Washington Report, 2007-01

Abstract

"A new sheriff has come to town, taking the reins with a purpose," Congressman Tom Lantos (D., California) said on January 5, the day he assumed leadership of the House Foreign Affairs Committee from his Republican predecessor, retired Congressman Henry Hyde (R., Illinois). Not a few congressional observers have wondered how the arrival of Congressman Lantos and other Democratic "sheriffs" who have been elevated to important leadership positions in the 110th Congress will affect the course of U.S. foreign policy, in general, and particularly with respect to the Asia Pacific.Senator J. Bennett Johnston discusses what we might expect from Capitol Hill in the coming two years, drawing on his in-depth, hands-on understanding of key congressional players and procedures. Washington Report is a bimonthly newsletter that provides an "inside-the-Beltway" perspective on developments in U.S.-Asia Pacific relations. The centerpiece of the report is an interview with a leading authority on an economic, political, and/or strategic issues of importance to transpacific relations.