Jeff Merkley

I must say I must have missed a few of the President's statements that have given you that have faith. I wish it were so. I am not persuaded, but perhaps we will see more unfold in that regard.

So I would just like to note that UNFPA, for the record, does not provide any financing for abortions, does not conduct any abortions, and has had an extraordinary record of supporting successful pregnancies and births in very difficult…

It is absolutely critical to maintain strong relationships with domestic populations, as well as international populations.

I think a lot more pressure is needed on the leadership and the disparate parties down in South Sudan in order to mitigate these threats to the individuals, to carve out a political solution, and then move toward implementing that solution.

It is made all the more difficult by the veto power enjoyed by four other members, including two, China and Russia, that are often at odds with our values.

The peace is not so much there to keep

It requires us to have extensive conversations and deliberations before we put forward a resolution.

Would it not make sense to keep empowering the UNFPA?

The host parties or the host country needs to be in agreement

If confirmed, how do you intend to rally support at the council for U.S. interests?

I have been long impressed with their work, which is why I was so troubled to see the administration's budget call for OPIC's elimination.

In the aftermath of the most destructive conflict in history, the United States worked in concert with its allies and partners to found the United Nations, a body chartered to, quote, save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and…

I think we certainly have been unwavering in our commitment under that security treaty and our willingness to support Japan.

Why have we allowed such a longstanding structural deficit in our trade with Japan, and what should we do about it?

So the conversation about the barriers in the Japanese economy has gone on for decades. We push; they resist.

I have cautioned that, in Yemen, I have a fear that we get involved in a war that both sides are beaten down and Al Qaeda shows up the way same way that ISIS showed up in Syria, ready to pick up the pieces of the chaos there.

I think it is an essential part of our foreign policy.

The question is, should we be in or out? A thousand companies have weighed in with the State Department to say we should be in, including oil companies ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

We have seen recently in the pro-Russian areas of Chechnya how LGBT gay men have been rounded up and put in jail.

My view as a general matter is that the United States is best served and its interests protected when it has a seat at the table.

Saudi Arabia is a country we work with very closely, and yet it is not a human rights star.

We see horrifying human rights violations in Venezuela, dozens of people that have been in jail.

In Iran, we know about their grotesque human rights record.

The administration has been very complimentary of China.

I think nurturing this relationship will be of great service.