And you've mentioned the Tuareg, most of whom do not share al-Qaeda's ideological goals, either.

Well, I strongly agree with that. I had-- one of the most memorable moments of my career was in Timbuktu, meeting, having lunch ceremony with the local Tuareg and other people.

Isn't there some risk that, if we're providing general support to these abusive governments, that we could fuel anti-American attitudes and undermine our overarching counterterrorism goals?

I'm going to continue until the vote starts, and we'll leave the record open for this panel so we can ask additional questions if we like.

I'd just like to point out that I think we've been particularly good on this one.

the only really effective way to address this challenge is for the region to address it together.

Thank you very much.

We hope that President Tandja will return to a democratic and constitutional framework so that AFRICOM can again work with Niger.

It's an environment in which al-Qaeda-type organizations can thrive, but that is not necessarily the leading issue.

Earlier this year, Senator Schumer and I introduced S. 118, a bill to modernize and improve Section 202 housing for seniors across our country.

So those are some of the things that we see as particularly helpful in S. 118.

Senator Kohl, for one, has introduced the Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act, that would expand HUD's Section 202 Program to allow seniors to remain safely in their homes.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you very much, Senator Menendez. You are also in my thoughts and prayers, as well as all of your colleagues in the Senate.

Unfortunately, this program is not able to address the growing demand.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing to call attention to this very important topic. I support your bill, S. 1624, and ask that you add me as a cosponsor, please.

There is certainly nothing more American than ensuring that people have equal job opportunities and are paid fairly for a full day's work.

We lost an engineering professor to another university that did offer domestic partnership benefits because of his feeling that the lack of those policies was unjust.