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
1.
This resolution may be cited
as the
People-to-People Engagement in
World Affairs Resolution
.
2.
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.