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Updated August 31, 2021
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. The
cases, both parties have been represented and, when
75th session opened in September 2020 and operated
possible, the Administration and Congress have aimed to
remotely due to the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19)
select Members who have not previously served as
pandemic; congressional representatives from the Senate
delegates. (See Table 1 for a list of congressional
did not appear to participate. The 76th session is scheduled
representatives since 2006.)
to begin on September 14, 2021. It remains to be seen as to
whether the session will be held virtually or in-person (or a
Legislative Authority
combination of both), and to what extent, if any, members
After the adoption of the U.N. Charter, Congress enacted
of the House of Representatives might participate.
the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 (UNPA; 22
U.S.C. 287 et seq.), which provides legislative authority for
Overview of the U.N. General Assembly
U.S. engagement in the United Nations. UNPA does not
The U.N. General Assembly is composed of all 193 U.N.
require congressional participation in sessions of the
member states, including the United States. It is the primary
General Assembly, but anticipates and permits participation
deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the
of Members of Congress, among other U.S. representatives,
United Nations. Each country, including the United States,
in such sessions. Section 2 of the act sets out the authorities
has one vote. A two-thirds majority vote is required for
for U.S. representation the United Nations. Specifically,
decisions related to key issues such as peace and security,
Section 2(a) specifies that the President, by and with the
admission of new members, and the budget. A simple
advice and consent of the Senate, shall designate not more
majority vote applies for all other matters.
than five U.S. representatives to attend a specified session
or specified sessions of the General Assembly. UNPA does
The Assembly’s annual regular session opens in September
not specify whether Members are eligible to be appointed
and runs for one year. The main part of the session, from
as U.S. representatives; however, Section 2(g) prohibits
September to December, includes most of the work of the
compensation for Members serving as U.S. representatives,
Assembly’s six committees. The annual meeting of heads
signaling that Members might serve.
of state and government, often referred to as the “general
debate,” is held at the beginning of the Assembly session.
Role and Responsibilities
Members of Congress generally serve as representatives
The role and duties of congressional representatives are not
during this time.
formalized; thus, the level and extent of congressional
engagement during the Assembly session depends on the
It is unclear what General Assembly events will be held in
interests and priorities of individual Members. Delegates
person or virtually during the 76th session. On August 26,
generally travel to New York at the beginning of the regular
the U.N. spokesperson described the situation as “in flux”
session. In the past, some Members have attended the
due to COVID-19. Previously, the 75th session of the
general debate and the President’s reception for visiting
Assembly was virtual, with most high-level speeches
heads of state, while others have stayed for several
delivered via video link. Members used a “silence
additional days or returned for other parts of the Assembly
procedure” to adopt resolutions. Under this procedure, the
session. Congressional representatives have also followed
President of the Assembly circulates a draft resolution and
the activities of one of the General Assembly’s six main
members have at least 72 hours to raise objections. If there
committees, with at least one Member tracking the work of
are no objections, the President then circulated a letter
the fifth committee, which is responsible for administrative
stating that the 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
announcement, or a notice of intention to nominate as part
background materials and briefings, or arrange meetings for
of the General Assembly delegation, subject to Senate
Members. State Department officials generally coordinate
confirmation.
meetings and brief Members on U.S. policy and key issues
facing the Assembly. The Department also provides
The State Department provides funding for U.S.
Members with office space and services in the U.S. Mission
representatives to the General Assembly, including per
to the United Nations in New York City.
diem, transportation, and lodging expenses. These activities
are typically financed through the Diplomatic & Consular
Appointment Process
Programs account, which funds the Office of International
As outlined in UNPA, the President, with the advice and
Conferences in the International Organization Affairs
consent of the Senate, may designate congressional
Bureau (IO/C). IO/C is responsible for accrediting,
representatives. In practice, SFRC has developed a policy
instructing, and managing U.S. delegates to multilateral
of not holding hearings for temporary or part-time
conferences, including the General Assembly.
positions, including General Assembly representatives.
Instead, both HFAC and SFRC have annually provided the
Table 1. Congressional Representatives to U.N.
President with their choices, who are then nominated by the
General Assembly Sessions: 2008 to 2020
President and confirmed by vote of the full Senate.
Nominees for the 72nd (2017) and 73rd (2018) Assembly
General Assembly Main
Representatives or
sessions were confirmed by the Senate by voice vote. From
Sessions
Senators
2013 to 2016, however, it appears that while SFRC reported
75th
None due to COVID-19
out nominees, the full Senate did not vote on the
(Sept. 14-Dec. 27, 2020)
pandemic.
nominations. For the 74th (2019) and 75th (2020) sessions,
the President did not transmit nominations to SFRC, and
74th
Rep. Barbara Lee
thus no committee or full Senate consideration took place.
(Sept. 17-Dec. 27, 2019)
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers
In each of those years, Members of Congress still served as
representatives to the Assembly (with the exception of 2020
73rd
Sen. Ron Johnson
due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
(Sept. 18-Dec. 22, 2018)
Sen. Jeff Merkley
72nd
Rep. Barbara Lee
Committee Selection
(Sept. 12-Dec. 24, 2017)
Rep. Christopher Smith
Although both HFAC and SFRC have at different times
documented procedures for selecting congressional
71st
Sen. Chris Coons
representatives, in practice the process appears to be
(Sept. 13-Dec. 23, 2016)
Sen. Ron Johnson
informal and has varied over time depending on the
70th
Rep. Barbara Lee
priorities and preferences of committee leadership.
(Sept. 16-Dec. 29, 2015)
Rep. Christopher Smith
House of Representatives . HFAC does not appear to have
69th
Sen. Ben Cardin
a formal process for selecting congressional representatives
(Sept. 16-Dec. 29, 2014)
Sen. Ron Johnson
to the General Assembly. Based on past practice, it has
68th
Rep. Barbara Lee
assigned one Member from each political party on the basis
(Sept. 17-Dec. 27, 2013)
Rep. Mark Meadows
of seniority, starting with those who have not served as
representatives; however, in recent years HFAC members
67th
Sen. John Isakson
have increasingly selected participants based on the
(Sept. 18-Dec. 24, 2012)
Sen. Patrick Leahy
Member’s level of interest in U.N.-related issues and
availability to attend the session.
66th
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle
(Sept. 13-Dec. 24, 2011)
Rep. Russ Carnahan
Senate. SFRC also does not appear to have a formal
65th
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
process for selecting congressional representatives to the
(Sept. 14-Dec. 24, 2010)
Sen. Roger Wicker
Assembly. In practice, the chairperson and ranking member
select the representatives, who are usually chosen from
64th
Rep. Wil iam Delahunt
among SFRC members. Similar to the House, congressional
(Sept. 15-Dec. 23, 2009)
Rep. Christopher Smith
representatives from the Senate appear to be selected based
63rd
Sen. Bob Corker
on their interest in U.N. issues and availability.
(Sept. 16-Dec. 23, 2008)
Sen. Bil Nelson
Role of the Executive Branch
Sources: CRS, White House and congressional press releases.
In accordance with the President’s authority to appoint U.S.
Notes: The dates represent the end of the main part of the
representatives to the U.N. General Assembly, the
Assembly session. They do not represent the entire session, which
executive branch is responsible for sending a letter of
typical y concludes the fol owing September, the day before the next
invitation to the individual Member appointing him or her
session begins.
to the U.S. delegation. At the same time, it customarily
forwards the names of the selected Members to the Senate
Luisa Blanchfield, Specialist in International Relations
for confirmation, and encloses a full list of participants on
Matthew C. Weed, Specialist in Foreign Policy Legislation
the U.S. delegation. The first public notice is usually a press
statement from individual members, a White House
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United Nations Issues: Congressional Representatives to the U.N. General Assembly
IF10464
Disclaimer
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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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