Video: Clinton praises State workers in budget testimony

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday on the Fiscal 2013 Budget and priorities for diplomacy.

Clinton argued for $51.6 billion in funding for the diplomatic department. Defending the figure, she said it "represents an increase of less than the rate of inflation and just over 1 percent of the federal budget."

Clinton referenced the State workers engaged in economic diplomacy in her opening statement, saying that the "more than 1,000 State Department economic officers" are fighting against "corruption, red tape, favoritism, distorted currencies, and intellectual property theft" abroad. She called USAID and State employees overseas "the bravest people I’ve ever met."

"Working with them is one of the greatest honors I’ve had in public life," Clinton said.

The budget request would go also toward using technology in State's activities. The technology, she said, is "updating diplomacy and development for the 21st century."

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