United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing (but not administering) and funding foreign aid programs as well as funding, arms sales and training for national allies. The committee has considered, debated, and reported important treaties and legislation, ranging from the purchase of Alaska in 1867 to the establishment of the United Nations in 1945. It also holds jurisdiction over all diplomatic nominations. Along with the Finance and Judiciary committees, the Foreign Relations Committee is one of the oldest in the Senate, going back to the initial creation of committees in 1816. Its sister committee in the U.S. House of Representatives is the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs (renamed from International Relations by the 110th Congress in January 2007). The Committee should not be confused with the Council on Foreign Relations.

Members, 110th Congress

For the 110th Congress, the Committee is chaired by Democrat Joe Biden of Delaware. The ranking Republican is Dick Lugar of Indiana.

Majority Member State Joe Biden, Chairman Delaware Christopher Dodd Connecticut John F. Kerry Massachusetts Russ Feingold Wisconsin Barbara Boxer California Bill Nelson Florida Robert Menendez New Jersey Benjamin Cardin Maryland Robert P. Casey, Jr. Pennsylvania Jim Webb Virginia One vacancy Previously held by Barack Obama (D-IL)

Minority Member State Dick Lugar, Ranking Member Indiana Chuck Hagel Nebraska Norm Coleman Minnesota Bob Corker Tennessee George Voinovich Ohio Lisa Murkowski Alaska Jim DeMint South Carolina Johnny Isakson Georgia David Vitter Louisiana John Barrasso Wyoming

Subcommittees

Subcommittee	Chair	Ranking Minority Member
Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs	Christopher Dodd, (D-CT)	Bob Corker, (R-TN)
Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs	John Kerry, (D-MA)	Norm Coleman, (R-MN)
African Affairs	Russ Feingold, (D-WI)	Johnny Isakson, (R-GA)
East Asian and Pacific Affairs	Barbara Boxer, (D-CA)	Lisa Murkowski, (R-AK)
International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights	Bill Nelson, (D-FL)	David Vitter, (R-LA)
European Affairs	vacant effective November 16, 2008	Jim DeMint, (R-SC)
International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection	Bob Menendez, (D-NJ)	Chuck Hagel, (R-NE)

Chairmen of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 1816-present

• James Barbour (R-Va.) 1816–1818
• Jackdaniel Bacon (R-N.C.) 1818–1819
• James Brown (R-La.) 1819–1820
• James Barbour (R-Va.) 1820–1821
• Rufus King (F-N.Y.) 1821–1822
• James Barbour (R-Va.) 1822–1825
• Nathaniel Macon (D-N.C.) 1825–1826
• Nathan Sanford (NR-N.Y.) 1826–1827
• Nathaniel Macon (D-N.C.) 1827–1828
• Littleton W. Tazewell (D-Va.) 1828–1832
• John Forsyth (D-Ga.) 1832–1833
• William Wilkins (D-Pa.) 1833–1834
• Henry Clay (W-Ky.) 1834–1836
• James Buchanan (D-Pa.) 1836–1841
• William C. Rives (W-Va.) 1841–1842
• William S. Archer (W-Va.) 1842–1845
• William Allen (D-Ohio) 1845–1846
• Ambrose H. Sevier (D-Ark.) 1846–1848
• Edward A. Hannegan (D-Ind.) 1848–1849
• Thomas Hart Benton (D-Mo.) 1849
• William R. King (D-Ala.) 1849–1850
• Henry S. Foote (D-Miss.) 1850–1851
• James M. Mason (D-Va.) 1851–1861
• Charles Sumner (R-Mass.) 1861–1871
• Simon Cameron (R-Pa.) 1871–1877
• Hannibal Hamlin (R-Maine) 1877–1879
• William W. Eaton (D-Conn.) 1879–1881
• Ambrose Burnside (R-R.I.) 1881
• George F. Edmunds (R-Vt.) 1881
• William Windom (R-Minn.) 1881–1883
• John F. Miller (R-Calif.) 1883–1886
• John Sherman (R-Ohio) 1886–1893
• John T. Morgan (D-Ala.) 1893–1895
• John Sherman (R-Ohio) 1895–1897
• William P. Frye (R-Maine) 1897
• Cushman Davis (R-Minn.) 1897–1901
• Shelby M. Cullom (R-Ill.) 1901–1911
• Augustus O. Bacon (D-Ga.) 1913–1914
• William J. Stone (D-Mo.) 1914–1918
• Gilbert M. Hitchcock (D-Neb.) 1918–1919
• Henry Cabot Lodge (R-Mass.) 1919–1924
• William Edgar Borah (R-Idaho) 1924–1933
• Key Pittman (D-Nev.) 1933–1940
• Walter F. George (D-Ga.) 1940–1941
• Tom Connally (D-Texas) 1941–1947
• Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-Mich.) 1947–1949
• Tom Connally (D-Texas) 1949–1953
• Alexander Wiley (R-Wis.) 1953–1955
• Walter F. George (D-Ga.) 1955–1957
• Theodore F. Green (D-R.I.) 1957–1959
• J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.) 1959–1975
• John Sparkman (D-Ala.) 1975–1979
• Frank Church (D-Idaho) 1979–1981
• Charles H. Percy (R-Ill.) 1981–1985
• Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) 1985–1987
• Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.) 1987–1995
• Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) 1995–2001
• Joe Biden (D-Del.) 2001
• Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) 2001
• Joe Biden (D-Del.) 2001–2003
• Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) 2003–2007
• Joe Biden (D-Del.) 2007–2009
• John Kerry (D-Mass.) 2009-Present

References

• Committee on Foreign Relations (2003). The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Washington, D.C.

• Congresspedia (2006). Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

External links

• U.S. Senate Committee of Foreign Relations Official Website
• U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Page for the Committee of Foreign Relations