Equally concerning is the negative effect of malign state actors such as China and Russia.

The United States has had an enduring interest in a stable and prosperous Western Hemisphere and the democratic order is the best guarantor of those things.

Do you plan on doing any sanctions at all in the near future?

The Administration's plan to remove the FARC from the foreign terrorists list undermines U.S. national security and democratic stability in Colombia.

Putin openly endorses increasingly authoritarian rulers with the goal of destabilizing the region and threatening insecurity.

Nicaragua joins Cuba on a seemingly bottomless descent into authoritarianism.

I wonder if both of you could speak to the fact that in the last presidential campaign then candidate Biden had promised sanctions on Maduro and the regime and nothing has happened in these 10 months.

Within less than a generation, Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro have turned Venezuela into a failed state.

I am reserving the right to object. I want to speak today on behalf of my amendment, Risch No. 4794, which is not included on that list, which I have introduced with cosponsors Senators Portman, Cruz, Barrasso, Johnson, Cotton, Daines, and…

The second and most urgent task in front of this body is to look forward and mitigate the negative impacts of U.S. withdrawal.

We must better define our strategic objectives, assign resources accordingly, and resist the temptations to do more than is necessary.

I find it disappointing that the Secretary of Defense has refused to testify before this committee.

The culture in Afghanistan was so different than the culture that we are used to dealing with.

That focus on corruption has to be a very important focus in the future as I think it will dictate what the possible success of the country will look like after a conflict.

We owe it to the people of Afghanistan, women and girls, religious and ethnic minorities, who are most affected by our departure.

Finally, our approach in Afghanistan suffered from a lack of strategic coherence.

I do not think that it was a failure because we tried to impose democracy in Afghanistan.

I think all of these things that have happened in the past are important to look at.

Additionally, the failure to administer our Special Immigrant Visa program and assist American citizens on the ground is astounding.

Our inability to effectively address Afghans' corruption hampered our diplomatic development and military efforts.

If you cannot get a handle on that, if it is endemic in the culture, it is a problem.

I think that has put our security at risk.

I have introduced an Afghanistan oversight bill that has the support of nearly 30 of our colleagues.

I think this is one of the more important hearings that we will hold.

Just last week, however, the team responsible for continued evacuations of Americans told us that they're working with over 170 Americans who wish to depart from more than 360 who remain there.