Chris Coons

All four nominees have impressive records of accomplishment in international affairs, and I very much look forward to hearing their priorities for advancing our national interests and goals.

Well, thank you, Mr. Perez, for your testimony here, for your evident passion and persistence and engagement in the hard work of pressing back against the head winds of intolerance, and making real the promise of our Constitution.

The idea that folks can be identified as being Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, based on their identity or their membership in certain civil rights advocacy groups strikes me as ignoring, as I said in my opening statement…

Well, it is my hope that we will take them up and move them forward, and I am grateful for Senator Franken's line of questioning about bullying.

I was struck by how active and engaged the Civil Rights Division has been around the 180 servicemembers who were inappropriately foreclosed upon.

I would also be interested in hearing what actions you have taken to enforce the so-called MOVE Act.

Congress has an important role to play in oversight of all executive branch activities.

I hope to hear about the work of the Division in fighting some of the more insidious forms of institutional discrimination.

Where civil rights are not protected, equality, liberty, and the very pursuit of happiness are denied.

The Civil Rights Division is charged with enforcing our laws, providing the rights of all citizens, regardless of race, creed, religion, sex, or national origin.

It has been almost a year and a half since this Committee last conducted oversight of the Civil Rights Division.

I want to hear about and spend some time examining what the Division is doing to make certain that our servicemen and -women... have the ability to vote without burden.

The first two purposes of our Government are to form a more perfect union and to ensure justice.

In addition to the MOVE Act, last Congress also passed the Matthew Shepard hate crimes law which made two crucial updates to the hate crimes definition.

Although the perpetrators have been caught, we cannot let that be the end of this particular tragic incident, especially in the area of hate crimes.

I also view [Ms. Abrams] as someone who is from a family with a heart for service, someone with the sort of stunning intellect that could have qualified her for service of any kind, but who instead chose to dedicate her adult life to…

I also want to make sure that we are striking the right balance, as you mentioned, between privacy and continuing to be certain that there are robust divisions between DOD authority and domestic law enforcement, and that we are respecting…

I hope that the Senate will, indeed, take the opportunity to move in a bipartisan and responsible way to reconsider the CFAA.

Thank you for focusing attention on the unfolding tragedy in the Horn of Africa, and for providing UNICEF with this opportunity to share our perspective on this devastating situation.

It is tragic to have this particular crisis be what most Americans will be seeing about Africa in the month ahead.

I would be interested in your input, if I could--it is for my three questions here--first, about future planning, about how the United States can better assist the countries in the region, particularly here in the Horn of Africa, where the…

Thank you. I have further questions, but I will yield to Senator Isakson.

One other country in the region we have not referenced at all today is Eritrea, one of the most totalitarian regimes in the world.

So, if I understand you correctly, like most groups, it is made up of a variety of different splinter groups, some that are hardcore jihadists bent on international terror, others that, frankly, are local either clan or tribal groups that…

We have done everything we can to restrict their opportunity to gain funding for their terrorist activities.