Congressional Delegations

Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called for increased and routine congressional oversight of U.S. foreign policy in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya that resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

"We should not turn over to unelected bureaucrats the control of our foreign policy," Burton said on the House floor Friday afternoon. "We should listen to them, we should have our ambassadors over there, we should have good people over there like the ambassador, that just lost his life.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Political observers will be watching Sen. Kerry's high-profile speech for hints about his future.

Rep. Cooper said Kerry will have a hard time persuading Southerners that Democrats are best at keeping the nation safe.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who's in line to become the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee following the primary defeat of Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), has hired the director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Homeland Security Project to be his new legislative director and general counsel.

Rob Strayer, a 2000 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, served as deputy staff director of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee from 2006 to 2011, with a special focus on counterterrorism policy, according to Corker's office. Starting Sept. 4, Strayer will supervise the legislative staff and serve as Corker’s primary adviser on Senate procedure and legislation.

Strayer replaces Ryan Berger, who will remain on staff as a policy adviser.

The vice-presidential candidate on Tuesday revived a political hit from the 2008 campaign that then-Sen. Obama didn't have enough experience.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has arrived in Guatemala on her fourth congressional trip in the past two years to spark progress on stalled adoption cases.

While U.S. adoptions from the Central American nation used to be commonplace, Guatemala banned the practice in 2008 following reports of corruption and other illegal practices. The ban has left some 350 adoptions in limbo, and Landrieu, the founding co-chairwoman of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, has taken the lead in trying to resolve them. 

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The two senators are touting their knowledge on foreign-policy issues, an area that is not Mitt Romney’s forte.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) was headed back to the U.S. Monday afternoon after a multi-country tour that has taken him to Israel, Jordan, Abu Dhabi and Afghanistan.

The visits will allow Portman to burnish his foreign policy credentials as talk of his getting a spot of Mitt Romney's presidential ticket heat up. This is the Armed Services Committee member's first trip to the Middle East and second time to Afghanistan since being elected to the Senate in 2010, although he's been there before as a congressman and U.S. Trade Representative.

In the Middle East, Portman met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, among others. The conversation in Israel and in Jordan focused on the Syrian and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts and Iran's nuclear ambitions. Read more...

The nonpartisan Foreign Policy Initiative is looking for young Capitol Hill staffers to participate in its inaugural Congressional Scholars Program this summer.

The program is for staffers ages 35 and younger who are interested in foreign-policy and national-security issues. It will run through July and August and includes hour-long sessions with experts on Fridays as well as networking opportunities.

The program is a prime example of think tanks expanding their reach and relationships on Capitol Hill, according to FPI.

The deadline for the application in June 7.

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Rep. Dana Rohrabacher has been severely critical of the Afghanistan government and has accused President Karzai of corruption.