WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday applauded the inclusion of the Diplomatic Support and Security Act as part of the Department of State Authorization Act, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2022:
“Many of the conflicts we’re facing overseas have complicated political and economic roots and cannot be solved through military force. Our highly skilled and capable troops are trained as fighters – not diplomats. It’s time to get the State Department out of its bunker mentality, and I’m glad this bipartisan legislation will ensure we take full advantage of every tool in our foreign policy toolkit,” said Murphy.
Earlier this week, Murphy highlighted consequences of the United States continuing to ignore the value of nonmilitary foreign policy tools while our adversaries increase investments in development finance, international media, energy, and diplomacy.
Last March, Murphy introduced the Expeditionary Diplomacy Act, legislation to ensure we have sufficient diplomatic and political expertise on the ground in fragile states and conflict zones. The committee-passed version of the Diplomatic Support and Security Act included in the NDAA merges elements of the Expeditionary Diplomacy Act and related legislation introduced by Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho).
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