Joe Lieberman in the context of "2000 United States presidential election"

The Committee on Armed Services, sometimes abbreviated SASC for Senate Armed Services Committee, is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (as pertaining to national security), benefits for members of the military, the Selective Service System, and other matters related to defense policy. The Armed Services Committee was created as a result of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 following the U.S. victory in World War II. The bill merged the responsibilities of the Committee on Naval Affairs, established in 1816, and the Committee on Military Affairs, also established in 1816.

Considered one of the most powerful Senate committees, its broad mandate allowed it to report some of the most extensive and revolutionary legislation during the Cold War years, including the National Security Act of 1947. The committee tends to take a more bipartisan approach than other committees, as many of its members formerly served in the military or have major defense interests located in the states they represent. The committee's regular legislative product is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has been passed by Congress and signed into law annually since 1962.

Al Gore served as the 45th vice president of the United States during the presidency of Bill Clinton from January 20, 1993, to January 20, 2001. Gore, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served as the junior U.S. senator representing Tennessee from 1985 to 1993, was selected as Clinton's running mate and took office following their victory in the 1992 presidential election over Republican incumbent president George H. W. Bush and vice president Dan Quayle. Four years later, in the 1996 presidential election, they defeated Republican nominees, Bob Dole and Jack Kemp, to win re-election.

Alongside Gore's vice presidency, the Democratic Party also held their majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate during the 103rd U.S. Congress following the 1992 elections, attained an overall federal government trifecta. Near the end of his tenure, Gore ran for president as the Democratic nominee in the 2000 presidential election and selected junior Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman as his running mate. They lost the 2000 election to the Republican ticket of Texas governor George W. Bush and his running mate, former U.S. secretary of defense Dick Cheney following the controversial Bush v. Gore Supreme Court decision. As vice president in his capacity as the president of the Senate, Gore oversaw the certification of Bush and Cheney as the winners of the election on January 6, 2001. Clinton and Gore were succeeded in office by Bush and Cheney on January 20, 2001.