Partnership for a Secure America

Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) is a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. that seeks to promote bipartisan solutions to today's critical national security and foreign policy issues.[1] Created by former Congressman Lee H. Hamilton and former Senator Warren Rudman (R-NH) in 2005, the Partnership for a Secure America works with leading Democrats and Republicans to rebuild the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy.

Partnership for a Secure America
AbbreviationPSA
Formation2005 (2005)
FounderLee H. Hamilton Warren Rudman
TypeNonprofit organization
Headquarters1990 M. Street NW, Suite 250
Location
  • Washington, D.C.
Websitepsaonline.org

Advisory board

Current members of Partnership for a Secure America's bipartisan advisory board include:[1]

Programs

Partnership for a Secure America is most well known on Capitol Hill for its bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Partnership Program (CPP), which it has run since 2009.[2] Participants in this program get a special look at foreign policy and national security issues through a number of policy seminars with current and former administration officials. Previous speakers have included members of PSA's bipartisan advisory board, Tara Sonenshine,[3] Ben Rhodes[4] and others. Participants in the Congressional Partnership Program have also visited a number of organizations that influence international affairs.[5]

PSA also works with the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation to equip congressional staff with a foundation of knowledge on negotiation and consensus-building strategies that will help participants develop bipartisan solutions to seemingly intractable issues. The program focuses on countering the win-lose style of negotiations, and instead focuses on win-win negotiation tactics.[6] The PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program has been running since 2014.[7]

Since 2012, Partnership for a Secure America has worked with the US Institute of Peace "to provide opportunities for congressional staff to engage with leading experts and fellow Capitol Hill staffers in bipartisan forums."[8] PSA has put on over 90 briefings with the US Institute of Peace, on topics ranging from Tunisian security issues and Afghanistan elections to revolutions in Egypt and Ukraine.

Publications

PSA's bipartisan policy statements are signed by influential policy leaders and are pivotal in advancing bipartisan consensus and have garnered coverage by leading newspapers around the world. These statements help create bipartisan consensus among Democrats and Republicans on issues ranging from non-proliferation to climate change.[9][10]

Arms Control and Nonproliferation

In September 2008, PSA issued a report card on the government's progress on preventing catastrophic nuclear, biological, or chemical attacks on the US.[1] The organization gave the government an overall grade of C.[11]

Subject Issue Area Grade
Nuclear Terrorism[11] Preventing Nuclear Terrorism C
Cooperative nonproliferation and counter proliferation C+
Detecting and inter detecting weapons and materials B
Integrating US Programs D
Sustaining Programs D
Chemical Terrorism[12] Preventing Chemical Terrorism B-
Recognizing and preventing Chemical Terrorism Threat C-
Detection and mitigation B
Protecting Critical Infrastructure C+
Demilitarizing chemical weapons B
Biological Terrorism[13] Preventing biological terrorism C-
Denying access to bioterrorism agents B
Detecting covert bioterrorism preparations C-
Law enforcement interdiction B-
Establishing international cooperation D+
New vaccines and drugs C-
Global public health preparedness and response B

Climate

In March 2013, PSA released a statement highlighting the "staggering" cost of inaction, signed by 38 lawmakers, Cabinet secretaries, military and intelligence officials and national security experts. In the following weeks, the organization brought George P. Shultz, Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State, to Capitol Hill to hold a briefing on climate change and how it affects American national security and its role in the world.[14] In total, PSA has released three bipartisan policy statements highlighting the importance of preventing climate change. One draws attention to the fact that the while the military and intelligence forces can monitor and protect us from terrorism, cannot protect us from rising seas, more violent storms, record droughts, spreading diseases and other long-term consequences of carbon pollution.[15] The most recent policy statement was signed by 48 Republican and Democrat senior politicians, military commanders, security advisers and diplomats—including Chuck Hagel, William Cohen and Madeleine Albright—and states that climate change is a threat multiplier,[16] as stated by the Department of Defense.[17]

References
  1. "About". Partnership for a Secure America.
  2. "Bipartisanship, in three courses". Politico. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  3. "We're sorry, that page can't be found". www.state.gov. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. "Hill staffers to watch in 2010". Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  5. "Partnership for a Secure America Fellows Visit the BBG". BBG. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  6. Gale, Rebecca (25 November 2014). "How to Negotiate Anything: Lessons Learned From the Capitol Leaders Program". Roll Call. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  7. Schneider, Elena (2014-09-26). "Step 1: Don't View the Other Party as a Demon". The New York Times - First Draft. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  8. "USIP, PSA Commence Congressional Briefing Series". United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2016-05-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Event: A Changing Security Landscape – U.S. Military Response to the Next Emerging Challenge". 3 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  11. "Middling Marks". The Washington Post. 2008-09-09. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  12. "Middling Marks". The Washington Post. 2008-09-09. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  13. "Middling Marks". The Washington Post. 2008-09-09. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  14. Southall, Ashley (8 March 2013). "George Shultz Presses Congress to Act on Climate Change". The Caucus. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  15. "Climate Change: Still a War of Words". The Huffington Post. 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  16. "US defence chiefs have issued a grave warning about climate change". The Independent. 2015-10-22. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  17. Schlanger, Zoe (2014-10-10). "Pentagon Report: U.S. Military Considers Climate Change a 'Threat Multiplier' that Could Exacerbate Terrorism". Newsweek. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
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