JONATHAN SPALTER'S TESTIMONY TO SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS PANEL
USIA
22 July 1998
TEXT: JONATHAN SPALTER'S TESTIMONY TO SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS PANEL
(USIA Associate Director-designate cites public diplomacy goals) (770)
Washington -- The U.S. government "must do more -- not less -- to
ensure that the linkage of computers and telecommunications reinforces
American ideals of free minds and free markets," says Jonathan H.
Spalter, President Clinton's nominee to be Associate Director for
Information of the United States Information Agency (USIA).
"Our job is to make sure that in the increasingly 'wired' marketplace
of ideas, bedrock American values can -- and will -- prevail," Spalter
said July 22 in testimony at his nomination hearing before the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee.
Spalter also said "public diplomacy -- the art and, increasingly, the
science of explaining to foreign audiences American purposes,
principles, priorities, and policies -- is vital to our national
interests."
Following is the text of Spalter's opening statement, as prepared for
delivery:
(begin text)
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committee. I am
honored to sit before you today as President Clinton's and Director
Joseph Duffey's nominee to serve as Associate Director for Information
at the United States Information Agency.
I am fortunate to have had the opportunity for six years now to serve
our great nation, and to work with and for some of the very finest men
and women -- both military and civilian -- I ever have had the
privilege to know.
But most importantly, along the way, I was able to meet one public
servant in particular who quite literally changed my life; she is here
today, and I am privileged to introduce you to her: my wife, Carrie
Goux.
Mr. Chairman, I believe that public diplomacy -- the art and,
increasingly, the science of explaining to foreign audiences American
purposes, principles, priorities, and policies -- is vital to our
national interests.
As men and women around the world yearn to find their own voices as
free peoples, I believe we in the United States bear a responsibility
to facilitate and encourage these aspirations. And no agency or
institution in the United States government is better prepared or
organized to take on this historic task than the United States
Information Agency and its Information Bureau.
By far one of the most innovative arrows in our nation's diplomatic
quiver, the "I" Bureau's purpose is deceptively simple, yet its impact
is quick, global, and often decisive: harnessing the most cutting-edge
information technologies and public diplomacy tools in the service of
promoting and protecting America's interests abroad.
Yes, it is true -- and happily so -- that people around the world now
have a greater range of information options than ever before in
history. Indeed, in recent years, we have seen that citizens at their
lap-tops and desk-tops often are as likely as the traditional
nation-state to drive political and economic change.
For this reason, the United States government must do more -- not less
-- to ensure that the linkage of computers and telecommunications
reinforces American ideals of free minds and free markets. Our job is
to make sure that in the increasingly "wired" marketplace of ideas,
bedrock American values can -- and will -- prevail. To do so properly
means that the United States, and its public diplomacy professionals,
must remain "virtually" engaged, "digitally" forward, and
technologically ready to confront the myriad of international
challenges our nation will face in the future.
This has been the heart and soul of the I Bureau's mission ever since
Director Duffey established it four years ago. And it is a mandate we
risk ignoring only at our peril.
Even as I testify this afternoon, the I Bureau's dedicated employees
are hard at work launching multilingual web-sites, conducting digital
video conferences, publishing electronic policy journals, and building
a variety of other unique electronic and people-to-people bridges to
key audiences around the world. As one of Vice President Gore's
reinvention laboratories, the I Bureau does business in a unique way
as well. Normal bureaucratic lines do not apply; supervisors are few.
Agility, cost-effectiveness, customer orientation, teamwork, and good,
old-fashioned common sense are what the Bureau is all about.
I think we all can be proud of what the men and women of USIA and its
Information Bureau have done to advance our nation's interests, and
bring American ideals to millions of people around the world. They
practice what I like to call the "diplomacy of the future," and with
your advice and consent, I look forward to working with them, and to
working closely with you. I would be happy to answer any questions you
might have.
Thank you very much.
(end text)