Chairman's Press
Declaraciones de Menendez en Apoyo al Nominado para Presidencia del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
Washington-El senador Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), miembro de Más Alto Rango del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado, presentó hoy las siguientes declaraciones para el registro del Senado en apoyo a Mauricio Claver-Carone, quien está nominado para servir como el próximo presidente del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID). "Sr. Presidente, pido la palabra para hablar sobre la presente campaña para seleccionar al próximo Presidente del Banco I… Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Menendez Statement for the Record in Support of Nominee for Inter-American Development Bank
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today submitted the following statement for the Senate record in support for Mauricio Claver-Carone to serve as the next president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). "M. President, I rise to speak about the campaign currently underway to select the next president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in September of this year. The IDB has served as the preeminent development … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Ranking Member Menendez Opening Remarks at Committee Business Meeting
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following remarks at the beginning of today's Foreign Relations Committee business meeting. "We are here because Secretary Pompeo pressured to move certain nominees over our objection - objections that go to the core of whether we are a coequal branch of government or simply a doormat for the Secretary and the President," said Ranking Member Menendez, noting the lack of clarity … Continue Reading
July 28, 2020
Ranking Member Menendez Publishes New Report Documenting Trump Administration’s Decimation of the State Department
WASHINGTON - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic Staff today published a new report documenting the Trump administration's decimation of the State Department. Commissioned by Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the report is a comprehensive examination of the Trump administration's assault on U.S. diplomacy. Through a review of ongoing senior-level vacancies plaguing the State Department, repeated nominee vetting failures, and attacks on career public servants, the report highlig… Continue Reading
July 27, 2020
Menendez to Publish SFRC Minority Report on Trump Administration’s Decimation of State Department
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is convening a Congressional briefing on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 2:30 PM EDT to unveil a new report being published by the SFRC Democratic Staff. Commissioned by Ranking Member Menendez, the report, entitled "Diplomacy in Crisis: The Trump Administration's Decimation of the State Department," presents a comprehensive examination of the Trump administration's assault on U.S. diplomacy. Through … Continue Reading
July 27, 2020
Menendez, Durbin, Schumer Lead Democrats in Again Calling on Trump to Grant TPS for Venezuelans
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today led a group of 23 senators in again calling on President Trump to support the victims of the Maduro regime by granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans fleeing the political, economic, and humanitarian crisis in their home country. "As the people of Venezuela continue to suffer… Continue Reading
July 24, 2020
Menendez Statement on Administration’s Loosening of Regulations to Export Drones
NEWARK - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after the Trump administration announced it would weaken the U.S. government's arms export policy regarding a decades-old multilateral arms control arrangement. The move to undermine the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) will enable defense contractors to begin selling certain U.S. armed drones to countries of concern: "The Trump Administration has once a… Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Menendez Opening Remarks at Nominations Committee Hearing on Ambassadors to Peru, Chile, Canada, Guatemala
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening statement at this morning's hearing on the nominations of Lisa S. Kenna to be Ambassador to the Peru, Leora Rosenberg Levy to be Ambassador to Chile, Aldona Z. Wos to be Ambassador to Canada, and William W. Popp to be Ambassador to Guatemala. Below are Ranking Member Menendez's remarks as delivered: "Mr. Chairman, I'm forced to note that this is … Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Menendez Opening Remarks at Hearing on Advancing Effective U.S. Competition With China: Objectives, Priorities, and Next Steps
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening statement at today's committee hearing entitled "Advancing Effective U.S. Competition With China: Objectives, Priorities, and Next Steps." Testifying at today's hearing was Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun. "I am deeply concerned that the Administration's approach is one that labors under the mistaken belief that just being confrontational is … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Ranking Member Menendez Publishes New Minority Report: “The New Big Brother – China and Digital Authoritarianism”
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today published a new report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic Staff on China's digital authoritarianism. Commissioned by Ranking Member Menendez, the report serves as the culmination of a comprehensive Committee investigation into China's efforts to develop, export, and institutionalize a new, authoritarian governance model for the digital domain. At a virtual briefing to … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Menendez Opening Remarks at Nominations Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening statement at this morning's hearing on the nominations of Marshall Billingslea to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, C.J. Mahoney to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State, and Carlos Trujillo to be Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. " I am a huge believer - spent my whole life - … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
***MEDIA ADVISORY*** Menendez to Publish SFRC Minority Report on China and Digital Authoritarianism
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is convening a Congressional briefing on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 2:30 PM EDT to unveil a new report being published by the SFRC Democratic Staff. The report, entitled "The New Big Brother: China and Digital Authoritarianism," is the culmination of a year-long SFRC investigation commissioned by Ranking Member Menendez into China's efforts to develop, export, and institutionalize a new, authorit… Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Menendez, Booker Statement on Escalating Violence along Armenia-Azerbaijan Border
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) issued the following statement on the recent escalation in violence along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border: "We are deeply concerned about the reports of violence along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Azerbaijan, with Turkey's support, has chosen a path of violence instead of the peaceful, negotiated process spearheaded by the OSCE Minsk Group. We urge a stop to th… Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Menendez on Trump Administration’s Launch of Controversial Commission on Unalienable Rights’ Report
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, today issued the following statement following Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's launch of the Commission on Unalienable Rights' report: "Secretary Pompeo's launch of the Commission on Unalienable Rights' report represents another effort by the Trump Administration to undermine internationally-recognized human rights, further damaging the United States' reputation as a global human rights lea… Continue Reading
July 10, 2020
Menendez, Risch Statement on Turkey’s Hagia Sophia
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's effort to convert the Hagia Museum of Istanbul from a world-famous cultural site into a mosque: "Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey is a place of deep spiritual significance for people of diverse backgrounds from around the world. For more than three quarters of a ce… Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Menendez Sends Letter to President Trump Ahead of His Meeting with Mexican President López Obrador
NEWARK - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today sent a letter to President Trump encouraging him to avoid grandstanding photo-ops during the upcoming White House visit of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and instead engage in a serious effort to enhance bilateral economic and security cooperation and address the shared challenges that confront the two nations. "From addressing the mishandled federal responses … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Menendez, Klobuchar, Wyden, and Colleagues Urge State Department to Ensure Americans Overseas Can Vote During Pandemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee with jurisdiction over federal elections, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, and colleagues urged the State Department to take action to ensure that Americans overseas can vote during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senators point out that travel and mail operations remain disrupted… Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Menendez, Rubio, Mcgovern, Smith Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Letter on Chinese Government Attrocities in Xinjiang
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representatives James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Christopher Smith (R-NJ) were joined by 74 members of the Senate and the House in sending a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin regarding the ongoing atrocities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. The letter urges the administration to issue a formal determination of … Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Menendez Unveils NDAA Amendment in Response to Kremlin Targeting of U.S. Troops
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is today introducing a new measure to impose costs on Russia for reportedly offering bounties for the killing of U.S. troops and allied forces in Afghanistan. The Senator's effort would require the Trump Administration to impose asset freeze sanctions on President Vladimir Putin, his Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, and other senior government officials found to be involved in the bounty program… Continue Reading
July 01, 2020
Menendez, Rubio, Young, Cardin, Merkley Introduce the Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), were joined by Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in introducing the Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act. This bipartisan legislation would provide those Hong Kongers who peacefully protested Beijing's corrupt justice system, and have a well-founded fear of persecution, to be eligible for Priority 2 Refugee status. The bill is also… Continue Reading
