Bob Menendez

How is that possible that it is right when the legislative text is as clear as day?

So I have a much different view about what we need to do as it relates to the economy.

I think it affects our soft-power abilities to enter into agreements and negotiations with countries that have such a low view of the United States.

It does not seem in the interests of the United States, for example, for our leader to routinely denigrate entire countries and their citizens.

The President remains obsessed with a campaign slogan that implies the United States is happy to go it alone, questioning longstanding treaties and positions of international leadership.

If you do not have the authorities then you need to tell...

Mr. Secretary, please do not play word games with me.

Well, you need to tell the Committee that. You need to let us know.

I have been closely following, and raised in this Committee several times, a situation in Venezuela.

If confirmed, you will be overseeing our trading relationships with several countries that have poor records on combating trafficking.

Do you believe that an optional dispute mechanism is an effective way to make labor standards enforceable in NAFTA?

The facts sometimes will tell us very clearly that the country that is trafficking, human trafficking in violation, ultimately should not have that preference.

The President says he wants to accommodate China in our trade disputes if they will apply pressure to deal with North Korea--something that I have not seen happen.

Will you commit to this committee that any trade agreement you would be part of negotiating would contain enforceable labor provisions?

Maduro will use every tool at his disposal to perpetuate his authoritarian objectives.

As someone who has been the architect of sanctions laws impacting Iran and Russia and North Korea, I understand how important it is to prevent criminals and sanctioned individuals from anonymously accessing the financial system.

I have to be honest with you, I have not seen those used. So it is time to use them.

I hope we are going to see the pursuit of the sanctions that we gave.

Let me just say, in your opening statement, you noted that last year the State Department announced a memorandum of principles...

No. The Cuban regime violates the basic human rights of its people, and we will continue to call attention to its lack of democracy, repression of civil society, and other abuses, including at the Summit of Americas.

I think you want to send a global message to all of our men and women abroad that if they are attacked, they will be taken care of just as we would to any of our veterans.

I do not think that when we send a diplomat abroad who is attacked by whomever, at the end of the day, that their health and wellbeing should be limited in terms of our response to them.

When diplomats reported symptoms to the regional security officer and medical team, why did it take so long to respond?

The Cuban and Russian government signed a new defense cooperation agreement, including cooperation on a series of new technologies

If a third country ultimately engaged in these attacks within Cuba, that the Cuban intelligence would not know