the absence of an AUMF could affect the legality of United States presence in Afghanistan

since taking office, one of my highest priorities has been finding solutions to the unemployment rate among American veterans. We proudly in Virginia proclaim a tighter connection with the American military than any other State--and I know…

I thank the Chair. (The remarks of Mr. Kaine pertaining to the introduction of S. 2341 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

Major economic changes have to be made, and I am sure you will hear from Moises Naim a bit more about that.

The changes generally do not get made if the autocrats feel like they can use their natural resource revenues to just kind of keep things limping along.

What we are not seeing yet is a willingness to discuss real economic policy change.

I view much of the unrest as being driven by kind of an autocratic, oil-dominated economy where corrupt people at the top skim off a lot.

I am concerned that without a democratic space in which people feel they have an opportunity to express their opinion, to speak freely, hard economic changes are not going to be accepted by people.

How can the United States not firmly be on the side of people who are being violated in this systemic way?

When the elections were held and Maduro won over the opposition, I think I was in a tiny camp that was not sure it would be a good for the opposition to win these elections because the accumulated economic challenges were so massive that…

Devoting resources to adventurism in foreign policy would seem to be less and less tenable economically.

So there is a political cause for economic suffering and the leaders are not taking the steps needed and not tackling the fundamental changes necessary to change the economic situation.

today I am introducing, with Senator Cornyn, the Servicemembers' Compensation Empowerment Act of 2014. This bipartisan legislation will direct the Department of Defense's (DoD) Military Retirement and Modernization Commission to formally…

The optimum for the Nation would be if our budgetary decisions were driven by our strategic choices, especially in defense but in other areas as well.

Free, fair elections on May 25 are the best route to political and economic stability in Ukraine.

But these sanctions are only going to be powerful if Europe gets on board.

Here is something we could do economically that would really hurt Russia.

We must take a similarly principled stand on Crimea even while currently focused on eastern parts of the country.

You are seeing an impact but it is not yet changing the tactical calculus.

U.S. strategy should shift to preventing Putin's next moves by imposing crippling sanctions against more Russian banks, energy firms, and state-owned entities.

If we do not eliminate the sequester in fiscal year 2016 and out, we clearly do not want you to do anything with respect to military aid to the Ukraine or anyone else.

We have made that clear. And that is a view that you and the President share, but Congress has made that very clear.

It may be the gravest crisis that we face, should the end be an invasion of an article 5 country.

Senator Kaine, we appreciate your support now.

One of the first votes I cast when I came into the Senate was to eliminate sequester as needless and poor budgetary strategy.