Barbara Lee: “This amendment would reduce the salary of a career public servant to $1. Why? Because this individual is the acting…”

“This amendment would reduce the salary of a career public servant to $1. Why? Because this individual is the acting chief of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The mission of the office is to build and support a workforce at the State Department that reflects the people of our Nation. The State Department is an essential component of our national security. The gentlewoman said that no clear set of problems exist. Do you know what? The clear set of problems is systemic racism, discrimination, the lack of equal opportunity within our Foreign Service. That is all. Conducting diplomacy that serves the interests and honors the values of the American people requires a Department of State that reflects the rich diversity of our Nation. Otherwise, if it doesn't, then that is a very unfortunate and backward perspective, given the fact that discrimination is still alive in America. It is alive and well. Our diversity, once again, is our national strength. It is a comparative advantage that we have for our engagement and leadership in a diverse world. This individual has over 30 years of State Department experience. She should not be personally demonized and targeted for her work on behalf of our Nation. What she is doing is trying to ensure that we honor our pledge to live up to liberty and justice for all. It is going to take some intentional work of the State Department to correct hundreds of years of racism. Mr.…”