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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Coons (D-Del.), introduced the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 today to renew and strengthen a key trade program with sub-Saharan African countries. AGOA is a trade preference program that...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed a joint session of the United States Congress: “It was an honor to have Prime Minister Kishida address a joint session of Congress today. Japan is a...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Coons (D-Del.), issued the following statement on the eighth anniversary of the arbitrary detention of Ekpar Asat: “Eight years ago, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) kidnapped Uyghur entrepreneur Ekpar Asat, who has remained...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the Liberian senate’s decision to establish a war and economic crimes court: “Liberian President Boakai and the legislature's recent move to establish a war and economic crimes court marks a significant...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the Biden Administration’s announcement of the expansion of AUKUS to include Japan before fully implementing AUKUS legislation within the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA): “The Biden...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing on the FY2025 budget request for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Witnesses included The Honorable Samantha Power, administrator at...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member and chair of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, yesterday introduced a resolution recognizing...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statement on the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) request for full membership at the United Nations (UN): “The PA’s...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), chairman and ranking member of the SFRC Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, Mazie Hirono...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), chair of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, today released the following statement after Georgia’s ruling party reintroduced a Russian-style foreign agent law: “It is incredibly...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today joined Senators Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) in a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram highlighting concerns over the Department of Health and Human Services’s recommendation to...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing on the implementation of the U.S. anti-corruption strategy. Witnesses included Mr. Richard Nephew, coordinator of global anti-corruption at the State Department, and Ms....

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statements following the committee’s passage of four unqualified State Department nominees: “I am disappointed the chairman decided to move four nominees today that have significant vetting concerns. For months I...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today joined 76 international parliamentarians and public figures in condemning passage of Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong. The joint statement is as follows: “As parliamentarians and public figures from around the world, we express grave...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, yesterday joined Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), ranking member of the Energy and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) today issued a statement on bilateral relations...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today gave the following opening remarks at a full committee hearing on U.S. strategy in the Pacific Islands region. Witnesses included The Honorable Daniel J. Kritenbrink, assistant secretary at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, The...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement in response to Majority Leader Schumer’s comments on Israel earlier today: “We should not attempt to dictate domestic politics of other countries. They will rightfully resent our efforts to do so. People in...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement in response to the Biden Administration's unfounded accusations that Congress is withholding critical funding...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today welcomed Polish President Andrzej Duda to the U.S. Capitol. “It was great to meet with President Duda today. The United States and Poland share a long-standing and productive relationship which has only been strengthened as we work...