Ron Johnson

It is completely inadequate.

I think we are off to an important start, collaborating with other governments.

Support for democratic transformation, through democracy and governance programs; support for economic growth.

Democratic transformation, economic growth, energy security, which is paramount in Ukraine.

That reflects the heightened priority that we are all placing on bolstering Ukraine at this difficult moment.

The biggest focus these days, of course, is Ukraine.

The most important thing that could happen for Cyprus and U.S. business opportunity is reunification of the island.

The way they balanced their budget was to dramatically reduce spending.

Estonia is a very successful economy and very welcoming to American businesses.

Senator Murphy and I, when we were in Romania, met an incredibly courageous young woman, Laura Kovesi.

I am very pleased, Mr. Chairman, that you and Chairman Corker were willing to hold this hearing so quickly after Mr. Heins has been nominated, so we can remedy the situation, which you did not cause.

So much of a country's success, whether it is for peace and stability or otherwise, really relies on economic prosperity.

I hope you all take that responsibility--I am sure you will--very seriously, conveying that America, although we are not perfect, has been a phenomenal force for good in the world.

The Senate could have voted for the Grassley Amendment 3564 that would have allowed that employer contribution.

Senator Grassley recognized that fact, that because Members of Congress and their staff were now going to be forced to purchase a plan either created by the Act or under an exchange created by the Act, they were not going to be allowed to…

Under the Affordable Care Act, and Senator Vitter states it in his letter, it specifically was called out in the law that Members of Congress and their staff had to purchase insurance in a plan.

The issue at stake here and raised by Senator Vitter is not whether or not Members of Congress and their staff are going to be treated the same as every other Federal employee.

I want to make sure that this nomination can move forward. So, this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed.

This is something that the American people really get upset about, when Members of Congress exempt themselves from the very same law that they impose on the rest of the American public.

The House Oversight Committee was forced to resort to a subpoena, which, from my standpoint, that is something I am going to do as a very last resort.

We worked tirelessly trying to get the Office of Inspector General of VA to comply with our subpoena

That is troubling and I want to drill down on that a little bit further.

The only way we can fulfill that responsibility, which we take very seriously, is to have a cooperative relationship

An undue emphasis on building walls and visa requirements is not going to stop that.

Sharia law is not particularly compatible with Western democracies, and part of assimilation is coming in and assimilating into our rule of law.