Dan Coats: “I thank the Senator from Idaho for yielding time. I don't anticipate using that much time. I apologize to my colleague…”

“I thank the Senator from Idaho for yielding time. I don't anticipate using that much time. I apologize to my colleague from Ohio whom I didn't see standing before I rose for recognition. I very much appreciate comments made that support the legislation that is before us. However, I wish to make a few remarks relative to the start of a new Congress and a new Senate in this new cycle. This is a fresh start for us and an opportunity to reverse course after a very frustrating period of time of dysfunction in the Senate. I am hopeful and I am optimistic that all of us--colleagues, both new and old, Republican and Democrat--will be able to work together to achieve serious and positive results on the many issues before our country that we face. We have to put the days behind us when Congress careened from one cliff to the next, from one crisis to another, and fail to successfully bring forward positive legislation that addresses the problems we face. There are threats to our national security--including radical extremism such as ISIS, terrorists such as those responsible for the horrendous murders in Paris yesterday, cyber attacks, and inadequate border security. There are a number of foreign policy issues that also threaten the security of the United States. Unfortunately, many of the administration's responses to these challenges have fallen short of what is needed to successfully address these threats.…”