DC and Delhi engagement as a two-way street

Shaping opinion in Congress is a continuous process and needs efforts beyond formal and informal official interactions

The recent visit of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to Pakistan and her trip to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir received condemnation from India, and the United States swiftly drew distance clarifying that the administration did not underwrite the journey by the Member of the House of Representatives from Minnesota.

The Capitol Hill has a distinct place in the United States Constitution and its separation of powers. Members of the legislative branch work independently to write laws for the administration to implement. The Members of Congress take a special interest in foreign policy and carry out regular oversight over policies pursued by the government across the globe. These could be on a track different from the official policy pursued by the administration of the day. It is said each member’s thoughts on foreign policy are like that of the Secretary of the State.

Over the past couple of years, much water has flown down the Potomac in Washington DC and the nature of representation in the United States Congress has undergone a change in terms of the issues members pursue. These in turn also depend on the nature of the districts, its constituents, issues of interest to the member and the larger political debate.

On issues with reference to countries or developments, views on the Hill are shaped by a combination of factors including outreach from the country at the official level, engagement of the diaspora with Members of the Congress and staff, advocacy and professional lobbies at work. These provide continuous inputs that supplement independent status papers published by the Congressional Research drafted by subject experts.

At times, the House or the Senate organises hearings on country/issue-specific subjects, for example the Senate Sub-Committee on Asia held last month on U.S. policy towards India, where, among other issues, Jammu and Kashmir figured. Some of these concerns do translate into a resolution, in turn having an amplifier effect. In the final run-up, what matters is a Congressional determination or passage of a legislation that binds the government.

Today, while there are more Indian-Americans serving as Members of the House of Representatives than ever before, correspondingly, there is an exponential growth of the second generation of the community members who work in separate branches of the administration and the legislature, adding a different dimension. They bring to offices their own perspective which has been accumulated through personal exchange of information from friends in India and various public sources.

It is well established that there is bipartisan support for India in the U.S., especially the Congress, which means both the Democrats and the Republicans favour engagement and developing ties with the country, which in turn smoothens the work of successive administrations irrespective of which party enjoys a majority in Congress and has a President in the White House.