WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department wants to extend the same benefits to partners of gay and lesbian American diplomats as their heterosexual counterparts enjoy, according to a notice that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is preparing to send out to employees.

"Historically, domestic partners of Foreign Service members have not been provided the same training, benefits, allowances and protections that other family members receive," the notice says. "These inequities are unfair and must end."

The change, however, is not a done deal, a senior administration official familiar with the memo said Sunday morning. The State Department cannot change policies without interagency review, the official said.

The official, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, did not want to be named.

Currently, domestic partners in same-sex relationships with Foreign Service members are not eligible to take part in special early-round applications for jobs at embassies, as heterosexual spouses can.

They are also not covered by their partners' health insurance, lack access to U.S. medical facilities abroad, and are not eligible for emergency evacuations.

Until now, the State Department had withheld these benefits citing the Defense of Marriage Law, which restricts the recognition of same-sex marriages on the federal level.

If the State Department makes the proposed changes in its regulations, those benefits -- and many others -- will become available.

"Providing training, medical care and other benefits to domestic partners promote the cohesiveness, safety and effectiveness of our posts abroad," the note says.

It will also help attract and retain personnel and, the note adds, "it is the right thing to do."

A member of the group Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies provided CNN with a draft copy of the note.

Two State Department officials independently confirmed the note's authenticity. They did not want to be identified because the memo is not public yet.




CNN, May 24, 2009

Championing diplomacy, the Secretary of State set a tone that was hopeful yet pragmatic

Women diplomats and citizen ambassadors got a public boost from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday.

Clinton gave the 177th commencement address at New York University's graduation in Yankee Stadium. Wearing a purple robe and bright smile, she contrasted her experience as a new graduate in 1969 and the opportunities for the nearly 30,000 in attendance. "When I was graduating," Clinton boomed, "diplomacy was the domain of privileged men working behind closed doors. Today, our diplomacy is not limited. We are laying the foundation for the 21st century."

Seemingly determined to recruit the graduates to government service, she called on them to be "citizen ambassadors to forge global partnerships to solve our planet's common problems." Clinton said the biggest dilemmas of today would be solved by those under the age of 30.

And acknowledging that the graduates would be entering the job market in an "uncertain" world, she said: "For those of you looking for jobs, we are hiring a new generation of diplomats. I hope many of you will join our ranks."

Clinton was introduced to a cheering crowd as possessing "discipline and passion, warmth and wit," and was applauded for her 2008 presidential bid, which would "hasten the day when a woman will hold the highest office in the land."

NYU President John Sexton referred to Clinton as a "magnificent New Yorker" as he granted her an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Then she stepped to the podium to deliver a sweeping, if not always serious, speech reflecting many of the ideals of the Obama administration, optimism in the face of a global economic crisis and a few traces of her own groundbreaking role as a woman in politics.

Her speech painted a rosy view of the future as a system of international partnerships and diversity that would yield "smart power" to conquer the "daunting challenges" of this era. She focused on her desire to increase study abroad programs for American and foreign students alike and urged young people to utilize communication technologies to build better global cooperation.

At a time when the government is grappling with a worldwide recession and ballooning national debt, Clinton gave an ironic confession. "I know that it is fashionable in commencement speeches to be idealistic," she said, "but at the root of my conviction is a strong sense of reality. I don't think we have a choice."

After some jokes and a quote from her favorite baseball movie, A League of Their Own--"if it were easy, anybody could do it"--she closed on a hopeful yet pragmatic note, saying: "There is no way to stop change; change will come. Go out and give us a future worthy of the world we all wish to create together."

By Jenna Goudreau, Forbes, May 14, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned college graduates on Wednesday to resist the temptation to disengage from world affairs, saying to do so would "cede the field to those whose ideologies are absolutely anathema to people of conscience and faith all over the world."

Delivering New York University's commencement address, Clinton acknowledged the turbulent national and global environment that graduates face, but said their education, energy and facility with new technology would help them navigate and improve the world.

She also acknowledged the perils of climate change, disease and global nuclear proliferation and warned the audience to take those challenges seriously.

"At the root of my conviction is a strong sense of reality - we don't have a choice," Clinton said. "We can sit on the sidelines, we can wring our hands, we can retreat into cynicism, and we know what the result will be."

The NYU ceremonies were held under sunny skies on the infield of the new Yankee Stadium. Donning a purple academic robe, Clinton, who served eight years as senator from New York before Obama nominated her as secretary of state, was loudly cheered as she marched in procession through the stadium.

The former first lady who battled President Obama for the Democratic nomination last year acknowledged that the efforts of young people had helped elect her erstwhile rival.

"Many of you, I know, used social networking platforms to make Barack Obama the president of the United States," Clinton said to loud cheers. She urged graduates to use those tools to help eradicate poverty and organize against repressive political ideologies around the globe.

"Does it get better than this?" Clinton said. "A graduation ceremony for one of the great universities in the world, in the home of the New York Yankees."

By BETH FOUHY , The Associated Press, May 13, 2009

BRASILIA (AFP) - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may visit Brazil late this month, a Brazilian foreign ministry official told AFP Tuesday.

"The possibility exists. The US secretary of state has been invited by (Foreign) Minister Celso Amorim and now the visit depends on us getting their agendas to coincide. The dates 27 and 28 of May are possible," said the official who declined to be named because the meeting was not yet confirmed.

If Clinton does make the trip, it would signal an uptick in US attention towards Latin America's biggest economy, which is being actively wooed by several states with which Washington has uneasy relations.

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun on Monday met with Amorim in Brasilia to discuss trade and stalled multilateral talks over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad early this month postponed a planned visit to Brazil until after June 12 elections in his country.

And China, which has steadily been increasing trade with Brazil, has been pushing for closer ties. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is to visit Beijing next week to see his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, and sign several bilateral agreements.

Clinton on May 1 expressed concern over "disturbing" Iranian and Chinese inroads into Latin America and said she was keen on more engagement.

"We are competing for attention and relationships with at least the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians," she said.

AFP, May 12, 2009