Jeanne Shaheen

I also appreciate Ambassador Brigety's raising the importance of having our Ambassadors on the ground in countries.

Can you talk about how, as ambassador, you would work to mitigate the influence of China and Russia and encourage further moves towards democracy on the part of Brazil?

I am very concerned about, in addition to the trafficking in persons that Senator Cardin raised, is drug trafficking issues.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations to each of our nominees this morning. Thank you for your service to the country and for your willingness to continue to serve.

I am particularly concerned about how we support the women and address potential trafficking issues.

But we cannot be complacent anymore.

The issue of trafficking in persons has been one of my personal priorities.

I hope you will stay focused on that issue because I think there is a real concern about the potential for influence on the part of China, in particular.

It is an incredibly important issue and especially right now for people who are refugees already.

What we know is that societies that empower women, that have rights for women and girls, tend to be more stable societies.

I would hope that you would take a very strong stand in encouraging the OAS to take a very strong position to support the rights of women.

I am particularly interested in what is happening looking at space because this is a new frontier, really, in terms of the potential to put weapons in space.

I was pleased to see Denmark commit to meeting its 2 percent defense spending requirement for NATO by 2033.

But for Putin to feel the full weight of consequences of his actions, we must have ambassadors in place to coordinate our response.

Denmark has talked about the U.S. being its security partner of choice.

The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Fredriksen, has actually stated that she supports the membership of Finland and Sweden to NATO.

The bloodshed and senseless violence that Putin is waging upon the Ukrainian people--as well as the Ukrainian people's unrelenting resolve to protect their country--has captured the hearts of communities around the entire world.

This is a period where it is very clear who is on the side of good and who is on the side of evil

Putin is trying to rewrite history by rebuilding the Soviet Union--challenging the international values, laws and institutions that have kept our world safe since World War II.

The Office of Global Criminal Justice is imperative to coordinating U.S. Government efforts to bring to justice perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

We saw a decline in that, I think, as the result of a number of factors, but now we are seeing it increase again.

I would ask you if you would commit to doing everything you can, if confirmed as ambassador, to ensure that those visa applicants are given due consideration and that that process works as smoothly as possible.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and congratulations to each of our nominees, and thank you for your willingness to serve the country.

I am confident that Samantha's passion for the law and dedication to the impartial administration of justice will make her an excellent judge, and I urge my colleagues to support her nomination. I yield the floor.

I think it is particularly concerning that these positions are being held up by members of this committee.