In a historical move, President Barack Obama nominated former state department official Richard Verma, an Indian-American, as the next US ambassador to India.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Verma served in the Obama Administration as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs. In that capacity, he was Secretary of State Clinton’s principal advisor on congressional affairs and successfully led the department through a number of key budget and policy-related battles. He played a lead role in securing the Senate’s ratification of the New START Treaty with Russia, guided nearly 200 Presidential nominees through the Senate confirmation process, and oversaw and managed the Administration’s response to several major congressional investigations. He was also the lead U.S. Administration negotiator handling the development and passage of the most recent set of comprehensive sanctions against Iran.

It was widely expected that America would announce a new ambassador to New Delhi before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US this month. With Richard Verma’s appointment as ambassador in Delhi, US state department’s South Asia desk, which oversees relations with India, will have a very major Indian touch  to it. Nisha Biswal, an Indian-American from Gujarat, heads the desk and Atul Keshap, also of Indian descent — who served at the US embassy in Delhi, is one of her assistant deputy secretaries.

But Verma is not moving to Delhi anytime soon. His nomination has to be confirmed by Senate, where, however, he is not expected to encounter any major trouble or delay. He currently serves as senior counselor at Steptoe & Johnson and the Albright Stonebridge Group, founded and run by Bill Clinton administration officials including Madeline Albright.

Verma is also a senior national security fellow at the Center for American Progress, a Washington DC think tank.

Reference: Hindustan Times

A prominent group of journalists from India visited the USINPAC headquarters to understand and know more about the organization. The delegation was warmly received and hosted by USINPAC members. The event comprised of a session explaining in detail how USINPAC functions as an organization followed by a grand dinner.

The purpose of the delegation’s visit can be divided into the following points:

•  To Demystify America and provide a first-hand glimpse of the United States to key opinion-makers in India’s influential and booming vernacular press.
•  Examine how the U.S. international affairs community is structured, by interacting with public and private sector representatives who are instrumental in the foreign policy cycle.
•  Examine how policies are formulated and implemented under diverse and dynamic influences, by meeting with members of the Executive and Legislative branches to discuss decision-making dynamics.
•  Explore the human rights component of U.S. foreign policy and the efforts of public and private sector organizations that address international and domestic human rights issues, by illustrating strategies used by NGOs and federal, state, and local governments to formulate and influence human rights policy in the United States.

To see the event in pictures, click here

As India’s new Prime Minister Mr. Modi prepares for his first US trip, an anti- Modi petition replete with no facts and full with false accusations has been filed on the official website of President of the United States. The idea of this anti-India petition is to slander India as a ‘fascist state’ by making false allegations of human rights violations.
As a unified voice of Indian Americans, USINPAC strongly opposes this petition and encourages every Indian American to write to their lawmakers to ensure this anti-India petition is pulled down from the White-House website. This is the time to stay united and the best opportunity to discredit the motives and agenda of organizations engaging in perpetrating such lies which have no basis.
USINPAC successfully led a grassroots outreach efforts in Washington DC to stop the Resolution HR 417 from going to the House Floor for a vote in Nov. 2013. HR417 was a resolution intended to influence India’s upcoming elections by focusing on the 2002 Gujarat riots. USINPAC has been constantly working on the Hill to promote US-India strategic relationship.
We again urge you to pick up your phone, call your lawmakers and sign the following petition: http://wh.gov/luV42.
For more details, please ask us: info@usinpac.com

About the Event

On July 30th, 2014, USINPAC organized a Congressional Briefing on US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Exports to India at  the United States Capitol Visitor Center Room, Washington D.C.

The purpose of the briefing was to inform offices of lawmakers and thought leaders about the tremendous potential for US LNG exports, the nature and scope of the LNG import market in India, how LNG can advance energy security, a critical US foreign policy goal in the region, and ways to expedite LNG trade between the two largest democracies of the world.

The briefing mainly focused on the following key points:
• Significance of India as a trade partner of the US in LNG exports
• The DOE-FERC licensing process for approval of US LNG exports
• Potential for Legislative action to expedite US-India LNG trade

Speakers at the Briefing 

Congressman Ted Poe
Congressman Ted Poe is a leading advocate in Washington for limited government, free markets, low taxes and individual liberty. Rep. Poe serves on the House Judiciary Committee, and the Foreign Affairs Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. He has been a champion of LNG exports  and recently introduced a bill that would require the Department of Energy to expedite and approve exports of natural gas.

Congressman Pete Olson
Congressman Pete Olson represents the 22nd District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives and also serves on the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The Energy & Commerce Committee has wide jurisdiction over the energy, healthcare, and telecommunications industries and Rep. Olson’s contribution towards the LNG initiative has been immense.

 Congressman James Lankford
Congressman James Lankford is the U.S. Representative for Oklahoma’s 5th congressional district. From EPA regulations on the energy industry to the negative impact of regulations on banks and financial institutions, Congressman Lankford has always believed in making an impact and resolving issues. He is dedicated to freeing up business to grow and add jobs and take the United States to a bigger economic platform.

Erik Milito
Erik Milito is the director of Upstream and Industry Operations for the American Petroleum Institute. Mr. Milito’s work covers regulatory and legislative matters related to domestic exploration and production, including access to domestic oil and natural gas resources both onshore and offshore. Prior to his current position, Mr. Milito has served as API’s managing counsel covering a host of legal issues, including oil and natural gas leasing, royalties, environment, fuels, transportation, safety, and civil justice reform.

Sadanand Dhume
Sadanand Dhume is a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he writes on South Asian political economy, foreign policy, business, and society, with a focus on India and Pakistan. Mr. Dhume has served as India bureau chief of the Far Eastern Economic Review and as Indonesia correspondent of FEER and the Wall Street Journal – Asia, and is currently a South Asia columnist for the Wall Street Journal.

Dr. W. David Montgomery
Dr. Montgomery is an expert on the economic issues associated with climate change policy, and testifies as an expert witness in state and federal courts on antitrust and damages cases dealing with petroleum and natural gas markets. His scholarly work is frequently published in peer-reviewed journals, and Congressional committees have requested his testimony on climate change, issues affecting oil and gas markets, and other energy market and environmental issues on numerous occasions. He advises clients on the strategic implications of changes in energy and environmental policies and energy markets.

Dr. Michael E. Canes
Dr. Michael Canes is a Distinguished Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute (LMI) in McLean, VA, where he conducts research on energy and environmental matters. While at LMI he has directed the LMI Research Institute and was a contributing author to the 2008 Defense Science Board study of Defense Department energy strategy, “More Fight – Less Fuel.” Prior to coming to LMI, Dr. Canes was Vice President and Chief Economist of the American Petroleum Institute, where he served for 25 years. At API, Dr. Canes was responsible for the Institute’s economic research and statistical publications, and was frequently interviewed and quoted in trade and public media.

Ankit Desai
Ankit Desai joined Cheniere Energy, LLC from MWW Group where he served as a Senior Vice President and Strategic Counsel, managing the business portfolios and developing business leads for the privately-held and politically-active public affairs firm. Prior to his engagement with Cheniere, Mr. Desai held senior stations with the Health Information Center, an organization designed to promote the Affordable Care act, and with the life science venture capital firm Third Security, where he acted as Managing Director of the firm’s corporate communications and public relations enterprises.

Sandra E. Safro (Speaker & Moderator)
Ms. Sandra Safro is an associate at K&L Gates ,Washington, D.C. office. She focuses her practice on regulatory, policy, and transactional issues related primarily to natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and oil. Ms. Safro regularly advises on matters related natural gas commodity and pipeline transportation issues, as well as issues related to the import and export of LNG, including commercial agreements related to terminal capacity, developments on Capitol Hill, and proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Department of Energy (DOE).

To read the related Press Release, click here

To read the related media coverage of the event, click here

To see the event pictures, click here

To know more about USINPAC’s role in expediting LNG exports to India, visit www.usinpac.com/LNG-Initiative/