And we’re showing results. C

My first 15 months in this job have only strengthened my own conviction that these and other reforms are not just worthwhile; they’re essential to our national security and to delivering for the people we represent.

This week was the 100th time that I’ve had an opportunity to brief Congress, which is one of the ways I’ve worked to meet the commitment that I made in my confirmation before this committee to restore Congress’s role as a partner both in our foreign policymaking and in revitalizing the State Department.

Ensuring that we can deliver on the agenda will require sustained funding, some new authorities, and maybe most important of all, partnership from Congress. That’s why I’m grateful for the committee chairman and ranking member’s request to establish a formal dialogue on the State Department authorization, a request that we have delivered on and we’re going to look forward to working in detail as the authorization process moves forward.

If we want to deepen our capability in key areas like climate, like pandemic preparedness, like multilateral diplomacy; if we want to expand on Secretary Powell’s vision of a Foreign Service training float; and equip our workforce with the training, with the tools, with the technology that we need for today’s challenges – we need some additional resources, and those are set out in the budget.

If we want to be able to swiftly stand up new missions, deploy diplomats when and where they’re needed – and make those decisions based on risk management rather than on risk aversion – we need to reform the State Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act and the Accountability Review Board statute. That’s laid out in the budget as well.

If we want to rapidly scale up in response to crises like refugee surges and epidemics while also avoiding costly overhead, we need more flexible domestic hiring authorities.

This is not about advancing the goals of any one administration, any one party. It’s about refocusing our mission and purpose on the forces that really affect the lives of our fellow citizens – their livelihoods, their security – for decades to come.

I very much appreciate this opportunity to speak about why this matters, and look very much forward to continuing to make this committee, and Congress as a whole, a full partner in these efforts.

I’m looking forward to staying connected in the months to come. And I’d love to hear your thoughts – please share them by writing to me and my team at EmailTeam@State.gov.

Sincerely,

Secretary Antony J. Blinken