Last week I had the opportunity to meet with the office of Senator Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) to discuss how international development keeps America safe and strong. Senator Udall is a member of the Foreign Relations Committee and the International Development Subcommittee. I was hopeful that his staff would be receptive to our message because the Senator is a self-proclaimed supporter of “progressive internationalism based on the new realities of the Information Age: globalization, democracy, American pre-eminence, and the rise of a new array of threats ranging from regional and ethnic conflicts to the spread of missiles and biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.”
The meeting started off like any other. I was joined by Miguel Sosa, President of College Democrats at New Mexico State University. We sat down with Senator Udall’s staffer and began reviewing President Obama’s FY13 proposed budget, specifically focusing on the funding for international development programs – a minor sum that makes up less than one percent of the entire federal budget. As expected, Senator Udall’s staffer was supportive, indicating that the Senator agrees that international development makes the world a safer place and America a stronger country. But, just like in Senator Kyl’s office, the staffer was unable to say for sure whether or not the Senator would be able to go to bat for our specific funding requests, given the convoluted nature of the federal budget process. One strong positive, however, was her suggestion that Senator Udall might be willing to take a leadership role in advocating for Peace and Security Initiatives funding, which helps nations effectively establish the conditions and capacity for achieving peace, security, and stability, and effectively respond to arising threats. The Make US Strong team will be following up with Udall’s office to try and make that a reality.
About halfway through the meeting, I mentioned my background with STAND – a student-led organization focused on ending and preventing genocide and mass atrocities. Senator Udall’s staffer looked startled and asked me where I had gone to school and what year I had graduated. Turns out, she was one of the founding members of STAND at Georgetown University, and we started rattling off mutual friends and events we had both been at – rallies to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, lobby meetings in DC, etc. Here I was, in a tiny office in a random business park in the middle of a New Mexico town where I knew no one, and the person I happened to meet with had this really unique shared experience. It was a great reminder that the world is a smaller place than it seems – a personal illustration of the political message of my ride.
I just met with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s staff (R-Texas) in San Antonio – more to come on this. Who’s up next? Congressman Mike McCaul in Austin this Friday. Stay tuned….
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