Authorize State Department Programs so We Can Truly Lead With Diplomacy
By Laura Kennedy & Robert Gelbard - December 6, 2022
Year
after year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the focal
point of legislative calendars. The bill, which grants authorities for a
wide array of projects for the Defense Department, has been passed 62
years in a row and allows legislators to invest money in their
districts’ military installations, update our hard-power capabilities,
and project our military might in the name of great-power competition.
Foggy
Bottom does not enjoy the luxury of regular congressional authorization
and prioritization that the Pentagon receives. Instead, the State
Department and our diplomats languish amid irregular authorization and
near-flat funding year after year — it’s no wonder some on Capitol Hill
lost sight of the role of American diplomats in ensuring our national
security. This disparity in congressional action between the Department
of Defense and the Department of State comes at a very real cost to our
national security.
Before last year, Congress had not authorized
State Department programs in nearly 20 years — compare that to the
NDAA’s 62-year run. This period saw a rapidly evolving geopolitical
landscape: U.S. troops invaded and withdrew from Iraq and Afghanistan,
China rose to become a global superpower, COVID-19 upended daily life,
and democracies retreated around the world. Through all this change,
Foggy Bottom operated under the same authorities granted to it when
Saddam Hussein was still in power in Iraq, the euro had just begun
circulation, and Netflix was still a mail-order DVD service.
When
two decades pass between authorizations, the State Department is not
able to nimbly adapt to the shifting geopolitical terrain. The execution
of our foreign policy suffers as a result. The lack of annual
prioritization of State Department authorization should be seen for what
it is: a national security weakness that calls for immediate
congressional action.
Thankfully, Congress stepped up to pass a
State Department authorization bill last year. While this made important
progress in modernizing the State Department and reorienting our
primary foreign policymaking body, many key provisions the State
Department had asked for were left on the cutting room floor.
This
was an important first step. But if we wait another 20 years — or even
another two years — to pass another State Department authorization bill,
we will be undermining American diplomacy at one of the worst possible
moments. Congress can reassume its important role in foreign policy by
focusing on the fundamentals: annually granting the necessary
authorities to the State Department.
Last month, over 100 of our
colleagues signed onto a letter that asked leadership in both chambers
to swiftly pass the State Department authorization language that was
included in the Senate version of the NDAA. This effort was spearheaded
by not just senior former diplomats, but also many former military
leaders and other national security officials. They, like us, appreciate
the importance of a strong and nimble State Department that is poised
to swiftly and effectively confront international challenges. Diplomats
and warfighters agree: Leading with diplomacy is the most prudent
approach to foreign policy.
While last year’s authorization bill
was a crucial first step in reasserting Congress’s foreign policy role,
the State Department Authorization Act of 2022 is perhaps even more
important to the long-term efficacy of the State Department. By passing a
State Department authorization bill this year, and in the years that
follow, we can build the muscle memory that turns State authorization
into something that is annually prioritized by Congress — and, in turn,
ensure that diplomacy once again is our foreign policy tool of first
resort.
Amb. (Ret.) Laura Kennedy is a foreign affairs expert
who served for nearly 40 years with the U.S. Foreign Service. Follow her
on Twitter @AmbKennedy_ret.
A career diplomat, Amb.
(ret.) Robert S. Gelbard entered the Foreign Service in 1967 after
serving in Bolivia as a member of the Peace Corps. His career in the
State Department spans more than four decades. He is now a senior
adviser at Kreab, a global communications consulting firm.