January 26, 2023

Duckworth Joins U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), long-time member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, will join the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 118th Congress. Duckworth served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years before retiring from military service in 2014 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and is an Iraq War Veteran and Purple Heart recipient. She was among the first Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“I’m pleased to be joining the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to enhance America’s engagement around the globe, promote democracy and increase our national security,” said Duckworth. “Our nation’s standing globally is critical to ensuring we remain able to compete in the 21st century, and Illinois can benefit from the intersection of economic opportunity and business development with our allies and partners around the world. Additionally, one of Congress’s most solemn constitutional responsibilities is deciding when and how we choose to send America’s sons and daughters into danger overseas, which is one of the reasons I’m honored to join the committee that has jurisdiction over this most important issue.”

Senator Duckworth has a long history of working on foreign policy issues, particularly those related to the Indo-Pacific Region. A modified version of Duckworth’s bipartisan Strengthen Taiwan’s Security Act, which enables the Secretary of Defense to create a proactive plan to deliver lethal aid to Taiwan in the event of a contingency, as well as assess other capabilities critical to Taiwan's self-defense, was included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed last year.

In 2021, she co-led a bipartisan congressional delegation to South Korea, where the Senators discussed shared interests and future areas of cooperation and met with high-level officials. On that trip, the Senators also made a visit to Taipei to underscore U.S. support for Taiwan and to help announce COVID-19 vaccination donations as part of President Biden’s plan to provide vaccines to our global partners in need. In 2019, Duckworth participated in a tri-partisan U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee delegation visit to Southeast Asia to build and strengthen relationships with our Asian partners. She also visited Vietnam and Thailand as part of a U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services delegation, where she met with top government officials, delivered an address on the importance of serving one’s nation to a group of Thai military cadets as well as received an audience with the Princess of Thailand, Her Royal Highness Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to discuss bilateral relations between our two nations. 

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