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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor advocating for the Senate to proceed quickly to the consideration of the accession protocols for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Watch Risch’s full floor remarks on YouTube here .   Highlights:  “The Senate has...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (TX-10), lead Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today sent a letter to Secretary Blinken expressing support for oversight and accountability of U.S. military, economic, and political...

WASHINGTON – Nearly one year since the Taliban’s brutal takeover in Afghanistan, U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in addition to Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), are calling on the United Nations to take targeted...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced the Economic and Commercial Opportunities and Networks Act (ECON Act), to strengthen economic and commercial diplomacy.“U.S. foreign policy must include strong economic and commercial diplomacy and policy,” said...

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. national security and economic statecraft: ensuring U.S. global leadership for the twenty-first century. The witnesses included The Honorable Jose W. Fernandez, under...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.)  today introduced the Global Food Security Act, which reauthorizes the Feed the Future Initiative, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative. The...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with U.S. Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the below statement following...

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 diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in U.S. diplomacy and development. The witnesses included The Honorable Gina K. Abercrombie-Winstanley, chief diversity and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently welcomed eight new committee interns for the summer term. “On behalf of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority, I’m happy to welcome a new group of talented and ambitious interns for our summer...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (Texas-10), lead Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today sent a letter to Secretary Blinken expressing concern that a mandated State Department report failed to address the Assad...

WASHINGTON – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, is a bipartisan commission that monitors religious freedom internationally. The commission’s authorization is currently set to expire September 30, 2022. In response, the U.S. Senate passed...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jeff Merkley (R-Ore.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) announced their bipartisan Senate resolution condemning the use of starvation and hunger as weapons of war has passed the Senate...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission and author of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, today led Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jeanne...

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 global food security crisis and the U.S. response. The witnesses for panel one included: The Honorable Samantha Power, administrator of USAID, and The Honorable Linda...

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 plans to host the second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit from December 13-15, 2022:“The Biden Administration’s announcement today of a date for a second U.S.-Africa...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today applauded committee passage of the  Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 2022 , legislation to enhance security at U.S. diplomatic facilities. “As the world faces new and evolving threats, we need the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today were joined by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) in releasing the below statements following the committee’s passage of their...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today applauded committee passage of the protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the accession of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and encouraged the full Senate to approve the resolution of ratification...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of State released its 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report:“Each year the State Department is required to submit its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, a crucial diplomatic tool...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement marking the 11th anniversary of South Sudan’s independence on July 9, 2022: “As South Sudan enters its eleventh year of independence, the United States remains a steadfast partner to the...