Subject: Trump at Davos, State of the Union preview
From: "Liz Schrayer, USGLC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2018 11:39:22 -0600

Hunter-

Did you watch President Trump's Davos speech? It was good to see
the refrain repeated that "America first does not mean America
alone" and that "America hopes for a future in which
everyone can prosper and every child can grow up free from violence,
poverty, and fear."

At the same time, it will be important to see if the speech translates
into any policy shifts on the international front. The first
opportunity could come as early as tonight with the president said to
be addressing 5 themes including trade and national security in his
first State of the Union address.

I remember 15 years ago when President George W. Bush announced the
launch of PEPFAR - the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief - during his 2003 State of the Union address to Congress,
a pivotal reminder of how bipartisan leadership from the White House
to Capitol Hill can change the course of history for the better.

Lots to read in this edition of the GLOBAL GAB including wise words
from the top U.S. commander in the Middle East and why the CDC will be
forced to pull out of more than three dozen countries.
 
More soon,
 
Liz
Liz Schrayer, USGLC

THE GLOBAL GAB
January 30, 2018

DAVOS DOWNLOAD. President Trump became the first U.S. president in
nearly two decades to descend upon the snowed-in Swiss village of
Davos for the World Economic Forum, joining heads of state, business
leaders, and change-makers from around the world. Fareed Zakaria gave
kudos to the president on his speech and reported it as
"extremely well received." Yet he noted the tension:
"While global economies look reasonably stable, global politics
are in turmoil... What will the world look like when China,
Russia, Turkey and India have much more weight in global
affairs?"

Here are 3 of the top moments from some of the leading voices at
Davos:

*  On global competition and development, Senator Bob Corker stated
there was no question "China has been stepping it up for
years... very aggressive." He added: "We are
lacking in that regard" and signaled that he hopes to take
some steps in the next couple weeks to counter their expansion,
noting "I'm really talking more about... the
development side of things."
 
*  UPS CEO David Abney made a powerful case for investing in women
and girls telling the Davos crowd that "empowering women
to participate equally in the global economy could add $28
trillion in GDP growth by 2025."
 
*  USAID Chief Mark Green launched the new Smart Communities
Coalition to empower refugees through energy and Internet
access. Led by USAID's Power Africa initiative and
MasterCard, the coalition brings together over 25 private sector
partners including World Vision, MercyCorps, and Microsoft.

STATE OF THE UNION PREVIEW. A pre-speech memo reveals that the
president will tackle 5 issues tonight: the jobs and the economy,
infrastructure, immigration, trade, and national security. On the
theme of trade, the president will lean on the "fair and
reciprocal trade" message that he delivered on his recent
speeches in Vietnam and Davos. And on national security, the president
will stress the themes of "rebuilding our military" and
"returning to a policy of peace through strength."

*  SMART FACT: At the height of Reagan's peace through
strength platform, we spent 3 times what we do now on foreign
assistance as a percentage of GDP.

SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN. After a budget impasse shut down the federal
government for nearly 3 days, Congress passed its fourth short-term
spending bill - extending current funding levels through to
February 8th. Yet lawmakers are increasingly concerned about what the
lack of a budget deal means for the entire national security
portfolio. What would another shutdown mean for America's
footprint around the world? Get the details here.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=XmnzpDnTNKj5VnWfIhO_YA

BUDGET DAY. It looks like it will be February 12th when White House
Budget Director Mick Mulvaney releases the Administration's
Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal - delayed by a week due to the
shutdown. With all the bipartisan pushback from Capitol Hill and the
Combatant Commanders, we'll be watching to see if - yet
again ¬- the Administration calls for deep and disproportionate
cuts to the State Department, USAID, and the rest of America's
development agencies. Stay tuned.

SAVE THE CHILDREN. Last week brought a terrible reminder of the risks
to aid workers with the horrific attack on one of Save the
Children's offices in Afghanistan - a tragedy shared by
far too many organizations in some of the most dangerous parts of the
world. See Save the Children's growing and inspiring message
online: "We remain strong for children -
#NotATarget."
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=HFP5V5mulDGTIUdTc4sSqw

AFRICA RISING. One of the most conservative elected officials, Senator
Jim Inhofe (R-OK), writes that the President can put "America
First" by engaging African nations as partners: "Trump has
the opportunity to chart a new course in Africa focused on achieving
mutual goals. 'America First' in Africa means building
constructive relationships to advance our economic and security goals.
China is already doing this; without action by Trump, we will fall
behind." Worth listening to a guy who has traveled to the
continent nearly 150 times.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=-O6oRaQ07vFejEhVEj1hiw

REBUILDING RAQQA. CENTCOM Commander General Joseph Votel joined
USAID's Mark Green on a visit to Raqqa, Syria to assess the
humanitarian needs after U.S.-backed forces drove out ISIS late last
year. Recognizing that 80 percent of the Syrian population needs
humanitarian assistance, General Votel told NPR, "it's about
taking care of people, but it's also about removing the conditions
that lead to things like insurgency and lead to instability,"
highlighting the importance of working with USAID to restore essential
services.

HEARD ON THE HILL. Three USGLC Advisory Council members testified
before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week - President
Reagan's Secretary of State, George Shultz; Bush 43's
Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage; and Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger - discussing the ongoing budget and personnel
issues:

*  Secretary Shultz thanked Congress for rejecting the proposed
cuts to the State Department and other civilian agencies, noting
"We need a strong [Department of State] and it is
particularly important to have a strong inflow of talent. They
aren't going to learn from the books, they need strong
field experience."
 
*  Deputy Secretary Armitage: "You can't have a whole
of government approach if you resource the State Department in
an insufficient way. If it wasn't for Congress, we'd
be down 30% at State."

DANGEROUS DRAWDOWN. Troubling news from the CDC: the agency will soon
be forced to scale back its work from 49 countries to just 10 when the
supplemental funds following the Ebola outbreak run out. Without new
resources, the U.S. will be forced to pull back its commitment to the
Global Health Security Agenda - limiting our ability to
strengthen weak health systems in fragile states and increasing the
risk of another pandemic.

SUFFERING IN SILENCE. CARE International just published its list of
the 10 humanitarian crises that went most underreported in 2017. Among
those are the emergencies in Eritrea and Burundi - where ongoing
conflict and drought has left millions displaced without adequate food
or water. Unless relief efforts are ramped up, the silent crises of
today could all too easily become headline news tomorrow.
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=51xuk8IVxmqwvTO5uVSotg

FROM CONDI TO REX. Secretary Tillerson sat down with his predecessor,
Condoleezza Rice, at Stanford University, where she pushed him on key
development issues noting: "There have been concerns about the
commitment to... foreign assistance and to having those tools that
American diplomats rely on to bring stability." In response,
Tillerson hailed PEPFAR as the "gold standard of success"
and praised the Millennium Challenge Corporation's
accountability model as "wildly successful," but also
noted that the president has asked if the rest of the world is doing
its fair share.

ON DEFENSE. Not to be confused with the National Security Strategy,
the Pentagon's recently-released National Defense Strategy laid
out its commitment to assisting the State Department, USAID, and other
agencies to "identify and build partnerships to address areas of
economic, technological, and informational vulnerabilities"
adding that "long-term strategic competition requires the
seamless integration of multiple elements of national power."

RETIREMENTS STACK UP. House Appropriations Chairman Rodney
Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) became the 9th GOP Committee Chairman to announce
his forthcoming retirement for the end of the 115th Congress. His news
comes on the heels of announcements from House Foreign Affairs
Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob
Corker (R-TN) - and puts leadership on yet another key committee
up for grabs in 2019.

*  Who is in the running to be the next House Appropriations chief?
Reps. Kay Granger (R-TX), Tom Cole (R-OK), and Robert Aderholt
(R-AL) - but if the House flips in the mid-term election,
expect Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY).

NEW PLAYERS. The Administration kicked off 2018 with a number of new
nominations for America's international affairs agencies and
programs. Jody Olson - a former volunteer with two decades of
service - was tapped to lead the Peace Corps. Sean Cairncross is
set to be the next CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
And Nadia Schadlow - lead author of the Administration's
National Security Strategy - replaces Dina Powell as the next
Deputy National Security Advisor.

GALLUP GOES GLOBAL. According to a recent Gallup poll, U.S. global
leadership took a nose dive this year in the eyes of the world -
dropping 18 points from last year and ceding the top spot of
"global leader" to Germany.
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Z9EW9zi87REpgf5Hds6apg

SMART READS. A few important pieces that you might have missed:

*  Bill Gates cautioned against an "America First"
agenda that ignores Africa in an interview with Bloomberg from
Davos, where he also announced his Foundation's new $83.6
million commitment to eradicate malaria in Central America.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Z5IdxDu7uQeyttyFWAXPyA

*  America's development finance institution has "great
support" from the president and the "full support of
the Administration" heading into the next budget cycle,
according to the President and CEO of the U.S. Overseas Private
Investment Corporation, Ray Washburne, in an interview with
Bloomberg.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Iwx1-RIgD1ecny-QXxzL7A

*  The State Department should move to immediately "fill
diplomatic posts", "cultivate young talent",
and "advocate for funding" in order to "keep
pace with a rapidly changing world" - from two
former Deputy Secretaries of State, Jack Lew and Tom Nides.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Mc619LJMKI_d9qsUyl_lBA

*  The little known, yet remarkable story of how

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=Y1zCArEgmyOxf1ok7tNQLA

an American Foreign Service officer foretold the attack on Pearl
Harbor eight months before it happened, from the President of
the World Food Prize Foundation, Kenneth Quinn.

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