Chairman's Press
Chairman Menendez Opening Remarks at Hearing on State of Democracy Around the World
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at this morning's full Committee hearing entitled "The State of Democracy Around the World." "In every region of the world today, authoritarian governments are seizing more and more power, dismantling core democratic institutions, and closing in on civil society and freedom of expression," Chairman Menendez said. "Our investments into democracy are our b… Continue Reading
March 09, 2021
Chairman Menendez Statement on Anniversary of Robert Levinson’s Wrongful Captivity in Iran
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in observance of the anniversary of Robert Levinson's wrongful detention in Iran: "Bob was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather who the Iranian regime wrongfully detained for more than a decade. Throughout this time, his devoted family fought tirelessly for his return and on behalf of other families' fighting to bring their wrongfully imprisoned loved ones ho… Continue Reading
March 09, 2021
Menendez, Risch Lead SFRC Colleagues in Marking 10th Anniversary of the Syrian Uprising with Bipartisan Resolution
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today led nine of their SFRC colleagues in introducing a bipartisan resolution in observance of the 10th anniversary of the Syrian uprising. In addition to calling on the United States to support humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, the resolution condemns the Assad regime's atrocities against its own citizens and reaffirms the United States' commi… Continue Reading
March 09, 2021
Menendez, Booker Send Letter to Costa Rican Ambassador Advocating for NJ Constituent in International Parental Abduction Case
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), today sent a letter to Costa Rican Ambassador Fernando Llorca Castro urging his assistance in returning American citizen Camille Stefanick Berrocal to the United States. Camille was abducted by her mother in August 2019, and her father, New Jersey resident Jonathan Stefanick, has continued to pursue his legal right to custody and Camille's safe return home. "Camille h… Continue Reading
March 08, 2021
Joint Statement from Senators Menendez and Durbin on Biden Administration’s Decision to Grant TPS to Venezuelans
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the below statement in reaction to the Biden administration's announcement that it will designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS): "Today's welcomed announcement by the Biden administration reaffirms American support for the Venezuelan people. For years, the world watched in horror as man-made humanita… Continue Reading
March 08, 2021
***VIDEO*** Menéndez Sobre Reportes Que la Administración de Biden Otorgará Estatus de Protección Temporal a los Venezolanos
WASHINGTON, D.C. - El Senador Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.), el Presidente del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores en el Senado, emitió las siguientes declaraciones y video en reacción a reportes que el Secretario de Seguridad Nacional Alejandro Mayorkas le otorgará a los venezolanos en los Estados Unidos un Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS, for sus siglas en ingles). "Le quiero dar mi más profundo agradecimiento al Presidente Biden por cumplir con … Continue Reading
March 08, 2021
***VIDEO*** Menendez on the Biden Administration’s Reported Action Granting Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the video and statement below in reaction to reports that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will provide Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans in the United States. "I want to thank President Biden for delivering on his promise to stand with the Venezuelan people. To keep deporting Venezuelans back to Maduro's tragedy would be to tell them they are a burden … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Joint Statement from Chairman Menendez and Ranking Member Risch on U.S.-Bulgaria Bilateral Relationship
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) issued the following statement on the U.S.-Bulgaria relationship as the country begins the official campaigning period for parliamentary elections: "The United States and Bulgaria have a robust and growing relationship that, like the NATO alliance as a whole, is strongest when it rests on shared democratic values. We would like to see this relationship continue to develop, … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Bipartisan Senators Introduce Legislation to Reassert Democratic Leadership in Technology Strategy & Development
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, along with Sens. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), today introduced legislation to develop a partnership and strategy among democratic countries to compete against growing technological strength and influence by… Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Chairman Menendez and Ranking Member Risch Announce SFRC Subcommittee Assignments for 117th Congress
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) today announced subcommittee leadership and membership assignments for the 117th Congress. "I look forward to working in close coordination with the incoming subcommittee members to chart forward a path of renewal and reengagement for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee," Chairman Menendez said. "From rebuilding the State Department to reestablishing American leadership … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Menendez, Rubio, Kaine, Cassidy and Cardin Introduce IDB General Capital Increase Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined today by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ranking Member and Chairman of the SFRC Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, as well as Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in reintroducing legislation authorizing the tenth general capital increase for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the hemisphere's leading international financial institution. At a… Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Menéndez, Rubio, Colegas Presentan Resolución en Honor a Las Damas de Blanco
WASHINGTON - Los senadores estadounidenses Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.), presidente del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado, y Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) presentaron una resolución (S.Res.81) bipartidista en honor a Las Damas de Blanco, un movimiento pacífico liderado por mujeres que apoya la libertad y la defensa de los DDHH. en Cuba e insta activamente a la liberación de todos los presos políticos en Cuba. Estas valientes mujeres, que le dan voz a los cuban… Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Menendez, Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Resolution Honoring Las Damas de Blanco
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced a bipartisan resolution (S.Res.81) honoring Las Damas de Blanco, a women-led peaceful nonviolent movement that supports freedom and human rights in Cuba and actively urges the release of all political prisoners in Cuba. These courageous women, who offer a voice to Cuba's voiceless, gather and march peacefully through the streets of Havana with gladiolus flower… Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
Menendez, Risch Unveil New Legislation to Confront Growing Threat of Terrorism in the Sahel
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today are introducing new legislation authorizing the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) program to combat the growing threat of terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa. Entitled The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Program Act of 2021, the bipartisan legislation establishes in law a program to improve coordination between U.S. g… Continue Reading
March 03, 2021
Chairman Menendez Delivers Opening Remarks at Committee Hearing on Nominations for Senior State Department Posts
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today delivered the following opening remarks at this morning's committee hearing on the nominations of Wendy Sherman to serve as Deputy Secretary of State and Brian McKeon to serve as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. Below are Chairman Menendez's remarks as delivered: "This hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order. We are here today t… Continue Reading
March 02, 2021
Chairman Menendez on Biden Administration’s Russia Sanctions over Navalny Poisoning
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement following the Biden administration's announcement that it will impose a new wave of sanctions on multiple Russian government officials and entities in response to the Kremlin's attempted murder of anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny: "Today's announcement sends a clear signal of accountability that the United States will not turn a blind eye to those who use these t… Continue Reading
February 26, 2021
Chairman Menendez and European Allies on Political Situation in Georgia
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today joined his counterparts from Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and the Czech Republic in issuing the following statement regarding recent anti-democratic developments in Georgia: "The storming of the office of the United National Movement, the largest opposition party in Georgia, in order to arrest Nika Melia, its Chairman, exposed the fragility of democracy and freedom in Georgi… Continue Reading
February 26, 2021
Menendez Statement on the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol
NEWARK - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement on the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol, marking seven years since Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea: "On this solemn anniversary, I stand with the Ukrainian people in rejecting the Russian government's ongoing illegal occupation of Crimea. Nothing that the Kremlin says or does will change the fact that Crimea is Ukraine, and Congress h… Continue Reading
February 26, 2021
Chairman Menendez Statement on U.S. Intelligence Report on the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to the Biden administration's publication of a U.S. intelligence report on Saudi Arabia's assassination of Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi: "Today the United States government finally acknowledged what the rest of the world has already known: Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman personally approved the operation in which Saud… Continue Reading
February 25, 2021
Chairman Menendez Statement for Senate Record on Escalating Violence in Darfur Following UNAMID Dissolution
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, submitted the following statement for the Senate Record in response to ongoing tensions and violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. The statement calls for the United Nations Security Council to reconsider its December 2020 move to dissolve the United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which had a Chapter VII peacekeeping mandate allowing it to provide critical support a… Continue Reading
