Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations Committees

The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, created on December 10, 1816, was among the Senate's first standing committees and is one of its most prestigious. Because the Senate alone approves treaties and confirms ambassadors, the committee reviews every treaty submitted for ratification and every nominee for an ambassadorship or senior State Department post. The House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which traces its roots to 1822, was renamed International Relations for two periods before returning to Foreign Affairs in 2007.

Both committees have jurisdiction over the State Department, foreign assistance, arms sales, sanctions, export controls, and international organizations, and they write legislation authorizing the State Department's programs, though Congress has often failed to pass a comprehensive State Department authorization for years at a time. Their members lead congressional debates over war powers, alliances, and responses to foreign crises, and they review proposed arms sales to foreign governments.

Historic Senate chairs shaped American foreign policy: Henry Cabot Lodge led the fight against the Treaty of Versailles, Arthur Vandenberg built bipartisan support for NATO and the Marshall Plan, and J. William Fulbright held televised hearings questioning the Vietnam War. In the 119th Congress the Senate committee is led by Jim Risch, with Jeanne Shaheen as ranking member, and the House committee by Brian Mast, with Gregory Meeks as ranking member.