Chairman's Press
Menendez, Leahy Urge President to Use Upcoming G20 Meeting to Coordinate International Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs sent a letter to President Donald Trump today, urging him to work with world leaders at this week's emergency G20 meeting to implement a powerful international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Senators asked Trump to ensure that the United States and… Continue Reading
March 22, 2020
With Tens of Thousands of Americans Still Stranded Abroad by COVID-19, Menendez Calls on Trump to Invoke Extraordinary Measures to Bring them Home
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sent a letter to President Trump urging him to take all necessary steps to provide assistance to the tens of thousands of Americans stranded abroad seeking help to return home during the COVID-19 pandemic. "No American should ever have to worry that they might be abandoned abroad by our government. As we work together to confront this unprecedented pandemic, we must provide Americans over… Continue Reading
March 19, 2020
Menendez Calls on Trump Administration to Activate Program Allowing State Department to Charter Commercial Aircraft to Evacuate Stranded U.S. Citizens
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement officially calling on President Trump to immediately invoke the Civil Reserve Airfleet (CRAF) readiness program and all of the authorities contained within in order to immediately begin chartering commercial flights to evacuate stranded American citizens unable to return to the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: "As commercial airlines come … Continue Reading
March 18, 2020
SFRC Dems Raise Alarm in New Letter to Sec. Pompeo amid Surge in Reports of Americans Stranded Abroad by Coronavirus
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today led a group of nine Democratic Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in sending a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raising serious concerns about Americans struggling to return home after being stranded abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Requesting the Secretary immediately update Congress and step up efforts to assist Americans stuck in pandemic-affected countries, t… Continue Reading
March 18, 2020
Menendez Statement on the Sixth Anniversary of Russia's Illegal Annexation of Crimea
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement on the sixth anniversary of Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea: "As we mark the sixth anniversary of Russia's illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea, we are unwavering in our condemnation and outright rejection of Russia's ongoing violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. Today, as it was six years ago, Crimea remains Ukrainian territory. Period. On this… Continue Reading
March 17, 2020
Statement from Ranking Member Menendez on St. Patrick’s Day
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement marking Saint Patrick's Day: "I extend my warmest wishes to the members of the Irish American community in New Jersey and around the world and join them in celebrating St. Patrick's Day, an important opportunity every year to honor Ireland's rich cultural heritage. It also provides an opportunity to renew our attention and focus on the Good Friday Agreement (… Continue Reading
March 16, 2020
Menendez Calls on Pompeo to Answer for State Department’s Shortcomings in Response to Spread of Novel Coronavirus
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today called upon Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to immediately rectify the State Department's slow and deficient response to the coronavirus pandemic. Citing specific examples of leadership mismanagement and shortcomings around the Department's response to the outbreak, Menendez called on Secretary Pompeo to increase transparency about the impact coronavirus is having on the Department to … Continue Reading
March 16, 2020
Menendez Statement on the Departure of USAID Administrator Mark Green
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to the announcement that United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green will step down from his post next month: "Administrator Green has worked tirelessly on behalf of the American people to promote thoughtful, sensible, and comprehensive policies to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives. Faced by an Administ… Continue Reading
March 12, 2020
Senate Democrats Call on EU to Sanction “Putin’s Chef” citing Concerns about Russian Meddling in 2020 Election
WASHINGTON - Leading national security senators today called for an immediate increase in joint U.S.-E.U. diplomatic and economic isolation efforts of Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and longtime Putin crony widely known as a driving force behind the Kremlin's malign influence abroad. In a letter to Ambassador of the European Union to the U.S. Stavros Lambrinidis, a group of five leading senators requested the European Union substantially increase pressure to deter Prigozhin ah… Continue Reading
March 11, 2020
Menendez Opening Statement at Committee Hearing on Assad's Campaign against the Syrian People
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, this morning delivered opening remarks at a full committee hearing titled "Nine Years of Brutality: Assad's Campaign Against the Syrian People." Testifying at today's hearing where Syrian Military Defector known by his codename "Caesar", Omar Alshogre, Director of detainee issues for the Syrian Emergency Task Force, and Raed Al Saleh, Head of the Syria Civil Defense (White Helmets). CLIC… Continue Reading
March 10, 2020
***PHOTO RELEASE*** Leading Democrats Meet with OAS Secretary General Almagro
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Donna Shalala (Fla.-27) issued the following statement after meeting with Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro: "It was a pleasure to again welcome Secretary Almagro to the U.S. Capitol to discuss the most critical iss… Continue Reading
March 10, 2020
Menendez Calls on Commerce Department to Stop U.S. Companies from Buying Goods Made by Uyghur Forced Laborers
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross calling on his department to take steps to prevent American companies and consumers from buying goods produced by forced labor in Xinjiang, China. The Chinese government has implemented a repressive system of surveillance and mass internment against millions of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups-and ofte… Continue Reading
March 06, 2020
Menendez Speaks at AFL-CIO on his Newly Released Report on Assessing Labor Rights and Safety in Bangladesh’s Garment Factories
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following remarks yesterday at an event to release a new report produced by his staff on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, investigating labor rights and worker abuses in Bangladesh. Menendez spoke at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington with AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka. Menendez's remarks can be found below: "President Trumka, thank you for that kind introduction a… Continue Reading
March 06, 2020
Menendez Marks International Women’s Day Elevating Plight of 25 Women Political Prisoners
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement marking International Women's Day and calling attention to the many women around the world who have shown courageous leadership and have been detained by their governments as a result. The Senator will submit his full statement into the Senate Record. "Today, I want to highlight twenty-five women who have risked their lives, withstood torture, and been unjustly de… Continue Reading
March 05, 2020
Menendez, Rubio, Cruz, Cardin, Scott Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Honoring Las Damas De Blanco
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ben Cardin (D-Md), and Rick Scott (R-Fla), ahead of the commemoration of International Women's Day, introduced a resolution (S. Res 531) honoring Las Damas de Blanco, a women-led peaceful nonviolent movement in support of freedom and human rights in Cuba, and calling for the release of all political prisoners in Cuba. These courageous women gather and march every Sunday in the streets of Havana carry… Continue Reading
March 05, 2020
At AFL-CIO, Senator Menendez Releases Report Assessing Labor Rights and Safety in Bangladesh’s Garment Factories
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released a new Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democratic Staff report investigating the treatment of garment workers, labor rights, and factory safety in Bangladesh. At an event with AFL-CIO's President Richard L. Trumka, Menendez discussed the fight for freedom of association and workers' rights at home and around the world before unveiling the comprehensive report, which comes nearly… Continue Reading
March 03, 2020
Menendez, Cruz, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Expressing Support for the People of Nicaragua
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a Senate resolution (S. Res 525) shortly after the two-year anniversary of the enactment of the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA), expressing continued support for the people of Nicaragua as they fight to restore democracy. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), David Perdue (R-G… Continue Reading
March 03, 2020
Menendez Statement on Iran’s Increased Stockpile of Enriched Uranium
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement regarding a new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report that found Iran has increased its stockpile of enriched uranium to five times what it had in July 2018, as well as documenting Iran's concerted obstruction of IAEA officials from accessing suspected nuclear sites: "It is incredibly disturbing to see Tehran's decision to rapidly increase its stockpile… Continue Reading
March 03, 2020
Menendez Delivers Keynote Remarks at AIPAC Policy Conference
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today delivered a keynote address at the closing plenary for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference, where he spoke about the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. CLICK TO WATCH Below are the Senator's full remarks as delivered: "Good morning! There may be one or two other things happening in the world, both here and in Israel, making headlines today… Continue Reading
March 02, 2020
Menendez Asks Pompeo if Turkey’s Purchase of Russian Weapons Counts Toward NATO Obligations
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seeking the Trump Administration's clarification whether Turkey's purchase of the Russian S400 air defense system will be counted towards Turkey's pledge to increase defense spending under its NATO obligations. After President Trump repeatedly pressured and publicly shamed NATO members to swiftly increase their defense spending to 2% of gross domes… Continue Reading
