Ben Cardin

U.S. international broadcasting is an integral component of our efforts to advance freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Why not allow these funds to be fungible so that we can be quickly responsive to the needs of America?

Today citizens around the world, specifically those living in closed and restricted societies, continue to rely on U.S. international broadcasting.

We need to empower the CEO and future CEOs with the authority to run BBG's complex organizations.

U.S. international broadcasting has played an important role in several of the most important geopolitical advances in the last half a century.

I am for reform, as I said in my opening statement.

The United States presence was critically important, more so than the other competing powers, particularly Iran, Russia, and even Europe.

We will support additional sanctions against people in both governments that are blocking the unity government.

Well, as I understand, there is a framework for an agreement. It has not been embraced by either side yet.

An important part of our strategy in North Africa rests with our appropriation process

The one lesson I think we have learned here is, stability in that critically important country can only be reached if there is political reform that provides human rights for the people of Egypt.

I see it as problematic, because if you keep declaring victory when you do not have victory, you create more problems than you solve.

We have had a series of hearings focused on the Middle East. Obviously, it is an area of great importance to the United States.

In Libya, we have a civil war. It is not uncommon for that region to have civil wars. There is no military solution, here.

The U.S. role has huge potential, and we have not--we are not doing enough.

Political reform is still very much critically important to both of those countries.

Everybody wants to work.

You and I were in the House of Representatives when we changed from AFDC to TANF, and one of the areas that we really tried to harp on was to deal with the basic structures of people being able not only to get a job, not only to be able to…

There has to be some accountability in the system.

The fact that ISIL is a threat to that region also could be used as a justification for increased regime activities in that region against the population.

Mr. Chairman, let me just point out.

I would hope that we would be transparent with this committee as to the requests that are being made through the appropriation process so that we can have a unified front in allocating the resources in the most effective way to achieve…

I would encourage you to do that.

In Iraq, we had in 2011 a check-the-box mentality. We are done with Iraq and obviously we are back in in a different way now.

It is an absolute essential U.S. ally and critical to regional stability and frankly critical to Israel's defense.