Christopher Shays: “I rise in support of H.R. 1950, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005. In particularly…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1950, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005. In particularly, I would like to comment on Section 273: Staffing at Diplomatic Missions. As Chairman of the Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, I have held several hearings on rightsizing the U.S. presence overseas. Rightsizing the U.S. presence overseas is the process of putting the right people with the right skills in the right places. It is first and foremost about keeping U.S. personnel safe, but it is also about successfully manning the diplomatic front in the war against terrorism. Under-skilled personnel running visa lines in sensitive countries, personnel handling communications without necessary language skills, or a lack of staff to handle workloads hurt diplomatic readiness and a key part of the war on terrorism: our nation's relationships with its allies. Moreover, rightsizing involves every government agency with a presence overseas, not simply the Department of State.”