Ben Cardin

So, could you share with this committee the challenges you had in completing this 123?

Let me--I want to follow up on this a bit because it is unusual, rare, that we give advanced permission to reprocess in a civil nuclear agreement that has only been granted to countries that have already had that technology, as I…

Under this agreement, South Korea is permitted to undertake the first stage of pyroprocessing, which is, again, a new type of technology.

But could it--if it goes to its logical conclusion that the Republic of Korea is seeking, could it violate the 1992 Joint Declaration?

This agreement reflects the partnership and the enduring bonds between our two nations.

This is a country that we literally sacrificed on the battlefield in order to say it is a country that shares our values.

It was just strange that they would not want a longer agreement.

I think we should underscore the very close relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea in our interest to complete a 123 agreement.

I urge us to support this agreement.

I must say I am a supporter of nuclear power. I think nuclear power is critically important for our national security issues and for environmental issues.

And that was stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our colleagues at EPA in support of the merits of the final rule and the process used to develop it.

I also hope it is not being disputed that the reason why the Obama administration initiated a rule is because of two Supreme Court decisions that confused the definitions of what are regulatory waters of the U.S.

Clarity is very, very important in this regard.

The Clean Water Act has been responsible for improving the public health of the people of this country.

The United States must be a leader.

Well, there is no question that these individuals who are vulnerable, that we cannot reach, or hard to reach are going to add to the numbers.

The United Nations estimates that there are over 400,000 people inside Syria who are besieged and who we cannot be reached with humanitarian assistance.

U.S. leadership is so desperately needed in multiple strategies.

We continue to treat the problem as if the refugees will go home when, in fact, there is a 17-year average duration of displacement.

Our humanitarian engagement is a moral and political necessity.

These refugees are not going home soon.

We recognize that Syria is an immediate concern, it is a humanitarian crisis, and there is a conflict there that needs a solution.

This committee works in a bipartisan way in order to advance our foreign policy objectives.

We have got to develop a different strategy. This is not just about feeding people for a few weeks.

We need to ensure that not only does the United States continue its commitment, but that we get a larger collection of countries to help shoulder that burden.