I applaud Senator Kaine for his recent letter urging the Centers for Disease Control to release long-awaited opioid prescribing guidelines.

Have we hit the balance right in how we look at pain management as a kind of definer of this quality of medical service?

Many of us in the Senate have been really focused on the FDA approval of certain opioid prescription medicines for young people and been highly, highly critical of that.

I want to make sure folks who are here can see this, too, and, so, kind of make it personal for the rest of the hearing.

A number of recent studies have concluded, as Senator Kaine mentioned, that opioids are not very effective in treating chronic non-cancer pain or improving function and can cause a number of harmful side effects.

I thank my colleagues for taking the floor on this important matter. While I serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I actually want to talk about this issue from my standpoint on the Senate Armed Services Committee. I happen to…

I believe it is going to be where we are going to spend most of our time investing to pull those three grids together.

to have two continents, 37 nations, a billion people without war, that is a pretty big deal

USAID is a combat multiplier, certainly on the continent of Africa.

They are a very important ally. If confirmed, obviously, I will build a close relationship with their military leadership.

Can I ask one last question? You talked a lot about the Air Force's being a key innovator.

The expenditure or investment of our money in any region, particularly our neighbors, needs to be very carefully evaluated, and there needs to be accountability.

I hope we might think about having a hearing either in this committee or in the subcommittee about what is the best way to use that money.

We have to give them a way ahead, a path, something to look forward to.

I rise today to talk about a pending legislative matter we will be discussing later in the day, the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015. This is the title of the bill that was passed by the House in November. It is now…

The maintenance is layered between Active, Guard, and Reserve?

We cannot abandon a strong anti-ISIL partner that has been very, very valiant as the Kurds in northern Syria have been.

One of the points you mentioned was my next question, and that is this maintainer shortfall.

I am a strong supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I think it should be passed.

Members of this committee, Senator Menendez and others, have really focused a lot on OAS reform.

Senator Kaine, I am glad you raised it--is the mistaken notion that special reports issued by SIGAR for some reason do not follow professional standards.

I strongly support your proposals with respect to the humanitarian or no-fly zone in northern Syria.

Every dollar the Pentagon wastes is a dollar that we do not have to restore military readiness and provide our troops with what they need to protect themselves and our country.

This was a hearing that got its momentum following the release of a SIGAR Office of Special Projects report that was issued in October.

the overarching question of how we promote economic development during a contingency operation... remains a challenge for all of us in the U.S. Government