It is a huge issue for DEA and our counterparts--drug-related corruption and other related crimes involved with that.

I am hopeful that by holding this hearing we can highlight the critical need for greater engagement, attention, and, quite likely, more resources to fully address this problem.

a prime example of this type of individual was Viktor Bout, the Russian weapons merchant who Senator Feingold worked hard to bring to justice

I'm honored to be joined by the ranking member of the subcommittee, Senator Isakson, and I'll invite him to deliver some opening remarks in a moment.

Well, in this regard, you said that identified members of the FARC and other Colombian organizations are on the ground in West Africa and protecting shipments and making deals.

I want to thank you, particularly, for the Victor Bout case and your help in bringing him to justice.

This work is being done, to a great degree, through the counternarcotics office in AFRICOM.

Thank you, Senator Kaufman, for your participation and your strong interest in this.

Well, I have found this panel to be very interesting, and this hearing, I think, is an important way...

We anticipate them.

Social Security is America's family insurance policy.

The impact of the financial downturn provides a stark contrast to the dependability of Social Security, and it's also a reason that the program's guaranteed inflation-protected benefits are more vital to Americans, now more than ever.

More than just a retirement program, Social Security is a collective insurance policy, protecting us all from the possibility that we die young and leave a family behind, become disabled and not able to work, or even live into a ripe old…

As time goes by, the size of the Social Security problem grows, and the choices available to fix it become more limited.

Four years later, I think we're all thankful that effort was not successful and Social Security was not exposed to a stock market that has devastated the retirement savings of so many people over the past year.

Opening Statement of Senator Herb Kohl

I would hope that, next year, that this body, working with President Obama, would be in the position to do that again.

If you believe, as I think the President has indicated in the past, that the program was illegal, they cannot stand.