Administration
Lael Brainard, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
“Providing leadership to advance our values and our goals is more important than ever, particularly as the only alternative for developing countries in many cases for large infrastructure finance is to turn to donors who operate without the strict procurement, anti-corruption, and environmental standards that the United States has led in establishing at the MDBs. That’s why we are working hard – with your support – to retain and revitalize American support for the multilateral development banks. Our investments in the MDBs can fuel a new generation of economic opportunities for American firms and workers as developing economies grow and open their markets.”
– Lael Brainard, Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, in a speech at the Annual Meeting of the Bretton Woods Community, May 19, 2011
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
“I will hasten to say, we are painfully aware of today’s fiscal reality. And I know it is tempting for some to peel off the Civilian and Diplomatic elements of our strategy. They obviously make fewer headlines, people don’t know as much about them and it would be a terrible mistake. I’m not just saying that just for myself, but as our commanders on the ground will tell you, the three surges work hand in hand; you cannot cut or limit one and expect the other two to succeed. Ultimately, I believe we are saving money and much more importantly, lives by investing now. And let’s not forget an entire year of civilian assistance in Afghanistan costs Americans ten days of military operations.”
– Secretary Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State, in a hearing, June 23, 2011
“There should be no doubt about the results of our investments, despite the very difficult circumstances you all know so well. Economic growth is up, opium production is down. Under the Taliban only 900,000 boys were enrolled in school, by 2010, 7.1 million students enrolled, nearly 40% girls. Hundreds of thousands of farmers have been trained and equipped with seeds and new techniques, afghan women have used more than 100,000 microfinance loans, infant mortality is down 22%. […] What do these numbers tell us? First, despite the many challenges that remain, life is better for most Afghans. And the Karzai Government has many failings to be sure but More people in every research analysis we are privy to see progress in their streets, their schools, their fields, and we remain committed to fighting corruption and strengthening the rule of law in a very challenging environment.”
– Secretary Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State, in a hearing, June 23, 2011
“As I told Speaker Boehner, Chairman Rogers and many others, the 16 percent cut for State and USAID that passed the House last month would be devastating to our national security. It would force us to scale back dramatically on critical missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. As Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, and General Petraeus have all emphasized to you, we need a fully engaged and fully funded national security team—including State and USAID.”
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testimony before House Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations, March 10, 2011
“There is something in all of this for nearly everybody. If you think that America should be standing up for our national security, which I think is our primary priority, we’re going to be undermining that. If you think that we should be looking to open up markets and create jobs for Americans, we’re going to be undermining that. If you think that we have a humanitarian and moral mission in the world, we’re going to be walking away from that.”
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testimony in front of Senate Foreign Relations Committee in response to deep cuts to the International Affairs Budget in H.R. 1, March 2, 2011
“As Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, and General Petraeus have all emphasized to you, we need a fully engaged and fully funded national security team – including State and USAID.”
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testimony before House Foreign Affairs Committee, March 1, 2011
“The stakes are high, and [Libya] is an unfolding example of using the combined assets of smart power – diplomacy, development and defense – to protect American interests and advance our values. This integrated approach is not just how we respond to the crisis of the moment. It is the most effective, and most cost-effective, way to sustain and advance our security across the world. And it is only possible with a budget that supports all the tools in our national security arsenal.”
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testimony before House Foreign Affairs Committee, March 1, 2011
“Development was once the province of humanitarians, charities, and governments looking to gain allies in global struggles. Today it is a strategic, economic, and moral imperative – as central to advancing American interests and solving global problems as diplomacy and defense.”
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a speech at the Center for Global Development, January 6, 2010
“We must use what has been called ‘smart power’, the full range of tools at our disposal — diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural — picking the right tool, or combination of tools, for each situation.”
– Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, January 13, 2009
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
“My worry is that we’ll be penny wise and pound foolish, that we will have spent hundreds of billions – maybe a trillion dollars here, over 4,000 lives, 30,000 wounded. I feel like we’re on the 2-yard line and I’d hate to see us not get across the goal line. And it’s the State Department that’s going to take us across the goal line.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, interview with CBS News’ 60 Minutes, May 12, 2011
“I would say that for the entire time I’ve been in this job I have been an advocate for more money for the State Department. And actually this dates back to my days in CIA when we had case officers collecting information that a good – that any good political officer in the Foreign Service could get, but there weren’t enough.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, testimony in front of Senate Armed Services Committee, February 17, 2011
“And so it’s been a concern of mine all along. I would say that right now it’s a critically urgent concern, because if the State Department doesn’t get the money that they have requested for the transition in Iraq, we are really going to be in the soup.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, testimony in front of Senate Armed Services Committee, February 17, 2011
“… [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen] mentioned the need for State Department funding in his opening statement, but you would find, I think, extraordinary support across the entire Defense Department and for their budget, but more importantly, our real worry that all that we have gained is potentially at risk if we don’t have the kind of State Department presence and the State Department activities in Iraq.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, testimony in front of Senate Armed Services Committee, February 17, 2011
“You can argue about the war all day long, but the fact is, we’ve spent hundreds of billions of dollars on this war. We’re now in the endgame. We are leaving. We are making a transition to a civilian-dominated process of development, of helping build institutions and so on. But the Congress took a huge whack at the budget the State Department submitted for this process of transition. And – and it is – it is one of these cases where, having invested an enormous amount of money, we are now arguing about a tiny amount of money in terms of bringing this to a successful conclusion. And I will tell you it reminds me for all the world of the last scene in “Charlie Wilson’s War,” where, having forced the Soviets out of Afghanistan and having spent billions to do it, Charlie Wilson can’t get a million dollars for schools.”
– Former Secretary Of Defense Robert Gates, USGLC Annual Conference, September 28, 2010
“Development produces stability and contributes to better governance.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, USGLC Annual Conference, September 28, 2010
“…without development we will not be successful in either Iraq or Afghanistan. And so in the fights that we’re in, the civilian component is absolutely critical to success.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, USGLC Annual Conference, September 28, 2010
“Economic development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, USGLC Annual Conference, September 28, 2010
“[T]he work performed by diplomatic and development professionals helps build the foundation for more stable, democratic and prosperous societies. These are places where the potential for conflict can be minimized, if not completely avoided, by State and USAID programs – thereby lowering the likely need for deployment of U.S. military assets.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Letter to the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, April 21, 2010
“I never miss an opportunity to call for more funding for and emphasis on diplomacy and development….Whatever we do should reinforce the state department’s lead role in crafting and conducting U.S. foreign policy, to include foreign assistance, of which building security capacity is a key part. Proper coordination and concurrence procedures will ensure that urgent military capacity building requirements do not undermine America’s overarching foreign policy priorities.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Speech at Nixon Center, February 24, 2010
“The reality is the Department of State and the Agency for International Development were starved for resources for decades. Now, just – just let me give you an example. Working for me are 2 million men and women in uniform. Secretary Clinton has I think somewhere south of 7,000 foreign service officers. If you took all the foreign service officers in the world, they would barely crew one aircraft carrier. So, you know, just to keep things in perspective.”
– Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at a Discussion Panel with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, Washington, D.C., October 6, 2009
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner
“These organizations are vital for addressing the challenges of today and those that lie beyond the horizon. The World Bank and the regional development banks have demonstrated time and again that our investment provides unparalleled returns, stretching the impact of our dollars around the world. With domestic resources constrained, no other institutions so effectively leverage our limited resources and provide such a positive impact on the ground in service of our national and global interests.”
– Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, in a speech to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Development Committee Meeting, April 16, 2011
“In the face of these extraordinary global challenges and opportunities, we must advance U.S. interests by working through international institutions that multiply the impact of our investments. This year, Treasury’s budget contains requests that leverage our limited resources in service of our national and global interests.”
– Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, testimony before House Appropriations Subcommittee for State-Foreign Operations, March 9, 2011
“Our success and security at home depend on our ability to expand export opportunities for American companies and to create a more secure world. America needs the [multilateral development banks] to nurture the next group of emerging markets for our exports, to foster peace in countries facing conflict or on the brink of collapse, and to advance our shared values in the world.”
– Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, testimony before House Appropriations Subcommittee for State-Foreign Operations, March 9, 2011
“Our investments in institutions like the World Bank are among the most powerful and cost-effective ways we have to promote US interests — our economic interests and our security interests. And it’s worth emphasizing that if we cede influence in these institutions or if we deprive them of resources, we will cede influence to China and other countries on the global stage.”
– Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, testimony before Senate Foreign Relations Committee, March 3, 2011
“Our exports to developing countries over the last decade grew six times the rate of growth of our exports to the major economies. Growth for this country in the future is going to be overwhelmingly dependent on our ability to see faster income growth in the most populous parts of the world and to, of course, benefit from access to those markets.”
– Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, in remarks at the USGLC annual conference, September 9, 2010
Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides
“From countering extremism in Yemen to serving alongside our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to training Mexico’s police force to help secure our southern border, what we do is critical to our national security.”
– Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides, testimony before Senate Budget Committee, March 10, 2011
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
“National security is not just dependent on military power. It’s dependent on diplomatic power. It’s dependent on the State Department being able to provide foreign aid, being able to work with countries, being able to provide development money, being able to provide education money.”
– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, remarks at the 8th Annual Saban Forum in Washington, DC, December 2, 2011
“I believe security is dependent on a strong military, but it is also dependent on strong diplomacy.”
– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, remarks at the 8th Annual Saban Forum in Washington, DC, December 2, 2011
“[I]t isn’t just the defense cuts; it’s the cuts on the State Department budget that will impact as well on our ability to try to be able to promote our interests in the world.”
– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, remarks at the Woodrow Wilson Center, October 11, 2011
“[N]ational security is something that is dependent on a number of factors. It’s dependent on strong diplomacy. It’s dependent on our ability to reach out and try to help other countries. It’s dependent on our ability to try to do what we can to inspire development.”
– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, remarks at the Woodrow Wilson Center, October 11, 2011
“But the question you have to ask: Is it enough to maintain a military edge if you’re isolating yourself in the diplomatic arena? Real security can only be achieved by both a strong diplomatic effort as well as a strong effort to project your military strength.”
– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, interview with reporters, October 3, 2011
“It has to be a whole of government approach as we deal with these issues. Clearly, State Department plays a very important role in providing assistance to individuals to ensure that an area remains secure — AID, the education area. The Justice Department provides assistance. The area of agriculture also provides important assistance. You know, look, I know — I know the Department of Defense is our primary military weapon in terms of securing areas. But if we don’t follow it up with these other important assets, we will never be able to fully secure these countries.”
– Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, testimony in front of Senate Armed Services Committee, June 9, 2011
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
“In today’s world, America’s security is linked to the capacity of foreign states to govern justly and effectively. Our foreign assistance must help people get results. The resources we commit must empower developing countries to strengthen security, to consolidate democracy, to increase trade and investment, and to improve the lives of their people. America’s foreign assistance must promote responsible sovereignty, not permanent dependency.”
– Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, remarks on A New Direction for Foreign Assistance, January 19, 2006
USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah
“But now more than ever, it is critical that the American people understand that our assistance also delivers real benefits for the American people: it keeps our country safe, develops the markets of tomorrow and expresses our collective values.”
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, testimony before Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 13, 2011
“In the most volatile regions of Afghanistan, USAID works side-by-side with the military, playing a critical role in stabilizing districts, building responsive local governance, improving the lives of ordinary Afghans, and—ultimately—helping to pave the way for American troops to return home.”
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, testimony before House Appropriations Subcommittee for State-Foreign Operations, March 30, 2011
“Our assistance is not just a line in a budget; it is a reflection of who we are as a country.”
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, testimony before House Foreign Affairs Committee, March 16, 2011
“In the military they call us a high-value, low-density partner because we are of high value to the national security mission but there aren’t enough of us and we don’t have enough capability.”
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, in Foreign Policy’s “The Cable” blog, January 21, 2011
“We’ve embarked on this effort to transform how development is delivered because development is not and cannot be a sideshow. As the president and the secretaries of state, Treasury and defense have all made abundantly clear, development is as critical to our economic prospects and our national security as diplomacy and defense.”
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, in a speech for the Center for Global Development, January 19, 2011
“I’d highlight just a couple of things. One is the principle of making investments in a way that are evidence based, where we have real evaluations and real knowledge about what kind of impact are we having and what can we learn from successes and failures, will be something that I think you’ll see much more of across all aspects of U.S. foreign assistance.”
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, in “Conversations with America” with David Lane on the MDGs, September 16, 2010
“It’s important to do things in a more efficient and more effective way, which is why in Global Health we’re actually going through a tough but important process of bringing our programs together and investing in those things that we think are going to be most efficient at saving kids’ lives or saving women who are often suffering during childbirth. And those are the types of things that allow us to get much more outcomes for the money we’re putting in.”
– USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, in “Conversations with America” with David Lane on the MDGs, September 16, 2010
Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg
“Our military cannot protect our national interests alone. We’ve seen that in Iraq, we see that in Afghanistan. It has to be a balanced effort. And our contribution…is very small compared to what goes to Defense, but it has a huge multiplier effect and it has a huge positive impact on the well-being of the American people.”
– Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, testimony before House Foreign Affairs Committee, February 10, 2011
MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes
“President Obama’s new development policy is building on the best ideas of the Bush Administration and calling on U.S. development agencies to help build the next generation of emerging economies. By doing so, we are investing in a better future that offers opportunities to poor people in MCC partner countries and to American businesses and our own citizens.”
– Daniel Yohannes, CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation, testimony before Senate Foreign Relations Committee, April 13, 2011
“The MCC approach to development—with our focus on economic growth, sustainability, country ownership, transparency and accountability—has been embraced by Democrats and Republicans in Congress; Presidents Obama and Bush; Secretaries Clinton, Rice and Powell; and leading voices from the right and the left, from the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute to the Brookings Institution and the Center for American Progress.”
– Daniel Yohannes, CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation, testimony before House Appropriations Subcommittee for State-Foreign Operations, March 15, 2011
