congress

More than a dozen congressional Democrats say they plan to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress amid conflicting signals over whether he will pull out from the March 3 address. Netanyahu struck a defiant tone during a campaign event in Israel on Monday, saying he was “determined” to present the case for why Israel opposed the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran “before the members of Congress and the American people.”

The decision to appoint a new envoy to the United Nations comes as nuclear talks between Iran and the United States and other major powers are coming under fire from U.S. congressional critics of Iran, who are pressing for the passage of new sanctions that the White House claims will torpedo the delicate negotiations. 

President Barack Obama asked Congress Tuesday to authorize military action against Islamic State extremists, saying the U.S. can defeat them without being “dragged into another ground war in the Middle East.”

The White House and Congress must be pushed by public opinion to take immediate measures to stop the flow of stolen artifact into our country. Obama administration officials should meet with the proposed legislation sponsors and get behind the draft bills objective which is to “deny terrorists and criminals the ability to profit from instability by looting the world of its greatest treasures.”

The plunging price of oil is a geopolitical game-changer.(...)For now, though, there are potential foreign policy benefits to the United States, presuming deft diplomacy and an effective Congress will take advantage of the situation.

Today, a House Committee will hold a hearing on the subject, “Is Academic Freedom Threatened by China’s Influence on U.S. Universities?” China’s aggressive promotion of its primary public diplomacy program in North America has recently captured headlines as U.S. and Canadian academics have begun to push back against what is felt to be undue influence from Beijing.

Talk about America’s decline is usually wrong. But how else would you describe a country that, in a world of exploding tensions, is unable to confirm dozens of ambassadors to foreign posts because of partisan squabbling? Even by Washington standards, the Senate Republicans have hit a new low for hypocrisy. They denounce President Obama’s inaction on foreign policy — and simultaneously refuse to confirm his nominees for U.S.

The State Department and USAID haven't had an inspector general for over five years, and a growing chorus of lawmakers in both parties want new Secretary of State John Kerry to do something about it. "As you begin your tenure, we would like to raise an issue essential to the proper functioning of the Department of State. For more than five years, since January 16, 2008, the Department has lacked a presidentially-nominated, Senate-confirmed Inspector General."

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