Welcome
Home,
Genene!
Everyone
was
all
smiles
at
the
Indianapolis
Airport
this
Saturday.
Dozens
of
friends
and
neighbors
turned
out
to
welcome
home
the
Oren
family,
from
Anderson,
IN,
and
their
son
Genene.
His
homecoming
was
a
long-awaited
reunion.
Although,
Genene
was
legally
adopted
from
Ethiopia
over
a
year
ago,
his
journey
home
had
been
delayed
due
to
Ethiopia
halting
international
adoption
proceedings.
According
to
the
US
State
Department,
this
has
left
dozens
of
American
families
unable
to
obtain
the
necessary
paperwork
to
bring
their
legally
adopted
children
home.
It
was
a
privilege
to
be
at
the
airport
to
celebrate
with
the
Oren
family.
I’m
thrilled
to
welcome
Genene
home
to
Indiana,
and
see
a
family
finally
become
whole.
Revamping
International
Development
with
Incoming
USAID
Director
Mark
Green
President
Trump’s
nominee
to
lead
USAID
appeared
in
front
of
the
Senate
Foreign
Relations
Committee
last
week
for
his
confirmation
hearing.
During
our
discussion,
I
asked
about
possible
USAID
reform
and
reorganization,
along
with
other
National
Security
development
strategies.
Each
of
these
efforts
would
improve
USAID
operations
and
help
advance
American
interests
abroad.
Senator
Shaheen
and
I
introduced
legislation
to
implement
common-sense
collaboration
between
numerous
U.S.
Government
agencies
in
order
to
optimize
our
international
development
and
aid
operations.
It’s
long
past
time
to
reform
these
areas
in
order
to
provide
more
effective
services
along
with
ensuring
taxpayer
money
is
spent
effectively.
Mr.
Green
expressed
a
strong
interest
in
reviewing
our
recommendations
and
I
look
forward
to
working
with
him.
My
Decision
Should
Come
as
a
Surprise
to
No
One
After
months
of
efforts
to
alleviate
suffering
in
Yemen,
I
voted
to
block
certain
weapons
from
being
transferred
to
Saudi
Arabia.
My
decision
is
not
based
on
an
opposition
to
arms
sales,
but
on
the
persistent
and
misguided
refusal
of
the
Saudi
government
to
take
specific
steps
to
alleviate
suffering
in
Yemen.
I
recognize
thatdespite
our
differencesthe
Saudi
government
is
an
important
regional
security
partner
for
the
United
States.
However,
when
we
work
through
allies
and
partners,
we
should
not
set
aside
our
national
security
interests,
and
we
certainly
should
not
set
aside
our
support
for
universal
humanitarian
principles.
That
principle
certainly
applies
to
the
Saudis
and
to
the
situation
in
Yemen.
Starting
a
Bipartisan
Dialogue
on
Healthcare
Last
month,
I
reached
out
to
my
Democratic
colleagues
to
discuss
the
state
of
our
healthcare
system.
This
is
a
genuine
effort
to
try
to
earn
the
trust
of
my
fellow
colleagues
and
let
them
know
that
on
this
issue,
as
with
other
issues,
it’s
my
intent
to
try
to
find
common
ground.
Our
healthcare
system
is
in
dire
straits
as
the
number
of
choices
dwindle,
costs
continue
to
skyrocket,
and
quality
remains
unacceptably
subpar.
One
More
Thing
Before
You
Go:
Hoosier
Students
Keller,
Jason,
Geoffrey
and
Ryun
are
four
outstanding
young
men
from
Warsaw,
Indiana.
They
used
their
research,
writing,
and
acting
skills
to
tell
the
story
of
Pearl
Harbor
for
a
National
History
Day
project.
Their
hard
work
and
dedication
over
several
months
earned
them
a
first-place
award
in
the
Indiana
State
competition
and
an
opportunity
to
compete
in
the
national
competition
this
past
week
at
the
University
of
Maryland.
In
recognition
of
their
achievements,
I
was
honored
to
recognize
their
work
and
accomplishment
in
the
official
congressional
record
of
Congress
and
present
it
to
them
at
this
week's
#HoosierHuddle.
They
reported
history
and
now,
they
are
a
part
of
it.
Congratulations
to
them,
their
sponsor
and
parents.
It
was
a
privilege
to
meet
you
all.
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