Chris Van Hollen

What are we prepared to do when we see violations of those commitments?

Do we have a break-the-glass plan?

I worry that we, the United States, and even our allies are perceived in some cases of over-promising and under-delivering.

I think we need to do more than chipping away.

It is absolutely nuts to account an equity investment as a PEER Grant, nobody in the private sector would think that makes any sense.

In my view that represents a retreat around the world at a time that we need to be more engaged, not less engaged.

Well, I appreciate that. And, you know, I hadn't fully realized, before that trip, that Indonesia was the only place on earth that is the home to orangutans on two of their islands.

Amen to that. This was another example of working to protect biodiversity, generally, but also to make sure we protect this very important species, that is a fairly close cousin of ours.

We are a globally interconnected community; that with the loss of habitat, we will see an increase in pandemics.

Well, we did. And thank you, Senator Coons, for holding this hearing on this important subject, international conservation and the connection between conservation and security, and prosperity;

That not all the--not all the, you know, monies from tourism were flowing to a few people, but that the benefits were more widely dispersed within the community, which it seems to me an essential model if we are going to have a sustainable…

In order to make sure that we discourage poaching, and we discourage wildlife trafficking, we need to make sure that local populations have alternatives.

I represent the State of Maryland, and the Chesapeake Bay is an example of an ongoing restoration effort.

The U.S. Government, the Biden administration, has spoken out strongly when other countries attempt to pass laws that clamp down on civil society, including through NGOs.

Thank you for your help in providing human rights and other assistance to folks in the West Bank in Gaza.

You can't do this on the cheap, and you can't do it with rhetoric and no resources.

But it seems to me that we look very weak when we continually make statements without any kind of consequence.

I just think it is going to be really important that we have in place a specific plan with our partners so that we are ready to go, and that China knows we are ready to go, because the deterrent effect of that, I think, depends on their…

We need to make sure our allies and partners are on board.

We are pleased with the progress that has being made.

The friendship knows no limits.

If the Congress packed up its bags and left... the deficit would be $3 trillion higher than if than it is today.

I know President Biden has called upon Congress to change the law so that we can hold executives accountable.

I am hoping that you would agree that all economists would agree that it is a bad idea to default on our debt.

I hope in the coming weeks we can have a sober conversation up here about the budget and deficits.