WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Subcommittee on African Affairs, spoke last night at the United States Global Leadership Coalition as part of their annual tribute dinner. Senator Coons was awarded the Outstanding Champion of America’s Leadership award for his work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Subcommittee on African Affairs. Sen. Bob Corker, (R-Ten.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was also recognized by USGLC.
Video and audio of Senator Coons’ speech is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gTOpi7Gosw
Senator Coons' colleagues also honored him with a tribute video that can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/GUFpZ11HCfo
Excerpts from Senator Coons’ speech:
“My own faith rests centrally on a simple but powerful teaching, that we should love our neighbors, married to a radical definition of “Who is our neighbor?” and how we should love them, that urges us, that demands of us, to care just as deeply, whether one is a child in the slums of Karachi, or a refugee in Burma… In my view, and I hope many of yours, those radical redefinitions of neighbor, and how we love them, are in some ways at the core of our enduring engagement with the world.”
“In a changing and increasingly multi-polar world, we can no longer indulge ourselves with the illusion that complex global problems have simple, unilateral, solely American solutions."
“We all must continue to educate to engage, to explain, and to make clear to the American people that our national interest and our modern challenges demand American leadership.”
“Those of us who support foreign assistance, and all the tools of soft power, have to ask hard questions. We have to do the hard work of reshaping aid, and insisting that it’s delivered efficiently, so it saves the most lives, lifts up the poorest, costs the least dollar, goes the furthest.”
“American global leadership isn’t about aid, it’s about lasting partnerships. It’s about engaging not just today’s leaders but tomorrow’s as well. It’s about lifting the sights of young people around the world so the futures they envision and that become real become closer and closer to the futures we dream for our own children.”
Senator Coons’ full remarks below:
“Thank you Carl, thank you Carolyn, thank you to the USGLC for this honor and to everyone for your support for USGLC and for being here. And I recognize as a politician who spent a lot of time at the local level going to lots of Chamber of Commerce and volunteer dinners that being the only thing between you and dinner is not a great place to be, and I have a 45-minute prepared speech, so I’m going cut about 5 minutes out of it, and we’re going have a great time.
“Now as for the being fluent in Swahili [remarks in Swahili], which means, “I’ve forgotten everything because I’m an old man.” I cannot tell you what an honor it is to share this with Senator Bob Corker. Not just the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, but a colleague and a friend and a hero. Bob and I first met on a CODEL in Pakistan and Afghanistan back in 2011, and I will never forget the seriousness with which he treated our trip – it was my first trip overseas as a Senator – his insistence on asking really tough questions of our military, our diplomats and in particular, memorably, our foreign leaders. His dedication to his work comes across in everything he does and his reasonableness is just such a breath of fresh air. We are so blessed to have his leadership in the Foreign Relations committee in this pivotal moment. So, please, a round of applause for Bob.
“I am especially proud to be partnering with him on the difficult issue of food aid reform and to have the opportunity, as he mentioned in his remarks, that if we get this right, we could not just save millions of taxpayer dollars, but also help feed millions more globally and if we do it right, promote long-term agricultural development and build long-term resilience for food insecure communities worldwide. What an enormous blessing to have a chance to work with such a good man, on such a challenging project, hopefully with all of your support, as this year unfolds.
“So, while so many of the debates we’ve had in the Senate in recent years seem to break down in partisan lines, Bob has been a leader in the best sense of the word. Building consensus, listening, taking risks, and then driving results. So, frankly I could not be more grateful to join him on the stage tonight.
“You know, when we do it right, when we focus on the long term, as I, and Bob, and many others on the foreign relations committee do, we have positive, building, complimentary impacts, not just for our nation but for the world. That’s why I’m so grateful for USGLC and what you do—you bring together the private sector, the defense community, the diplomacy and the development communities, the faith and volunteerism and services communities, and recognize that our engagement in what’s so-called “soft power” of diplomacy and development and trade, is at least as important as sustaining the vital military components of so-called “hard power.” That is exactly the definition of smart power. It’s holding them all in a positive balance.
“So your advocacy is of enormous value to our country. It has an enduring impact. And if we’re going to remain a global leader in these difficult and challenging times, we have to sustain every lever of American foreign policy, and that’s going happen in no small part because of you. So thank you. Give yourselves a round of applause for being the USGLC. You know, we all come to this work from different perspectives. You heard in Senator Corker’s introduction that it was a mission trip to Haiti that first inspired his concern and engagement with the world, and my own passion for global issues began when I fell in love with Africa during a semester in Kenya and then months spent volunteering with the South African Council of Churches -- it changed my heart, and my life, in profound and powerful ways.
“My own faith rests centrally on a simple but powerful teaching, that we should love our neighbors, married to a radical definition of “Who is our neighbor?” and how we should love them, that urges us, that demands of us, to care just as deeply, whether one is a child in the slums of Karachi, or a refugee in Burma, or a woman, struggling, through living with HIV and AIDS in Kenya, or a boy growing up in America, in East St. Louis, or an American soldier returning home to his family in Milwaukee. In my view, and I hope many of yours, those radical redefinitions of neighbor, and how we love them, are in some ways at the core of our enduring engagement with the world.
“I am a firm believer in America’s leadership around the globe, but in a changing and increasingly multi-polar world, we can no longer indulge ourselves with the illusion that complex global problems have simple, unilateral, solely American solutions. The world still often looks to us to lead the international community and to offer strategies to solve the world’s most complex and pressing problems. Whether it be the threat posed by radical terrorism, or the challenges posed by pandemics or climate change, we play a critical role in helping the international community face up to, and overcome, the challenges of our time.
“Those of us who support foreign assistance, and all the tools of soft power, have to ask hard questions. We have to do the hard work of reshaping aid, and insisting that it’s delivered efficiently, so it saves the most lives, lifts up the poorest, costs the least dollar, goes the furthest. That means being transparent, monitoring and evaluating our programs against rigorous metrics, it means using aid to open up opportunities for trade and US exports and deeply partnering with the energy of the private sector.
“As USGLC’s broad coalition knows well, it means forming innovative public-private partnerships to ensure the best returns on our dollars and the best leadership with our values. At the end of the day we should never lose sight of our shared task as advocates for US leadership around the world. We need to make it clear to our American public – that this leadership, that what we do, is worth the investment.
“As leaders in many arenas, we all must continue to educate to engage, to explain, and to make clear to the American people that our national interest and our modern challenges demand American leadership. In exercising that leadership, it is crucial for us to continue -- in the ways I suggested – to be transparent, hold ourselves accountable, insist on innovation and be humble about our answers as we collaborate and engage with local partners around the world.
“Americans – average Americans all over our country, whether in Tennessee, or in Delaware – are justifiably skeptical of the impacts that our leadership can have around the world. So we have to keep explaining every year, for twenty years and more, the impact our leadership can have. We must continue to explain what’s at stake and what’s possible – especially because you and I both know what American global leadership looks like and what it can do for other communities and for our own. I’ve seen American leadership at work, on the ground, in inspiring and sustaining ways, all over the world. And I just wish I could bring my constituents from Delaware to see the same things that I have seen and so many of you have seen.
“American leadership looks like when a team of DuPont plant-scientists and researchers in Ethiopia work together with local farmers to make real the promise of the next stage of the green revolution.
“America leads when a commercial service officer in Ghana connects American businesses with new opportunities to invest in growing communities – building the capacities of Ghanaians and strengthening our own economy at the same time.
“America leads when our military and public health service work together with missionaries and volunteers to respond to a devastating pandemic like Ebola and then build on that commitment to stand up an Africa-wide center for disease control so that next time there is an outbreak countries across the continent are ready.
“America leads when people from across our government and private sector work together – as you heard Carolyn reference – to make it possible for electricity to be provided to a remote village in Africa so a girl can do her homework at night after a long day of helping her family with chores and going to school.
“Finally, America leads when a talented young woman from a leading American college chooses to join the Peace Corps and invests two years of her life building sanitation systems in rural Senegal. And when young African leaders come here and learn at our universities and work with us together and develop lifelong relationships with our own best and brightest.
“In the end, American global leadership isn’t about aid, it’s about lasting partnerships. It’s about engaging not just today’s leaders but tomorrow’s as well. It’s about lifting the sights of young people around the world so the futures they envision and that become real become closer and closer to the futures we dream for our own children.
“That leadership – the leadership you sustain – really can create a safer and more prosperous world for Americans and for our neighbors around the world. One that provides more opportunities for our businesses and our people, one that reflects our enduring values of freedom and justice. That’s why your work is so important, and it’s why I am so honored by your partnership, your great work, and your recognition tonight, the terrific work of Senator Corker and what small contributions I have been able to make during my short time in the Senate.
“Thank you for all you have done and what we will do together.”