U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan will be with Vice President Joe Biden today in Fayetteville to welcome home the 18th Airborne Corps home from Iraq.

Hagan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is standing with the Obama administration’s foreign policy in other ways as well, Rob Christensen reports.

"I think the fact that we are drawing down troops in Iraq is good," Hagan said in an interview this week. She also has a personal interest with a nephew who is serving with the Army in Iraq.

She also supports the Obama efforts to put more troops into Afghanistan, particularly efforts to go after Al Qaeda in the rough mountain ranges bordering Pakistan. But she also worries about the long-term committment of military action in the region.

"It's good that Obama has been listening the generals on the ground in putting together a plan to go forward," Hagan said. "I'm obviously concerned about the long-term significance of it.

"But I certainly do support him in this effort," she said.

She would also like to see the NATO nations increase their in the region, so the U.S. does not have to do it alone.

North Carolina's senators will serve on all but one military subcommittee.

According to assignments released Tuesday, Sen. Richard Burr will serve on subcommittees on air and land forces, emerging threats and readiness, while Sen. Kay Hagan will serve on air and land, personnel and seapower.

Only a subcommittee on strategic forces will not have either senator.

The two senators both serve on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, an important post for a state with several military bases.

Hagan belongs to the Democratic majority, while Burr is the ranking Republican on the subcommittee on readiness.

Both of North Carolina’s senators now will serve on the Armed Services Committee in the U.S. Senate.

Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan was named to the committee last week, Barb Barrett reports. Now, Republican Sen. Richard Burr is on the committee too. He was named to the panel this week by GOP Senate leadership.

Although Hagan and Burr probably won’t agree on everything, the double appointment gives North Carolina — home of two major military bases — more of a voice on the committee that oversees military issues.

Former Sen. Elizabeth Dole sat on the committee before being defeated by Hagan, so it makes sense that Burr should take her place on the GOP side of the dais.

Burr also was re-appointed this week to the Senate committees on Intelligence, Energy and Natural Resources, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. He also continues his role as top Republican on the Veterans Affairs committee.

Burr dropped off the Indian Affairs committee.

Sen. Kay Hagan was understanding about her committee assignments.

Though the Greensboro Democrat did not get her requested post on the Senate banking committee — despite having worked as vice president of a major North Carolina bank years ago — she said she understood there was a lot of competition this year.

"There'll be another day," she said.

She added that she was "thrilled" to be serving on the Armed Services and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees. 

Sen. Kay Hagan will oversee the military and education.

The Greensboro Democrat was named to the Senate Armed Services and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committees Tuesday.

The Armed Services Committee has oversight of military research and development and veterans benefits, a natural fit for a senator from a state with several military bases. The HELP committee has jurisdiction over a hodgepodge of domestic policy issues.

Hagan said the military post would be important, noting that her father and brother served in the Navy and her husband, Chip, is a Vietnam veteran.

"I'm looking forward to working with our military leaders and our soldiers to ensure we have a 21st century military," she said. "We need to find ways to support the next generation of professional soldiers, with programs such as the 21st Century G.I. Bill, and ensure that they have the equipment and training they need and deserve to help keep our country safe."

She also cited her experience in the North Carolina legislature funding programs such as Learn and Earn to help high-school students get college credit.

Hagan got half of what she wanted. She had requested the same committee assignments as predecessor Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who served on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

During the campaign, she had strongly criticized Dole's tenure on the banking committee.

A Senate colleague criticized U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole Monday.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who sits on the Armed Services Committee with Dole, charged that Dole has "not been asking tough questions" about accountability for military contractors.

In Raleigh for a fundraiser for state Sen. Kay Hagan, McCaskill told Dome that she was disappointed with Dole's failure to look into what she called "war profiteering" in the Iraq war. A former state auditor, she estimated that there has been $150 billion in theft and fraud by contractors.

"There are tough questions that are begging to be asked, and frankly, Elizabeth Dole hasn't asked those questions," she said. "She very rarely asks a question."

McCaskill argued that the Senate has not done enough oversight of military contractors until recently and said that Hagan's background as a state budget writer would help her in Washington.

"We need more people up there that are willing to ask the tough questions," she said.