Statements by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the International Affairs Budget

January 13, 2009 – Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

• “One of my first priorities is to make sure that the State Department and USAID have the resources they need, and I will be back to make the case to the committee for full funding of the president’s budget requests. But I will work just as hard to make sure we manage those resources prudently, efficiently and effectively.”

• “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.”

• “America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America. The best way to advance America’s interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions.”

• “Ensuring that our State Department is functioning at its best will be absolutely essential to America’s success. This is a top priority of mine, of my colleagues’ on the national security team, and of the President-elect’s. He believes strongly that we need to invest in our civilian capacity to conduct vigorous American diplomacy, provide the kind of foreign assistance I’ve mentioned, reach out to the world, and operate effectively alongside our military.”

• “Thankfully Secretary Gates is more concerned about having a unified, agile, and effective U.S. strategy than in spending precious time and energy on petty turf wars. As he has stated, ‘Our civilian institutions of diplomacy and development have been chronically undermanned and underfunded for far too long.’ That is a statement that I can only heartily say amen to.”

January 22, 2009 – Welcome Address at the Department of State

• “There are three legs to the stool of American foreign policy: defense, diplomacy, and development. And we are responsible for two of the three legs. And we will make clear, as we go forward, that diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of the United States.”

• “And I will do all that I can, working with you, to make it abundantly clear that robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-term tools for securing America’s future.”

• “President Obama set the tone with his inaugural address. And the work of the Obama-Biden Administration is committed to advancing America’s national security, furthering America’s interests, and respecting and exemplifying America’s values around the world.”

January 22, 2009 – President Obama’s and Vice President Biden’s State Department Visit

• “Today, we start the hard work to restore our standing and enable our country to meet the vexing new challenges of the 21st century, but also to seize the opportunities that await us. The President is committed to making diplomacy and development the partners in our foreign policy along with defense, and we must be smarter about how we exercise our power.”

• “Mr. President, by coming here to the State Department, and through your announcement today of these two positions, you are, through word and deed, sending a loud and clear signal that diplomacy is a top priority of your presidency, and that our nation is once again capable of demonstrating global leadership in pursuit of progress and peace. We are honored to have you join us on only the second day in office.”

• “We want to do our very best work in furtherance of your goals. You set a high standard in your Inaugural Address as to what we are aiming toward. And I pledge to you on behalf of the thousands and thousands of dedicated public servants who serve you, on behalf of diplomacy and development, that we will give you our very best efforts.”

January 23, 2009 – Welcome Address at the U.S. Agency for International Development

• “I believe in development, and I believe with all my heart that it truly is an equal partner, along with defense and diplomacy, in the furtherance of America’s national security.”

• “As we look toward the future, it is essential that the role of USAID and our other foreign assistance programs be strengthened and be adequately funded and be coordinated in a way that makes abundantly clear that the United States understands and supports development assistance.”

• “What I’m hoping to do as your Secretary of State is to work with USAID to provide the kind of leadership and support that will give you the tools you desperately need in order to fulfill the missions we are asking you to perform. We are asking you to do more and more with less, and my goal is to make sure we match the mission and the resources.”

February 2, 2009 – Swearing-in Ceremony at the Department of State

• “And we have, in the leadership of President Obama, someone who wants us to reach out to the world, to do so without illusions, understanding that the difficulties we face will not be wished away, but meeting them forthrightly and smartly, and that we want to seize the opportunities that exist as well.”

• “I talked in my confirmation hearings about smart power. Well, smart power relies on smart people, and we have an abundance of them in this building and at USAID…There are many ways that we can improve on what we do on a daily basis. And I want to work with my friends in Congress on behalf of our Administration to really look for those efficiencies and those changes that will make what we do more effective, more cost-effective, so that we can be out there around the world delivering America’s message, certainly doing all we must to protect and defend our security, but also advancing our interests and furthering our values.”

February 13, 2009 – Remarks at the Asia Society

• “The United States is committed to a new era of diplomacy and development in which we will use smart power to work with historic allies and emerging nations to find regional and global solutions to common global problems. As I’ve said before, America cannot solve the problems of the world alone, and the world cannot solve them without America.”

• “The global financial crisis requires every nation to look inward for solutions, but none of us can afford to become so introspective that we overlook the critical role that international partnerships must play in stabilizing the world’s economy and putting all of us back on the path to prosperity.”

• “Now, you may have heard me describe the portfolio of the State Department as including two of national security’s three Ds: defense, diplomacy, and development. Each is essential to advancing our interests and our security. Yet too often, development is regarded as peripheral to our larger foreign policy objectives. This will not be the case in the Obama Administration. We will energetically promote development around the world to expand opportunities that enable citizens, particularly on the margins, and particularly women and children, to fulfill their God-given potential, which we happen to believe will advance our shared security interests.”