Ben Cardin

It is imperative that if we achieve a nuclear deal with Iran, our partners and allies are reassured that the United States remains committed to their security.

We are prepared to compete with them.

Our gulf partners are very concerned about Iran-sponsored terrorism.

It is clear to me that our partners across the region are adopting hedging strategies toward Iran because United States commitment to the region is being actively questioned.

I am for that, but I would not trust Russia to stop the flow into Ukraine. They need border security.

I think there is total agreement here that we need to be tougher on sanctions and that sanctions work.

They are going to need technical assistance. They are going to need equipment. They are going to need more than the international community is currently providing.

I think we have a responsibility to help build up the border security for Ukraine.

But President Putin does not do what he says.

I do think we can have less pollution in our air and reduce carbon. We can do it in a way that would help public health, in a way that will create more jobs, and we can do it with nuclear energy in a safe way.

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would just urge you--one thing you could do that would not cost any money is to promote what is being done by the private sector to help our veteran community.

It seems to me this is a natural for us to try to build partnerships with so that we can do more to help our veteran community.

I think we need to build on them and we need to make sure we get the value.

They are helping veteran businesses throughout the country and doing this because of their patriotic sense that they should do something to help our veteran community.

It is nationwide in its help. It is not restricted to the businesses or veterans that live in Montgomery County, Maryland.

This is an extremely important subject in which all of us are reaching out to our veterans' community to see how we can be more effective in helping them.

I just want to make sure I get this into the record.

I want to follow up my first round of questioning in which we talked about the similarities between trafficking in wildlife and other forms of trafficking.

It is imperative that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee legislate and guide federal agencies to work in an effective and efficient coordinated manner with the full array of resources, capabilities and assets the U.S. Government can…

First, let me thank Senator Coons for the suggestion to hold this joint hearing. I think this is the right thing to do.

I do think it has gotten a lot more visibility.

We still do not have enough information.

I really do appreciate what you do every day.

What the TIP report has done is institutionalized it. It is now part of the agenda because it is there.