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The Global Citizen: Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana lost his Republican primary yesterday to Tea Party backed conservative Richard Mourdock, after more than 35 years in the Senate. His defeat is not just a defeat for Lugar and his supporters, but a defeat for American national security and indeed the entire world. In the words of fellow Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Senator John Kerry, "It will soon almost sound cliché to say that America is safer today because of Dick Lugar's 36 years of service in the Senate, but it really does bear repeating."
Lugar's challenger, Richard Mourdock, said in his victory speech, that his campaign was about ideas for the future of both the Republican Party and our nation as a whole. Unfortunately, Mourdock's win is part of a disturbing pattern of election victories for Tea Party ideas, of unilateralists over more moderate, internationally minded Republicans.
On Tuesday I attended the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on "National Security & Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY 2013 International Affairs Budget," which featured Secretary of State Hilary Clinton as the key witness. While the foreign assistance portion of the U.S. budget is around 1%, this area of funding has been slightly reduced. In her testimony, Clinton identified the State Department's top five priorities for the coming year within the State Department's proposed budget.
Born out of war; that has been the headline from so many journalists concerning South Sudan. The dire circumstances which led to South Sudan's independence, are now causing the international community to work diligently with the South Sudanese to prevent continued violence and tension in the region.
Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing titled "Two New Sudans: A Roadmap Forward." Princeton Lyman, the United States Special Envoy for Sudan, was the sole witness. Lyman began by announcing how successful the independence celebration was in Juba on the July 9th weekend. The celebration is of course now followed by an abundance of issues that must still be addressed.
"I'm concerned that our interest and our challenge is incongruous with the essence of what we are trying to do here." These words, spoken by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), marked the first sign of any contention in the first meeting of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Menendez was referring to the issue of drug trafficking in Latin America and the affects of such trade on Latin American and U.S. citizen security. His concern was over the fact that the President's proposed FY12 Budget decreases funding for counter-narcotics efforts and law enforcement by 7% in the region at a time when drug trafficking remains a major problem.
U.S. special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration spoke before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, July 30. He criticized Sudan's inclusion on the U.S. terrorism blacklist, saying that there was no evidence to back it up and calling it "a political decision." He also said that it prompted economic sanctions that hindered development.
Yesterday the Senate adopted by unanimous consent the Kerry-Lugar Amendment to restore $4 billion to the International Affairs Budget cut by the Senate Budget Committee. The Senate budget now includes the President's request for this account of $53.8 billion in FY 2010 to fund next year's budget ' an increase of 8%, or $4 billion, over last year's funding level of $49.8 billion.
In his statement on the Senate floor, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) said:
I just got back from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee business meeting on the Law of the Sea. The final vote was 17-4 in favor of consideration by the full Senate.
The New York Times editorialized on the subject this morning:
I've had something of a one-track mind these past few months, as regular readers of this blog might have noticed. The Law of the Sea has been the subject of at least half of my recent posts and an even greater percentage of my advocacy focus.
The case for the Law of the Sea was essentially made by Matt Stoller's post and the response from Steve Clemons last week, though neither mentioned it by name. Steve writes:
The Senate won't move on the Law of the Sea until after the August recess. Holding hearings on the Convention this month, ensuring that it won't compete with appropriations bills for floor time in the fall, would've been the right move. But with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Joe Biden on the campaign trail, scheduling isn't all that easy. Leaders in both parties and the President want action, so this will become a test of Biden's leadership in the fall.
Senator Joseph Biden , who when he isn't busy running for president, also is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he expects his committee to adopt a resolution this week calling for full funding of the United Nations and payment of U.S. arrears.
While chairs of committees not only hold the gavel, but carry great power, this may not be a slam dunk (Where have I heard that phrase before?).
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