundamentalism") can be a
powerful signal to enemies and friends around the globe. Language is
the stock and trade of diplomats, so even small changes can carry
great weight. That's why my colleague Josh Rogin's scoop
on the State Department considering excising "democracy"
and "just" (as in a "just society") from its
mission and purpose statements matters so much. Former State
Department employees told Rogin that eliminating the changes are
"neither accidental nor inconsequential."

DEVEX
USAID Is Changing its Mission Statement |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=RLd69XIw6bj2uhWzXl_zyg

Michael Igoe

The U.S. Agency for International Development is changing its mission
statement. In an announcement to staff sent on Thursday and obtained
by Devex, Acting Administrator Wade Warren asked for feedback on draft
mission and vision statements USAID's leadership team has
already written. The effort is part of a broader redesign effort that
President Donald Trump's administration has initiated at the
State Department and USAID. The new mission statement is meant to
"guide and inform State and USAID at the start of a new
Administration," Warren wrote. It is the second rewrite of
USAID's mission and vision statements in less than four years.

REUTERS
U.S. Extends Food, Health Aid to Ethiopia, Kenya Amid Crisis |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=cn451EpfzvXXERER6rRKMQ

Lesley Wroughton and Susan Heavey

The Trump administration gave $169 million to feed people starving in
Ethiopia and Kenya, USAID said on Thursday, adding to earlier
assistance for those suffering from drought and conflict in four other
nations. USAID, the U.S. government's humanitarian relief agency, said
in a statement that it would provide $137 million in aid for Ethiopia
and nearly $33 million for Kenya. The latest wave of funding comes
after Trump pledged $639 million last month in urgent food assistance
for those in Somalia, South Sudan, Nigeria and Yemen.

POLITICO
Tillerson Spurns $80 Million to Counter ISIS, Russian Propaganda |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=GHWukoH0xbkisCE3pCtXHA

Nahal Toosi

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is resisting the pleas of State
Department officials to spend nearly $80 million allocated by Congress
for fighting terrorist propaganda and Russian disinformation. It is
highly unusual for a Cabinet secretary to turn down money for his
department. But more than five months into his tenure, Tillerson has
not issued a simple request for the money earmarked for the State
Department's Global Engagement Center, $60 million of which is
now parked at the Pentagon. Another $19.8 million sits untouched at
the State Department as Tillerson's aides reject calls from
career diplomats and members of Congress to put the money to work
against America's adversaries.

FOREIGN POLICY
How the Trump Administration Broke the State Department |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=9Ll88rg3f4hYa0TP_1Okqg

Robbie Gramer, Dan De Luce, and Colum Lynch

Veterans of the U.S. diplomatic corps say the expanding front office
is part of an unprecedented assault on the State Department: A hostile
White House is slashing its budget, the rank and file are cut off from
a detached leader, and morale has plunged to historic lows. They say
President Donald Trump and his administration dismiss, undermine, or
don't bother to understand the work they perform and that the
legacy of decades of American diplomacy is at risk. By failing to fill
numerous senior positions across the State Department, promulgating
often incoherent policies, and systematically shutting out career
foreign service officers from decision-making, the Trump
administration is undercutting U.S. diplomacy and jeopardizing
America's leadership role in the world, according to more than
three dozen current and former diplomats interviewed by FP.

REUTERS
Tillerson Tightens the Reins at State Department |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=-wl4jVoHOwP1eELpAS2LOw

Yeganeh Torbati

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last month tightened his control
over the State Department by taking back powers previously held by the
top career foreign service officer, an action critics said would delay
major decisions and marginalize career diplomats. The move retracted
broad decision-making authority granted to the agency's third-highest
ranking official, the undersecretary for political affairs, by former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Most of those powers will be
reserved instead for Tillerson and his deputy.

THE WASHINGTON POST
Tillerson Leaves the Community of Democracies in the Dark |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=uv9SB5lUrVZiyH2pRE7T2Q

Josh Rogin

The State Department is supposed to host a major international
conference next month, bringing leaders from more than 100 democracies
together in Washington. But as of now, nobody involved knows how or if
the conference will take place because for several months Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson hasn't signed off on the plans. For some
lawmakers and the pro-democracy community, the State
Department's handling of the issue is only the latest in a long
series of signs that the Trump administration is turning away from the
United States' role as champion of democracy and human rights
around the world.

DEVEX
The 'Ivanka Fund' Drops Ivanka |
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=MSCvuYJxgbRh7EKXJDBNKg

Molly Anders

Ivanka Trump...will have no official role in the so-called
"Ivanka Fund" for women entrepreneurs, World Bank
officials told Devex, despite earlier suggestions that she could. Ms.
Trump's role in the creation of the World
Bank-administered facility - officially known as the Women
Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, or We-Fi - has been
controversial. The bank has previously suggested she would be a
figurehead for the fund...there had been talk of a possible board
position...However, it would be unprecedented for a World Bank
financial intermediary fund such as We-Fi...to include a White House
official in a governance or fundraising role.

Politics & Foreign Policy

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Danger of Trump's Reliance on Military Might

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=wW1gFA-NeOmNrhnmqWL9cw

Jake Cusack, Sniper-Platoon Commander and Intelligence Officer, U.S.
Marine Corps, Iraq (2005 to 2008)

He [Trump] has suggested raising military spending by $54 billion, up
some 10%, and cutting such soft-sounding programs as "economic
support funds" and "development assistance." That
means slashing the budget of the State Department and the U.S. Agency
for International Development and related organizations by $17
billion, or about 32%. Such a shift in priorities may feel strong, and
with plenty of problems here at home, many Americans think that we
should not spend dollars abroad. But relying so completely on the
military is a formula for disengagement that will make the U.S. less
secure-and put at risk the lives of American soldiers forced to
deploy without our country's full array of resources behind
them.

THE WASHINGTON POST
Tillerson to North Korea: 'We Are Not Your Enemy' |

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=XJ6CIKepI31SH5mVHqaEIA

Carol Morello and Anne Gearan

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Tuesday for a dialogue with
North Korea and acknowledged that U.S. relations with Russia have
worsened during the Trump administration. During wide-ranging comments
at the State Department marking six months since his confirmation,
Tillerson told reporters that the United States does not aim to depose
the government in Pyongyang or use military force. Tillerson added
that the United States hopes that "at some point," North
Korea will understand and sit down for a dialogue.


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