Daniel Akaka: “The second hearing featured Ms. Patricia McNerney, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International…”

“The second hearing featured Ms. Patricia McNerney, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, and Ms. Linda Taglialatela, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Human Resources. They gave greater insight into the controversial, and damaging, arms control and nonproliferation bureaucracy reorganization at the State Department in 2005 and the ongoing human capital changes the bureaus involved continue to face today. The State Department's use of short-term, Band-Aid fixes to cover a loss of qualified civil servants and a lack of commitment by senior leaders to address the Department's cultural tensions, primarily between regional and functional issues, troubled me since these problems affect both human capital and organizational capacity to confront the evolving threat of weapons of mass destruction. In 1961, when President John F. Kennedy entered office, the United States faced a perceived missile gap against its foe, the Soviet Union. The Kennedy administration, confronting the critical challenges of the day, advocated a new government 'agency of peace' which would work toward 'ultimate world disarmament.' This agency, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, ACDA, helped craft and implement the policy decisions that would reduce the nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons threat to Americans through multiple, lasting, and verifiable treaties.”