Thank you. Thank you all so much. Well, I am absolutely honored and thrilled beyond words to be here with you as our nation's 67
th Secretary of State. And I believe, with all of my heart, that this is a new era for America. (Applause.)
President
Obama set the tone with his inaugural address. And the work of the
Obama-Biden Administration is committed to advancing America's national
security, furthering America's interests, and respecting and
exemplifying America's values around the world. (Applause.) There
are three legs to the stool of American foreign policy: defense,
diplomacy, and development. And we are responsible for two of the three
legs. And we will make clear, as we go forward, that diplomacy and
development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of
the United States. And I will do all that I can, working with you, to
make it abundantly clear that robust diplomacy and effective development
are the best long-term tools for securing America's future. (Applause.)
In my testimony before the Foreign Relations Committee, I spoke a
lot about smart power. Well, at the heart of smart power are smart
people, and you are those people. And you are the ones that we will
count on and turn to for the advice and counsel, the expertise and
experience to make good on the promises of this new Administration.
I want to thank Steve for his comments that really summarized the full
range of experience and expertise of both the Foreign Service and the
Civil Service, and also to send my appreciation to all of the nationals
around the world who work in our embassies and work with government
officials. This is going to be a challenging time and it will require 21
st
century tools and solutions to meet our problems and seize our
opportunities. I'm going to be asking a lot of you. I want you to think
outside the proverbial box. I want you to give me the best advice you
can. I want you to understand there is nothing that I welcome more than a
good debate and the kind of dialogue -- (applause) -- that will make us
better. (Applause.) We cannot be our best if we don't demand
that from ourselves and each other. I will give you my very best
efforts. I will do all that I can, working with our President, to make
sure that we deliver on the promises that are at the very core of what
this new Administration and this new era represent. So we need to
collaborate, and we need to have a sense of openness and candor in this
building. And I invite that. Now, not everybody's ideas -- (applause) -- will make it into policy, but we will be better because we have heard from you.
I
also want to address a word to the USAID family. I will be there
tomorrow to greet them and thank them for the work they've done on
behalf of development through some very difficult years, because they
will be our partners. (Applause.) Now, as Steve candidly said, so
far, we're thrilled. (Laughter.) This is not going to be easy.
(Laughter.) I don't want anybody to leave this extraordinarily warm
reception thinking, oh, good -- (laughter) -- you know, this is going to
be great. It's going to be hard. But if it weren't hard, somebody else
could do it, besides the professionals of the Foreign Service and the
Civil Service and our Diplomatic and Development Corps. (Applause.) Now,
as you may have heard percolating through the building, you know, when I
was first nominated, I realized that there was this living, organic
creature known as
the building. (Laughter.) And as you probably
already know, we are expecting the President and the Vice President to
be here in the State Department this afternoon. (Applause.) Among
the many conversations that I've had with the President and with the
Vice President, over years, but certainly much more astutely and in a
concentrated way in the last weeks, we want to send a clear and
unequivocal message: This is a team, and you are the members of that
team. There isn't anything that I can get done from the seventh floor or
the President can get done from the Oval Office, unless we make clear
we are all on the American team. We are not any longer going to tolerate
the kind of divisiveness that has paralyzed and undermined our ability
to get things done for America. So the President will be here --
(applause) -- on his second day in office to let all of you know, and
all who are serving on our behalf around the world, how seriously
committed he is to working with us. So this is going to be a great
adventure. We'll have some ups and some downs. We'll face some obstacles
along the way. But be of good cheer -- (laughter) -- and be of strong
heart, and do not grow weary, as we attempt to do good on behalf of our
country and the world. I think this is a time of such potential
and possibility. I don't get up in the morning just thinking about the
threats and the dangers, as real as they are. I also think about what we
can do and who we are and what we represent. So I take this office with
a real sense of joy and responsibility, commitment and collaboration.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's get to work. (Applause.) Thank you and God bless you.
