They threw them in jail.

I would strongly urge the passage of the latest iteration of the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2011.

By practically any measure, Belarus under Lukashenka is truly the last dictatorship in Europe.

We, in the Department's Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, are proud to be part of America's diplomacy in this case.

Neutrality in the case of Belarusian politics is an enemy of freedom and we cannot continue.

I think we ought to go back and not allow failed elections to stand, and I think there should be a new election being held for President.

We will never know how the people of Belarus actually voted on December 19, though surely it was not the 80 percent for Mr. Lukashenko that he claims.

I commend Secretary Clinton for meeting with a group of Belarusians and Belarusian-Americans several weeks ago.

I urge Congress to take up and pass the latest version of the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act of 2011.

People demonstrate in democracies and life goes on.

The OSCE election observation team subsequently singled out this major factor in its criticism of the process.

But what happened the night after the election is what brought us to the point where we are today.

The government's reaction was brutal, and its subsequent actions can only be interpreted as a campaign to crush the opposition.

The enemy is Lukashenko, and he is the enemy not just to the European Union and the United States.

I came there because we had heard the stories about what had happened after the election.

Tough talk is not good enough. There have to be major consequences for what happened.

This is a regime that only understands pressure and strength--that's the way to get Lukashenka's attention.

We, in the United States, have supported the people of Belarus through the dark period of Lukashenko's rule and they know that and they welcome it.

This must be a top priority for EPW, Senate Banking and Commerce Committees, and for Congress on the whole.

I strongly agree with the consensus here that we need to get a surface transportation reauthorization enacted, it needs to be long-term, it needs to speak to the investments that are necessary and it needs to be adequately funded.

Improving the overall functionality of our complete transportation system is what it means to improve the 'livability' of our communities.

I think every dollar that we authorize has to be spent efficiently and appropriately for transportation in this Country.

Without a doubt, road projects create important domestic jobs that need to be restored to our economy.

Fast and efficient intermodal transportation systems, both figuratively and literally, drive our nation's economy.

Let us not be afraid to look at alternative ways that can save money, create jobs, and then have more dollars available for the expensive projects that we know we need to build, such as high speed rail.