Feature: the Pearson Program and U.S. foreign policy - State Department's Domestic Assignment Program

US Department of State Dispatch, August 2, 1993 by Juanita Adams

The State Department's Domestic Assignment Program (the Pearson Program) provides for temporary assignment of Foreign Service officers outside the Department. It aims to deepen their knowledge of foreign affairs legislation and of public concerns as well as to improve public understanding of U.S. foreign policy. Therefore, the program is a readymade tool for a U.S. foreign policy which is closely linked to domestic policy--a key point in Secretary Christopher's January 1993 Senate confirmation testimony (see Dispatch, Vol. 4, No. 4, p. 45).

The Pearson Program is named for former Senator James Pearson of Kansas, who sponsored the legislation in 1975. It assigns FSOs to positions in Congress, state and local governments, and non-profit organizations. The program also includes assignments to U.S. organizations involved in international labor affairs.

Coordinated by the Department's Bureau of Personnel, the program is open to all generalist Foreign Service officers with 7 years' experience. An effort is made to match the officer's qualifications and Foreign Service specialization with the needs of the local agencies that have requested the assignment. The assignment is usually for 1 year and may be extended for an additional year. Since the program began, about 140 officers have been assigned to local government offices and 98 to congressional committee staffs or staffs of individual representatives or senators.

James Hamilton, a Political Officer, worked on the staff of Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton (D) from September 1990 to April 1991. His job included work on an extensive project on how U.S. foreign policy should be reshaped as the Soviet bloc disintegrated. He wrote a speech on this subject, which Congressman Hamilton delivered before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council in April 1991.

"This took place against the backdrop of the war in the Persian Gulf," Mr. Hamilton noted, "which raised serious questions about the role of the United States in the post-Cold War world, the use of American forces abroad in the new environment, the willingness of the public to support policies unrelated to the former Soviet Union, and how overall U.S. interests applied in the new circumstances."

Mr. Hamilton adds that the Pearson Program can be used to advance the Administration's priority of "promoting U.S. economic development and job creation" by sending more trade specialists or other officers interested in economic and trade policies to the Hill "who are capable, and interested in concentrating on those priorities."

Lilli Ming is an FSO who served in China, Singapore, Morocco, and Bermuda where she became familiar with foreign business practices. She was assigned to San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos' Office of Business and Economic Development from September 1990 until July 1991. "The Pearson Program is designed to bridge the gap between domestic and foreign policy," says Ms. Ming. While in San Francisco, she helped local businesses interested in foreign trade take advantage of services offered by the Department of Commerce's Foreign Commercial Service and the Small Business Administration.

Ms. Ming also served as the Mayor's general adviser on international issues. "Sometimes public opinion was based on selective and occasionally narrow interpretations of special interest groups," says Ms. Ming. "It was important to provide the Mayor with a broad spectrum of views both for and against U.S. foreign policy goals."

Michael Senko, now Deputy Chief of Mission in Belize, worked on the staff of Senator Frank H. Murkowski (R) of Alaska and with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from August 1991 to May 1992. His experience made him more aware of the special regional interests due to physical proximity with foreign countries.

Alaskans, for example, were extremely concerned about what would happen in the Soviet Far East with the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Mr. Senko helped to draft a bill passed by Congress encouraging the Department to open a consulate there as soon as possible. A consulate was opened in Vladivostok within a matter of months in September 1992.

Foreign Service officers and their host agencies agree that the Pearson Program is highly effective. The officers' assignments broadened their understanding of the legislative role in foreign affairs and of the variety of public interests that must be taken into account in shaping policy. The host agencies benefited from the officers' expertise in foreign affairs and knowledge of the executive branch. Both profit from the State Department's goal to promote U.S. interests using all available tools.