Chairman's Press
Menendez, Inhofe Applaud President Biden Signing Legislation Supporting Taiwan’s Observer Status at WHO’s World Health Assembly
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), co-chairmen of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, today issued the below statements in reaction to President Joe Biden signing their bipartisan legislation to direct the State Department to develop a strategy to assist Taiwan in obtaining observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the World Health Organization, into law. "I am immensely thrilled to see Pre… Continue Reading
May 12, 2022
Menendez, Risch Applaud Senate Passage of Allies and Partners 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, applauded yesterday's Senate passage of their resolution reaffirming the importance of U.S. alliances and the unique strategic advantage they provide to the United States. "As events in Ukraine underscore, there is no question we need to reinvest in strong coalitions to promote our nation's interests and address our most pressing challenges," said Chai… Continue Reading
May 12, 2022
Menendez, Risch Applaud Senate Passage of Resolution Condemning October 2021 Military Coup in Sudan
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 issued the below statements following the Senate passage of their concurrent resolution condemning the October 25, 2021 military coup in Sudan: "Yesterday the Senate passed our bipartisan legislation condemning the October 2021 military coup in Sudan and calling on the Secretary of State to immediately identify coup leaders, their accomplices, a… Continue Reading
May 12, 2022
Senators Menendez, Markey, Romney, Risch Applaud Senate Passage of Resolution Commemorating 1991 Cambodia Paris Peace Agreements as President Biden Hosts Southeast Asian Leaders in Washington
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Chairman and Ranking Member of the East Asia Subcommittee on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today welcomed Senate passage of their resolution commemorating the landmark Cambodia Paris Peace Agreements. The Agreements, signed by 19 countries on Octo… Continue Reading
May 12, 2022
Menendez Opening Remarks at Hearing on U.S. Efforts to Support Ukraine Against Russian Aggression
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 on U.S. efforts to support Ukraine against Russian aggression. Testifying before the Committee were Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis; Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Erin McKee; Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried; and … Continue Reading
May 11, 2022
Menendez Opening Remarks at Hearing on USAID FY2023 Budget Request
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at this afternoon's full Committee hearing to review the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) budget request for FY2023. Testifying before the Committee was USAID Administrator Samantha Power. "When it comes to responding to natural or man-made disaster, our foreign aid programs should help save the lives of those in dire nee… Continue Reading
May 10, 2022
Menendez, Risch, Kaine, Rubio Introduce International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2022
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, were joined today by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in introducing the International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022, comprehensive legislation to reauthorize and enhance critical programming, policy, and funding essential to the United States' efforts to combat human trafficking around the world. Buildi… Continue Reading
May 10, 2022
Menendez Opening Remarks at Nominations Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at this afternoon's full Committee hearing to consider the nominations of the Honorable Bridget A Brink to be U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Ms. Elizabeth H. Richard to be Coordinator for Counterterrorism, and the Honorable Alexander Mark Laskaris to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Chad. "While Ukraine has impressed the world with its bravery, … Continue Reading
May 06, 2022
SFRC Chairman Menendez Statement on Lebanon’s Parliamentary Elections
JERSEY CITY, NJ - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the start of parliamentary elections in Lebanon. The elections, which will conclude on May 15, officially started on Friday with Lebanese expatriates casting their votes while abroad: "These are crucial elections and Lebanese citizens at home and around the world will cast their votes amidst an unprecedented economic crisis that has driven many of them int… Continue Reading
May 05, 2022
Menendez, Risch, Markey, Romney Introduce Senate Resolution in Support of Upcoming U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit
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 were joined by Senators Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Chairman and Ranking Member of the SFRC Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, in introducing a new Senate Resolution ahead of the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit next week to welcome the Association of South East Asian Nations and to urge cont… Continue Reading
May 04, 2022
El Senador Menéndez Reitera su Llamado para que el Departamento de Justicia Investigue Excongresista Republicano por Trabajar Como Agente del Régimen de Maduro
WASHINGTON - El Senador Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.), Presidente del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado, envió hoy una nueva solicitud pidiéndole al Departamento de Justicia de EE.UU. que investigue si el excongresista republicano de la Florida, David Rivera, violó la Ley de Registro de Agentes Extranjeros (FARA, por sus siglas en inglés) al no inscribirse como agente extranjero en nombre del régimen opresor de Nicolás Maduro y de la compa… Continue Reading
May 04, 2022
Chairman Menendez Celebrates SFRC Approval of Kigali Amendment
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the below statement following the Committee's approval of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer at this morning's business meeting. The Kigali Amendment is a global agreement for the transition away from harmful Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), gases commonly used for refrigeration, air conditioning and as propellants, to next-generation… Continue Reading
May 04, 2022
Chairman Menendez Reiterates Call for DoJ to Investigate Former GOP Congressman’s Work as an Agent for the Maduro Regime
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sent a new request calling on the Department of Justice to investigate whether former Florida Republican Congressman David Rivera violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by failing to register as a foreign agent on behalf of Nicolas Maduro's oppressive regime and Venezuela's state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA). Rivera reportedly received millions to pro… Continue Reading
May 03, 2022
Menendez, Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Resolution to Commemorate World Press Freedom Day
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today was joined by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jim Moran (R-Kan.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) in introducing a Senate Resolution to commemorate World Press Freedom Day and to recognize growing threats to press freedom and free expression worldwide. The bipartisan r… Continue Reading
May 03, 2022
Chairman Menendez Opening Remarks at Committee Hearing: “State Department Authorization: Strengthening U.S. Diplomacy for the 21st Century”
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at today's Committee hearing: "State Department Authorization: Strengthening U.S. Diplomacy for the 21st Century." Testifying before the Committee was the Honorable Brian McKeon, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. "The Department of State has come a long way from its humble beginnings when Thomas Jefferson had a staff of six an… Continue Reading
May 01, 2022
**ICYMI** SFRC Chairman Menendez Discusses Ukraine, Iran, Title 42 on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Sunday”
JERSEY CITY, N.J. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today joined NBC's "Meet the Press" and "Fox News Sunday" newsmaker shows live to discuss the latest on Russia's war in Ukraine, the United States' negotiations with Iran, and Title 42. On U.S. involvement should Putin's war spill into Moldova: "I think that the Ukrainians care what will happen in Transnistria because it is another attack point against Ukraine. I don't … Continue Reading
April 28, 2022
Chairman Menendez Introduces Economic Statecraft for the Twenty-First Century Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced the Economic Statecraft for the Twenty-First Century Act, new comprehensive legislation creating a whole-of-government approach to recommit U.S. leadership in the global economy. The new initiative, which comes as the Senate and House of Representatives begin the formal conference process to reconcile different versions of U.S.-China competition legislation, complements and expan… Continue Reading
April 28, 2022
**ICYMI** In The Economist Op-Ed, Chairman Menendez Says the Work of Helping Ukraine Has Only Just Begun
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today published a guest essay in The Economist regarding the United States and international community's support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign territory and confront the brutality of Russia's war. Find the op-ed in full HERE and below. Senator Bob Menendez says that the work of helping Ukraine has only just begun Vladimir Putin must … Continue Reading
April 27, 2022
Joint Statement by Chairs of Foreign Relations Committees Calling for the Immediate Release of Vladimir Kara-Murza
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today joined 20 of his European Foreign Relations Committee counterparts in releasing the below joint statement calling for the immediate release of Vladimir Kara-Murza: "We, the Chairs of our respective national parliaments' Foreign Affairs Committees, call on the Russian authorities to immediately release Vladimir Kara-Murza. He has been detained and is now charged under draconian laws that ba… Continue Reading
April 26, 2022
Menendez, Risch Celebrate Senate Passage of Resolution Honoring Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
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 released the following statements praising the Senate's passage of their resolution to celebrate the life, achievements, and legacy of former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. The bipartisan resolution celebrates Secretary Albright's efforts to advance a more peaceful, prosperous, and cooperative world order, and offers the Senate's condol… Continue Reading
