Tim Kaine

Virginia has become a real leader in clean energy.

We're doing a good job on that, and you talked a little bit about the impact on operations in Hampton Roads when you have the main road serving the biggest and most important naval base in the world, more and more likely to flood just…

This is already urgent in Virginia. The sea level rise in Hampton Roads is imposing significant costs on our military installations, but also on our communities.

I do think we have enough data. But this issue is about how when the Army Corps does their assessments of what's needed that they don't take into account the federal facilities.

Thank you, Chairman Whitehouse, and to my colleagues and those attending, it is a pleasure to have Rick Dwyer here today.

It is important to get the AUKUS piece right before we like prematurely add others in.

I think America's greatest strength is our alliances.

If we mattered to you, you would have someone here, right?

And that is not just for the political appointees. The thing that is a little bit unusual about this is you see the holds of these career appointees who served under Presidents of both parties, who had to pass one of the toughest exams in…

We had no ambassador in country.

We need our diplomats out and development experts out in the field showing up, actively engaged, representing the United States.

Holding up a nominee, particularly a career nominee for reasons unrelated to that individual's qualifications is something that needs to end.

It seems like a big issue to me.

Your confirmation gives those candidates a different level of standing. They show up with a letter from the President that they present to the head of state, gives them a different level of understanding.

If somebody on the Senate is holding you up, and it is secret, you do not even have the ability to...

Is there not also kind of an informal power that comes in the reverse if you do not have a confirmed nominee? The country believes, wow, we must not be that important in the United States.

The Senate holds on ambassadorial nominees are harming our national interest.

I appreciate your service, your testimony, and thanks Mr. Chairman.

Other nations do that and they have much better health outcome than we do.

Thanks, Chairman Sanders, thanks to the panel.

I'm going to be in Appalachian, Virginia tomorrow visiting the Allegheny Highlands Dental Center.

I want to thank you for your work on Remote Access Medical.

We need to be looking at the region comprehensively, especially with all the federal facilities.

It's a resilience problem that we have to invest.

Thank you, Chairman Whitehouse, and to my colleagues and those attending, it is a pleasure to have Rick Dwyer here today.