The President’s decision to make his first visit to a cabinet agency at the State Department sends a clear signal that renewing America’s partnerships and engagement with the world is at the heart of our nation’s economic and health recovery and the wellbeing of every American family.

America’s investments in diplomacy and development will help our country “do big things,” as the President said today, especially as new variants of COVID-19 reach our shores. Everyone knows that our citizens are not safe as long as this virus is anywhere in the world. Clearly, U.S. diplomacy and American aid are indispensable ingredients for containing the deadly virus and countering its catastrophic impact on hunger and poverty around the world.