Chairman's Press
Menendez, Risch Lead Bipartisan Legislation to Bolster U.S. Efforts to Secure Taiwan’s Membership at the Inter-American Development Bank
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and SFRC Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho), were joined today by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in introducing new legislation authorizing the United States' endorsement of and work to secure Taiwan's admission to the Inter-American Development Bank as a non-borrowing member, a promotion from its present observer status. In the face of increasing aggress… Continue Reading
October 27, 2021
SFRC Chairman Menendez Opening Remarks at Committee Hearing on State of the State Department and State Department Authorization
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 full Committee hearing on the state of the State Department and State Department authorization. Testifying before the Committee was the Honorable Brian McKeon, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. "Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us today. As this Committee continues to seek to restore its position of con… Continue Reading
October 25, 2021
Senators Menendez, Inhofe Statement on Anniversary of UN Approval of Resolution 2758
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 following statement in observance of the 50th anniversary of the United Nation's approval of Resolution 2758, which granted the People's Republic of China membership in the United Nations. Since then, the CCP has misrepresented the resolution in efforts to undermine Taiwan's standing and participation in the international commu… Continue Reading
October 25, 2021
Senate and House Foreign Policy Leadership Condemn 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, and U.S. Representatives Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following joint statement on the coup in Sudan: "We condemn in the strongest terms Monday's coup by Sudanese security forces. The arrest and detention of Prime Minister Hamdok, other cabinet member… Continue Reading
October 25, 2021
Chairman Menendez Statement on Military Coup in Sudan
JERSEY CITY, NJ - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement regarding the attempted military coup in Sudan: "I condemn in the strongest terms General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's dissolution of Sudan's Sovereign Council and the transitional government, and the reported detention of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other Ministers, as well as other civil society leaders. "The Sudanese military's takeover of the state app… Continue Reading
October 22, 2021
Senators Menendez, Markey, Romney, and Risch Announce Resolution Marking 30-Year Anniversary of the Cambodia Paris Peace Agreements
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the East Asia Subcommittee on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the East Asia Subcommittee, and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today announced a resolution commemorating the landmark Cambodia Paris Peace Agreements. The Agreements, which were ag… Continue Reading
October 20, 2021
Menendez, Rubio Lead Call Urging President Biden’s Extraordinary Reception of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the United States
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today led 48 of their Senate colleagues in writing a bipartisan letter requesting President Joe Biden to receive His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew next week in a manner befitting the spiritual leader of the second largest Christian church in the world. His All Holiness' trip to Washington comes during the 30th anniversary year of his election as E… Continue Reading
October 20, 2021
SFRC Chairman Menendez Opening Remarks at Committee Hearing’s Second Panel
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today delivered the following opening remarks before the second panel at this afternoon's full Committee hearing to consider the nominations of the Honorable Rahm Emanuel to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Japan and Mr. Jonathan Eric Kaplan to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Singa… Continue Reading
October 20, 2021
SFRC Chairman Menendez Opening Remarks at Full Committee Nominations Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today delivered the following opening remarks before the first panel at this morning's full Committee hearing to consider the nomination of the Honorable R. Nicholas Burns to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the People's Republic of China. Find a copy of Chairman Menendez's full remarks as delivered below. "This hearing of the Senate Forei… Continue Reading
October 20, 2021
Menendez, Rubio, Merkley Lead Bipartisan Probe into U.S. Firm’s Reported Use of Uyghur Forced Labor in China
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), today was joined by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in demanding answers from United States electronics firm Universal Electronic Inc. following an explosive report by Reuters which uncovered the company's probable implication in the Chinese government's genocide of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The bipartisan letter lists a series of questions for Chief Executive Officer Paul Arling to expla… Continue Reading
October 19, 2021
SFRC Approves 33 Critical Foreign Policy Nominations
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after the Committee voted to approve 33 State Department, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other critical foreign policy nominations. The nominations move favorably to the Senate Floor for consideration by the full Senate. "As the United States faces an unprecedented confluence of challenges on the world stage, our security, … Continue Reading
October 18, 2021
Chairman Menendez Statement on Passing of Colin Powell
JERSEY CITY, NJ - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the passing of Colin L. Powell: "I am deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Colin Powell. One of our generation's most respected military minds and national security leaders, Secretary Powell was a trailblazer, a dedicated public servant, and a true patriot whose reach and influence stretched far beyond America's borders. "Whether it was his service as ou… Continue Reading
October 14, 2021
Menendez, Shaheen, Risch Lead Bipartisan Letter to Blinken Asking for Immediate Appointment of Official to Address Directed Energy Attacks
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), senior Committee member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the immediate appointment of a senior-level official to lead efforts on anomalous health incidents following the resignation of Pamela Spratlen. In the letter, the senators asked that this position report directly to Secretary Blinken in recognition of the severity… Continue Reading
October 08, 2021
SFRC Chairman Menendez Statement on President Joe Biden Signing HAVANA Act into Law
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) released the following statement after President Joe Biden signed into law the Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA Act), legislation co-authored by Menendez authorizing the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to expand protections and provide additional support to United States personnel and dependents who have suffered brain injuries as a result of suspected directed … Continue Reading
October 08, 2021
Menendez, Senate Democrats Blast Mistreatment of Haitian Migrants at Border; Urge Administration to Support Long-Term Stability in Haiti
WASHINGTON - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was joined today by 15 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to express their disappointment over the United States' inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants at the southern border and their summary deportations. In addition to calling for the immediate appointment of a new Special Envoy for Haiti as the country reels from … Continue Reading
October 06, 2021
Senators Menendez, Inhofe Honor Taiwan’s 110th National Day, Emphasize Strength of U.S.-Taiwan Relationship in Face of Beijing’s Recent Aggression
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 sent a letter to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to extend their congratulations in advance of Taiwan's upcoming 110th National Day (October 10). In addition to joining the citizens of Taiwan in celebration, the senators highlighted their enduring commitment to fortifying Taiwan's security and the United States' relationship with Taiwan. "… Continue Reading
October 05, 2021
SFRC Chairman Menendez Opening Statement at Nominations Hearing
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 full Committee hearing to consider the nominations of Ms. Lisa A. Carty to be Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador, and to be an Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the sessions of the General Assembly of the United… Continue Reading
October 05, 2021
Menendez, Rubio, Warner, Risch Urge President Biden to Expel Russian Diplomats if Moscow Embassy Cuts Continue
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to take immediate action to increase staffing at the U.S. embassy in Moscow and, if the Russian Government does not a cooperate, to expel 300 Russian diplomats. "This disproportionality in diplomatic representatio… Continue Reading
October 04, 2021
Senate Republicans Block Iron Dome Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today took to the Floor to formally request the Unanimous Consent of the Senate to immediately approve funding for Israel's missile defense program known as Iron Dome. The motion, which follows an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, was blocked by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), preventing $1 billion in new funding for the Iron Dome program. "Iron Dome is a purely defensiv… Continue Reading
October 01, 2021
Menendez, Risch Statement Following Reports of Suspended Investigation into Port of Beirut Blast
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 statement in reaction to the suspension of Judge Tarek Bitar's investigation into the 2020 Beirut port blast in the wake of calls for his dismissal: "We are extremely concerned by the suspension of Judge Tarek Bitar's investigation into the devastating August 4, 2020, explosion at the Port of Beirut which killed more than 2… Continue Reading
