Ben Cardin

What steps are we taking, in addition to the election process, to improve the governance in Afghanistan so that there is confidence among the people of Afghanistan that they are being treated fairly?

For the Afghan people to have a reasonable chance for a stable government--Senator Corker is right--they have to have a secure country.

Good governance is important. Over these years, many of us have expressed concern, frustration about the corruption of the Afghan Government.

I agree that we have two issues we have to deal with. One is the elimination of the SGR, but then, also, what do we replace it with?

Our concern is access and that there be access to both the Medicare and Medicaid population.

Was there not a requirement that they be licensed before they could make a bid?

I would urge the Committee to favorably recommend his confirmation to the U.S. Senate.

I am hopeful that the Congress will take up S. 1038, the End Racial Profiling Act.

I could not be more proud to be here on behalf of Judge Wilkins.

Now, as you know, I represent Maryland. CMS is located in Maryland. So, if we are talking about doubling the size of CMS, it might be good for my State.

As you note, Ukraine was designated a Priority Foreign Country for failing to provide adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR).

Without law enforcement having the training that they need on trafficking--if a law enforcement officer is not trained on what trafficking is, they are going to say that a girl is a prostitute and she is a throw-away.

We hear the numbers and statistics. We are shocked by the statistics, but, until you see a face and you recognize that each one of those numbers is a person whose life has been changed forever, it is hard to really visualize the extent of…

I could not agree more. Asia has described human trafficking as the seminal human rights issue.

I testified against my traffickers. I put six traffickers away, two of them for 25 years, because I had the proper support system of law enforcement and case managers.

Our credibility is affected because we have not done enough locally, so we need to take care of our own business here at home.

Well, you have done a great job here. I am glad that you are here, and thank you very much for your commitment to change our system.

The first order of business is to have a safe home.

Would you be committed to advancing, the best that we can, the acceleration of these tariffs, which would certainly help U.S. manufacturers?

I think we have been able to make tremendous strides for the countries when we have them at the negotiating tables.

Thank you for your willingness to serve the public. We appreciate it.

In trade agreements, you have opportunities that are not available at other times.

I have long been a supporter of Yucca Mountain and I continue to believe that the project should move forward.

I am concerned with the amount of resources being dedicated to addressing new regulations related to Fukushima, that there is a possibility that the NRC will fail to address potential safety issues that exist at our plants today.

Thank you for the leadership you have shown in restoring the type of collegiality that is critically important for the Commission.