Liz Schrayer serves as President & CEO of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), a broad based coalition of over 500 businesses and NGOs that advocates for strong U.S. global leadership through development and diplomacy. Under her leadership, the USGLC has grown to a nationwide network of advocates in all 50 states and boasts a bipartisan Advisory Council, chaired by General Colin Powell which includes every living former Secretary of State, and a National Security Advisory Council consisting of nearly 200 retired three and four-star generals and admirals. In addition to running the USGLC, Ms. Schrayer serves as President of Schrayer & Associates, Inc., a nationwide political consulting firm founded in 1994, which works on a wide range of domestic and international issues.
Ms. Schrayer currently serves on USAID’s Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACFVA), as well as several advisory boards and committees for the University of Michigan, including the Ford School of Public Policy. Prior to starting her own firm, Ms. Schrayer served as the national Political Director of AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) for more than a decade. She worked on Capitol Hill, founding the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and in state government. She has traveled across the country organizing citizen advocates in every state. Ms. Schrayer has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and resides in Maryland with her husband Jeff Schwaber, an attorney who helped launch the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.
“Washington is broken, nothing is getting done” is a mantra we hear often these days. Yet there is one issue that has continuously broken through in this Congress with bipartisan support: America’s foreign assistance programs. Five major pieces of bipartisan legislation on global development have been signed into law in less than two years—on food security, energy, rights for women and girls, water and sanitation, and aid transparency—all in an effort to advance America’s interests in the world.
With all eyes on New Hampshire today and the 2016 presidential horserace, it’s pretty easy to miss a relatively wonky, but actually important moment in Washington: the kickoff to the budget season with the Administration’s release of its proposal to Congress. The good news is that the two-year budget deal reached by Congress and the Administration last November spared international affairs programs from dangerous cuts from sequestration. Here are my 6 key takeaways on what the budget proposal means for America’s global leadership.
As we continue to see headlines from ISIS to Putin, our nation’s role in the world is a hot topic for the candidates with polls showing that national security and foreign policy are among the top issues for voters. I’m very pleased to see so many of the candidates from both sides of the aisle sharing their views on global development and diplomacy — and why it matters for America’s national interests.
Over the past year, I have had the privilege of leading three fact-finding trips to Africa with members of Congress, retired generals, policy advisors, and leaders from the private sector. Together, we saw firsthand the invaluable work and impact of America’s development and diplomacy efforts in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.
We’re headed in the right direction, but the budget may not be keeping pace with global threats.
America’s businesses and non-governmental organizations are partnering with the government and making an impact around the world.
Yesterday the Administration announced its Fiscal Year 2015 Budget proposal, launching this season’s spending battles. The Administration’s overall budget request is a solid statement of support for America’s global engagement.
On Tuesday the President will unveil the Administration’s FY15 budget and begin yet another round of negotiations with Congress on funding priorities.
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