Letter on the Nomination Hearings of Rex Tillerson and Nikki Haley

Dear Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Corker and Ranking Member Cardin,

We, the undersigned U.S.-based international humanitarian and development organizations, write to ask for your continued leadership in elevating the value of U.S. global engagement, in particular through your committee’s exercise of its confirmation authority. We look specifically to the upcoming hearings for Secretary of State Designate Rex Tillerson and UN Ambassador Designate Nikki Haley.

As mission-driven organizations, we feel called to support the world’s most vulnerable people as they lift themselves out of poverty and build better lives for their families and children. Our work is supported by, and reflects the values of, millions of everyday Americans who give billions of dollars to international charity every year; their funds are leveraged many times over by U.S. government support.

For decades, we have worked with the Secretary of State, U.S. Ambassadors, and other senior U.S. government officials – across party lines and across all Administrations – to demonstrate and magnify core American values abroad: human dignity, equality, democracy, and open markets. We anticipate, and look forward to, working with new Administration officials as they take on the heavy responsibility of U.S. global leadership.

We recognize the many, diverse, and complex foreign policy challenges of 2017. It would be easy for the new Administration to focus disproportionately on military and security solutions to these global challenges. We ask you to ensure that incoming officials understand and commit in their confirmation hearings to deploy the full range of tools – development and diplomacy as well as defense — available for U.S. leadership. As you well know, continued investment in these tools is essential for American long-term interests and advancing the core American values we share.

Our organizations will, as a matter of course, continue to combat global poverty, respond to humanitarian emergencies, defend human rights and humanitarian law, promote strong, accountable public institutions, and foster inclusive economic growth. We cannot succeed alone, however. While we believe that continued U.S. government investment on all of these issues is, first and foremost, the moral thing to do, we also see it as fundamental to securing long-term U.S. national interests and prosperity. We ask you to prominently include these core American objectives in the upcoming confirmation hearings.

Given your longstanding leadership on these issues, we look to you to ensure that the incoming Secretary of State and UN Ambassador, and those on their teams, see strong diplomacy and development as well as defense as fundamental components of U.S. foreign policy.

Sincerely,

1. 1,000 Days

2. ACDI/VOCA

3. Action Against Hunger

4. ADRA International

5. Americares

6. Amref Health Africa

7. AVSI – USA

8. Basic Education Coalition

9. BRAC USA

10. Bread for the World

11. Bridge of Life

12. CARE USA

13. Catholic Relief Services

14. Child Aid

15. ChildFund International

16. Church World Service

17. EDC, Inc.

18. Global Communities

19. Global Health Council

20. Global Ministries/UMCOR United Methodist Church

21. Habitat for Humanity International

22. Handicap International

23. Headwaters Relief Organization

24. Heart to Heart International

25. Heifer International

26. Helen Keller International

27. IHC Global Coalition for Inclusive Housing and Sustainable Cities

28. IMA World Health

29. InterAction

30. International Center for Not-for-Profit Law

31. International Foundation for Electoral Systems

32. International Medical Corps

33. International Orthodox Christian Charities

34. International Rescue Committee

35. Islamic Relief USA

36. Jesuit Refugee Service USA

37. Keystone Human Services

38. LINGOs

39. Management Sciences for Health

40. Mercy Corps

41. NCBA CLUSA

42. Norwegian Refugee Council USA

43. ONE Campaign

44. Operation USA

45. Oxfam America

46. PATH

47. Plan International USA

48. Planet Aid

49. Project Hope

50. Refugees International

51. Relief International

52. RESULTS

53. ReSurge International

54. Save the Children

55. SPOON Foundation

56. Stop Hunger Now

57. The Hunger Project

58. Trickle Up

59. U.S. Fund for UNICEF

60. United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

61. USA for UNHCR

62. Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance

63. Women Thrive Alliance

64. World Concern

65. World Food Program USA

66. World Hope International

67. World Neighbors

68. World Vision

CC: Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee