September 2nd: The restarting of direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians is a positive step forward in the Middle East Peace Process. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas, along with the leaders of Egypt and Jordan, have come to Washington in good faith to renew discussions on how to move forward as neighbors toward creating a stable and sustainable two-state solution. I am heartened to see the United States continue to act as an honest broker in this process.

The Palestinian Authority's participation in this week's talks is encouraging. But for peace to truly take hold their leaders also must be committed to speaking out within Gaza and the West Bank against those, particularly Hamas, who would like these and any peace talks to fail. We cannot allow extremists to remain an obstacle to peace. Israel has consistently shown a commitment to a long-term peace and now is the time for the Palestinian Authority to do the same.

Now that U.S. efforts in Iraq are winding down, there is an opportunity for us to truly foster a productive process towards peace in the Middle East. The U.S. and Israel have always shared the same goals: to restart the peace process and prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state. It is imperative that we do all that is possible to protect our shared values and joint national interests.

September 2nd: Today I joined federal officials, including Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Congresswoman Donna Edwards, state and local leaders, including Governor Martin O'Malley, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett and Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen, to celebrate the start of construction of a new home for 2,100 employees of the National Cancer Institute. The complex, which will take two years to complete, expands the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center and Montgomery County's vision for growing its healthcare, biotech and IT industries.

Maryland is a national leader in healthcare and biotech development and this new Montgomery County facility will keep us at the forefront of efforts to advance scientific discovery and improve healthcare delivery for years to come. In these tough economic times, this tremendous partnership opportunity will not only bring together government, academic and private interests focused on curing cancer, but it will serve as a magnet for investments and job creation in the local community, our state and the region.

NCI is joining the Johns Hopkins campus, which has already attracted 16 private biotech companies and research centers. The cross-section of healthcare, education, and biotech at this single location will draw new researchers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses in the biosciences to the greater area.

August 31st: Today I sent a letter sent a letter to the Russian government along with several of my Senate colleagues expressing our concern regarding Russia's failure to fully honor its recent commitment to allow U.S. poultry products back into Russia. The bipartisan group of senators who sent the letter noted that President Obama and President Medvedev reportedly came to an agreement on June 24 of this year to re-open the Russian market to U.S. poultry. However, since that agreement was reached, Russia has attempted to impose further restrictions on U.S. poultry products rather than move forward to implement the agreement the two presidents reached in June. We urged the Russian government to follow through on the commitment made by Russian President Medvedev and immediately allow full importation of U.S. poultry products into Russia without further delay.

Ensuring that Maryland's poultry producers have complete access to the global food market is incredibly important to sustaining Delmarva's largest industry. It's time for Russia to end its unfounded ban on U.S. poultry to both provide Russians with the world's finest poultry and to maintain important international business relations

Over the last three years, U.S. poultry exports to Russia averaged more than $800 million in value, making Russia the single largest U.S. export market. The poultry industry represents over 500,000 jobs in the United States.

August 31st: Much misinformation has been circulated about the newly enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and that we must set the record straight about additional benefits for seniors in the new law that will save them money and help improve access to health care.

Seniors are the biggest users of our health care system and that's why it's so important that all of you understand that the new law helps the Medicare program, reduces the deficit and provides additional benefits that will improve health care for all seniors. I want to be sure you have the facts so that you and your families can make informed decisions about the new law and your benefits.

The health reform bill was signed into law on March 23 and it contains a number of provisions that will benefit seniors, including closing the Medicare Part D "donut hole" for prescription drug coverage by 2020, elimination of deductibles, co-pays and other cost sharing for preventive care beginning in 2011, free annual wellness checkups beginning in 2011, and the creation of a voluntary long-term care insurance program in 2012. In 2014, the new law will institute a number of provisions, including the creation a pathway for the approval of generic biologic drugs to lower the cost of medications, promotion of better care after hospital discharge, development of better reporting about quality of health care services and using provider payments to reward high-quality, efficient health care.