Major Donors to Pakistan Flood Relief as of 23-August-2010

The following major commitments and contributions to the Pakistan Flood Relief are extracted from OCHA's Financial Tracking Service report on Total Humanitarian Assistance per Donor as of August 23, 2010. 

WaPo reported that the slow motion response to the appeal for assistance prompted criticisms of many of Pakistan's closest allies, including China and Saudi Arabia. S/RAP Richard Holbrooke is quoted in the WaPo piece: "I think the Chinese should step up to the plate," Holbrooke said. "They always say Pakistan is their closest ally." 


The United States top the list with total commitments/contributions/pledges of over $160 million, followed by Saudi Arabia whose commitment and pledges to the relief effort now total $105 million ($5m of this is in cash, with the rest in the form of relief goods according to The Guardian).  A few more rich Muslim countries have came forward with assistance but only Saudi Arabia has made it to the top major donors. 

Meanwhile, China, who this past week was reported to have overtaken Japan as the world's second largest economy, and is considered by Pakistanis as an "all weather friend unlike the USA" according to a retired Pakistani ambassador and army general managed to contribute some $9 million to the relief effort.

Top 10 Donors

Funding

% of Grand Total

Uncommitted Pledges USD

United States

102,062,529

20.8 %

60,000,000

Saudi Arabia	65,290,000	13.3 %	40,000,000
United Kingdom	64,764,977	13.2 %	43,250,328
European Commission	54,154,652	11.0 %	39,318,480
Australia	31,616,981	6.4 %	225,836
Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)	16,595,962	3.4 %	10,000,000
Norway	14,810,658	3.0 %	0
Japan	14,440,000	2.9 %	0
Private (individuals & organisations)	12,589,619	2.6 %	69,733,824
Germany	12,440,190	2.5 %	20,325,210
Other donors
Turkey	11,767,027	2.4 %	0
China	9,262,089	1.9 %	0
Kuwait	5,000,000	1.0 %	0
Oman	5,000,000	1.0%	0
Morocco	2,000,000	0.4 %	0

United Arab Emirates

1,519,482

0.3 %

5,000,000

Afghanistan	1,000,000	0.2 %	0
Indonesia	1,000,000	0.2 %	0
Malaysia	1,000,000	0.2 %	0
Qatar	400,000	0.1 %	0

See the full list of donors here:

http://fts.unocha.org/reports/daily/ocha_R24_E15913___1008211950.pdf

Related articles by Zemanta

• Canada steps up Pakistan relief efforts (cbc.ca)
• Breakdown of major Pakistan flood aid donations (reuters.com)
• Saudi Arabia in $100m floods pledge (guardian.co.uk)
• Ottawa to match individual donations to Pakistan flood relief (thestar.com)
• U.N. secures more Pakistan flood relief funds (reuters.com)

Quick Summary on US Embassy | Yemen

From the State Department’s January 5 Daily Press Brief:

There remains an ongoing threat to U.S. Embassy in Yemen; one aspect of the threat was dealt with  * U.S. has been providing security assistance to Yemen for quite a while * U.S. needs to see a more consistent effort by the Government of Yemen in addressing extremist issues and security concerns * U.S. participating in multilateral meeting in London on 28 Jan with focus on Yemen and Afghanistan * U.S. has recently increased assistance to Yemen * no 1208 funded projects qualified in 2008.

The US Embassy in Sana'a reopened for business yesterday.  The embassy, btw, is now on Facebook here.

 

BlogNotes: External Links

A reader recently called my attention to the dead links in this blog. Thanks for the note and my apologies to all. Two websites that I link to quite often, state.gov and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) have recently undergone a make over. As a consequence, some of the links especially those relating to the nomination hearings may no longer be working. As this blog is a one-person operation, I cannot go back over a thousand posts and repair the dead links. I hope to update or redo the nomination hearing page and put that back up as soon as I can. Cheers!

Goldman Decision Upheld in Brazil; GSP Bill Passes

Here is an update on the child abduction case that has turned into a child custody battle in Brazil that I last posted on Monday (Child Abduction Case Threatens Trade Bill):

The Christian Science Monitor reported that Brazil's chief justice upheld late yesterday a lower court order handing 9-year-old Sean Goldman over to his American father. The Brazil custody case has been dragging on for five years, reflecting the difficulty of international custody disputes.

More here and here. But no word yet when the boy will actually be turned over to his father in Brazil.

AP also reports that Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s hold on the renewal of the $2.75 billion trade deal that would remove U.S. tariffs on some Brazilian goods was lifted after Tuesday's ruling.

Last night, the U.S. Senate approved by unanimous consent H.R. 4284, legislation that will extend the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) and Andean Trade Preference Act (ATPA) duty preference programs until December 31, 2010. As soon as the President signs the bill, the extension will be enacted into law.

Related Post: Child Abduction Case Threatens Trade Bill

Related Item: EXTENDING GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES AND THE ANDEAN PREFERENCE ACT -- (Senate - December 22, 2009) [Page: S13792] GPO's PDF

Related articles by Zemanta

• Brazil Orders Boy's Return to American Father (nytimes.com)
• U.S. Dad Wins in Brazil Custody Battle (time.com)
• Senate passes trade bill stalled by custody fight (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Did You See That ACS Job in Kabul?

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Somebody asked. That would be the Consular/American Citizen Services (ACS) job at the embassy in Kabul? Um, no, did not. Did you see it? I heard that the job was posted some 5 days or so before bidding ended, and there reportedly was no announcement that this job is out there. Bidding ended last Wednesday, which means it popped up in the big job thingy listing late last week. How do you get people to bid on a job that gets listed just days before the deadline? Some HR guy forgot to list it on time? Forgot to send out the vacancy alert email? What? My neighbor probably could have included it in his bidlist; that is, if he knew it was there. Too late now; I think he's going to Niger (no, not Niger he says) one of those African posts where something is always happening. I supposed this would not be the first time HR was inflicted by human error or was misinformed. In Farris v. Clinton, the plaintiff sued for race/gender discrimination after being denied (among other things) consideration of the POLAD position in The Hague. The Department did not contest the plaintiff’s account of the factual circumstances surrounding her requests to be considered for The Hague POLAD position. Id. At 13-15. Instead the Department explains:

“that although it had already submitted its short list in November 1999, the position still appeared by mistake on the “open assignments” list. Id. at 13-14. Because Whitlock “did not have any involvement with [the Hague POLAD] placement,” he was unaware that bidding was closed on the position when he mistakenly told the plaintiff that the position was still open. Id. at 14. In December 1999, the position again erroneously appeared as an open assignment – this time on the “hard to fill” list – because the individual responsible for posting the “hard to fill” list was misinformed. Id. Finally, the defendant notes that the plaintiff would not have been offered the position even if she had been allowed to bid on it because she was less qualified than the successful candidate. Def.’s Mot. at 10, 29-30.”

The Court opinion says in part: Here, whether the defendant’s nondiscriminatory justification is called into question depends on whether one believes its contention that the inconsistent information was the result of innocent human error or, conversely, that the defendant deliberately sought to mislead the plaintiff. Updated 10/17/09.

Ambassador Hill Updates Congress on Iraq

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The US Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher R. Hill will be on Capitol Hill the next two days to give an update on Iraq. I will add links to the prepared statements when they become available.

At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 cancelled Thursday, September 10, 2009 IRAQ: Report From the Field Time: 2:30 P.M. Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senator Kerry's Opening Statement Senator Lugar's Opening Statement

Ambassador Hill's Statement See video of SFRC hearing via cspan.org Read transcript of hearing.

At the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Thursday, September 10, 2009 Outlook for Iraq and U.S. Policy Time: 9:30 AM Location: Room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Statement by Howard L. Berman

Statement by Ambassador Hill

Webcast (need Real Player)

Updated 9/11 with links to videos and statements

H.R. 2346: Overseas Comparability Pay, Almost Here

I was not paying much attention to this; the CRS summary from May 2009 did not even include the OCP adjustment in its text. But it looks like H.R. 2346: Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2009 “Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes” is going to be the vehicle that would finally close the overseas comparability gap in the Foreign Service.

H.R. 2346 passed the House on May 14, 2009 and passed the Senate on May 21, 2009. The differences were resolved on Jun 16, 2009 and the bill was cleared for the WH on Jun 18, 2009. Having passed in identical form in both the House and Senate, this bill now awaits the signature of the President before becoming law.

See H.R. 2346 page in govtrack here. Click here for the final text of the enrolled bill (scroll down for Title XI).

Title XI: Department of State (relevant sections on OCP, reemployment of annuitants and incentives for critical posts reprinted in full below).

Overseas Comparability Pay Adjustment Sec. 1113. (a) Subject to such regulations prescribed by the Secretary of State, including with respect to phase-in schedule and treatment as basic pay, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds appropriated for this fiscal year in this or any other Act may be used to pay an eligible member of the Foreign Service as defined in subsection (b) of this section a locality-based comparability payment (stated as a percentage) up to the amount of the locality-based comparability payment (stated as a percentage) that would be payable to such member under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code if such member’s official duty station were in the District of Columbia.

(b) A member of the Service shall be eligible for a payment under this section only if the member is designated class 1 or below for purposes of section 403 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3963) and the member’s official duty station is not in the continental United States or in a non-foreign area, as defined in section 591.205 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.

(c) The amount of any locality-based comparability payment that is paid to a member of the Foreign Service under this section shall be subject to any limitations on pay applicable to locality-based comparability payments under section 5304 of title 5, United States Code.

Technical and Other Provisions Sec. 1115. (a) Modification- Title III of division H of Public Law 111-8 is amended under the heading ‘Economic Support Fund’ in the second proviso by striking ‘up to $20,000,000’ and inserting ‘not less than $20,000,000’.

(b) Notification Requirement- Funds appropriated by this Act that are transferred to the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development from any other Federal department or agency shall be subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations, notwithstanding any other provision of law.

(c) Reemployment of Annuitants-

(1) Section 824 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4064) is amended in subsection (g)(1) by inserting ‘, Pakistan,’ after ‘Iraq’ each place it appears; and, in subsection (g)(2) by striking ‘2009’ and inserting instead ‘2010’.

(2) Section 61 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2733) is amended in subsection (a)(1) by adding ‘, Pakistan,’ after ‘Iraq’ each place it appears; and, in subsection (a)(2) by striking ‘2008’ and inserting instead ‘2010’.

(3) Section 625 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2385) is amended in subsection (j)(1)(A) by adding ‘, Pakistan,’ after ‘Iraq’ each place it appears; and, in subsection (j)(1)(B) by striking ‘2008’ and inserting instead ‘2010’.

(d) Incentives for Critical Posts- Notwithstanding sections 5753(a)(2)(A) and 5754(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, appropriations made available by this or any other Act may be used to pay recruitment, relocation, and retention bonuses under chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code to members of the Foreign Service, other than chiefs of mission and ambassadors at large, who are on official duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Pakistan. This authority shall terminate on October 1, 2010.

(e) Of the funds appropriated under the heading ‘Foreign Military Financing Program’ in Public Law 110-161 that are available for assistance for Colombia, $500,000 may be transferred to, and merged with, funds appropriated under the heading ‘International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement’ to provide medical and rehabilitation assistance for members of Colombian security forces who have suffered severe injuries.

There -- are you smiling yet? This is turning out to be a memorable June. If I don't catch the news when POTUS sign this into law, please zap me an email.

Related Item: (updated 6/22/09) AFSANet on Closing the Overseas Pay Gap

Updated: 6/22/09 @10:29 pm:

Thomas indicates that H.R. 2346 was cleared for the White House on 6/18/2009 and presented to the President on 6/19/2009. The following describes the enactment into law following approval by both houses. Read the whole thing here.

Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution outlines the procedure for presidential judgment of legislation. The president has four options: sign the bill, which makes it law; VETO the bill and return it to Congress; refuse to take any action, in which case, after ten days, the bill becomes law without the president's signature; or, if less than ten days are left in the congressional term, "pocket veto" the bill by not signing it (because Congress has no time to take up the bill, the pocket veto kills the bill).

There should be a final word on this between now and July 3.

SFRC Hearings: Nancy Powell, Christopher Dell, Patricia Butenis

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE 111^th Congress First Session

Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 Time: Immediately following the 2:15 p.m. business meeting Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Building Presiding: Senator Shaheen

Nominees:

The Honorable Nancy J. Powell to be Director General of the Foreign Service

The Honorable Christopher William Dell to be Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo

The Honorable Patricia A. Butenis to be Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Republic of Maldives

To view the video of the confirmation hearings, click on the heading "NOMINATIONS" on this page and the Committee Channel should pop up (note that video starts at approximately 29:01). Links to testimonies/opening statements will be added as soon as they are available online were added on June 17.

Updated 6/17/2009

Officially In: Don Beyer to Bern and Lichtenstein

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On June 11, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Don Beyer to be Ambassador to Switzerland and the Principality of Lichtenstein. Official bio released by the WH below:

Mr. Beyer was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 1989 and served until 1998. In that capacity, he presided over the Virginia Senate, earning the reputation as the most activist President of the Senate in Virginia history. He chaired the Economic Recovery Commission, the Virginia Commission on Sexual Assault, the Virginia Commission on Disabilities, the Poverty Commission and was co-founder of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Mr. Beyer has served on the Virginia Board of First Union National Bank and the board of Shenandoah Life Insurance Company. He is currently on the board of Lightly Expressed, a fiber optic lighting design and manufacturing firm. An experienced and successful businessman, he has grown his family’s chain of automobile dealerships and serves on the Volvo International Product Development team. Mr. Beyer is a member of the Northern Virginia Business Roundtable and the Northern Virginia High Tech Council, which he co-founded. He currently serves on the boards of Youth for Tomorrow, the Washington Community Foundation, and the Red Cross. Mr. Beyer graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College, magna cum laude with Highest Honors in Economics in 1972. * * *

OpenSecrets.org of the Center for Responsive Politics has named Don Beyer one of President O’s bundlers who has raised a minimum of $500,000. [Bundlers are people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who's willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate in one big "bundle."]

If confirmed, Mr. Beyer would replaced Peter R. Coneway of Texas, a political appointee who was US Ambassador to Switzerland (also accredited to Liechtenstein) during Bush's second term. You have to go back all the way to 1979 to find a career foreign service officer assigned as US Ambassador to this post.

Related Items: (additional items added from OpenSecrets.org on 6/19/09)

• President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-11-09
• OpenSecrets.org from Center for Responsive Politics: Obama_ambassador_Data_090612.xls (Excel file)
• Obama's New Ambassador Nominees Gave Big -- and Bundled Bigger

Officially In: Vinai Thummalapally to Belmopan

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On June 11, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Vinai Thummalapally to be Ambassador to Belize. Official bio released by the WH below:

Mr. Thummalapally is the President of MAM-A Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of recordable optical discs. Prior to his role at MAM-A Inc., he served as the plant manager for Mitsui Advanced Media Inc., which also manufactures recordable optical discs. He has served in several other similar roles in his 31-year career, including as General Manager for WEA Manufacturing, as a Managing Partner of Clines Office Products, and as Manufacturing Manager of Disc Manufacturing, Inc.

He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University and completed post graduate courses in Business Administration.

* * * The SAJA Forum (South Asian Journalist Association) has named Vinai Thummalapally one of the top Indian-American bundlers for Barack Obama, raising over $100,000 for the campaign. [Bundlers are people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who's willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate in one big "bundle."]

If confirmed, Mr. Thummalapally would replace Robert Johann Dieter, a political appointee who served as US Ambassador to Belize during George W. Bush’s second term. You have to go back all the way to to 1990 to find a career diplomat assigned as our top gun in Belize.

Related Items: (additional items added from OpenSecrets.org on 6/19/09)

• President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-11-09
• OpenSecrets.org from Center for Responsive Politics: Obama_ambassador_Data_090612.xls (Excel file)
• Obama's New Ambassador Nominees Gave Big -- and Bundled Bigger

Officially In: Howard W. Gutman to Brussels

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On June 11, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Howard W. Gutman to be Ambassador to Belgium. Official bio released by the WH below:

Howard Gutman is a partner with Williams & Connolly LLP. Identified as one of "Washington's Top Lawyers" by Washingtonian magazine, Mr. Gutman’s practice areas focus on commercial litigation, including securities, contracts, antitrust, labor, banking, real estate, intellectual property, insurance coverage, international law and partnership disputes. Mr. Gutman's clients have included Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, financial services firms, labor unions, pension funds, law and accounting firms, government entities, real estate developers, sports teams, and political candidates. He is also litigation counsel for Friedman, Billings & Ramsey, a top ten U.S. investment bank. Mr. Gutman previously served as a Special Assistant to F.B.I Director William H. Webster, focusing on counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence; as a law clerk to Justice Potter Stewart on the United States Supreme Court; and as a law clerk to Judge Irving L. Goldberg on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Gutman has been an Editor of Litigation Magazine for over 24 years and an active participant in the ABA's Litigation Section. He is a member of the Board of the Washington Hebrew Home in Rockville, Maryland. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Columbia University.

* * *

OpenSecrets.org of the Center for Responsive Politics has named Mr. Gutman one of President O’s bundlers, raising more than $500,000 for the campaign. [Bundlers are people with friends in high places who, after bumping against personal contribution limits, turn to those friends, associates, and, well, anyone who's willing to give, and deliver the checks to the candidate in one big "bundle."]

If confirmed, Mr. Gutman would replace Sam Fox, a political appointee commissioned during a recess of the Senate in 2007 (an earlier nomination of Jan 9, 2007 was withdrawn Mar 28, 2007).

Related Items: (additional items added from OpenSecrets.org on 6/19/09)

• President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 6-11-09
• Williams and Connolly, LLP Biography: Howard Gutman
• OpenSecrets.org from Center for Responsive Politics: Obama_ambassador_Data_090612.xls (Excel file)
• Obama's New Ambassador Nominees Gave Big -- and Bundled Bigger

SFRC Hearings: Kurt M. Campbell

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE 111^th Congress First Session

Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 Time: 9:30 A.M. Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Building Presiding: Senator Webb

Senator Lugar's Opening Statement

Nominee:

Kurt M. Campbell to be Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

To view the video of the confirmation hearings, click on the heading "NOMINATIONS" on this page and the Committee Channel should pop up. Links to testimonies/opening statements will be added as soon as they are available online. Updated 6/11 with links to testimonies.

US Embassy Baghdad Employees Killed by IED

MNF Baghdad reported that three people were killed and two were wounded May 25, when an improvised explosive device detonated during a visit of construction sites near Fallujah. The IED struck a vehicle traveling as part of a convoy that included Coalition Forces and U.S. Government civilians and contractors. The two wounded personnel were medically evacuated to a hospital for treatment.

A statement from Ambassador Hill dated May 26 says in part: “It is with deepest regret that we announce the tragic loss on May 25, 2009 of our Embassy Baghdad colleague Terrence Barnich, who was an employee of the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Barnich was the Deputy Director of the Iraq Transition Assistance Office (ITAO). Another employee from the Department of Defense detailed to the Embassy staff also died and will be identified pending notification of next of kin. They were killed when their car drove over an Improvised Explosive Device. They were returning from an inspection of a waste water treatment plant under construction in Fallujah, the largest and most complex U.S. government-funded project in Anbar Province. A Department of Defense military employee was also killed in the explosion."

DOD has now identified one of the two unnamed casualties as Navy sailor, Cmdr. Duane G. Wolfe, 54, of Port Hueneme, California.He died May 25 from injuries suffered as a result of an improvised explosive device attack on his convoy southeast of Fallujah. Wolfe was assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Gulf Region Division in Iraq.

Updated 5/29/09: On May 28, DOD announced the death of Department of the Army civilian employee Maged M. Hussein, 43, of Cairo, Egypt. He died May 25 in Al Taqaddum, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy vehicle in Fallujah, Iraq. He was employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, Jacksonville, Florida.

Related Items:

• State Department Official Is Among 3 Killed in Iraq
• Ambassador Hill’s Statement

State Dept Nominations: End of May Round-Up

On May 22, The Cable reported that Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) has put a hold on the Senate vote for Jeffrey Feltman to become assistant secretary of State for near eastern affairs. “Levin's office told The Cable that he had asked for a few more days to seek clarification on some matters before the Senate takes up the nomination.”

The Senate has now adjourned for the long Memorial Day week and won’t return until 12 p.m. on Monday, June 1, 2009. The House stand adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. So nothing is going to happen, at least this week, to the Feltman, Koh and Burk nominations.

Here is the final round up of State Department nomination for the month of May:

Pending for full Senate vote as of May 22, 2009:

* 139 Susan Flood Burk, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Executive Service, to be Special Representative of the President, with the rank of Ambassador. * 140 Harold Hongju Koh, of Connecticut, to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State, vice John B. Bellinger III, resigned.* * 161 Jeffrey D. Feltman, of Ohio, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Near Eastern Affairs), vice C. David Welch, resigned.

Pending in the Committee on Foreign Relations (SFRC) as of May 22, 2009:

The following civilian nominations were submitted by the President to the Senate for confirmation during the current congress and are currently undergoing committee consideration. The nominations are listed in reverse chronological order based on the referral date.

May 21, 09 PN493 Department of State Nancy J. Powell, of Iowa, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Director General of the Foreign Service.

May 19, 09 PN485 Department of State Philip L. Verveer, of the District of Columbia, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Communications and Information Policy in the Bureau of Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs and U. S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy.

May 14, 09 PN427 Department of State Capricia Penavic Marshall, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief of Protocol, and to have the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service.

May 06, 09 PN403 Department of State Ellen O. Tauscher, of California, to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.

May 06, 09 PN402 Department of State Andrew J. Shapiro, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Political-Military Affairs).

May 06, 09 PN401 Department of State Eric P. Schwartz, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Population, Refugees, and Migration).

Apr 29, 09 PN384 Department of State Eric P. Goosby, of California, to be Ambassador at Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally.

Apr 27, 09 PN373 Department of State Kurt M. Campbell, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (East Asian and Pacific Affairs).

Apr 20, 09 PN316 Department of State Bonnie D. Jenkins, of New York, for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure of service as Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs.

H.R. 2410 Clears HFAC, Sec. 333 Stricken from Bill

On May 20, the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) approved comprehensive legislation to shore up U.S. foreign policy efforts, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410).

Sec. 333 of the bill which addresses discrimination related to sexual orientation has been stripped from the bill. According to Congressman Berman’s press statement:

After learning that Administration intends to end the practice of excluding the committed partners of Foreign Service officers from the benefits routinely provided to the spouses and children of officers serving abroad, a provision on this issue was removed from the bill. "I am deeply committed to ending the long-standing practice of treating the committed partners of gay and lesbian Foreign Service officers like second-class citizens,” Berman said. “I would not agree to strike a provision in my own bill if I did not feel confident that this would be taken care of by the Administration.”

Click here to read the legislation.

Perhaps this year would be different. But before you get too excited about any part of this new legislation, I must caution you that similar bills had been introduced since the 108th Congress and all of them have ended up in dead pool. Updated: Digger of Life After Jerusalem thinks this is a horrible idea, pointing out that as long as this is not in the books, it opens the possibility of a roll back by a future SoS. I have to agree. Just imagine if somehow somebody in the mold of a Trent Lott becomes the next SoS. Related Post: H.R. 2410: Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011