Foreign Policy

I applaud the free, fair and transparent democratic election in Mexico. With over 41 million votes cast the Mexican people have spoken, and Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party (PAN) is their choice to lead Mexico down the road of unity, peace and prosperity.

I expect President-elect Calderon to continue the successful policies of his predecessor, President Vincente Fox, who sought a positive and constructive relationship with the United States, and in that vein, I extend my hand in friendship to President-elect Calderon and the Mexican people.

I applaud the work of Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), which conducted an unbiased and objective district-by-district vote count under the strictest scrutiny, and I thank them for upholding Mexico's commitment to democracy and the rule of law. I urge the IFE to fully address claims of electoral irregularity and resolve lingering disputes in a fair and prompt manner.

Now is the time for Mexico to move past this heated and controversial campaign and work towards forming a unity coalition government, where all the people and parties of Mexico can unite as one and prosper under the strong leadership of President-elect Felipe Calderon.

Once again, I congratulate President-elect Calderon and I look forward to working with him and his administration.

These hearings are nothing more than election year politics -- another smoke and mirrors trick to draw attention away from the real issues. I grew up on the border, I have lived on the border my whole life, and now I represent the border. We live on the front lines of our broken immigration system, and we all know that we need to fix our immigration system and enforce our laws, but enforcement alone does not work - it has failed us the past 12 years. Our border communities want comprehensive reform. We want laws that are fair and that work.

The Bush Administration's policy toward North Korea has so far failed for one very basic reason: it does not have one. Instead of dealing with the weapons of mass destruction that President Bush knew existed in North Korea, he launched a preemptive war in Iraq - a country that he only thought had these weapons. For the last six years, the Administration has resorted to name calling with North Korea and has not devoted the time or muscle necessary to make the six-party talks effective. While the Administration's rhetoric may make for good political theater, it does not lead to successful diplomacy. Whether it's his policy toward Iraq, Iran, or North Korea, the President's approach to diplomacy is clearly wanting. It is time for the Bush Administration to do more than swagger.

Our hearing will evaluate the National Strategy for Victory in Iraq. We will hear from, among others, the GAO Comptroller General David Walker, Ambassador James Jeffrey from the State Department and Leith Kubba from the National Endowment for Democracy. These perspectives will be valuable in helping us assess our strategy to, in Mr. Khalilzad's words, 'end the war.'

I would welcome the opportunity to vote for a free trade agreement with strong, enforceable labor and environmental protections that benefit American workers. Unfortunately, the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement has neither, and I will vote against it. This FTA builds on the failed NAFTA/CAFTA trade model which encourages corporations to abandon the United States to exploit weak labor and environmental standards in other countries. Much like past free trade agreements, it is not in the best interest of U.S. workers, small businesses, farmers, the economy, or the environment. Rather than continue this frantic "race to the bottom" of worker wages and standards, we should repair the damage caused by past trade deals like NAFTA, before more American workers lose their jobs and before more irreparable damage is done to our environment.

As the citizens of Mexico and the world await the final election results, it’s important to recognize the democratic progress Mexico has made to date. It wasn’t long ago that a single political party held a stranglehold on Mexican politics – the fact that this is such a close election with such high voter turnout speaks volumes about Mexico’s democratic progress. It is my hope that the current recount will evolve peacefully according to Mexican law, and that Mexican electoral institutions will prove themselves worthy of the respect of the Mexican people. Close elections and even recounts have become common here in the U.S., and there is every reason to believe Mexican institutions will similarly be able to meet this challenge. Regardless of who is ultimately declared the winner in these elections, it is my expectation that the U.S. and Mexico will remain close partners on the wide range of issues that affect our neighborhood, from border security to narcotics control to human rights and democracy in the region.

Beginning with the Independence Day launch, more test-firings on
Wednesday and continued threats of even more launches today, I am urging
the U.S. and our allies to keep up our guard and stay calm in the face
of this provocatory ineptitude.  We should assure our trusted allies,
especially the Japanese of our determination to defend them.

This provocative action by the repressive North Korean regime is another
indication of their recalcitrance.  This action also is a test of the
genuineness and reliability of China's leaders who prop up the N. Korean
regime.  Their tangible reaction will be telling of their true
intentions.

Saturday, July 1st, marked the 38th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a treaty that will be rendered virtually meaningless if the proposed U.S. - India nuclear deal moves forward.Our country should be working to strengthen bilateral relations with India, but that effort should not come at the expense of nearly 40 years of international efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

Reversing decades of U.S. policy and tacitly allowing India's military nuclear programs to proceed without international oversight will severely undermine the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. Our actions with regard to India will have broad-ranging implications on our efforts to hold Iran and North Korea to international standards.

By selectively violating our own commitment to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, we send the message that we will sacrifice international standards for non-proliferation when it suits our strategic interests. While there may be merits to the proposed deal with India, they are far outweighed by the prospect that China or Russia may follow our example.

The United States has few, if any, better friends than India. I feel strongly that the United States and India are destined to be great partners as they seek to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. One of these challenges is the need to develop new sources of energy. The Indian economy is growing by leaps and bounds, offering new opportunities, not only for India itself, but for India's partners as well. India will need to develop ten of thousands of megawatts of new power capacity in the next few years to meet this need and lift India's poorest from poverty.

But there is another twenty-first challenge that India and the United States must meet together. And that is the challenge of nuclear proliferation, particularly the threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of extremist governments and terrorist movements. Read more...

These hearings are critical to making the process work. We are bringing the issue of illegal immigration straight to the American people and they have responded by making it clear to us that control of our borders and the safety of our citizens are the top priorities. The American people realize that the first step in solving illegal immigration must be securing the border. I don't think its any coincidence that the Senate and the President began moving toward the House's 'enforcement first' approach since these hearings were announced. They finally understand that there is consensus on all sides for enforcing existing immigration laws and securing our borders. These hearings will strengthen that position.