Crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 fall of Afghanistan underlined the State Department’s need for an agile and capable workforce that can get to global hot spots to help Americans and allies as needed.
The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate panel that oversees State Department operations say its structure and ability to be responsive, or even proactive, are outdated and leave U.S. diplomacy unprepared for an accelerating tempo of crises and spreading instability. The senators are aiming this year to provide funds for a commission that would make recommendations to modernize the department, building on authority provided in legislation last year.
“The challenges at the State Department have never been more difficult,” said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., citing the conflict in Ukraine, U.S. strategic competition with China, residual impacts of the pandemic, spreading hunger and extreme weather resulting from climate change. Cardin chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee overseeing the management of the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
