Thank you, and I want to thank all of my colleagues for attending.

The irony of his invasion of Ukraine has more to consolidate and strengthen that sense of identity and purpose than any single thing.

Moscow intends to overthrow the entire post-cold-war settlement of 1989 to 1991 in Europe and globally.

I do not want anybody to miss the testimony.

President Obama said we are the indispensable Nation.

Providing weapons in the context of sanctions and economic assistance to Ukraine is a way to challenge or to change that calculation in Moscow.

there are 14 to 20,000 Russian troops...between 12 and 20,000 Russian troops are in Ukraine

Well, again, I want to thank all of the witnesses for your time, your thoughtful testimony, as Dr. Blank said, for telling the truth, and for just fighting for freedom.

One cannot win a war with blankets.

The people of Ukraine have shed their own blood in order to get their freedom.

I think probably the most powerful part of that timeline are the 29 assassinations of political figures, 29 assassinations and murders that have never been adequately solved.

I was heartened, I was encouraged by my colleagues here in the Senate and the House unanimously passing the Ukraine Freedom Support Act.

Unless we understand the reality, unless we are willing to face the reality, unless we are willing to grapple with the reality, Vladimir Putin will continue his aggression.

I appreciate those kind comments. And, by the way, this has been an excellent Committee since I have been serving here in the Senate for 4 years.

Boy, we have some real opportunities for some bipartisan agreements.

There has to be a process of subtraction. There has to be a process of continuous improvement.

I will guarantee you, they feel like they are being affected dramatically by Dodd-Frank.

the regulatory burden. It is huge, and, of course, we have a very uncompetitive tax system.

I hope that is not his real attitude.

This could be solved tomorrow if President Obama and Secretary Jeh Johnson said, OK, let us let the courts decide this.

I think we all agree that we should absolutely fund the authorized, the legal, the essential elements of the Department of Homeland Security.

Congress passed some legislation late last year, the Federal Information Technology Reform Act, that gives Chief Information Officers (CIOs) additional authorities.

Congress has made efforts in VA and IT, but the efforts need to be monitored.

Congress has passed legislation providing them with additional money, $15 billion, but the legislation has to be implemented effectively.

I mean, that has to be a top priority of this Committee.