Ben Cardin Quotes

If I had to do the most consistent nightmares I have, it's probably Russia, because they're so global in their efforts to bring down democratic systems. But, I'm also worried about what could end our civilization if we started a nuclear confrontation - North Korea is clearly in our sights as an immediate major concern.

Congress has a limited role in regards to the nuclear agreement with Iran. We do have a review statute that was enacted into law where we review Iran's compliance with the agreement, and we have certain requirements on the President to keep us informed. What we have seen so far is that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear part of the agreement, but certainly has violated non-nuclear issues.

Since my election to Congress, I've always been interested in human rights. I really do believe that's America's strength. Yes, we have a strong military; yes, we have a strong economy. But what really makes America the unique nation it is, is that we speak up about human rights, and anti-corruption, and good governance, and democratic institutions. That's what America is known for. That's what inspires people around the world with U.S. leadership.

I believe on foreign policy that there is little difference between the Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We believe that the best course for containing North Korea's nuclear program is through diplomacy, and we disagree with the language the President Donald Trump has used, and the fact that he's made it more difficult for diplomacy to work.

Just recently, President Donald Trump said that he believes that Mr. Vladimir Putin, when he said he didn't know about interfering in our elections - or he thought he was sincere. Quite frankly, Russia intentionally interfered in our election, and Mr. Putin was behind that. And the new sanctions need to be imposed.

We do know from our intelligence community that Russia had a design to discredit the U.S. elections, and took sides in favor of Mr. Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. We do now that they engaged individuals and entities to do cyber-attacks to get as much information as they possibly could, and of course, also used WikiLeaks to accumulate information, and released it in a strategic way that could affect our election, and certainly the credibility of our election.

We know that Russia has done things that are very much against our interests. They've done things that require us to take punitive action against Russia. That does not mean we can't work with Russia where we have a common agenda. Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council; we need their help in isolating North Korea and their nuclear weapons violations. So, we still need to work with Russia. But Russia's done things that are contrary to our national security interest, and the US must respond to those types of activities.

[N]o clear steps have actually been taken to apprehend and prosecute those known to have been in command of the camp or the forces operating there....The new government of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has pledged to act. It must now generate the political will to act. The protection of those responsible for this crime can no longer be tolerated.

In Serbia's case, the unresolved accountability for the Bytyqi brothers massacre needs to be resolved. And we would urge you to give this matter prompt and immediate attention to bring those responsible to justice for this tragedy.

Now that Serbia is moving towards integration into Europe, the opportunities to get closer cooperation may very well exist.

[The Bytyqi Brothers were] American citizens and we have been seeking answers to why no one's been held accountable for these atrocities. [Family members] expect our government to do everything we can.