The United States continues to recognize the Interim Presidency of Juan Guaido and the 2015 democratically elected National Assembly.

We must ensure our policy does not entrench the Assad regime, energize its progress under the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, and is commensurate with American values.

When you see something like him being welcomed by another country as some type of a distinguished head of state, it is sickening, really.

I am interested in the principle of universal jurisdiction. I think we are at the very early stages of what that will be in the overall scheme of things.

The law on normalization and reconstruction is clear.

We must establish a more robust, formalized accountability mechanism.

About 10--a little over 10 years ago, I was in this room sitting here and we had people sit in the chairs you are sitting in and they assured us that Assad could not last more than 30 days.

The world had never seen atrocities on this scale since the Second World War and what we are uncovering now in Ukraine.

Now more than ever, particularly in the face of Putin's brutality in Ukraine, it is absolutely crucial we confront Assad's ongoing crimes against the Syrian people.

I remain concerned this Administration has accepted Assad's rule as a foregone conclusion.

I want to thank our witnesses for testifying here today. Certainly, these are hard to listen to, but it is something that, as I said before, when this is over it is not over and it is important we keep this in front of everyone.

These crimes are well documented. In addition to the Caesar file, the international community has amassed hundreds of thousands of government documents linking these crimes directly to Bashar Al-Assad.

There is nothing in welcoming this man as a conquering hero that reflects America's values at all.

We cannot send the message that we will forget these atrocities over time and welcome Assad back to the international community.

When does this end and why should we believe you in any way, shape, or form when you do not keep the commitments that were made before?

Only through a comprehensive multilateral approach can we confront the Iranian challenge.

The current approach does not address Iran's regional terrorism, ballistic missile activity, ongoing Iranian threats to former U.S. officials, or returning American hostages to their loved ones.

I share the chairman's goals and the frustration of not knowing where the Administration is on this.

The JCPOA was fatally flawed in 2015 and it is fatally flawed today.

Congress has and will continue to play an important role with respect to Iran policy, and I would expect the Administration to follow the law.

I would like to include in the record an article that was--came from Wall Street Journal today entitled 'Iran Used Secret U.N. Records to Evade Nuclear Probes.'

For example, even with historic levels of hunger and displacement, the President proposes to reduce humanitarian assistance by 34 percent while prioritizing massive increases for vague climate commitments.

For 16 straight years, we have seen the number of people living under democratic rule decline.

I am concerned by the Administration's continued misalignment of priorities in resources.

USAID's work is a testament to the fact that America cares about the plight of others.