“Developing foreign language skills shows Americans’ respect and compassion for other cultures and builds mutual understanding between Americans and peoples of other countries,” stated Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Tom Farrell in support of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) at a briefing on the initiative March 9. Launched by President Bush in January 2006, the National Security Language Initiative is designed to dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical need foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, and Farsi as a means to strengthen national security and American global competitiveness in the 21st century. President Bush requested $114 million in the FY07 budget for the NSLI.