Riga, August 17, 2015 – A delegation of U.S. Senators will visit Latvia on August 20 to participate in the inauguration ceremony for the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence. The delegation is led by Senators John McCain and Sheldon Whitehouse and also includes Senator John Barrasso. While in Latvia, the delegation will meet with President Raimonds Vējonis, Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs and will visit Adaži Military Base to meet with U.S. and Latvian troops. Additionally, the Senators will participate in the conference The Riga Stratcom Dialogue: Perception Matters at the National Library and lay flowers at the Freedom Monument. Senator McCain and Senator Barrasso last visited Latvia in April 2014.
NOTE TO THE EDITOR:
The delegation will lay flowers at the Freedom Monument at 3:15 pm. The flower laying ceremony will also be open to press. For more details about the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence Inauguration Ceremony and Conference please contact Ms. Linda Curika, Media coordinator at Linda.Curika@stratcomcoe.org.
U.S. Senator John McCain was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona in 1982. In 1986, he was elected to the Senate, where he is now serving his fifth term. Senator McCain is a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Committee on Armed Services, and Committee on Indian Affairs. He was the Republican Party’s nominee for President in the 2008 election.
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island in 2006 where he is a member of the Budget Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW); the Judiciary Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging. He is the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism and of the EPW Subcommittee on Oversight.
U.S. Senator John Barrasso was elected to the Senate from the state of Wyoming; he is a member of the Republican Party. He was appointed to the Senate in June 2007 and was elected to a full six-year term in 2012. Senator Barrasso serves on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Indian Affairs Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
