Friend –

Last week, the USGLC released an important report in the midst of a polarized Washington, D.C. And lo and behold, we found significant policy agreement in our latest Report on Reports: A Roadmap for U.S. Global Leadership – a review of over 120 reports from think tank and policy organizations across the political spectrum, which we compile every four years.

A few things struck me during our fascinating launch event with President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and bipartisan state and local leaders. You can see a brief highlight reel here.

First, the report itself showcased immense agreement that strengthening diplomacy and development to address six major global challenges truly impacts American’s health, prosperity, and safety. And as you will see in this week’s GLOBAL GAB, the consensus points are clearly resonating across the country. Let me know what you think of the report – and which recommendations you think have the best chance of real progress.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is one small but critical item in the COVID-19 emergency response bill signed into law last week – vital resources for the international response, bringing the total U.S. global health and humanitarian response to just under $18 billion for the past year. As Dr. Tony Fauci has repeatedly said, as long as the virus is anywhere, no American will be safe. These resources will make a difference in our health and economic recovery, and the USGLC has been proud to work with bipartisan policymakers to ensure their support.

Stay safe,

Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC

THE GLOBAL GAB
March 17, 2021

>> Click here to get the full USGLC report

REPORT LAUNCH.  In one of his first public event appearances, President Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, joined the USGLC for our Report on Reports virtual launch event, and highlighted that utilizing diplomacy and development to address global challenges is “not just about doing good, but they’re about American doing well in all respects”  and that “we can turn what has been just an immense set of overlapping crises here into opportunities.”

• GLOBAL LOCAL CONNECTION. Right off the bat, Sullivan reinforced the Administration’s commitment to ensure that American families and communities would be at the center of their foreign policy and said, “We have to be operating in a cooperative fashion with the rest of the world to meet common challenges that affect people in their homes and their communities.”
  
  
• GLOBAL CHALLENGES. Sullivan discussed the urgency of “…providing food in the face of famine, providing health and medical care urgently in the face of massive refugee flows, [and] finding ways to educate children who have spent much of their lives displaced from the communities in which they were born,” but that the U.S. will only succeed if we are working closely with other countries and regions.
  
  
• BIPARTISAN MOMENTUM. Sullivan said momentum among Congress, the Administration, and the American people to make the right investments to meet growing global needs “is greater than I’ve seen in a long time,” explaining support for strengthening diplomacy and development is, “…bipartisan, it's shared by the Administration and the Congress and the NGO community.”

BIPARTISAN PRAISE. Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) both welcomed the release of Report on Reports, reiterating consensus for elevating U.S. global engagement across critical challenges.

• Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-NY): “American leadership, through international cooperation, will continue to make significant progress in finding solutions to our global challenges.”
  
  
• Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX): “It’s reassuring to see clear bipartisan consensus behind using America’s diplomatic might and foreign assistance dollars as critical tools to advance America’s leadership and foreign policy interests.”

MAIN STREET VOICES.  Featured at the Report on Reports launch were bipartisan state and local leaders from across the country – Mayor Steve Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina and USGLC Board Co-Chair; two-term Governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin; and USGLC Board members former Congressman Peter Roskam and Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE – who all agreed on the importance of bipartisan solutions for U.S. global leadership to American families.

• ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. With 95% of the world’s consumers living outside the U.S., Peter Roskam said, “We’ve got to up our game as a country from a competitiveness point of view,” which Oklahoma’s former Governor Mary Fallin called “pressing to American families.”
  
  
• COMMON GROUND. Mayor Benjamin pointed out that in South Carolina, “We have more European foreign direct investment per capita than any state in the country, which shows us that we're directly connected to others around the world,” and is why, “…if we focus on issues of common humanity important to people literally in on every continent…I think we'll find a whole lot more common ground that moves us all forward together.”
  
  
• WOMEN AND GIRLS. The Report on Reports rollout coincided with International Women’s Day and CARE’s Michelle Nunn said that in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, “…we need to both attend to the needs of women and girls and also to ensure that we're putting them at the leadership tables that will enable us to really navigate this crisis.”
  
  
• NATIONWIDE VIEWERSHIP. Nearly 11,000 tuned in to watch our live event across the virtual Main Stage and social media. Catch the full conversation here.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS. As it does every four years ahead of the presidential election, the USGLC team read reports across the political spectrum on America’s role in the world to find consensus.  This year’s edition – our largest review ever of more than 120 reports – found agreement for strengthening and elevating diplomacy and development tools to tackle global challenges affecting Americans’ health, safety, and security:

• FIGHTING THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC. In the midst of a global pandemic that will cost $28 trillion in lost output and has exacerbated famine, poverty and instability in fragile states – and as new variants of COVID-19 spread around the world – there is widespread consensus across the political spectrum for stronger pandemic preparedness, improving U.S. global health coordination, strengthening local health systems, and equitably distributing the vaccine.
  
  
• ADDRESSING GROWING GLOBAL ECONOMIC COMPETITION. Even prior to the economic downturn from the COVID-19 pandemic, there was widespread agreement on the challenge of growing global economic competition from countries like China. Reports across the political spectrum agreed on leveling the playing field for American businesses by:
  
  
• Maximizing the impact of the Development Finance Corporation (DFC);
• Bolstering diplomatic capacity to promote U.S. trade and investment;
• Renewing international efforts to counter China’s global economic influence; and
• Doubling down on Africa as a key economic opportunity.
  
  
• MITIGATING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. Not surprisingly, there was a wide range of views on the challenge of climate change. But as 2020 tied for the hottest year ever recorded and included climate-driven disasters from fires to floods to hurricanes, reports across the political spectrum agreed on the importance of investing to build resilience in the developing world hit hardest by the effects of a changing climate and engagement with China. 
  
  
• DEFENDING AGAINST RISING AUTHORITARIANISM. Freedom House recently reported 2020 marked the 15^th year of a global decline in freedom. At the same time, the January 6^th attack on the U.S. Capitol is a reminder that democracy is precious and fragile even here at home. Across the political spectrum, policy reports agreed on the importance of combating rising authoritarianism, including strengthening the tools to combat election interference and disinformation and coordinating with allies on challenges with China and Russia.
  
  
• RESPONDING TO GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN CRISES. The United Nations predicts a record 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2021 – a 40% increase over 2020 almost entirely attributable to the impact of COVID-19. Record poverty and famine, along with the challenges of protracted conflicts and extreme weather events caused by climate change, are increasing instability around the world. Widespread areas of agreement included:
  
  
  • Addressing root causes of conflict and instability;
  • Fostering greater local stakeholder engagement;
  • Strengthening interagency coordination on crisis response; and
  • Investing in better data on humanitarian and conflict prevention efforts.
    
    
• SHAPING GLOBAL ALLIANCES AND PARTNERSHIPS. According to a recent Pew Poll last month, the vast majority of Americans want the U.S. to play a leadership role in the world, with 78% saying the U.S. should play a "shared" leadership role with other countries. Our analysis found broad agreement for strengthening and influencing alliances and partnerships, leading with diplomacy in global crises, and bolstering diplomatic capacity and modernizing the Foreign Service.

CAPITOL FILES. The past few weeks were full of relevant hearings on Capitol Hill for future diplomats, with nomination hearings and policy formulation before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC):

• RESOURCES AND PRIORITIES. In his first congressional hearing since becoming Secretary of State, Tony Blinken told members of HFAC the State Department and USAID need to be “properly resourced” and welcomed Congressional support for additional funding to address eight foreign policy priorities – including stopping the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening global health security; building a more stable and inclusive global economy; and managing the U.S.-China relationship.
  
  
• SPOTLIGHT ON DEVELOPMENT. HFAC’s new Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact – chaired by Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and freshman Ranking Member Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) – held its first hearing last week with two of the nation’s most prominent development experts: former USAID Administrator under President Obama and President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Raj Shah, and former Deputy USAID Administrator under President Trump, Bonnie Glick.
  
  
  • MIND THE GAP: Shah emphasized the importance of U.S. leadership to bring global resources together in the fight against COVID-19 and explained, “I'm convinced that American leadership…will be the only way the world tackles the funding gap that exists, and the only way the world can come together to access the supplies, tools and the technology needed to beat COVID-19 across the planet.”
    
    
  • HISTORY OF BIPARTISANSHIP: Glick emphasized the long history of bipartisan support for U.S. investment in diplomacy and development – “Consistent bipartisan support for U.S. foreign assistance, regardless of the party in the White House or the majority party in the House or Senate, has been the hallmark of our foreign policy.” 

• On the other side of the Capitol, members of the SFRC heard two top State Department nominees – Wendy Sherman to be Deputy Secretary of State and Brian McKeon to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. To date, the Senate has confirmed two top positions at the State Department – Secretary Blinken and Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
  
  
• FOR THE PEOPLE. In her Senate testimony, Sherman emphasized her support for the Administration’s foreign policy vision “that puts diplomacy center stage, where we lead not just by the example of our power but the power of our example, and where our foreign policy benefits and serves the American people.”
  
  
• INVESTING IN DIPLOMACY. McKeon highlighted his commitment to working with Congress and described his first priority as helping “the Department of State build back better to meet the diplomatic and security challenges of the 21^st century,” as well as the importance of investing in America’s diplomats and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT DAY. Mayor Nan Whalen of the City of Dayton proclaimed March 10 as #GlobalEngagementDay in honor of the city’s global partnerships and impact, citing the 35,000 international students across the state and more than 30,000 jobs across the city supported by exports. Check out the mayoral proclamation here.

FINAL THOUGHT. While vaccine shipments from COVAX – a global vaccine sharing program designed to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines – are starting to arrive around the world, Dr. Tony Fauci reiterated on Meet the Press that “a global pandemic requires a global response.” He also warned of the potential for a third wave of infections as parts of Europe have returned to lockdown with spikes in cases amid new variants of the virus.

• COST OF VACCINE NATIONALISM. Last year, Congress approved $4 billion for Gavi, the vaccine alliance, in support of global vaccine shipments. But far more is needed – at the current pace of production and distribution, some poorer countries may not be able to fully vaccinate their populations until 2023. Failing to deliver vaccines equitably around the world could cost the global economy as much as $9 trillion, according to the International Chamber of Commerce.