the Vice President said that recent years have seen a slow but steady decline in support for our nuclear stockpile and infrastructure and for our highly trained nuclear workforce. The four national security statesmen I previously referred…

I rise tonight to express support for the Obama administration's efforts on nuclear nonproliferation. We know-- and I believe this is a consensus in our country--that nuclear terrorism poses the most serious threat to our security, as well…

Johanna Johnson thought she would die first, not any of her four kids. This is what Larry's mom is quoted as saying in the second line of the story: You're not supposed to bury your son. Your son is supposed to bury you. It isn't supposed…

The Kerry-Lugar foreign assistance reform bill has strong support in the aid community and is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of 24 Senators.

Fifty percent of our citizens in Philadelphia do not have the literacy skills needed.

I rise for two purposes this morning. The first is to speak about a native of Scranton, PA, who died serving our country in Afghanistan. LCpl Larry M. Johnson, just 19 years old, lost his life in the service to his country in the last…

The main point they make is 'I need this skill level' or 'Five of us business leaders need this skill level coming through the pipeline, and we are not getting it.'

I think part of what we are dealing with here is there has been a fundamental change in what is required at work.

I don't think that we are really moving in the right direction by not having them at the table as part of the solution.

Yesterday, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a Cuban prodemocracy human rights activist and political prisoner... died following a hunger strike protesting the Castro regime's brutal abuses.

If we are to avoid inefficient experimentation, USAID must have a decisionmaking role and the capacity to evaluate programs and disseminate information about best practices and methods.

But what I am concerned about is turning a page that we have never permitted in our history, which is having an oppressive regime anywhere in the world tell us how we are going to ultimately engage in our democracy programs.

What do you think has to happen there to rectify that?

One of the frustrations that we have around this town is we have hearings and we spotlight an issue... and then, unless we get back to it 6 months later or a year from now, we don't--there's not enough accountability or monitoring.

I think we have to be strict by saying nobody can vote on behalf of another person, be it men or women.

I wanted to start with just a brief commentary or notation of an article from the New York Times Magazine this past summer.

I was hoping for more, especially in this past August and about 48 hours after his reelection.

Well, I know we're over our time a little bit, but I do want to thank you for the time and the commitment that you've demonstrated on these issues for a long, long time.

the elections will be allowed to happen in any way, shape, or form because they just need to happen.

I want to thank Senator Boxer for her work and her leadership as chairing more than one committee.

I know that in the Senate as well as in the House, we are going to be debating extending so-called safety-net provisions.

Supporting women and girls in Afghanistan is not only in our national interest; it is the right thing to do.

For the record, the testimony of all the witnesses will be made a part of the record.

Thank you very much. I want to, first of all, thank Senator Boxer for gathering us together today.

I believe the failure and success is shared. It's shared responsibility, and we have to be very, very serious on that issue.