In a discussion moderated by Andrea Mitchell of NBC News, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) offers legislative views of the Foreign Service, and addresses some important questions facing Foreign Service professionals today: How can the foreign affairs agencies and AFSA convince the relevant committees and members of Congress to fund and support the needs of the Foreign Service, ensuring that the appropriate resources are provided in order for diplomacy and development to succeed?
Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey is currently serving her eleventh term in Congress, representing parts of Westchester and Rockland Counties. She was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988 and served in the Democratic Leadership in 2001 and 2002 as the first woman and the first New Yorker to chair the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. A member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Lowey serves as Chairwoman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee and a senior Member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee, the Homeland Security Subcommittee, and the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel. Lowey is a strong advocate for women, children, and families. She has been a champion of education throughout her career, fighting for school modernization, teacher development, and literacy programs.
Andrea Mitchell, the veteran NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, is also the host of MSNBC'S "Andrea Mitchell Reports," an hour of political news and interviews with top news makers that airs each day at 1pm ET on MSNBC. Mitchell covered the entire 2008 presidential campaign, from the kickoff in February 2007, broadcasting live from every major primary and caucus state and all the candidate debates for NBC News and MSNBC programs, including Today, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Hardball, Morning Joe and Meet the Press. She also covered Barack Obama's trip to Iraq, the Middle East and Europe during the presidential campaign. Mitchell currently covers foreign policy, intelligence and national security issues, including the diplomacy of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for all NBC News properties. As a featured political correspondent in 2004, Mitchell was a regular panelist on MSNBCs Hardball and was the first reporter to break the story that Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry had chosen Sen. John Edwards as his vice presidential running mate. In September 2005, Mitchell authored Talking Back, a memoir about her experiences as one of the first women to cover five presidents, congress and foreign policy. That year, Mitchell also received the prestigious Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 2004, the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) honored Mitchell with the Leonard Zeidenberg Award for her contribution to the protection of First Amendment Freedoms.