Thank you very much. And if you wonder why I did not give you the proper attention by coming here at the last minute, I was just chairing another committee on sex trafficking.

In your view, what do such high marginal rates mean for low-income individuals attempting to advance up the economic ladder?

It is important, from an equity goal and just so the system seems fair, that we treat people who are equal equally.

I think that, on balance, it is time to do that as well as reform the tax code.

Too often the current debate on tax reform has been preoccupied by talking points about so-called 'wealthy' not paying their fair share.

I think it is an important step forward.

Al-Shabaab has threatened the Mall of America, and that is clearly linking foreign policy to domestic homeland security.

In our own country, up to 300,000 children a year are victims of trafficking.

Thank you very much, Senator Grassley, for helping--calling this hearing and inviting us to be at the table to talk about this vile and violent issue of human trafficking.

These girls and boys are not criminals, as Senator Klobuchar has so powerfully pointed out, and they are not prostitutes.

Senator Gillibrand also deserves credit for her efforts to develop legislation that would curb on-campus sexual assaults at universities across the Nation.

I hope my colleagues will all join me not only this week in passing this important legislation out of this Committee, but also next week when I hope the Majority Leader will take up this legislation on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

We intend to stay together to see that we do the very best we can to see that this industry, which is so malevolent, is curbed dramatically in our country.

I am pleased to have played a role in that enactment, 15 years ago that was, and it was called the Trafficking Victim Protection Act.

This is a big issue and it requires us to be able to work together.

I am grateful for your leadership and look forward to working together in ways to find bipartisan solutions.

Our efforts in Syria will deny ISIL safe haven while creating the conditions for a stable inclusive Syria that fulfills Syrian's aspirations for freedom and dignity.

I strongly support the investment, as Senator Leahy mentioned previously, in the Global Health Security efforts and the importance of strengthening health systems.