I stand with the Cuban people in their fight for a government and society that protects human rights, advances democracy, and promotes economic development.

you're suppressing somebody from even sitting here and participating in the same way that the Cuban government has suppressed opinion and perspective for decades.

this move to not allow one of our colleagues in the U.S. Congress who's been elected by the people she represents to sit and participate on a panel like this is, I think, unprecedented.

We must remove Cuba from the SSOT and end this baseless, extremely harmful designation.

This is the creation of a market-based economy, the beginnings of it at least?

The question is how does that happen. Does it happen with the same isolationist arm's length policy that we have pursued for the last 60 years that has made Cuba weaker, poorer, that has thrown it into the arms of Russia and China? Or does…

I want to say I support the proposed reforms and I hope that they ultimately get implemented.

It would still represent a kind of transformation to a market-based economy, at least more than what you've seen right now.

I am circulating to the other members the Belarus Democracy Act and Human Rights and Sovereignty Act of 2023, which we hope to move as quickly as we can.

Lukashenko, I believe, is guilty of war crimes, and he needs to be held to account by the ICC and any other court that will take this up.

Most egregiously, Lukashenko has made Belarus an active participant in crimes against abducted Ukrainian children.

She has earned this position by showing enormous courage and principle, and many of us and I believe it, beyond any reasonable doubt, she won the election.

The Biden Administration needs to fix this immediately.

I hope to build on that support in this Congress.

Alexander Lukashenko is an illegitimate dictator. The fraudulent 2020 Belarusian Presidential election made a mockery of democracy.

I especially want to recognize that women have played a leading role in Belarusian, the democratic movement that has grown.

You are an inspiration, obviously, for the people of Belarus and then, hey, ultimately, an inspiration for the people of Russia itself that they, too, under the repression of war criminal Putin, 1 day there will be a free and democratic…

The U.S. must continue to support the democratic development of Belarus.

The fulfillment of these aspirations is critical to ensuring the continued strength of Belarusian sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It is important that I am here today in this first hearing because it is a topic that means so much to me: democracy, democracy and the preservation of it.

Congress must take greater steps to ensure the historically underserved students have the resources they need to succeed in college.

I introduced a bill called the Building Civic Bridges Act.

Talent is distributed across every American community. I think we would all agree on that, but equal opportunity is not.

Together with Senator Cory Booker, I also introduced the Advanced Coursework Equity Act, which would increase the enrollment and performance of under-represented students in advanced courses.

It is imperative that we address the gaps of educational success in college degree attainment.