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Februarv
2.2009
The Honorable
Hillary
Rodham
Clinton
Secretary
of
State
U.S.Department
of
State
2201
C
Street
NW
Washington,
D.C.
20520Dear
Madam
Secretary:
Congratulationson
yourconfirmation
as
our
new
Secretary
of
State.
We
welcomeyour
leadership
inpromotingAmerica's
security
and
standing
in
the
world
and
look forward
to
working in
partnership
with
you.
As
youbegin
yourwork,
we hope thatyou
will
also
focus
on
equahzingtheinternal
State
Departmentrules
and
regulations
for
lesbian,
Edy,
bisexual,
and
transgender
(LGBT)
Foreign
and
Civil
Service
employees.
Recently,youreceived
a
letter from
the
goup
Gays and
Lesbians
in
Foreign
Affairs
Agencies
(GLIFAA),
signed
by
over 2,200governmentemployees,expressing
their
concems on
this issue.As in
the
case
offormer
Ambassador
to
Romania
Michael
Guest,
theinequitable treatment
of
LGBT
Foreign
and
Civil
Service
Officers
(FSOs)
and
their
partnersshouldnot
be
the
reason
why
highly
qualified
employees
leave
the
State
Department
at
a
time
when
their
serviceis
needed
more than
ever.
Many of
these
inequities,however, could
be
remedied through
your
leadership
as
Secretary,
without
legislative
changes.
As
youmay
know,by notincluding
same-sex
partners
in
the
definitionof
an
"Eligible
FamilyMember"(EFM),
the Departmentexcludesthem
from
many
of
the
State
Departmentbenefits,protections,
andservices
afforded
to
family
members
of
FSOs.These
benefits
are
importantto
the safety,effectiveness,
and
morale
of our
communities
abroad.
We
are
particularly
concerned
that theDepartment
has
not taken enough
steps
to
assure
the safety
and
security
ofnon-EFM
partners
of FSOs. Accordingto
the
State
Department'sown literature,
85%
of
FSOs are
likely
to be
a
victimof
crime
at some
pointduring their
overseas
career.
While
same-sex
partners
are
now allowed to
takesecurity
classes
through the
Foreign
Service
Institute, their
access
isonly
on
a space-
available
basis.Moreover,
they
are
still
denied
access
to
embassy
health services,
even
in
countrieswhere
grave
health
crises
exist.
They
are
not
includedinprotocols for
the
distribution of
Tamiflu
in
the
event
of
an
avian
flu
outbreak,
undercutting
the most basic
preventive
step
against
a
potential pandemic
outbreak.
Further,
if
an
evacuationis
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