Friend –
It was truly an electric night as USGLC paid tribute to some of the all-stars of American global leadership – President and Mrs. Bush, Samantha Power, Mitch McConnell, and Patrick Leahy – at our 2022 Tribute Celebration in Washington last week.
I wanted to share a brief recap of the very special evening as our “strange bedfellows” coalition joined together on World AIDS Day with more than 750 leaders from across the business, NGO, and military communities alongside leaders from Capitol Hill and the Administration. The celebration was truly one for the books as Johnson & Johnson and Jhpiego co-chaired our tributes to the evening’s honorees.
Check out the fun 3-minute highlights reel from the night!
Lots more to share down below with quick reads and links to the must-watch interviews:
- President Bush Returns to Washington
- The McConnell Doctrine
- Samantha Power – The Road Warrior
- Leahy’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Always welcome your thoughts – including on what was a hilarious, yet powerful, interview with President Bush. Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season.
Best,
Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC
Highlights from USGLC’s 2022 Tribute Celebration
PRESIDENT BUSH RETURNS TO WASHINGTON. The USGLC presented President Bush and Mrs. Bush with USGLC’s “Global Leadership Award” for their long-standing vision and leadership in launching PEPFAR, America's signature global HIV/AIDS program, 20 years ago.
- The fun 22-minute conversation with President Bush is truly a must-watch interview as he discusses his legacy and saving 25 million lives from HIV/AIDS. The president covers everything from his Elvis impression to his advice – “Don’t paint your wife!” – to even cursing about isolationism in American politics.
- On PEPFAR: “It takes a lot to get me back to Washington… I'm here to say as loud and clear as I can: Congress must fund PEPFAR.”
- On isolationism: “On 9/11, we learned that the human condition elsewhere can jeopardize the security of the United States – and therefore the isolationist tendencies have got huge national security implications at home.”
- On Ukraine: “If the United States turns her back on Zelensky, the whole world will – and we got to hang in there. And I applaud the Biden administration for doing so.”
- Watch the full Bush interview here 📺
THE MCCONNELL DOCTRINE. Paying tribute to the longtime champion of U.S. global leadership – having served for decades on the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee – Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) offered a forceful, Republican case for why he believes “courage and compassion” must be the animating principles of American leadership in the world.
- The 14-minute speech was one of McConnell’s most comprehensive in recent years on his view of America’s role in the world – and why our nation’s investments in foreign assistance alongside the military is in America’s direct national interests.
- On continuing support for Ukraine: “This passes every cold, hard, realistic calculation with flying colors. It’s the right move for American taxpayers, for American servicemembers, for our allies and partners.”
- On investing in U.S. foreign assistance: “History has proven over and over again that America does well when America does good. Here’s a shining example of it, 11 of our top 15 trading partners were once recipients of U.S. foreign assistance.”
- Channeling General Mattis: “I like the way Jim Mattis put it: If Congress doesn’t want to fund smart diplomacy and foreign aid, we’d better get ready to spend the same money buying a whole lot more bullets later.”
SAMANTHA POWER – THE ROAD WARRIOR. Closing out the tribute night, the USGLC honored USAID Administrator Samantha Power who has traveled to more than 24 countries since taking on the job as USAID chief. In interviewing Administrator Power, Rockefeller Foundation President Raj Shah recognized the importance of her being the first USAID Administrator to have a permanent seat on the principals committee of the National Security Council.
- On America doing big things: “I hope I can say… this in polite company, we’re kick ass! … We do big things, right? We vaccinate the world. We bring solar… so that off grid communities can get access to energy... I mean, we’re America, we can do these things.”
- On responding to the global challenges: “We have managed to move resources to meet this moment and to have America leading in every single sector that matters at a time of unprecedented convergent crises, and we’ve done so with bipartisan support.”
- On the USGLC Tribute Award: “It’s all about the team. It’s all about USAID. This is an honor for this agency.”
- Watch the interview with Administrator Power here 📺
THE CHAIRMAN. Marking his enduring career as an unparalleled champion for America’s global leadership, the USGLC paid tribute to Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) with the coalition’s “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the U.S. Capitol ahead of the Tribute Celebration.
