Monthly Archives: September 2009
Assistant Secretary, Political-Military Affairs Andrew J. Shapiro highlighted the importance of Smart Power at his first public speech as Assistant Secretary. Shapiro talked about the collaboration between the Department of State and the Department of Defense and how vital this is in addressing the world’s most serious challenges. He said Secretary Clinton is “institutionalizing smart [...]
Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider its final FY10 Appropriations bill – Defense Appropriations. Once approved, the full Senate will then turns its focus on passing the remaining 8 bills. The $48.7 billion FY10 State, Foreign Operations bill, the largest component of the International Affairs Budget, is not expected to be considered [...]
President Obama signed a Presidential Study Directive on Global Development Policy last week authorizing an across-the-board review of U.S. development efforts, which are currently carried out by more than sixty government agencies. This is another important step the Administration is taking to strengthen our civilian-led tools of foreign policy, and this review can help the [...]
Today, Congress returns after a month-long recess with a full agenda. With the healthcare debate looming large and the FY 2010 Appropriations bills waiting for Senate action, both chambers have a busy fall legislative season ahead. Although the House has passed all 12 FY10 Appropriations bills, including the International Affairs Budget, the Senate has only [...]
Congress returns from its month-long August recess today with a full agenda. Admits the pending health care debate, Congress must still complete all of the spending bills before the next fiscal year starts on October 1st. Prior to the August recess, the House passed all 12 Appropriations bills, while the Senate passed only four bills. [...]
While most freshmen members of Congress were getting bombarded at healthcare Townhall meetings, the USGLC used the August recess to thank first-time House voters for their support for the International Affairs Budget. This highly successful “Thank the Freshmen” campaign reached a record number of freshmen members who supported the FY10 State, Foreign Operations bill earlier [...]
Congress returns from its month-long August recess next week with a full agenda. Admits the pending health care debate, Congress must still complete all of the spending bills before the next fiscal year starts on October 1st. Prior to the August recess, the House passed all 12 Appropriations bills, while the Senate passed only four. [...]
If Beyonce stopped specializing in music videos and was forced to create her own production software, her choreography would suffer and people would stop watching her perform. Similarly, if Bill Gates stopped specializing in production software, and was forced to create his own music video in entirety, he would have to don a tight, flashy [...]
Chuck Hagel, former Senator and USGLC Advisory Council Member Washington Post, Thursday, September 3, 2009 The other night I watched the film “The Deer Hunter.” Afterward, I remembered why it took me so many years to be able to watch Vietnam movies. It all came tumbling back — the tragedy, the innocent victims, the waste. [...]
William Easterly Aid Watch Blog, September 1, 2009 One of the oldest ideas in economics is gains from specialization. Adam Smith talked about it 233 years ago. All of us are good at a small number of things and suck at most everything else. The economy as a whole produces more because we each specialize [...]
