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Updated May 22, 2020
United Nations Issues: Congressional Representatives to the
U.N. General Assembly
The annual session of the United Nations (U.N.) General
Legislative Authority
Assembly is held at U.N. Headquarters in New York City.
After the adoption of the U.N. Charter, Congress enacted
The President generally appoints one Democrat and one
the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 (UNPA; 22
Republican to serve as U.S. representatives to the session,
U.S.C. 287 et seq.), which provides legislative authority for
alternating each year between the House and Senate. At the
U.S. engagement in the United Nations. UNPA does not
74th session, which opened in September 2019, two
require congressional participation in sessions of the
members of the House of Representatives, Barbara Lee and
General Assembly, but anticipates and permits participation
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, served as congressional
of Members of Congress, among other U.S. representatives,
representatives. Two members of the Senate will likely
in such sessions. Section 2 of the act sets out the authorities
serve as representatives to the 75th session, which is
for U.S. representation the United Nations. Specifically,
scheduled to open on September 15, 2020. It is unclear
Section 2(a) specifies that the President, by and with the
how, if at all, the upcoming Assembly session may be
advice and consent of the Senate, shall designate not more
affected by Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Current
than five U.S. representatives to attend a specified session
General Assembly activities are being conducted remotely.
or specified sessions of the General Assembly. UNPA does
not specify whether Members are eligible to be appointed
Overview of the U.N. General Assembly
as U.S. representatives; however, Section 2(g) prohibits
The U.N. General Assembly is composed of all 193 U.N.
compensation for Members serving as U.S. representatives,
member states, including the United States. It is the primary
signaling that Members might serve.
deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the
United Nations. Each country, including the United States,
Role and Responsibilities
has one vote. A two-thirds majority vote is required for
The role and duties of congressional representatives are not
decisions related to key issues such as peace and security,
formalized; thus, the level and extent of congressional
admission of new members, and the budget. A simple
engagement during the Assembly session depends on the
majority vote applies for all other matters.
interests and priorities of individual Members. Delegates
generally travel to New York at the beginning of the regular
The Assembly’s annual regular session opens in September
session. In the past, some Members have attended the
and runs for one year. The main part of the session, from
general debate and the President’s reception for visiting
September to December, includes most of the work of the
heads of state, while others have stayed for several
Assembly’s six committees. The annual meeting of heads
additional days or returned for other parts of the Assembly
of state and government, often referred to as the “general
session. Congressional representatives have also followed
debate,” is held at the beginning of the Assembly session.
the activities of one of the General Assembly’s six main
Members of Congress generally serve as representatives
committees, with at least one Member tracking the work of
during this time.
the fifth committee, which is responsible for administrative
and budgetary matters related to the organization. Before or
History of Congressional Representation
during the session, Members may also schedule
The concept of congressional representation to the U.N.
appointments on policy issues of interest; these might
General Assembly emerged from extensive participation by
include one-on-one visits with heads of state, foreign
both Senators and Representatives in the 1945 San
representatives, or U.N. officials.
Francisco Conference on International Organization, which
led to the adoption of the U.N. Charter. The practice began
Congressional representatives have often received support
at the first Assembly session in 1946, when Members of the
from congressional committee staff and State Department
Senate and House held positions as representatives and
officials. For example, staff from the House Foreign Affairs
alternate representatives, respectively. Since that time, with
Committee (HFAC) and Senate Foreign Relations
few exceptions, each year two Senators have alternated
Committee (SFRC) might write statements, provide
with two Representatives—with the Senate typically
background materials and briefings, or arrange meetings for
serving in years when the House holds elections. In most
Members. State Department officials generally coordinate
cases, both parties have been represented and, when
meetings and brief Members on U.S. policy and key issues
possible, the Administration and Congress have aimed to
facing the Assembly. The Department also provides
select Members who have not previously served as
Members with office space and services in the U.S. Mission
delegates. (See Table 1 for a list of congressional
to the United Nations in New York City.
representatives since 2002.)
https://crsreports.congress.gov
United Nations Issues: Congressional Representatives to the U.N. General Assembly
Appointment Process
Bureau (IO/C). IO/C is responsible for accrediting,
As outlined in UNPA, the President, with the advice and
instructing, and managing U.S. delegates to multilateral
consent of the Senate, may designate congressional
conferences, including the General Assembly.
representatives. In practice, SFRC has developed a policy
of not holding hearings for temporary or part-time
Table 1. Congressional Representatives to U.N.
positions, including General Assembly representatives.
General Assembly Sessions: 2002 to 2019
Instead, both HFAC and SFRC have annually provided the
President with their choices, who are then nominated by the
General Assembly Main
Representatives or
President and confirmed by vote of the full Senate.
Sessions
Senators
Nominees for the 72nd and 73rd Assembly sessions in 2017
74th
Rep. Barbara Lee
and 2018 were confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
(Sept. 17-Dec. 27, 2019)
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
From 2013 to 2016, however, it appears that while SFRC
reported out nominees, the full Senate did not vote on the
73rd
Sen. Ron Johnson
nominations. For the 74th session in 2019, the President did
(Sept. 18-Dec. 22, 2018)
Sen. Jeff Merkley
not transmit nominations to SFRC, and thus no committee
72nd
Rep. Barbara Lee
or full Senate consideration took place. In each of those
(Sept. 12-Dec. 24, 2017)
Rep. Christopher Smith
years, Members of Congress still served as representatives
to the Assembly.
71st
Sen. Chris Coons
(Sept. 13-Dec. 23, 2016)
Sen. Ron Johnson
Committee Selection
Although both HFAC and SFRC have at different times
70th
Rep. Barbara Lee
documented procedures for selecting congressional
(Sept. 16-Dec. 29, 2015)
Rep. Christopher Smith
representatives, in practice the process appears to be
69th
Sen. Ben Cardin
informal and has varied over time depending on the
(Sept. 16-Dec. 29, 2014)
Sen. Ron Johnson
priorities and preferences of committee leadership.
68th
Rep. Barbara Lee
House of Representatives. HFAC does not appear to have
(Sept. 17-Dec. 27, 2013)
Rep. Mark Meadows
a formal process for selecting congressional representatives
67th
Sen. John Isakson
to the General Assembly. Based on past practice, it has
(Sept. 18-Dec. 24, 2012)
Sen. Patrick Leahy
assigned one Member from each political party on the basis
of seniority, starting with those who have not served as
66th
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle
representatives; however, in recent years HFAC members
(Sept. 13-Dec. 24, 2011)
Rep. Russ Carnahan
have increasingly selected participants based on the
Member’s level of interest in U.N.-related issues and
65th
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
availability to attend the session.
(Sept. 14-Dec. 24, 2010)
Sen. Roger Wicker
64th
Rep. Wil iam Delahunt
Senate. SFRC also does not appear to have a formal
(Sept. 15-Dec. 23, 2009)
Rep. Christopher Smith
process for selecting congressional representatives to the
Assembly. In practice, the chairperson and ranking member
63rd
Sen. Bob Corker
select the representatives, who are usually chosen from
(Sept. 16-Dec. 23, 2008)
Sen. Bil Nelson
among SFRC members. Similar to the House, congressional
62nd
Rep. Wil iam Delahunt
representatives from the Senate appear to be selected based
(Sept. 18-Dec. 21, 2007)
Rep. Ted Poe
on their interest in U.N. issues and availability.
61st
Sen. Barbara Boxer
Role of the Executive Branch
(Sept. 12-Dec. 22, 2006)
Sen. Norm Coleman
In accordance with the President’s authority to appoint U.S.
representatives to the U.N. General Assembly, the
60th
Rep. Donald Payne
executive branch is responsible for sending a letter of
(Sept. 13-Dec. 23, 2005)
Rep. Edward Royce
invitation to the individual Member appointing him or her
59th
Sen. Patrick Leahy
to the U.S. delegation. At the same time, it forwards the
(Sept. 11-Dec. 23, 2004)
Sen. John Sununu
names of the selected Members to the Senate for
confirmation, and encloses a full list of participants on the
58th
Rep. Amory Houghton
U.S. delegation. The first public notice is a press statement
(Sept. 14-Dec. 23, 2003)
Rep. Donald Payne
from individual members, a White House announcement, or
57th
Sen. Mike Enzi
a notice of intention to nominate as part of the General
(Sept. 16-Dec. 23, 2002)
Sen. Paul Sarbanes
Assembly delegation, subject to Senate confirmation.
Sources: CRS, White House and congressional press releases.
The State Department provides funding for U.S.
Notes: The dates represent the end of the main part of the
representatives to the General Assembly, including per
Assembly session. They do not represent the entire session, which
diem, transportation, and lodging expenses. These activities
typical y concludes the following September, the day before the next
are typically financed through the Diplomatic & Consular
session begins.
Programs account, which funds the Office of International
Conferences in the International Organization Affairs
Luisa Blanchfield, Specialist in International Relations
https://crsreports.congress.gov
United Nations Issues: Congressional Representatives to the U.N. General Assembly
IF10464
Matthew C. Weed, Specialist in Foreign Policy Legislation
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
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