President's Nominee For Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs (EB)

Chairman Lugar, Senator Biden, and Members of the Committee, it is an honor to appear before you as the President's nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs (EB).

I am deeply honored to be here today and would like to begin by thanking President Bush and Secretary Rice for the privilege of being nominated for this important position and for the opportunity to serve my country during these historic times.

I would also like to thank Senators Murkowski and Voinovich for introducing me today. I and my family in Alaska and Ohio have had the privilege of knowing them for many years. I know that both are keenly interested in many of the issues that are important to the Department of State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. If confirmed, I look forward to working with them and other Members of Congress to advance the international economic interests of the United States.

I would like to introduce to the Committee my father and mother. All my life, I have watched them nurture a large family with six children and now 15 grandchildren, while building a business that has helped make this country more competitive and has spread American values abroad. At the same time, my parents have devoted their lives to community and charity organizations, instilling in me and my brothers and sisters the importance of public service. I am proud to have them and other members of my family and friends here with me today.

Finally, I wanted to thank my wife and three daughters who currently are at our home in Anchorage, Alaska, and unfortunately could not be with me on this important day. But I know that they are here in spirit. Throughout my years of public service, they have been my inspiration and support, sacrificing much on my behalf and on behalf of our great nation.

If confirmed by the Senate, I will join the Department of State at a critical time for our country’s security and America’s leadership in the world. Under the leadership of President Bush and Secretary Rice, we are championing freedom, opportunity, and human dignity. And we are working to strengthen the global economy and alleviate poverty and hopelessness.

The economic well-being of the United States and countries throughout the world directly affects our security at home. The terrible experiences of 9/11 have driven this point home. Failed states with few economic prospects can export terrorist threats that reach our shores. Poverty abroad does not cause terrorism. But, as President Bush and Secretary Rice have noted, by addressing poverty and disease, and promoting economic growth and reform and anti-corruption around the world, we are helping to eliminate the conditions of hopelessness and despair that terrorists seek to exploit for their purposes. Last September, the President told the United Nations that America "must defend and extend a vision of human dignity, opportunity, and prosperity – a vision far stronger than the dark appeal of resentment and murder."

This Administration has acted to make this hopeful vision a reality by enacting bold policies that have led the world in expanding trade, combating deadly diseases, fighting corruption, increasing development assistance, and redefining the way the world thinks about these issues. In tandem with these policies abroad, the President’s economic policies at home have set the conditions for a strong economy – perhaps the most fundamental, long-term component of America’s security.

The mission of the Department of State’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs – to build prosperity and economic security at home and abroad – supports these important international and domestic policies. The Bureau’s work lies at the critical nexus of economic prosperity and national security. These realms are mutually reinforcing. Progress in one spurs advancement in the other.

If confirmed as Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, I will continue to focus the exceptional talent of the Foreign Service and Civil Service employees of this Bureau in support of its important mission. Working closely with our interagency partners throughout the government, the Bureau will continue to focus on the following areas:

•  promoting prosperity and competitiveness through market-expanding trade, aviation, telecommunication, and investment agreements that seek to level the playing field for American workers, businesses, farmers, and consumers while enhancing conditions for economic growth at home and abroad; 
• advancing U.S. and international assistance programs so that aid and economic tools are effectively used to reduce poverty, encourage pro-growth economic policies, and promote freedom; 
• promoting U.S. and global energy security by working with partner countries and seeking to diversify energy resources and the regions from which they come; 
• denying terrorists the financial support they need to thrive, survive, and carry out indiscriminate attacks against innocent civilians; 
• protecting and promoting innovation and intellectual property – the lifeblood of America’s knowledge economy which is under attack in too many countries; 
• fighting corruption – perhaps the greatest inhibitor of broad-based economic growth and poverty reduction in the developing world; and 
• ensuring a sound, stable financial system by working with other major economies and international financial institutions to promote growth-oriented policies.

These priority areas directly support Secretary Rice’s mission of "transformational diplomacy" which, in partnership with other countries, is strengthening the institutions that enhance our security, promote economic prosperity, alleviate poverty, and expand the reach of democracy.

Mr. Chairman, this Committee’s continued leadership and involvement with these priorities is critical to achieving continued success in these areas. Such success can maintain the conditions for the continued growth of the American and global economy, while enhancing security and prosperity for Americans and our allies and friends abroad.

The Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs also works closely with the private sector to ensure that our policies address the challenges and opportunities that American businesses and their employees face in the international marketplace. Partnering with the private sector presents tremendous opportunities to advance U.S. interests throughout the world. American citizens are a great strength of our foreign policy. When our businessmen and women, labor leaders, academics, and civic and NGO leaders travel abroad and engage with their counterparts, they are a powerful force for spreading the ideals of hard work, optimism, compassion, and economic and political freedom that define the best of the American spirit. If confirmed, I look forward to continuing this important outreach with the private sector and working to ensure that America’s economic interests and aspirations continue to be fully integrated into U.S. foreign policy.

Like the mission and work of the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, my life experiences have centered on the nexus of economics and national security. For over twenty years, I have been studying or professionally involved in international economics, trade, business, and security. Whether as a Director in the International Economics Directorate of the National Security Council and National Economic Council (NSC/NEC) during President Bush’s first term, a Marine Corps officer with deployments to the Pacific and several countries in the Central Command theater, or a business attorney, I have gained valuable experience and understanding of how tightly our national security and economic prosperity – at home and abroad – are intertwined.

If confirmed, I look forward to again working closely on these and other issues with Secretary Rice, Deputy Secretary Zoellick, and Under Secretary Sheeran Shiner. I can think of no finer leadership team to integrate economic interests into broader American foreign policy.

While serving at the NSC/NEC, I had the privilege of working on such issues as the Doha Development Agenda, the President’s Middle East Free Trade Area initiative, strengthening IPR protection, and the G8 and Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) with many of the talented and dedicated men and women of the Department of State’s economic team, including current EB Assistant Secretary Tony Wayne, who has led the Bureau with exceptional skill, dedication, and class for almost six years. If confirmed, it will be an honor and privilege to lead the outstanding team of professionals in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs who work tirelessly to improve economic opportunity and prosperity for Americans of all walks of life and for the citizens of our partners across the globe.

Mr. Chairman, it is an honor to appear before your committee today. "We are living in an extraordinary time," Secretary Rice said when she announced her transformational diplomacy initiative, "one in which centuries of international precedent are being overturned." Our country must address the tremendous opportunities and difficult challenges that these historic times have presented. If confirmed, I look forward to the privilege of serving my country and working with you and your distinguished colleagues in advancing our international economic agenda. I look forward to your questions.