[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 104 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 104

Expressing the sense of the Senate encouraging the active engagement of 
 Americans in world affairs and urging the Secretary of State to take 
   the lead and coordinate with other governmental agencies and non-
     governmental organizations in creating an online database of 
       international exchange programs and related opportunities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 12, 2005

   Mr. Feingold (for himself and Mr. Hagel) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate encouraging the active engagement of 
 Americans in world affairs and urging the Secretary of State to take 
   the lead and coordinate with other governmental agencies and non-
     governmental organizations in creating an online database of 
       international exchange programs and related opportunities.

Whereas the United States needs to do a better job of building personal and 
        institutional relationships with peoples and Nations around the world in 
        order to combat the rise in anti-American sentiment that many polls and 
        studies have reported;
Whereas a broad bipartisan consensus in favor of strengthening United States 
        public diplomacy emerged during 2003 in Congress and was expressed in 
        various reports, including reports of the Council on Foreign Relations, 
        the General Accounting Office, the Advisory Commission on Public 
        Diplomacy, the Heritage Foundation, and the Advisory Group on Public 
        Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World;
Whereas, in July 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the 
        United States released its final report on United States intelligence, 
        which determined that ``[j]ust as we did in the Cold War, we need to 
        defend our ideals abroad vigorously. America does stand up for its 
        values. . . . If the United States does not act aggressively to define 
        itself in the Islamic World, the extremists will gladly do the job for 
        us.'';
Whereas the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 declares the sense of 
        Congress that the United States should commit to a long-term and 
        significant investment in promoting people-to-people engagement with all 
        levels of society in other countries;
Whereas international exchange programs, which have assisted in extending 
        American influence around the world by educating the world's leaders, 
        have suffered from a decline in funding and policy priority;
Whereas, when students are instructed in their civic and community 
        responsibilities during secondary education, the importance of their 
        participation in global affairs should be underscored as well;
Whereas the number of United States university-level students studying abroad in 
        2002-2003 was 174,629, representing just over 1 percent of United States 
        students;
Whereas \2/3\ of United States students studying abroad study in Western Europe 
        (18.2 percent in the United Kingdom alone), although 95 percent of the 
        world population growth in the next 50 years is expected to occur 
        outside of Western Europe;
Whereas there are 29,953,000 retired workers in the United States as of December 
        2004, meaning that there are many older Americans who have the talent, 
        maturity, and time to volunteer their services abroad;
Whereas the average United States college graduate who has studied 1 of the less 
        commonly taught languages reaches no more than an intermediate level of 
        proficiency in the language, which is insufficient to meet national 
        security requirements; and
Whereas there are hundreds of well-established organizations in the United 
        States that implement educational and professional exchanges, 
        international volunteering, and related programs, and the efforts of 
        those organizations could readily be expanded to reach out to more 
        Americans: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``People-to-People Engagement 
in World Affairs Resolution''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF SENATE.

    It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the Secretary of State should coordinate with 
        implementing partners in creating an online database that 
        provides information on how Americans can take advantage of--
                    (A) international exchange programs of the 
                Department of State, the Department of Education, and 
                other Federal Government and non-government entities;
                    (B) volunteer opportunities with organizations that 
                assist refugees and immigrants in the United States;
                    (C) opportunities to host international students 
                and professionals in the United States;
                    (D) sister-city organizations in the United States;
                    (E) international fairs and cultural events in the 
                United States; and
                    (F) foreign language learning opportunities;
            (2) Americans should strive to become more engaged in 
        international affairs and more aware of peoples and 
        developments outside the United States;
            (3) Americans should seize 1 or more opportunities toward 
        this end, by such means as--
                    (A) participating in a professional or cultural 
                exchange;
                    (B) studying abroad;
                    (C) volunteering abroad;
                    (D) working with an immigrant or refugee group;
                    (E) hosting a foreign student or professional;
                    (F) participating in a sister-city program; and
                    (G) learning a foreign language; and
            (4) Members of Congress should raise the importance of 
        international engagement in the districts and States the 
        Members represent.
                                 <all>