Ben Cardin

History has shown that there simply is no substitute for transparent, accountable, and responsive government.

I hope that by holding this hearing we are sending a signal to the region and to the administration and to our partners here in the Senate and in the House that there is a bipartisan commitment to ensure the promotion of human rights and…

I hope the United States will continue to address the challenge of human rights and democracy with boldness and clarity and consistency.

We both thought that starting with the Rebalanced to Asia policy was the right way for the subcommittee to get the background we need in order to carry out the very important work of the subcommittee.

Senator Rubio and I have met in order to plan a mutual agenda for the subcommittee during this Congress.

I want to thank Senator Menendez, the chairman of the committee, for his cooperation as the subcommittee is starting its important responsibilities here in the 113th Congress.

The gender equity issues have been a very high priority of the Obama administration and will be a very high priority of this committee.

I think the Burmese people are very resilient and have done an extraordinary job of maintaining this cause this long.

I simply think that engagement without consequences for rights abuses is not very effective.

I am worried that the administration has moved rather quickly in removing its sources of leverage, lifting sanctions well before national elections or a constitutional amendment that would reduce the role of the military or enable Aung San…

We have seen some progress being made. What is your confidence level that there really is a path that will lead in a reasonable period of time to a democratic country that respects the rights of its citizens?

Democracy has made strong gains in Asia over the past few decades.

We are strongly engaged and strongly committed to the removal of Assad as a leader in Syria, with a new regime coming into place.

There is a perceived lack of decisive leadership by the United States--not necessarily as it relates to lethal aid, but as to the role the United States is playing in helping coordinate the opposition.

There is a concern about U.S. leadership and what exactly the United States is prepared to do.

Assad needs to leave, but he also needs to be turned over to The Hague, because there are war crimes that have been committed.

We all talk around here about closing the budget deficit. We do not put nearly the focus and the attention on the deep trade deficit and how it is a drag on our growth and how it deserves attention.

I just want you to be bolder in those trade objectives. Think about where the United States could use a level playing field; be more aggressive.

I have always been surprised that there has been a reluctance to allow our negotiators to negotiate in areas where the United States' standards are much higher than in the international community.

How will fast track address this trade imbalance? Not just exports, but how will it address our trade imbalance?

We just need to make sure, whether it is Montana, Maryland, Kansas, or Utah, that these benefits be distributed a little bit more widely to working-class families.

North Korea's reported cutoff of North-South Red Cross communication links at Panmunjom on March 11, 2013, is not conducive to ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The record on human rights violations in the country is one of the worst of any country in the world.

We should never allow the world to forget who these people are and what they are doing.

There should be no doubt about our determination, willingness, and capability to neutralize and counter any threat that North Korea may present.