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Updated September 4, 2020
United Nations Issues: Congressional Representatives to the
U.N. General Assembly
The annual session of the United Nations (U.N.) General
alternate representatives, respectively. Since that time, with
Assembly is held at U.N. Headquarters in New York City.
few exceptions, each year two Senators have alternated
The President generally appoints one Democrat and one
with two Representatives—with the Senate typically
Republican to serve as U.S. representatives to the session,
serving in years when the House holds elections. In most
alternating each year between the House and Senate. At the
cases, both parties have been represented and, when
74th session, which opened in September 2019, two
possible, the Administration and Congress have aimed to
members of the House of Representatives, Barbara Lee and
select Members who have not previously served as
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, served as congressional
delegates. (See Table 1 for a list of congressional
representatives. Two members of the Senate will likely
representatives since 2002.)
serve as representatives to the 75th session, which is
scheduled to open on September 15, 2020. In July 2020,
Legislative Authority
U.N. members decided that the Assembly session would be
After the adoption of the U.N. Charter, Congress enacted
conducted virtually due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019
the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 (UNPA; 22
(COVID-19). It is unclear how, if at all, the activities of
U.S.C. 287 et seq.), which provides legislative authority for
congressional representatives may be affected by this
U.S. engagement in the United Nations. UNPA does not
decision.
require congressional participation in sessions of the
General Assembly, but anticipates and permits participation
Overview of the U.N. General Assembly
of Members of Congress, among other U.S. representatives,
The U.N. General Assembly is composed of all 193 U.N.
in such sessions. Section 2 of the act sets out the authorities
member states, including the United States. It is the primary
for U.S. representation the United Nations. Specifically,
deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the
Section 2(a) specifies that the President, by and with the
United Nations. Each country, including the United States,
advice and consent of the Senate, shall designate not more
has one vote. A two-thirds majority vote is required for
than five U.S. representatives to attend a specified session
decisions related to key issues such as peace and security,
or specified sessions of the General Assembly. UNPA does
admission of new members, and the budget. A simple
not specify whether Members are eligible to be appointed
majority vote applies for all other matters.
as U.S. representatives; however, Section 2(g) prohibits
compensation for Members serving as U.S. representatives,
The Assembly’s annual regular session opens in September
signaling that Members might serve.
and runs for one year. The main part of the session, from
September to December, includes most of the work of the
Role and Responsibilities
Assembly’s six committees. The annual meeting of heads
The role and duties of congressional representatives are not
of state and government, often referred to as the “general
formalized; thus, the level and extent of congressional
debate,” is held at the beginning of the Assembly session.
engagement during the Assembly session depends on the
Members of Congress generally serve as representatives
interests and priorities of individual Members. Delegates
during this time.
generally travel to New York at the beginning of the regular
session. In the past, some Members have attended the
Due to COVID-19, the 75th session of the Assembly will be
general debate and the President’s reception for visiting
virtual, with most high-level speeches delivered via video
heads of state, while others have stayed for several
link. Members will also use a “silence procedure” to adopt
additional days or returned for other parts of the Assembly
resolutions. Under this procedure, the President of the
session. Congressional representatives have also followed
Assembly circulates a draft resolution and members have at
the activities of one of the General Assembly’s six main
least 72 hours to raise objections. If there are no objections,
committees, with at least one Member tracking the work of
the President then circulates a letter stating that the
the fifth committee, which is responsible for administrative
resolution was adopted.
and budgetary matters related to the organization. Before or
during the session, Members may also schedule
History of Congressional Representation
appointments on policy issues of interest; these might
The concept of congressional representation to the U.N.
include one-on-one visits with heads of state, foreign
General Assembly emerged from extensive participation by
representatives, or U.N. officials.
both Senators and Representatives in the 1945 San
Francisco Conference on International Organization, which
Congressional representatives have often received support
led to the adoption of the U.N. Charter. The practice began
from congressional committee staff and State Department
at the first Assembly session in 1946, when Members of the
officials. For example, staff from the House Foreign Affairs
Senate and House held positions as representatives and
Committee (HFAC) and Senate Foreign Relations
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United Nations Issues: Congressional Representatives to the U.N. General Assembly
Committee (SFRC) might write statements, provide
a notice of intention to nominate as part of the General
background materials and briefings, or arrange meetings for
Assembly delegation, subject to Senate confirmation.
Members. State Department officials generally coordinate
meetings and brief Members on U.S. policy and key issues
The State Department provides funding for U.S.
facing the Assembly. The Department also provides
representatives to the General Assembly, including per
Members with office space and services in the U.S. Mission
diem, transportation, and lodging expenses. These activities
to the United Nations in New York City.
are typically financed through the Diplomatic & Consular
Programs account, which funds the Office of International
Appointment Process
Conferences in the International Organization Affairs
As outlined in UNPA, the President, with the advice and
Bureau (IO/C). IO/C is responsible for accrediting,
consent of the Senate, may designate congressional
instructing, and managing U.S. delegates to multilateral
representatives. In practice, SFRC has developed a policy
conferences, including the General Assembly.
of not holding hearings for temporary or part-time
positions, including General Assembly representatives.
Table 1. Congressional Representatives to U.N.
Instead, both HFAC and SFRC have annually provided the
General Assembly Sessions: 2006 to 2019
President with their choices, who are then nominated by the
President and confirmed by vote of the full Senate.
General Assembly Main
Representatives or
Nominees for the 72nd and 73rd Assembly sessions in 2017
Sessions
Senators
and 2018 were confirmed by the Senate by voice vote.
74th
Rep. Barbara Lee
From 2013 to 2016, however, it appears that while SFRC
(Sept. 17-Dec. 27, 2019)
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
reported out nominees, the full Senate did not vote on the
nominations. For the 74th session in 2019, the President did
73rd
Sen. Ron Johnson
not transmit nominations to SFRC, and thus no committee
(Sept. 18-Dec. 22, 2018)
Sen. Jeff Merkley
or full Senate consideration took place. In each of those
72nd
Rep. Barbara Lee
years, Members of Congress still served as representatives
(Sept. 12-Dec. 24, 2017)
Rep. Christopher Smith
to the Assembly.
71st
Sen. Chris Coons
Committee Selection
(Sept. 13-Dec. 23, 2016)
Sen. Ron Johnson
Although both HFAC and SFRC have at different times
documented procedures for selecting congressional
70th
Rep. Barbara Lee
representatives, in practice the process appears to be
(Sept. 16-Dec. 29, 2015)
Rep. Christopher Smith
informal and has varied over time depending on the
69th
Sen. Ben Cardin
priorities and preferences of committee leadership.
(Sept. 16-Dec. 29, 2014)
Sen. Ron Johnson
House of Representatives. HFAC does not appear to have
68th
Rep. Barbara Lee
a formal process for selecting congressional representatives
(Sept. 17-Dec. 27, 2013)
Rep. Mark Meadows
to the General Assembly. Based on past practice, it has
67th
Sen. John Isakson
assigned one Member from each political party on the basis
(Sept. 18-Dec. 24, 2012)
Sen. Patrick Leahy
of seniority, starting with those who have not served as
representatives; however, in recent years HFAC members
66th
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle
have increasingly selected participants based on the
(Sept. 13-Dec. 24, 2011)
Rep. Russ Carnahan
Member’s level of interest in U.N.-related issues and
availability to attend the session.
65th
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
(Sept. 14-Dec. 24, 2010)
Sen. Roger Wicker
Senate. SFRC also does not appear to have a formal
64th
Rep. Wil iam Delahunt
process for selecting congressional representatives to the
(Sept. 15-Dec. 23, 2009)
Rep. Christopher Smith
Assembly. In practice, the chairperson and ranking member
select the representatives, who are usually chosen from
63rd
Sen. Bob Corker
among SFRC members. Similar to the House, congressional
(Sept. 16-Dec. 23, 2008)
Sen. Bil Nelson
representatives from the Senate appear to be selected based
62nd
Rep. Wil iam Delahunt
on their interest in U.N. issues and availability.
(Sept. 18-Dec. 21, 2007)
Rep. Ted Poe
Role of the Executive Branch
61st
Sen. Barbara Boxer
In accordance with the President’s authority to appoint U.S.
(Sept. 12-Dec. 22, 2006)
Sen. Norm Coleman
representatives to the U.N. General Assembly, the
Sources: CRS, White House and congressional press releases.
executive branch is responsible for sending a letter of
Notes: The dates represent the end of the main part of the
invitation to the individual Member appointing him or her
Assembly session. They do not represent the entire session, which
to the U.S. delegation. At the same time, it forwards the
typical y concludes the following September, the day before the next
names of the selected Members to the Senate for
session begins.
confirmation, and encloses a full list of participants on the
U.S. delegation. The first public notice is a press statement
from individual members, a White House announcement, or
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
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