On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a nomination hearing for five ambassadors to the Middle East and Central Asia. The first of the hearing’s two panels featured the Honorable Anne W. Patterson, to be Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The second panel featured Michael H. Corbin, to be Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Matthew H. Tueller, to be Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, ...

On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a nomination hearing for William J. Burns to become Deputy Secretary of State. The hearing was presided over by Committee Chairman Senator John Kerry (D-MA) with Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Jib Webb (D-VA), Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA), Richard Lugar (R-IN), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) in attendance. William J. Burns is a career foreign service officer and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia and ...

On Wednesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs held a hearing entitled “Human Rights and Democratic Reform in Iran.”  Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA) chaired the committee hearing, Senators James Risch (R-ID), Tom Udal (D-NM) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) were also present. Assistant Secretary of State Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael H. Posner; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State ...

On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs held an open hearing to discussFY2012 budget appropriations to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  The Committee —Chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and with Senators Ronald Johnson (R-WI), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) in attendance – requested the testimony of Dr. Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator. For full notes, continue below.  For pdf version, ...

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held an open nomination hearing to confirm the appointments of Mara E. Rudman, to be Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development for the Middle East, and Robert Patterson, to be Ambassador to Turkmenistan. Senator Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) presided over the nomination hearing. For full notes, continue below or click here. Senator Casey began the hearing by highlighting the fact that ...

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Thursday afternoon entitled, "Assessing the Situation in Libya."  Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg testified before the committee.  Committee Chairman Senator John Kerry (D-MA) moderated the hearing.  Ranking Member, Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) was also in attendance.  Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Bob Corker (R-TN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), James Risch (R-ID), Tom Udall (D-NM), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), ...

On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the implications of uprisings in the Middle East has on U.S. policy. The Committee—chaired by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) – with ranking member Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) in attendance –requested the testimony of William J. Burns, Under Secretary for Political Affairs. To read full notes, continue below or click here for pdf. Senator John Kerry opened by stating that the ...

On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations hosted a hearing on the State Department’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget.  The Committee—chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) with ranking member Senator Lindsey Graham in attendance—requested the testimony of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.To see full notes, continue below or click here for pdf. To see webcast, click here.   Senator Patrick Leahy made opening remarks welcoming the secretary ...

The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing yesterday to consider nominees for ambassadorial positions in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Turkey. Many of the questions posed by the Committee focused on democratization, human rights, governance, and institution building. The Committee—headed by Chairman Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and ranking Committee member Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-IN) —requested the testimony of four nominees. The first panel consisted of James ...

(POMED’s full notes continue below, or read the rest of the entry as a pdf document.) Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) opened the conversation with an aside on the war in Afghanistan, in light of the recent blow-up between the White House and General Stanley McChrystal. Kerry stated that America’s “top priority” is the success of its mission in Afghanistan and implored the concerned parties to remain focused on U.S. ...

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held a hearing to explore the history, efficacy, and enforcement of sanctions that target companies who do business with both the United States and Iran. The committee invited three individuals to provide testimony: Danielle Pletka, Vice President of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute; Joseph Christoff, Director of International Affairs and Trade at the Government Accountability Office; and ...

The Senate Committee of Foreign Relations hosted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the FY2011 International Affairs Budget for the Department of State. Senator John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, commenced the hearing by thanking Secretary Clinton for her hard work and travels. Citing a range of issues from the need to fight HIV/AIDS to the importance of supporting diplomats in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, ...

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on Tuesday to consider the nomination of Rajiv Shah to be Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In his opening remarks, Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) declared the mission of USAID “near the top of our list of priorities” and highlighted the committee’s efforts to reform foreign assistance through the Foreign Assistance and Revitalization and Accountability Act (S. ...

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing Wednesday exploring possible strategies in Afghanistan. The three witnesses representing alternative strategies were Dr. John Nagl, president of the Center for a New American Security, Dr. Stephen Biddle, Senior Fellow for Defense Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Rory Stewart, director of the Carr Center on Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. The witnesses and senators discussed the goals of ...

The U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday to testify about the current status of American involvement in Iraq. Ambassador Hill emphasized the importance of Iraq to the greater Middle East as a potential "engine for regional stability and regional economic growth." Towards this end, Ambassador Hill identified the support for "democracy and democratic institutions on a purely nonpartisan basis" as "imperative" for ...

The markup for Fiscal Year 2010 Markup for the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill (click here for summary) took place yesterday afternoon chaired by Appropriations Committee Chair Senator Inouye (D-HI). The committee's version of the bill includes far less than requested for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a significant increase in funding for Yemen, and the expenditure of Economic Support Funds (ESF) to support reform in Iran, not requested by ...

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hosted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the FY2010 budget for the Department of State. The hearing was moderated by the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Senator John Kerry (D-MA). Senator Kerry praised Secretary Clinton for the work she's done thus far and cited the twenty two countries and 70,000 miles she's travelled as evidence of how hard she's working. Kerry ...

The Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs hosted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to discuss the FY2010 budget for the Department of State. The hearing was moderated by Subcommittee Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Throughout the hearing, Secretary Clinton discussed her efforts to revitalize the role of the State Department which include investing in the people of the civil and foreign service at both ...

Yesterday, Ambassadors Jeffrey Feltman and Robert Blake appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for their confirmation as Assistant Secretaries of State for Near Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asia respectively. Senator Casey (D-PA) presided over the hearing and stressed the importance of these two regions to U.S. national security. During the Q&A the nominees fielded questions on Iran's nuclear program, Arab-Israeli peace, prospects for a Palestinian unity government, ...