Pakistan denies that. And Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,says: "These are not new allegations."

VOA: special.2010.07.31

That would be in keeping with legislation proposed last year by Vice-President Joe Biden when he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

VOA: standard.2009.03.26

The Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and the top Republican on the committee, Richard Lugar of Indiana, introduced the bill on the Senate floor.

VOA: standard.2009.05.04

The Delaware senator has held two of the most important jobs in Washington: chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

CNN: Analysis: Biden gives Obama old-school cred

But the uncomfortable fact is that Mr Helms, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has a voice in foreign policy almost as loud as that of the president himself, and sometimes louder.

ECONOMIST: Not by Helms alone

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Joseph Biden of Delaware got the most time for questions.

NPR: White House Race Looms over Questions on Iraq