We have been attempting to perfect it over 200 years through many trials and tribulations, and yet we still don't have it right.

I hope we are not telling our children and grandchildren that.

A democracy is defined as majority rule, or mob rule, and we have a constitutional republic.

But if you empower those people by working through the NGOs and the things like you guys do and find those leaders that are willing to tie into that, we'll win that every time because you cannot suppress people over and over again because…

This bill seems to be a paradox of federalism, stacking the deck in favor of oil drillers because states that want to drill can take over and drill, but states that want to protect their coasts and Federal lands face a hefty ransom.

But my state doesn't want any of this.

Thank you all for being here. I really appreciate it.

We need to continue to do that and I would note that the same thing applies to standing up for our own democracy here at home.

how much harder is it when the President of the United States seems to condone the actions of the worst and most brutal dictators in the world?

The work that you do has never been more important than it is today and, Mr. Wollack, I would join my colleagues in thanking you for your dedication to promoting democracy and rule of law.

The work of the State Department and USAID is incredibly important.

I remain very concerned about both the administration's lack of a real whole-of-government cohesive plan for the Middle East.

If you want to be a friend of the United States, drive the terrorists out of your mosque.

It is often difficult to know if the request matches the objective, because we are often presented with broader generic policy objectives rather than strategies to achieve those objectives.

I think we will help establish more security in the region as a result.

We have a President who has made tough decisions and have been strong.

Both of these were policy objective heavy and short on strategy.

We can acknowledge the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and work with our allies to address it, even as we decry Hamas.