We have a responsibility to pass a framework to protect the public from these toxins.

Let's make sure we get it right this time, because it may be 37 years before we get back to it again.

I could cite many examples of concerns that we have, and we could talk about BPA in plastics and baby bottles that has been brought to national attention.

I think now it is agreed by every member of this Committee that the TSCA law today doesn't work. It is broken. It is not protecting the public. And we have a responsibility to act.

I would not want to see us pass legislation that would prevent our State from protecting our citizens.

We need to deal with asbestos, for goodness sake. We need to ban asbestos.

I have not been on the floor during the entire remarks of my friend from Virginia, but I did hear part of it. I first want to thank him for his extraordinary leadership on behalf of the people of Virginia and on behalf of a sensible way to…

I wish to recognize Kevin Covert, our human rights officer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Very shortly, he will move on to another assignment as is the usual practice at the Department of State. During his recent tour, Mr. Covert brought a…

I thank my colleague for his comments. I understand he already mentioned what has happened at the National Institutes of Health and the fact that, because of the sequestration cuts, the number of grants being given out this year, contracts…

I wish to thank Senator Murray and Senator Collins returning us to regular order and bringing an appropriations bill to the floor that is consistent with the budget resolution passed by this body. I also wish to compliment my colleague…

we need help on transit projects.

We need a long-term, robust transportation program.

The good news about the Helsinki framework is that it is not that intimidating because it is a consensus group.

But we have seen some signs of progress. Certainly I could get into human rights, which is one of my favorite subjects, and there are certain deficiencies there that are pretty fundamental that have to be dealt with.

I believe the United States ought to focus significantly on the fundamentals of good governance.

the relationship between the United States and Vietnam has gotten much stronger in the last decade.

I think your testimony has been extremely helpful to our debate.

So we have talked about China, we have talked about Myanmar, we have talked about the countries along the Mekong.

As President Obama noted in his recent climate action plan, we have a moral obligation to leave our children a healthier planet.

There are these moments when countries like Myanmar or Namibia or Nepal change governments and things happen, where shame on us if we do not provide the right technical assistance at the right moment.

When I was in Korea we talked about the problems of North Korea beyond just the nuclear risk factors.

Well, in some cases just the presence of the dam itself is going to create a major challenge on these issues.

Helping the East Asia-Pacific region address environmental challenges is essential for preventing future conflicts and instability.

It is a complicated group. When you are in each country they have different priorities, but I think they share a lot in common.

When nations want to take on leadership responsibility within regional organizations, they need to be a model in using that to advance the goals of those regional organizations.