I currently serve as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Previously, I served as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, and in the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment. The Committee on Foreign Affairs has broad jurisdiction to oversee the Administration's conduct of foreign policy. The Committee manages all foreign policy legislation introduced in the House, including that affecting the operation of the State Department, the Agency for International Development, and other foreign policy agencies. The Committee typically conducts one or two public hearings a week when the House is in session.

The activities of the Committee on Foreign Affairs have risen in prominence since September 11th. It has been at the forefront of reshaping the State Department and U.S. international broadcasting agencies through legislation in an effort to better meet our nation's international challenges. The Committee has also developed landmark HIV/AIDS legislation, and Millennium Challenge Account legislation, which authorizes President Bush's proposed development aid program designed to assist only those countries committed to productive economic policies and good government.


The Committee has held several oversight hearings on the critical countries of Afghanistan and Iraq, where substantial numbers U.S. troops are deployed. As a senior member of the Committee, I have pushed for expanded and more effective international broadcasting. I authored both the Radio Free Asia Act of 1997, which significantly boosted broadcasting activities to China, North Korea, and other Asian countries with repressive governments; and the Radio Free Afghanistan Act of 2001, which now brings a voice of liberty, tolerance, and democracy to a region that was once dominated by the Taliban-run hate radio. I have been active in strengthening relations between the U.S and India as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans in the 107th Congress. I have also worked extensively to call attention to the abysmal human rights conditions in countries like Vietnam and North Korea. For more information about my work on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, please see my foreign affairs biography.

SANCTIONS AGAINST AMERICA’S ADVERSARIES: IRAN, RUSSIA, AND NORTH KOREA

North Korea, Iran, and Russia have in different ways all threatened their neighbors and actively sought to undermine American interests. It’s long past time that the U.S. responds with meaningful action to hold these regimes accountable. In response, I introduced the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (H.R. 3364), which sanctions these three hostile regimes. The bill would also provide Congress with 30 days to review and potentially block the President from lifting sanctions.

On July 25, 2017, the House voted 419 to 3 in favor of H.R. 3364 followed by the Senate passing this legislation 98 to 2 moving the bill to the President’s desk. I have spearheaded efforts to increase sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Since the beginning of the 115th Congress, I have convened hearings looking into both Iran and North Korea’s illicit weapons programs and Russia’s disinformation campaigns and aggression. I have also advanced multiple pieces of legislation, including H.R. 1698, the Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act, H.R. 1677, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, and H.R. 1644, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act.