Chairman's Press
Menendez Demands State Department Address Falling Rates of International Enrollment in U.S. Schools
WASHINGTON D.C. - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today wrote a letter to Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, to express his concern about the declining number of international students enrolling in U.S. colleges and universities during the Trump Administration. According to a State Department-funded report, enrollment of international students has fallen for the second straight year. "I worry t… Continue Reading
November 15, 2018
Menendez, Young, Reed, Graham, Shaheen, Collins Introduce Comprehensive Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.)-along with Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine)-today introduced the Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act of 2018, comprehensive legislation to ensure effective Congressional oversight of U.S. policy on Yemen, provide leverage to push the stakeholders in Yemen's civil war toward a poli… Continue Reading
November 14, 2018
Menendez, Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Legislation in Response to China’s Human Rights Abuses against Uyghurs
WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), introduced the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act in response to the gross violations of human rights in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including the mass internment of over one million Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities, as well as China's intimidation a… Continue Reading
November 09, 2018
Menendez Statement on Trump’s Asylum Ban
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the highest-ranking Latino in the U.S. Congress, issued the following statement in reaction to a Presidential Proclamation signed today by President Trump banning immigrants seeking refuge from applying for asylum if they entered the country between ports of entry. "The Trump administration's Asylum ban is yet another shameful attempt to prevent entire groups of people from legally seekin… Continue Reading
November 09, 2018
Menendez Calls on Pres. Trump to Impose Mandatory Sanctions on Russia for Chemical Weapons Use
NEWARK - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement calling on the Trump Administration not to delay the imposition of a second round of mandatory sanctions required by the Chemical and Biological Weapons and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 resulting from the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in England earlier this year: "As the possibility of another meeting between President Trump… Continue Reading
November 02, 2018
Sens. Menendez, Blumenthal Lead Group of 31 Senators in Letter to Pompeo Opposing Elimination of Women’s Rights Report
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) led a group of 31 senators in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo opposing the Trump administration's decision to delete a section including reproductive rights from the Department's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. In the letter, which was supported by 11 prominent human rights and reproductive rights organizations, the senators strongly… Continue Reading
November 01, 2018
Menendez Demands Answers for Anti-Semitic Segment Aired on TV Marti
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sent a letter to John F. Lansing, CEO and Director of the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), demanding a thorough investigation into a May 2018 anti-Semitic segment from the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) focused on U.S. citizen George Soros. The segment, featuring ominous music, refers to Soros as a "multimillionaire Jew" and a "Jew of flexible morals" that has financed "a… Continue Reading
October 31, 2018
Menendez Statement on Death of American Missionary in Cameroon
NEWARK - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the killing on Tuesday of an American missionary in Cameroon. "I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of an American missionary who sacrificed his life working to improve the lives of the people of Cameroon. As we wait for the details surrounding his death, I extend my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends during these difficult moments. "I under… Continue Reading
October 21, 2018
Menendez Statement on Trump’s Withdrawal from INF
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after President Trump announced he plans to withdraw the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty): "There is no doubt that Russia is responsible for the degradation of the INF treaty. However, withdrawing from this treaty without a comprehensive strategy for addressing its underlying strategic implications and without consulting Congr… Continue Reading
October 11, 2018
Myth vs. Fact: State Department Nominations
Myth: Senate Democrats are actively blocking more than 60 State Department nominees. Fact: To start, the State Department's numbers are incorrect. There are currently 56 foreign affairs-related nominations before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate, not more than 60 as Secretary Pompeo and others at State have repeatedly claimed. Of the 56, 17 are waiting for action on the Senate Floor, having been favorably been voted out of SFRC. Mitch McConnell controls the Senate floo… Continue Reading
October 10, 2018
Menendez, Corker, Leahy, Graham Letter Triggers Global Magnitsky Investigation Into Disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi
WASHINGTON - In a letter to President Donald J. Trump, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, today triggered an investigation and Global Magnitsky sanctions determination regarding the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi j… Continue Reading
October 10, 2018
Menendez Statement for the Record Reaffirming Strong U.S.-Israel Relations
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, submitted the following statement for the Senate record expressing his strong support for a robust U.S. - Israel relationship, and praising Congress for its work to sustain these ties. "Today I want to once again reaffirm that the United States Congress stands firmly behind a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. As threats to Israel continue to increase, as her enemies continue to grow ever-closer,… Continue Reading
October 10, 2018
Menendez, Inhofe Recognize Taiwan's National Day
WASHINGTON - United States Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, co-chairs of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, recognized Taiwan on their 107th National Day. "…our two peoples are bound by shared interests and values-namely, our commitments to democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and free enterprise. We appreciate that freedom, security, and the exchanges of ideas,… Continue Reading
October 09, 2018
Menendez on Ambassador Haley’s Resignation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after Ambassador Nikki Haley resigned to her post as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: "Today's announcement that Ambassador Haley is resigning is yet another sign of the Trump Administration's chaotic foreign policy and setback from promoting American values and priorities. I am deeply concerned about the leadership vacuum she leaves and the national security i… Continue Reading
October 02, 2018
Menendez, Leahy Blast Pompeo for Trying to Pay Mexico to Deport Migrants with State Dept. Funds
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing their deep opposition to the Trump Administration's decision to divert $20 million dollars allocated for foreign assistance to advance its anti-immigration agenda by paying for the deportation of up to 17,000 migrants from Mexico to third countries… Continue Reading
September 26, 2018
Menendez, Young Call on Pompeo to Provide Rohingya Genocide Determination to Congress
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) sent a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, noting that a State Department report released this week documented atrocities committed by the Burmese military against the Rohingya but did not specifically define the atrocities as genocide or crimes against humanity. The Senators wrote, "We ask that you provide a formal legal determination regarding the actions of the Burmese military to Congress withou… Continue Reading
September 26, 2018
Foreign Relations Committee Passes Menendez Sanctions Bill on Nicaragua
WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved legislation authored by Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), imposing targeted sanctions on Nicaraguan government officials responsible for human rights violations and calling for a negotiated solution to the country's ongoing crisis. Approved by a voice vote, the amended version of the Nicaragua Human Rights and Anticorruption Act of 2018 (S. 3233) includes restrictions on lending to the Ortega government by international fina… Continue Reading
September 26, 2018
Menendez, Albright OpEd: Lift the refugee cap, Mr. Trump. America needs more.
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright today penned an op-ed for USA Today calling on President Trump to reverse his decision to cut the number of refugees allowed to the United States for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 to a new low of 30,000. "As a refugee who fled from fascism and communism in Europe and became America's Secretary of State, and as the son of immigrants forced to flee Cuba who is now a U.S. Senator, we find it impossible to be coldly … Continue Reading
September 25, 2018
Menendez on President Trump’s U.N. General Assembly Speech
WASHINGTON-Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on President Trump's remarks before the U.N. General Assembly: "President Trump's second address before the United Nations was yet another missed opportunity to express moral clarity and promote American values and leadership on the global stage. The President's focus on nationalism continues to leave America alone and alienated from the very allies we nee… Continue Reading
September 25, 2018
Menéndez Lidera Grupo Bipartidista de Senadores Con Proyecto de Ley Integral para Abordar Crisis Humanitaria y Colapso de Gobernabilidad en Venezuela
WASHINGTON, D.C. - El Senador Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.), Miembro de Alto Rango del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores, y los Senadores Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Bill Nelson (D-Florida), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), y Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) anoche presentaron el Proyecto de Ley para Alivio Humanitario de Venezuela, Reconstrucción, y Estado de Derecho de 2018… Continue Reading
