Congressional concern was also heard in a separate hearing of the full House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.

VOA: standard.2009.10.28

Recently the U.S.House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee passed a non-binding resolution recommending that President Barack Obama recognize the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

VOA: standard.2010.03.19

Representative Howard Berman, the Democrat heading the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement saying the news reinforces his determination to move a sanctions bill next month.

VOA: standard.2009.09.25

Dennis Hastert and Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking minority member of the Foreign Affairs Committee made a quick trip to Colombia.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Are the Democrats pushing Colombia away?

The former Massachusetts senator and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate is no stranger to foreign affairs, having spent almost three decades in the US senate as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

BBC: US Secretary of State John Kerry on first official trip

Fellow Conservative Richard Ottaway, who is chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said the comments were a "bit unexpected" and "the mood of the nation" was in favour of holding a referendum at some point in the future.

BBC: UK risks 'turning inwards' over EU referendum - US official