At a House hearing last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice faced questioning about the adequacy of U.S. public diplomacy funding.

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL), vice chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice, and Commerce, asked Rice whether the component of the budget to win “hearts and minds is really meeting the challenge”. Arguing that we are giving “short shrift” to these issues, Weldon reminded Rice that “We’re the appropriators,” and asked, “Are we engaging the academic community enough? Are we engaging Hollywood enough?”