Ben Cardin

This is a once in a generation opportunity to make significant progress in our Federal buildings.

Congress was very specific in providing resources, $2 billion for low carbon materials, $250 million for building retrofits, and $975 million for emerging sustainable technologies.

I hope that you will keep us engaged throughout that process.

I am going to follow up on Senator Capito's point, maybe from a little bit different angle.

It was a focus on sustainability.

As President Biden has said frequently, our foreign policy will be wrapped within our values and it is difficult for some of us to understand that based upon the actions in that region.

It depends upon us standing by our values as we resolve the issues in the contested area.

This conflict predates my service in the House of Representatives, let alone the United States Senate.

When you routinely give the waiver under Section 907, you are saying that Azerbaijan has demonstrated steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia, and that is just not the case.

I think you have to follow the waiver language, and it is not the use of the funds--it is the activities on the ground.

The humanity crisis is horrible and every day we wait, more people are dying, and the United States needs to take decisive action.

We called for his release publicly on September 14.

Do you have a similar concern about the affordability in your State?

Obviously, and Secretary Biser, you are absolutely right, there is a tremendous shortage in the modernization and replacement of our water infrastructure.

The WSSC is a model governance. It has worked extremely well among the Maryland, Washington, and suburb counties.

The pressure on the ratepayers makes it virtually impossible to make the type of investment through the ratepayers that are necessary to make those improvements.

I just hope that you can add some expertise as to how we can have a structure that can provide the future needs for the customers in the Baltimore region.

We have the LIHEAP Program for other utilities, and you mentioned in your testimony, Ms. Powell, that you have used the COVID relief funds that were provided under HHS.

I believe it is the case that you have not sent yet instruction to all our embassies in the Hemisphere asking them to make this a priority.

We remain committed to continue feasible and constructive efforts towards the creation of a Parliamentary Assembly in the OAS framework.

My concern is that it is a robust democracy and their elections are not predictable, as we have seen in the last three elections where they really changed directions in each one of those elections, but it was the will of the people at the…

I think it is gaining momentum, but I think it needs a push from the Administration in its participation at OAS.

We should not be trying to micromanage the internal politics of Colombia, but rather establish a long-term partnership in the areas that I have mentioned.

I just--we are not--we are going to always disagree with leaders of countries. We know there is different trends within our own hemisphere, but we do know that we need to have partners to deal with the anti-narcotics--counternarcotics…

That is why I introduced the Haiti Criminal Collusion and Transparency Act, which has the support of over a dozen Haitian civil society and diaspora groups, to expose the links between these actors and ensure both Haitian gangs and their…