I would like to free-flow. I enjoy it. I enjoy members interacting.

There is a huge difference, though, between an agreement signed by the President and one in which the Congress has joined, either through ratification or through passage of legislation.

first, I want to thank my colleague from Florida, Senator Nelson, for his comments in regard to the Zika funding. As the Senator from Florida, he knows firsthand of the locally acquired Zika virus in his own State. This is not just a…

there is growing recognition in the United States, and around the world, that corruption is a serious threat to international security and stability. We have all seen the headlines-- from scandals in Brazil and Malaysia, to the doping by…

today I wish to talk about the urgent need to provide full funding for our response to the Zika virus. Nearly 5 months ago, on February 22, President Obama submitted a request to Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency supplemental funding…

I thank Senator Blunt for his leadership and for bringing this nomination to the floor. I wish also to thank Senator Schumer and the manner in which it was handled by the Rules Committee. The staff did a lot of work, and I thank all who…

They should hire different lawyers if they thought they were going to get different results.

I think we need to draw some specific lines and encourage China to compromise on some of its objectives, as they have in other regions, as I said.

The South China Sea is one of the most strategically important commercial waterways in the world.

This ruling is important to our national security for several reasons.

I think we should be prepared to take military action on Scarborough Shoal if China should undertake some of the same activities that it has undertaken in Subi Reef and the others. We should draw the line there.

I understand the verbiage. I am talking about action.

They changed the landscape to have Chinese presence on an area that is contested.

I think we should be a member of the Law of the Sea Treaty. I think it would help the United States.

What kind of power are they going to be? To me, this is their key test and key moment.

Well, we have had actions. We have military airfields that have been built.

China has to make a decision as to whether they are going to adhere to the rule of law and be a world leader with great respect or whether they are going to go their own course.

I believe that this ruling--and how the regional and international community reacts--represents a watershed moment for the region and the world.

I am a strong supporter of it. I think the United States hurt itself by not ratifying the treaty.

But if you are a country in that region, knowing what they have done there, as far as not only jeopardizing your territorial claims, but also giving a beachhead in the event they decide to be even more aggressive, wouldn't you, if you were…

The ruling reinforces the rights of our military to operate freely in the region.

America stands for the rule of law, and we will continue to stand up for the rule of law.

Yesterday, an international tribunal issued an important ruling in favor of our allies the Philippines and against the People's Republic of China.

In the long run, the country and the world would be better off if China took this chance to show it can, indeed, be a good global neighbor and leader.

the effort to turn it into territorial waters that denies international open access of the kind that we have underwritten for decades