The Connect U.S. community has a real opportunity to highlight the issues that are most important to us: climate change and its impact on developing countries; human rights; nonproliferation; and striking a balance between State/USAID and the Defense Department.

Nowadays, we mostly take our cell phones for granted. They're just part of how we function. It’s hard to remember life that didn't include hearing someone's ringtone going off at an inopportune moment.

On the heels of the Administration's announcement that it may offer a target for emissions cuts in Copenhagen, The Connect U.S. Fund, InterAction, USCAN and 1Sky issued a joint letter to President Obama suggesting ways in which the U.S.

In an expansive interview with Spencer Ackerman on the Quadrennial Defense and Development Review, State Department Director of Policy Planning Anne Marie Slaughter ruled out dissolving AID and merging it into the State Department:

Only one policy option has been ruled out: dissolving USAID and moving development work to the State Department. "There will be no merger," Slaughter said. "Secretary Clinton has made clear she wants a strong AID, a well-resourced AID, [and] wants diplomacy and development well-integrated."

The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition hosted the first public dialogue on the State Department's new Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) yesterday. Co-chairs Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew, Director of Policy Planning Anne-Marie Slaughter, and Acting USAID Administrator Alonzo Fulgham spoke before over 500 participants representing businesses, non-profits, advocacy organizations, think tanks, the public sector, and faith-based groups.