Cory Gardner

I hope that in your interactions with Chinese officials, that you will make North Korea the highest priority possible.

Do I have your commitment that you will work with us to make sure that those laws are fully executed?

I hope that we will increase our priorities on Asia and the regions represented.

I would hope that the State Department, Secretary Tillerson and yourself, would continue our pressure, abandonment of the failed strategic patience doctrine.

I hope that this position, upon your confirmation--you will use it to really work with Congress in a way that I think has been neglected over the past several years.

We are deterring aggression and, indeed, inducing behavior with North Korea and others around the region.

One thing that we have to consider is whether or not China is going to, in full faith, carry out its commitment under United Nations resolutions.

This Congress worked to change the doctrine of strategic patience which had allowed the North Korean regime to proliferate.

I do not think that we should be forgoing that kind of a sale of defense equipment to Taiwan because we think China is going to suddenly change their behavior on North Korea.

If China is serious about holding bad actors responsible for those bad actions, we cannot, as the United States, allow China to backslide into a posture that does not hold Kim Jong Un responsible for his bad actions.

I think it is important that we look at the North Korea Sanctions Act that this Congress passed unanimously.

I certainly support the President's view that we need to reinstitute leverage on Iran to hold them to the very first page of the JCPOA.

There is no daylight between our two nations.

I thank the Senator from Oregon for his accommodation in allowing us to speak, and I thank the Senator from Indiana, whom we will miss in the next Congress. The Senator from Indiana has been a great example for those of us who are new to…

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 6:54 p.m., adjourned until Wednesday, December 7, 2016, at 9:30…

Senators should expect votes in relation to the 21st Century Cures legislation as well as the conference report to accompany the National Defense Authorization Act beginning at 2 p.m. tomorrow. ____________________

The Department is committed to full, robust, and timely consultation with you and your staff regarding U.S. policy toward Burma in general and sanctions policy in particular.

The new government in Burma, the cooperation between possible North Korean activities, the new government in Burma--how has that changed?

So at this point, we do not believe there is any cooperation between Iran and North Korea on their ballistic missile program.

The issue of labor--has it extended into other--restaurants you talked about. Has it extended into other fields that perhaps we are worried about from other considerations?

So China and Russia. What other allies, though, do we have a close working relationship that need to hear that message from Congress?

I think we have made it very clear through our actions on this committee that we condemn any such activity, particularly the access or the abuse that those workers encounter abroad.

What more can the United States do? And do you have all the authorities that we need through U.N. as well as U.S. law to intercede?

We intend in the coming weeks and in the life of this administration to pursue all of these avenues with the objective of squeezing the North Korean economy.

When the Congress and the executive branch are pointed in the same direction, we are at our most powerful.