Richard Blumenthal

I want to thank Chairman Thune, as well as Senator Feinstein, for working with me on this important law.

Monsters are often hiding in plain sight, and they are often aided and abetted by people who turn the other way.

The survivors are really the heroes here. They are the profiles in courage that inspire us to move forward.

It has to be public and sworn.

And I think that the kind of temperament is reflective of those allegations as well.

The FBI is an organization, investigative agency of consummate skill and integrity. It will follow the facts and the law and the evidence where it leads them.

In my view, the allegations made by Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick are very credible. They certainly are current, and they have to be investigated as well because they're part of a pattern.

The promise of a stable and sustained retirement is a critical part of the American dream.

Is it true that the PBGC multiemployer program is running a large deficit?

Is it true that a plan designated as in critical and declining status means that plan will become insolvent in the near future?

Is it true that these 130 plans have 1.3 million participants?

Is it true that 130 multiemployer pension plans are in critical and declining status?

If we do not solve this pension issue--the people we think most about here are the pensioners, as we should.

As the ACLU noted, it has often been the states--not the Federal Government--that have acted in a timely and important way to protect consumer interests.

Does anyone here believe that Americans deserve less privacy than Europeans? If you do, raise your hand.

Because voluntary rules have just proved insufficient to protect privacy.

Do all of you agree that Congress cannot settle for voluntary practices or self-regulation?

I hope that data privacy and security against foreign influence campaigns is high on your list of priorities.

I would like to join you in working toward that end, which also recognizes the need of veterans who suffer from other kinds of toxins and poisoning.

I have to acknowledge that I am somewhat disappointed that you cannot give a yes or no.

I want to be clear. You agree with that recommendation, correct?

I would like you to commit that the Norwich Vet Center will be fully staffed and capable to delivering effective and efficient counseling services to Connecticut veterans.

I feel these staffing shortages directly and adversely affect the well-being and delivery of veterans counseling services to men and women veterans living in this area.

The lack of diversity on that committee is their doing, not ours. And there is nothing about that excuse that justifies their ducking their constitutional duty.

The question really is, Anderson, why are our Republican colleagues hiding behind a prosecutor?