I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 17, 2013, at 4 p.m. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Committee on Homeland…

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 17, 2013, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Navy Yard Tragedy…

I would just point out that annuities are one form of lifetime income. There are other ways of doing lifetime income in addition to just private annuities.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 17, 2013, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled…

I would hope that we have a pretty aggressive strategy.

We need to take the initiative, push ourselves and push the Taiwanese.

This is a good time for us to engage the Philippines and they may be falling below the radar a little bit.

we cannot leave by the wayside our commitment to promote democracy, but also respect for human rights.

I take this time to talk about the budget agreement that was negotiated by Senator Murray and Congressman Ryan and the work they did, but I first wish to relate to my colleagues conversations I had with numerous Marylanders over this past…

The TPP makes that possible. It will also help Japan economically and in terms of security.

I would just urge you to be prepared to answer questions as we deal with the economic integration within Asia.

Can you assure us that we will insist upon minimum standards in this agreement and that--worse than failing in TPP would be to negotiate an agreement that does not meet minimum standards.

How do you provide that protection?

Are there any policies that the United States is currently supporting that you believe are counterproductive to fulfilling humanitarian needs?

Until recently, the wetlands at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in my home State, and wetlands in the home State of the Ranking Member, were threatened by nutria.

That is security for the people. We understand that.

There is great opportunity and State and local support for Federal help in protecting one of the mid-Atlantic's most precious and valuable natural resources.

We want to do something.

The circumstances in the Central African Republic are dire.

I haven't heard from a single constituent who believes that the U.S. Senate is moving too quickly on anything.

It is very difficult to say we are going to hold you accountable but we won't give you the confirmed positions in order to do the work you need to do.

There is a lot of work to do.

I think all that underscores the point that you made about having better information.

I look forward to hearing your testimony and answers to our questions.

I think that we should have an embassy, that gives us better information, better ability to assess where it is exactly that we can make a difference.