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[1/2] Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), speaks during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2022. The bill is led by Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee. Under U.S. law, the chair and ranking member of the Foreign Relations and Foreign Affairs committees review major weapons transfers. They often take human rights into account and at times seek to delay or block planned sales. For example, Menendez opposes the sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft to Turkey for reasons including its record on human rights.

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - A majority of the U.S. Senate backed legislation on Wednesday to repeal two decades-old authorizations for past wars in Iraq, as Congress pushes to reassert its role over deciding whether to send troops into combat. The Senate voted 66-30 in favor of legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, or AUMFs, well above the 51 vote majority needed to pass the measure that would formally end the Gulf and Iraq wars. To become law, the repeal of the two Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, or AUMFs, must still pass the Republican-led House of Representatives, where its prospects are less certain. All of the votes against repeal in the Senate were from Republicans and the party's leader in the chamber Mitch McConnell issued a statement opposing it. It was also lawmakers' latest effort to reclaim Congress' authority over whether troops should be sent into combat, which backers of the repeal said had been improperly ceded to the White House as the Senate and House of Representatives passed and then failed to repeal open-ended war authorizations.

Under the Constitution, Congress, not the president, has the right to declare war. But to allow a president to respond to a threat, the Senate and House of Representatives can pass an AUMF. Members of Congress are not - for now - targeting a third AUMF, which passed days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. WILL THE REPEAL PASS THIS TIME? Congress has tried and failed to repeal AUMFs repeatedly over the past 10 years.

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Monday to advance legislation to repeal two decades-old authorizations for past wars in Iraq, as Congress pushed to reassert its role over deciding whether to send troops into combat. Under the Constitution, Congress, not the president, has the right to declare war. Proponents of the current bill call the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, or AUMFs, against Iraq "zombie" authorizations. They say they are outdated and inappropriate, given that the wars are long over and Iraq is now a U.S. partner. This month marked the 20th anniversary of the start of the 2003 Iraq war.

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. senators urged the Biden administration on Friday to share information with the International Criminal Court that could assist as it pursues war crimes charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last week, the court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The legal move will obligate the court's 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. Although the United States is not a party to the ICC, Biden said last week that Putin has clearly committed war crimes, adding that the ICC warrant was justified. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Representative Tim Burchett, a Republican member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, asked Blinken why U.S. funds are going to pay pensions in Ukraine when there is talk about funding for the Medicare government health insurance system. Blinken acknowledged the "generosity of American taxpayers," but said the burden had been shared by more than 50 other countries. The United States has committed $32 billion of security assistance for Ukraine, but $22 billion has been committed by other countries. And Washington has sent $2 billion in humanitarian assistance, but other countries have sent $3.5 billion, Blinken said. "If we pulled the plug on that, either ourselves or allies and partners, it would have disastrous consequences for Ukraine," Blinken said.

And I'm prepared to serve this," Representative Michael McCaul told Secretary of State Antony Blinken as he testified to the committee about the department's budget request. McCaul has launched an investigation into the messy withdrawal from Afghanistan and events in the country since. McCaul sent a letter to Blinken this week requesting the information before Thursday. Blinken responded at Thursday's hearing that the department is working to provide as much information as possible. Blinken told the committee that several Americans were being held in Afghanistan, but they were not being identified at their families' request.

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The United States is "actively" working on re-establishing a diplomatic presence in Libya, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, although he declined to provide an exact time on when the U.S. embassy can be reopened. U.S. Special Envoy for Libya, Richard Norland, has operated out of the Tunisian capital, and took occasional trips into Libya. "I can't give you a timetable other than to say that this is something we're very actively working on. I want to see us be able to re-establish an ongoing presence in Libya," Blinken said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. The United Nations' special envoy for Libya last month moved to take charge of a stalled political process to enable elections that are seen as the path to resolving years of conflict.

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - China is "very carefully" watching how Washington and the world respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but has not yet crossed the line of providing lethal aid to Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. "The stakes in Ukraine go well beyond Ukraine. However, he said he did not believe that China has been providing lethal aid to Moscow. "As we speak today, we have not seen them cross that line," Blinken told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing, the first of four times he will testify to congressional committees this week. "The post-Cold War world is over, and there is an intense competition under way to determine what comes next," Blinken said.

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee threatened to issue a subpoena if the State Department does not produce documents it has requested related to the August 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the committee said on Tuesday. Representative Michael McCaul sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting the information before Blinken's testimony to the committee on Thursday. Blinken is due to testify to congressional committees in both the Senate and House this week. Republicans have launched a series of investigations of Democratic President Joe Biden's administration since they took control of the House in January. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Simon Lewis; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed a bill that requires declassification of information related to the origins of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the White House said. Biden said he shared Congress' goal of releasing as much information as possible about the origin of COVID-19. The bill sailed through the Senate and House of Representatives without opposition before being sent to the White House. The FBI has also assessed that the pandemic likely originated from a lab leak. China said claims that a laboratory leak likely caused the pandemic have no credibility.

[1/2] Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends an Arab summit with U.S. President Joe Biden (not seen), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 16, 2022. If the resolution passes, the administration must submit the report within 30 days, or all security assistance to the country automatically stops. After the report is received, the act stipulates that Congress may adopt a joint resolution terminating, restricting or continuing security assistance to that country. Aides said it was too soon to assess how the resolution would be received, but they hoped it would trigger a broader conversation about human rights. Murphy, long a vocal critic of the conflict in Yemen and Riyadh's record on human rights, praised Biden for being willing to reassess ties.

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Forty of the 100 U.S. senators co-sponsored a resolution on Wednesday urging a strong U.S. government response to any Chinese efforts to clamp down on dissent in Hong Kong, including the use of sanctions and other tools. The resolution is non-binding, but is intended to convey a strong sense that lawmakers are closely watching events in China and will respond. China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 outlawing acts including subversion with up to life in prison. The law has been criticized by some Western governments as a tool to crush dissent, but the Chinese and Hong Kong governments say it has restored stability to the city after protracted pro-democracy protests in 2019. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti stands near a Los Angeles' flag during the opening ceremony of the “Wings of Los Angeles”, a bronze sculpture presented by Mexico's government at Griffith Park, in Los Angeles, U.S., June 6, 2022. REUTERS/Daniel BecerrilWASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee Eric Garcetti as ambassador to India on Wednesday, ending a nearly two-year nomination fight over allegations the former Los Angeles mayor mishandled workplace harassment complaints. Senators backed Garcetti by 52-42, as seven Republicans joined the majority of Democrats in supporting Garcetti and three Democrats joined most Republicans in voting no. "The United States-India relationship is extremely important and it's a very good thing we now have an ambassador," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who led a congressional delegation to India last month. Los Angeles mayor from 2013 until a term limit pushed him from office last year, Garcetti is close to Biden and co-chaired his 2020 presidential campaign.

Since the Senate on March 1 passed the bill - by unanimous consent - it now goes to the White House for Biden to sign into law or veto. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his intentions. The debate was refueled last month, when the Wall Street Journal first reported that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. Four other U.S. agencies still judge that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided. Representative Mike Turner, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said as he urged support for the measure.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said the full Senate could vote on the legislation in the next few weeks. That would coincide with the 20th anniversary of the March 19, 2003, invasion of Iraq. For example, Republican then-President Donald Trump said the 2002 AUMF provided legal authority for the 2020 killing in Iraq of senior Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Despite support from members of both parties in both the Senate and House of Representatives, there is also significant opposition. "Piecemeal repeal of those Iraq authorities is not a serious contribution to war powers reform," McCaul said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - China will maintain its cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States despite international concerns about the invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence agencies said on Wednesday. "Despite global backlash over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China will maintain its diplomatic, defense, economic, and technology cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, even as it will limit public support," they said in a report released as the Senate Intelligence Committee held its annual hearing on worldwide threats to U.S. security. "The next few years are critical as strategic competition with China and Russia intensifies in particular how the world will evolve, and whether the rise of authoritarianism can be checked and reversed," Haines added. Haines described "a grinding, attritional war" in Ukraine and said U.S. intelligence does not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Jonathan Landay, Michael Martina; Editing by Doina Chiacu;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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