State Department Reform : Independent Task Force Report

This report by a high-level, independent Task Force finds the Department of State to be " in a serious state of disrepair" and suffering from " long-term mismanagement, antiquated equipment, and dilapidated and insecure facilities." To correct this, the Task Force recommends a strategy of reforms for the State Department and discusses the resources needed from Congress for those reforms.

The heart of the Task Force plan is a " resources-for-reform" grand bargain between Congress and the president.

The president and the secretary of state would pledge themselves to work with Congress for a thoroughgoing and needed reform of the State Department.

In return, Congress would commit itself to providing the necessary and substantial additional resources needed to carry out those reforms.

The pledge for reforms would provide the president with the leverage to gain support in the Congress for the new resources, and the resources would provide the necessary leverage to bring about the reforms.

The Task Force Report demonstrates that one cannot exist without the other, and that both the executive branch and the legislative branch have powerful reasons to conclude this grand bargain in America's national interest.

The report offers the new president and secretary of state a strong rationale for reforming the all-important Department of State.

It also suggests a strategy for getting the job done and provides an action plan that shows the path and the stones along the way.

Cosponsored by The Council on Foreign Relations and The Center for Strategic and International Studies