Benjamin Gilman: “long before the current emphasis on training for the foreign affairs community, George Shultz had a vision of a…”

“long before the current emphasis on training for the foreign affairs community, George Shultz had a vision of a world-class foreign affairs training center for those who staff our foreign affairs establishment. That vision eventually became the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia, which by this act, we name it after Secretary Shultz. With all due respect to the current occupant of that office, George Shultz is in my estimation the finest person I have had the honor of working with during his or her service as Secretary of State. He played an enormous role in the tremendous expansion of the scope of liberty in the world during the Reagan Administration, all while protecting our national security from real threats. At times, he suffered the slings and arrows of fierce partisan attack, as he advanced the sometimes unpopular policies of his Administration. He did so always with inspiring grace and intellectual honesty. If those who serve our Nation in foreign affairs were to model themselves after George Shultz, we would do well indeed. Let us help keep his spirit in their consciousness by naming the facility he planned after this visionary Secretary of State, our friend George Shultz. I urge all my colleagues to support this tribute to an outstanding American, Secretary of State, George P. Shultz.”