WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — and possibly the next secretary of state — says mistakes were made at the State Department in the deadly Sept. 11 assault in Libya, but Congress shares some of the blame.

Sen. John Kerry spoke at the start of Thursday's hearings. He says an independent probe pulls no punches about the lack of security at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi.

But Kerry also faults lawmakers for failing to provide sufficient funds to the State Department.