Casey in National Security Working Group

WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been selected to serve as a member of the bipartisan Senate National Security Working Group.

“Becoming a member of the select National Security Working Group will give me an even greater role in bolstering the security of Pennsylvanians and all Americans,” said Senator Casey. “We face many threats ranging from terrorists and rogue nations acquiring nuclear material, to the IEDs that target our men and women serving in Afghanistan. I look forward to working within this bipartisan group to identify strategies that address these security challenges.”

In addition to his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Senator Casey is the co-founder of the bipartisan Senate Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Caucus.

Senator Casey has been outspoken in the effort to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Last year, his Iran sanctions legislation was part of a larger package signed into law and he has called on the Administration to increase pressure on the regime. Senator Casey has been the leader in the effort to stop the flow of ammonium nitrate, a key ingredient in IEDs targeting our troops, into Afghanistan. In 2010, he played a key role in supporting the ratification of the New START accord with Russia, which has bolstered U.S. national security.

The National Security Working Group is a bipartisan group of senators whose mission is to closely monitor and serve as official observers to executive branch negotiations with foreign governments on a range of national security matters, including arms control, weapons of mass destruction, export controls and missile defense.

As part of its mandate, the Group is empowered and encouraged to meet with legislators from foreign nations on topics of mutual interest and concern. A key feature of the National Security Working Group is that it is composed of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. This makeup is specifically intended to ensure that the Group works by consensus and to provide a forum in which issues critical to America's national security can be discussed in a strictly nonpartisan setting.