Gerry Connolly

The previous administration low balled the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan and here we are well in excess of $1 trillion later.

The decision by the President to dispatch 100 military advisors to assist in the effort to address that threat is consistent, it seems to me, with congressional intent in the passage of previous legislation.

I think it's very important that we have a clear mission.

Imagine if Teddy Roosevelt had allowed a few gold miners in the Grand Canyon to block protection of that great American landmark. Imagine if loggers and sheepherders had blocked designation of Yosemite as a National Park. Today, we…

It is perfectly appropriate, and it is time to assign blame, given the relationship of the Qods force to this government.

It is a sensitive matter not easily traversed, and I think, as the ranking member said in his opening statement, no administration has been as forthright and as forceful in taking on Iran at every level and using every lever at its…

We can't treat this as some rogue element that probably is separated from the Ahmadinejad government and the clerical ruling elite.

Let me say at the outset, I have been impressed, and I know others have been as well, with the fact that we now finally have an ambassador in Damascus in Ambassador Ford, on behalf of this administration.

I think the basic direction of the Iranian regime is something that we have to take at face value and take very seriously.

The nuclear program is, however, a symptom of the disease, rather than the disease itself.

It is long past time to jettison this dangerous fantasy as it is presently warping our entire policy toward the region.

The actions by both regimes show a disdain for international law and norms that is incompatible with the values and interests of the United States.

I cannot conceive of a more irresponsible or frightening finger on the nuclear button than that of the Iranian regime.

Instead of begging for help, we need a realistic policy that reflects the urgency and the multifaceted nature of the Iranian threat.

We are seeing for the first time significant participation in democratic life on the part of disadvantaged communities.

We have to stop just looking at the past. Our hemisphere has never been this democratic.

The outrage that was revealed this week about a plot to assassinate the representative of another sovereign nation in this capital of this sovereign nation is unacceptable.

For a country that is preoccupied with a 'Great Satan,' one has to conclude that no regime on Earth is more familiar with the Satanic than is the regime in Tehran.

I have long said that one of our major problems involving security south of our border is the obscene number of American guns which flow down illegally south of the border.

A significant number of countries in the Western Hemisphere could very well hold a similar hearing on threats that stem from our own Nation.

It is not in our interest to cut foreign aid.

We must do so without the polarizing rhetoric that is reminiscent of the U.S. policies of decades ago.

Do you know who would be happy with this strategy... The Iranians love this bill.

This approach is basically if you don't like what is going on in a place... just cut and run.

I want to thank you and your staff particularly for your accommodation on the en bloc amendments.