During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing earlier this month, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) asked Acting Undersecretary of State José Cunningham about staffing levels at the State Department.
00:00Back, we now go to the gentleman from New York for his five minutes.
00:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield my time to the rancor, Ms. Sheffields-McCormick.
00:15Thank you, Representative. I just wanted to follow up on some questions.
00:19My biggest question is that you mentioned that you were directed to reduce by 15% for M.
00:25And what was the basis of that number? How did you derive that 15% that was supposed to be cut?
00:31That 15% congresswoman was not just for the M family of bureaus, but across the board at the State Department.
00:39When we started the discussions regarding reorganization, we weren't looking at a specific number to cut a certain percentage,
00:48but rather we worked with our undersecretaries, with career and foreign service personnel to make sure that we got that right.
00:59So that 15% was across the board?
01:02Across the board at the State Department, yes.
01:03My next question, I just want to clarify some statements.
01:06So when it comes to the consular affairs, there seems to be a discrepancy as far as the cuts
01:11because we have reporting that there were cuts made, and you're saying that there were no cuts made. Is that correct?
01:15There were no cuts in consular affairs. I would just harken back to what I said before.
01:23So our information that we have is different. If we can reconcile that with further information.
01:26We'd be happy to work with you on that.
01:28I think a lot of it stems back to the fact that the decision and the memo that was signed for reorganization and reduction in force is effective May 29th,
01:37and a lot of any of those people that were impacted were probably in a different place,
01:42maybe in an office that had been eliminated on May 29th.
01:45Well, as long as we can reconcile it, because the information we have, it does say that there were cuts.
01:49And so we want to see that because we're concerned about the impact that those cuts would have,
01:54specifically on processing passports and visas.
01:56So once we get that, we can reconcile that and move forward.
01:59The second thing I wanted to talk about also were some of the cuts that were made to personnel in Syria.
02:05Now, Syria has been an area that's been very fragile, and we're starting to see an uptick or some hope in Syria.
02:12Reducing the number of the regional experts working on Syria at the same time as the State Department is working on reopening its embassy in Damascus
02:19is not just counterintuitive, but it also seems like a step backwards.
02:24It puts American citizens directly in harm's way across the Middle East.
02:28I recently returned from a CODEL with Chairman Lawler, in which the issue was raised directly.
02:33What steps are you taking actually to protect and make sure that we have adequate amount of personnel in Syria,
02:39but also to support so we can make sure Syria does not regress?
02:43Thank you, Congresswoman, for that very good question.
02:46I'm thrilled to be able to have been part of the initial discussions about the changes that took place
02:52as a result of President Trump's trip to the Middle East a little more than a month ago.
02:57It was during that time that he was able to, the President himself, was able to meet with the President of Syria,
03:03and as a result of that, quite frankly, everything in the Middle East has changed.
03:07We are looking forward to giving the Syrian people and the Syrian government an opportunity to,
03:13an economic and diplomatic opportunity to deal with the rest of the world.
03:17As in this seat, as Undersecretary of Management, I worked hand-in-glove with our Operations Center Task Force,
03:27which was put in place to make sure that we looked at all of...
03:32So, specifically, because my time is running out.
03:34Please.
03:34We want to know about implementation and the proper number of personnel to carry out that implementation.
03:39So, with those cuts, we want to know how you're going to fill it.
03:43Do they have the accurate expertise to make sure that we're successful in Syria?
03:48I have very good news for you, Congresswoman.
03:51I do work very, very closely with our Ambassador to Turkey.
03:55His name is Tom Barrack.
03:56He is also the Special Envoy to Syria, and he's already made a couple of trips to Damascus to meet with the President of Syria.
04:03All of the, many of the functions that are required to get the proper security in place and get the right team in place in order for him to make that trip successful
04:17and to raise the flag above our embassy there, our ambassador's residence there on May 29th, fall under the purview of the Management Bureau.
04:30And I was thrilled to be a part of that.
04:32We are looking every single day, every time he wants to take a trip to the region, we work hand-in-glove with...
04:39So, as my time is running out, could we receive from your office specific details of what steps we're taking so we can be able to make sure that we're on an upward course
04:48and not a downward trajectory by having the proper amount of personnel?
04:52I'm happy, Congresswoman, to work with you on that.
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