Russ Feingold

I am concerned that the policy of enhanced screening for all nationals from 14 countries will potentially harm our relations with governments and populations that can be allies in defeating al Qaeda and its affiliates and may not be an…

I cannot overstate the importance of denying al-Qaeda safe havens in Yemen and countries like it.

we are acutely aware of the dangers of radicalization within refugee camps

I am, of course, a little mystified by this reaction given the similarity of this case to the attempt by Richard Reid who was prosecuted in Federal court by the prior administration, now serving a life sentence.

I cannot finish without telling you how concerned I am, as I am sure you know, about the new Inspector General report that came out this morning.

I just hope you continue to do that and think about the potential for enemy coordination in places like Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen.

Could you provide that analysis to Congress? Formal intelligence analysis that led to these determinations.

there's a risk that increased United States counterterrorism assistance to the Saleh government could be used as a rallying point for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and affiliated groups

Other Members of Congress, including Senator Feingold, have regularly raised awareness of the threats emerging from Yemen.

But we must also approach our task calmly and thoughtfully and not treat this as an opportunity to score political points.

the Houthi conflict can--needs to be solved through negotiation, that there's no military solution to that

So can we get a briefing on it, classified if necessary?

While the attempt did not end in the tragedy that it could have, we must understand how and why the bomber was able to board that flight.

We need to remember, as we focus needed resources and attention on Yemen, that it shouldn't be seen as the new Afghanistan or the new Iraq.

I am also very concerned about the repressive nature of Yemen's Government.

The threat from al-Qaeda in Yemen, as well as the broader region, is increasing, and our attention to this part of the world is long overdue.

But what I would like to be able to have access to is the information about what happened when these countries were notified and what their response was.

I join all members of this Committee in my horror at what happened on Christmas Day on the Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Significant human rights problems persisted . . . and there were limitations on citizens' ability to change their government due to corruption, fraudulent voter registration, and administrative weakness.

Does this administration continue to believe this is genocide occurring under the Genocide Convention?

What kind of timeframe are you suggesting for a response to the letter?

to give the President effective line-item veto authority to go after unauthorized, wasteful earmark spending.

Our Nation is on a fiscal path that is not sustainable. Our Country has accumulated as much new debt in the first 8 years of this decade as we did in the first 208 years of our Nation's history.

We support what Senators Feingold and McCain have proposed, and whatever comes out would be better than what we have now.

I believe that when the United States ratified this treaty, it agreed to take decisive action to help prevent and punish genocide.