Senate committees hone in on Obama’s foreign policy

President Obama’s foreign policy will be under the microscope next week.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will dig into the administration’s handling of the crisis in Ukraine on Tuesday. Administration officials including Brian McKeon, the principal deputy under secretary of Defense for policy, and Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary of State for european and eurasian affairs, are expected to testify.

The hearing comes in the wake of House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other senior lawmakers pressing Obama in a letter this week to arm Ukraine’s military to fend off Russian-backed separatists.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the Senate committee’s ranking member, has also called on the administration to step up its aid to Ukraine, and increase sanctions against Russia.

Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will also examine Obama’s Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, and Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are expected to testify.

The trio will likely face skepticism from senators on both sides of the aisle  on both the AUMF and administration’s strategy to combat ISIS.

Republicans have suggested that the AUMF doesn’t go far enough, and want a stronger U.S. role. Some Democrats, however, have balked over supporting a proposal that doesn’t expressly forbid the use of ground combat troops.

Elsewhere, the Senate Armed Services Committee will have a closed meeting Tuesday on Iran’s military and its regional impact. The meeting follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. The Israeli official suggested that without a change, the current negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program would result in a “bad deal.”

The Senate had been scheduled to take a procedural vote next week on legislation that would allow lawmakers to weigh in on any deal with Iran. Senate Democrats, however, suggested they would block the bill if it didn’t go through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or was taken up before March 24.

Details on these and other hearings follows:

Senate Appropriations Committee

March 10,  “Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Hearing: FY16 and FY17 Veterans Health Administration Budget”

2:30 p.m., Dirksen 124

Senate Appropriations Committee

March 10, “Hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2016 funding requests and budget justifications for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives”

10 a.m., Dirksen 192

Senate Armed Services Committee

March 10, “Posture of the Department of the Navy”

9:30 a.m., Dirksen 50

Senate Armed Services Committee

March 10, “CLOSED: Iran’s Military and Intelligence Activities and Impact on Regional Security”

2:30 p.m., SVC-217

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

March 12, “Examining the President’s Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration”

9:30 a.m., Russell 235

Senate Finance Committee

March 12, “Protecting Taxpayers from Schemes and Scams During the 2015 Tax Filing Season”

10 a.m., Dirksen 215

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

March 10, “U.S. Policy In Ukraine: Countering Russia and Driving Reform”

10 a.m., Dirksen 419

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

March 11, “The President’s Request for Authorization to Use Force Against ISIS: Military and Diplomatic Efforts”

9:30 a.m., Dirksen 419

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

March 12,” Visa Waiver Program: Implications for U.S. National Security”

10 a.m., Dirksen 342

Senate Indian Affairs Committee

March 11, “Nomination Hearing to consider Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri, of Arizona, to be Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission”

2:30 p.m., Dirksen 628

Senate Judiciary Committee

March 11, “Nominations”

10 a.m., Dirksen 226