[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 453 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 453

Honoring the Employees of the Department of State and the United States 
     Agency for International Development, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 12, 2019

  Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
Udall, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Booker) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Honoring the Employees of the Department of State and the United States 
     Agency for International Development, and for other purposes.

Whereas more than 81,000 people serve as employees of the Department of State 
        and the United States Agency for International Development, including 
        locally employed staff, protecting and advancing national security, 
        freedom, democracy, development, and free markets, for the benefit of 
        the people of the United States and the international community;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development together represent the United States in 
        maintaining diplomatic relations in over 250 posts in 180 countries 
        around the world, including in many inhospitable and dangerous regions;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development promote American values and interests at home 
        and abroad through their work and actions, promoting the safety and 
        freedom of all Americans;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development are a central component of our defense against 
        international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass 
        destruction;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development work to preserve peace and freedom and promote 
        economic prosperity and mutual understanding around the world;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development daily work to reduce poverty, end hunger and 
        malnutrition, fight disease, combat international crime and illegal 
        drugs, and address environmental degradation;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development daily work to promote economic development, 
        commercial enterprises, economic prosperity, and United States job and 
        trade promotion;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development daily work to promote American ideals and 
        values, human rights, freedom, gender equality, and democracy;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development daily work to provide emergency and 
        humanitarian assistance aid to respond to crises around the globe;
Whereas there are almost 50,000 local employees at posts that aid and support 
        the work of the United States and the Department of State around the 
        world;
Whereas at least 250 United States citizen employees, as well as family members, 
        and many more locally employed staff, of the Department of State and the 
        United States Agency for International Development have made the 
        ultimate sacrifice on behalf of their Nation;
Whereas employees of the Department of State and the United States Agency for 
        International Development personify the virtues of patriotism, 
        sacrifice, service, and duty;
Whereas the families of employees of the Department of State and the United 
        States Agency for International Development make important and 
        significant sacrifices for the United States;
Whereas multiple career Foreign Service and civil service employees of the 
        Department of State upheld their oaths to defend the Constitution, 
        uphold the law, and provide testimony in response to lawful subpoenas 
        from congressional oversight hearings, risking their careers and 
        personal safety for service to their nation;
Whereas these courageous employees of the Department of State, individuals who 
        have served the Nation with distinction and represent our Nation's 
        finest, include Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, a distinguished career 
        public servant who dedicated 33 years of her life as a Foreign Service 
        Officer; Ambassador William Taylor, a diplomat who started his 50-year 
        public service as a West Point cadet and served in every Administration 
        since 1985; George Kent a career foreign service officer with multiple 
        postings throughout the Department since 1992; Jennifer Williams, a 13-
        year veteran of the Foreign Service who has served overseas in Beirut 
        and Jamaica, managed the United States Government's humanitarian 
        assistance program for Syrian refugees from 2011 to 2014, and, most 
        recently, has served as the Vice President's assistant on European and 
        Russian affairs since April 2019; Ambassador David Hale, who has served 
        around the world for more than three decades with the Department, 
        including as Ambassador to Pakistan, Lebanon and Jordan, and in his 
        current role as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; David 
        Holmes, who joined the foreign service in 2002 and was awarded the 
        William Rivkin award for Constructive Dissent in 2014; Peter Michael 
        McKinley, whose career in the foreign service spanned more than 35 years 
        and included service as ambassador to Peru, Colombia, Afghanistan, and 
        Brazil, and Senior Adviser to Secretary Mike Pompeo; Philip Reeker, a 
        27-year veteran of the foreign service, including as acting assistant 
        secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; Catherine M. 
        Croft, who has served as a special advisor for Ukraine in the State 
        Department and on the National Security Council staff; and Christopher 
        Anderson, a foreign service officer since 2005, who served at the United 
        States Embassy in Kyiv from 2014 to 2017 and as the special adviser for 
        Ukraine negotiations from August 2017 to July 2019; and
Whereas the Department of State has represented to Congress that ``no employee 
        has faced any adverse action by the Department for testimony before 
        Congress'' and committed that ``the Department will not discipline any 
        Department employee for appearing before Congress in response to a 
        subpoena'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the employees of the Department of State and the 
        United States Agency for International Development;
            (2) calls on the people of the United States to reflect on 
        the service and sacrifice of employees of the Department of 
        State and the United States Agency for International 
        Development, wherever they serve, past, present, and future;
            (3) thanks the local employees for their aid and support in 
        the mission of the Department of State and the United States 
        Agency for International Development;
            (4) expresses the deep appreciation of a grateful Nation to 
        the employees of the Department of State and the United States 
        Agency for International Development who each and every day 
        courageously and publicly stand up for their country and defend 
        the Constitution, including those who have provided testimony 
        to Congress in response to lawful subpoenas;
            (5) urges the Department to fully and faithfully implement 
        all its stated commitment to assist employees called to testify 
        before Congress with the cost of legal fees; and
            (6) calls on the Department to ensure that no personnel 
        will face any retaliatory action, adverse personnel action, or 
        other negative consequence for testifying or providing 
        requested information to Congress, and emphasizes that any 
        reprisal for testifying before Congress would be a violation of 
        law.
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