Summary and Highlights of the FY12 Foreign Relations Authorization Act
On Wednesday 7/20, the House Foreign Affairs Committee convened a Committee markup for consideration of H.R. 2583, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2012. The markup hearing concluded on the evening of Thursday 7/21, authorizing $48.3 billion in ...
July 24, 2011
Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Featured, Foreign Aid, Legislation, Reports, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: Hearing on U.S. Aid to the Palestinian Authority
On Tuesday, July 12, the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held the first of two hearings on “Promoting Peace? Reexamining U.S. Aid to the Palestinian Authority.” The hearing was presided over by Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH), and ranking member Gary Ackerman (D-NY). Also in attendance were Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY), Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), ...
July 12, 2011
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, United Nations, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Preserving Progress” In Iraq, Part 2
On Thursday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held the second hearing on “Preserving Progress: Transitioning Authority and Implementing the Strategic Framework in Iraq.” In attendance were Congressmen Steve Chabot (R-OH), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), and Brian Higgins (D-NY). Witnesses included Max Boot, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations; Michael Eisenstadt, Director of Military & Security ...
POMED Notes: Congressional Hearing “Iran and Syria: Next Steps”
On Thursday the House Committee on Foreign Affairs hosted a hearing entitled “Iran and Syria: Next Steps.” The hearing was chaired by Chairwoman Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL). Also in attendance was Ranking Member Howard Berman (D-CA), Vice Chairman Elton Gallegly (R-CA), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Chris Smith (R-IN), Bill Johnson (R-OH), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Jean Schmidt (R-OH), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Ted Deutch (D-FL), ...
POMED Notes: “Preserving Progress” in Iraq
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held a hearing entitled "Preserving Progress: Transitioning Authority and Implementing the Strategic Framework in Iraq, Part 1." In attendance were Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), and Gerald Connolly (D-VA). Witnesses included Patricia M. Haslach, Iraq Transition Coordinator, Department of State, Christopher Crowley, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East, and Colin ...
June 2, 2011
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Iraq, Military
POMED Notes: “War Powers, United States Operations in Libya, and Related Legislation”
On Wednesday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing entitled, “War Powers, United States Operation in Libya, and Related Legislation. Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI), Christopher Gibson (R-NY), and Thomas Rooney (R-FL). Committee Chairman, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) chaired the hearing with Ranking Member Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA) and other committee members in attendance. For full notes, continue below. For pdf version, click here. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen brought the meeting to ...
May 26, 2011
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Libya, Military, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: “Human Rights in Bahrain”
On Friday, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission hosted a hearing on the human rights situation in Bahrain. The commission – chaired by James McGovern (D-MA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA) – requested the testimony of the following individuals: Joe Stork, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa programs at Human Rights Watch (HRW); Maryam Al-Khawaja, Head of Foreign Relations Office at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR); ...
May 14, 2011
Category: Bahrain, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Gulf, Gulf Cooperation Council, Human Rights, Iran, Libya, Military, Protests, Reform, Sectarianism, Syria, UN Human Rights Council, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Shifting Sands: Political Transitions in the Middle East, Pt. II”
On Thursday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held the second in its ongoing series, "Shifting Sands: Political Transitions in the Middle East.” The witnesses for the hearing were Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), and Tamara Wittes, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, both at the U.S. Department of State. ...
May 7, 2011
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Middle Eastern Media, Political Parties, Protests, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: HFAC Hearing on Middle East Transitions
On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held the first in a proposed series of hearings entitled, “Shifting Sands: Political Transitions in the Middle East.” Testimony was given by a panel featuring, Elliott Cohen, Ph.D, Professor of Strategic Studies at The Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, J. Scott Carpenter, Keston Family Fellow at Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and ...
April 18, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Committee Meetings, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Islam and Democracy, Multilateralism, Neocons, Protests, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: “State and Foreign Operations Witness Hearing”
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations hosted a hearing of witnesses to discuss the foreign operations budget allocations for the Fiscal Year 2012 Budget. The Subcommittee chair Kay Granger (R-TX) presided over the hearing with ranking member Nita Lowey (D-NY) in attendance. The witnesses who testified before the subcommittee were Representatives David Dreier (R-CA), David Price (D-NC), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Frank Pallone Jr. ...
POMED Notes: “Libya: Defining U.S. National Security Interests”
On Thursday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing to discuss the current situation in Libya and U.S. involvement. The committee—chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), with ranking member Howard Berman (D-CA) in attendance—, requested the testimony of Deputy Secretary James B. Steinberg. To read full notes, continue below or click here for pdf. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen opened by stating that the President’s address to the nation on Monday was a ...
April 1, 2011
Category: al-Qaeda, Arab League, Bahrain, Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Libya, Protests, sanctions, Sudan, Syria, Terrorism, Tunisia, United Nations, US foreign policy, Yemen
POMED Notes: “Budget Hearing – USAID”
On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations held a budget hearing for the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Administrator of USAID, Dr. Rajiv Shah, testified before the subcommittee. The Congressional panel was moderated by subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX). Ranking Member Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) were also in attendance along with Reps. Jesse ...
March 30, 2011
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Event Notes, Freedom, Human Rights, Legislation, Libya, NGOs, Tunisia, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: HFAC Hearing on USAID and MCC FY2012 Budget
The House Foreign Affairs Committee held an open hearing on the future of foreign assistance along with USAID and Millennium Challenge Corporation FY 2012 budget requests. The committee, chaired by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and with ranking member Congressman Berman (D-CA) in attendance, requested the testimony of two individuals: Daniel Yohannes, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation and Dr. Rajiv Shah administrator of the U.S. Agency for ...
March 17, 2011
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Event Notes, Foreign Aid, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Budget Hearing – Millennium Challenge Corporation”
On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs held a hearing on the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s budget. Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX), with ranking member Nita Lowey (D-NY) in attendance, requested the testimony of Dr. Daniel W. Yohannes, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). To read full notes, continue below or click here for pdf. In her opening statement, Kay Granger stated that the Administration’s request ...
POMED Notes: “FY2012 Budget Hearing”
The House Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the House Appropriations Committee held a budget hearing on Thursday, March 10, 2011 for the administrations FY2012 budget request. Subcommittee Chairwoman, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chaired the hearing with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying before the subcommittee.For full notes, continue below. For PDF, click here.Congresswoman Kay Granger made opening remarks stating that both the administration and Congress must make ...
March 11, 2011
Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Legislation, Muslim Brotherhood, Reform, sanctions, Terrorism, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: ““Assessing U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities and Needs amidst Economic Challenges in the Middle East”
The House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held an open hearing on U.S. policy in response to the political unrest across the Middle East as well as to discuss the economic issues facing the region, the committee – chaired by Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) and with ranking member Congressman Gary L. Ackerman (D-NY) in attendance – requested the testimony of two individuals: Jeffrey D. Feltman Assistant Secretary ...
March 10, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Military, Multilateralism, North Africa, Palestine, Protests, Reform, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, US foreign policy
House Appropriations Hearing on State and Foreign Ops
On Thursday, the House Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations, held a hearing on "Key Issues for Congressional Oversight." Managing Director of International Affairs and Trade for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Jacquelyn Williams-Bridgers testified before the subcommittee. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) is Chair of the subcommittee. Bridgers testified that direct U.S. investment in Afghanistan and Pakistan is at considerable risk given the ...
POMED Notes: “Assessing U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities and Needs Amidst Economic Challenges”
On Tuesday, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held an open hearing to assess U.S. foreign policy priorities in light of the country’s current economic challenges. The Committee — chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and with Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) 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.Rep. Ros-Lehtinen opened ...
March 2, 2011
Category: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Protests, Reform, sanctions, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, US foreign policy, Yemen
POMED Notes: “Recent Developments in Egypt and Lebanon:Implications for U.S. Policy and Allies in the Broader Middle East, Part 1″
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs held an open hearing on Wednesday, focused on the future of Egypt and Lebanon in light of recent political instability in Lebanon and unrest in Eygpt. To discuss the issues facing these countries and the region, the committee – chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and with Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) in attendance – requested the testimony of three individuals: Elliott Abrams Senior ...
POMED Notes: “Sudan at the Crossroads”
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs held its first Members’ briefing on Tuesday. The briefing focused on the future of Sudan following the completion of referendum elections on secession. To discuss the issues facing the country, the committee – chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and with Congressman Howard L. Berman (D-CA) in attendance – requested the testimony of three individuals: Princeton Lyman, Special Advisor for Sudan, U.S. Department of State; Richard S. Williamson, ...
January 23, 2011
Category: Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Elections, Foreign Aid, Oil, sanctions, Sudan, United Nations