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Dear USGLC Board of Directors,

With another Presidential debate tomorrow night, I wanted to give you a behind-the-scenes update on our 2016 outreach - along with a few other items.

1. Trump, Christie, and more. Last week we launched our Impact 2016 website with profiles of all of the candidates with great feedback. If you haven't taken a look, I encourage you to check out the site<http://www.impact2016.org/candidates/>.

* A few of us recently met with Donald Trump's National Chair, Sam Clovis. He explained that since he wasn't named "Trump", he wasn't in the "inner circle" - but that all policy memos go through him and that he will ensure our message is included in the policy briefs. An interesting aspect to the meeting was that Clovis spent 25 years in the Air Force and seemed particularly persuaded by the two veterans who attended the meeting. He was a bit defensive about Trump's foreign assistance quotes and responded that more policy briefs will be released. He reiterated that the campaign's message will continue to evolve, particularly after the primary and that we will have an opportunity for input. We'll see!
* Last week, Mark Green and I briefed Governor Christie during a lengthy conference call. His top policy director had traveled with us to Africa and the Governor, who is very interested and supportive on our issues, wanted to be better educated on foreign assistance and democracy. He shared that while he doesn't hear a lot about our issues on the campaign trail, when it does get raised, it often gets asked in a negative light (other than on HIV/AIDS). He welcomed thoughts about messaging and it was a very productive discussion.
* We are continuing to engage Ben Carson's team about his Africa trip, though they say they don't have time for a site visit; talking to Carly Fiorina's team about a speech on her women's global health work; and even discussing a foreign policy speech with Rand Paul's campaign.

[http://www.usglc.org/downloads/2015/10/phoenix-flake.jpg]2. USGLC Arizona event with Senator Jeff Flake. We held our fifth and very successful statewide event with Senator Flake before a packed crowd of 400+ business, NGO, veteran, and community leaders, and included an address by Congressman Trent Franks.

* Former head of AFRICOM, General "Kip" Ward, and MCC CEO Dana Hyde joined the dynamic discussion that generated strong press and included a reach of 600,000 users on our event hashtag.

3. Speaker Paul Ryan and our issue. With Paul Ryan ascending to the Speakership on Thursday, I wanted to share some insights into his views on our issues:

* The good news is that Ryan is clearly an internationalist, having said: "We can't withdraw from the world. We have to stay engaged with economic ties, political ties, cultural ties - anything that aligns our interests and promotes our common worldview."
* However as Budget Chair, International Affairs programs did not fare well - steep cuts to overall funding and many controversial policy shifts were the norm. This wasn't surprising given Ryan's primary focus on cutting spending.
* As Ryan transitioned out of this Budget role, several of us met with him and noticed a shift in his tone as he discussed his "war on poverty" initiative. We expressed our hope that he incorporate international poverty reduction like his mentor, Jack Kemp.
* As Speaker, Ryan's job will be different than that of Budget Chair and while we can't count on him to save this account, we can expect a thoughtful international voice.

4. Tidbits from Capitol Hill

* The Two-Year Budget Deal being vetted on Capitol Hill today could mean opportunities and risks for international programs - best case scenario is an overall increase of $3-4 billion but Appropriators could shift more funding from base to OCO, which would be concerning. Watch for our Budget Update tomorrow.
* Earlier this month, Senators Graham and Leahy introduced legislation to provide $1 billion in humanitarian aid for the Syrian refugee crisis. Expect this aid to get folded into the final appropriations bill.
* Tonight, the House passed a reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank after GOP and Dems joined forces to approve a seldom-used "discharge petition." The Senate is expected to approve the reauthorization.
* Big thank you to Senators Rubio and Cardin and Representatives Poe and Connolly for reintroducing the Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act. We released a statement<http://www.usglc.org/2015/10/21/usglc-applauds-introduction-of-bipartisan-legislation-to-ensure-strong-and-effective-foreign-assistance/> of appreciation and encourage all Board members to do the same.

5. And some good and welfare...

* Congratulations to Sherrie Westin of Sesame Workshop who was honored at the Young Women's Leadership Network Empowerment breakfast.
* Congratulations to Bill Lane, after an extraordinary 40-year career at Caterpillar, will retire from the company at the end of December. Bill has consistently been named one of the top business lobbyists in D.C. and lucky for the USGLC, has promised not to disappear from our team!

Finally, I have attached the board minutes from our October meeting. If you have any questions or edits, please let me know.

Best,
Liz