Ambassador designate Roemer to testify before Senate committee

Timothy J Roemer, US president Barack Obama's nominee as the envoy to India, will testify before a powerful Congressional committee tomorrow as part of efforts to confirm his nomination before secretary of State Hillary Clinton's New Delhi visit later this month.

A former US lawmaker and a member of the 9/11 commission, Roemer is currently head of Washington-based think tank Center for National Policy (CNP).

His nomination as the US ambassador to India was officially announced by the White House on May 28 and sent to the Senate on June 11. Roemer will appear before the Senate foreign relations committee tomorrow to testify.

Roemer is considered close to Obama and was among the first few Democrats to support his run for US presidency.

Before joining CNP, he represented the 3rd District of Indiana as a Congressman from 1991 to 2003 and was appointed by former president George W Bush as a member of the 9/11 commission.

He was appointed to the commission on the prevention of weapons of mass destruction, proliferation and terrorism, a bi-partisan commission created by Congress to examine how the US can best address this threat to national security.

In addition, he serves on the Washington institute for near east policy's presidential task force on combating the ideology of radical extremism, and the national parks second century commission.