Russ Feingold

I'm honored that I'll be joined by the ranking member of the subcommittee, Senator Isakson.

I think, in connection with what Ambassador Pickering has been talking about, about alternatives, one needs to reach out to that community and ask them where they're putting their money and whether they can put their money into something…

I have been begging for a policy towards Somalia for years, and then people wonder why there's an unstable situation in Somalia that can lead to this kind of piracy.

Certainly, you can't call them low-level contact, as our ambassadors are--I met with----

We cannot afford to take an overly Afghan-centric approach to a much broader problem.

We also need to scale up our diplomatic engagement and redouble our commitment to reconstruction.

This policy better not end up being we do what we must with regard to Afghanistan and what we can with regard to Pakistan because that is not going to work.

It is my hope that this strategy will address the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan with a comprehensive and regional approach.

the scales of justice have tilted away from consumers in arbitration proceedings.

the war in Iraq stole our resources, personnel, money and attention that could have been better spent protecting our national security

We could debate in that example whether or not there was a suspicion of wrongdoing, but I do not want to spend all my time on that.

I thank the Chair. And it is good to see you again, Mr. Director.

I was disappointed to learn of a recent statement from the American Muslim Task Force on Civil Rights and Elections, indicating that they are considering suspending their work with the FBI.

the announcement last month of a timeline, the redeployment of our troops is a long overdue step in the right direction

DHS said it had done an "exhaustive" search of its databases and could find no information relating to the MSP surveillance operations.

I am hearing more and more about the prevalence of Mexican-produced drugs in my State.

I do want to thank Senators Durbin and Feinstein for calling this hearing to discuss this urgent national security matter.

I think that is a problem that I think only can be fixed properly by a constitutional amendment.

The American people elect their Senators and would not accept any other method.

I do not believe budget constraints nullify the imperative for electing our leaders.

I have a real question about when we should be amending the Constitution.

I think that is a problem for our system of democracy.

The best place to make those decisions is for individual States to think it through themselves.

I think all the major issues raised with regard to the proposed constitutional amendment have been aired with great care.

the people of those States, and every State, do deserve a voice in their representation.