Huge news for the State Department

From the Associated Press:

Bush Seeks Money for 1,076 New Diplomats

By MATTHEW LEE

Sunday, February 3, 2008; 2:01 PM

WASHINGTON — President Bush wants to hire nearly 1,100 new diplomats to address severe staffing shortages and put the State Department on track to meet an ambitious call to double its size over the next decade, The Associated Press has learned.

The additional positions are part of an $8.2 billion request for State Department operations for the 2009 budget year that Bush will submit to Congress on Monday, according to documents described by officials.

That request would be $690 million, or 9.1 percent, above the current level for department operations, the officials said.

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The spending request is subject to congressional approval.

The overall figures do not include foreign aid, part of a separate department budget request. Nor do they cover spending for most department operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said.

Bush’s proposal envisions adding 1,076 jobs at the State Department and diplomatic missions overseas in what officials believe would be one of the largest one-year boosts to the ranks of the foreign service.

The department is facing a critical shortage of diplomats and many embassies are operating at only 70 percent of their desired staffing levels. Last fall, the department said 10 percent of vacant positions would have to remain unfilled this year due to a lack of personnel.

The plan includes 450 jobs to free up current diplomats for intensive language and national security training, 350 posts for the Civilian Stabilization Program, 200 diplomatic security agents, and 50 political advisers for military commands.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has lobbied hard for the new hires, making several appearances before a White House budget appeals committee to fight efforts to trim the proposal, officials said.

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