Chairman's Press
Menendez Opening Statement at Hearing on the Humanitarian Impact of the War in Syria
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today delivered the following remarks at a hearing entitled, "the Humanitarian Impact of Eight Years of War in Syria," with testimony by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ben Stiller and International Rescue Committee CEO David Miliband: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me first join you in honoring the memory of the late Senator Dick Lugar. I was privileged to join the committee while he was chai… Continue Reading
April 26, 2019
Menendez on Pres. Trump Telling NRA he is Cancelling U.S. Participation in Global Arms Treaty
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after President Trump announced at the National Rifle Association convention he will cancel the United States' status as a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), a 2014 multilateral arms treaty to regulate international trade of conventional arms. "This is yet another myopic decision that jeopardizes U.S. security based on false premises and fearmongering. Th… Continue Reading
April 26, 2019
Menendez Questions Sec. Pompeo about State Department’s Apparent Decision to Cut Contact with UN Human Rights Experts
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding answers to allegations that the United States has ceased cooperation with the United Nation's top human rights experts, known as Special Rapporteurs. According to publically available data, the Trump Administration has not responded to any requests for UN Special Rapporteurs to make official visits to the United States in the last t… Continue Reading
April 24, 2019
Menendez on 104th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
NEWARK - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement in observance of the 104th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. "Every April, we come together in solidarity with the Armenian people to remember the 1.5 million victims that perished in the Armenian genocide. This year marks the 104th anniversary of the Ottoman Empire's systematic campaign to exterminate the Armenian population through killings, starvati… Continue Reading
April 22, 2019
In Athens, Senator Menendez Lays out Strategy for Security and Energy Partnership in the Eastern Mediterranean
ATHENS, GREECE - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today delivered the 15th Manuel Chrysoloras keynote speech on security cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean. At a speech hosted by the European Public Law Organization (EPLO), Menendez spoke about the geostrategic opportunities for the region and laid out a strategy to promote peace and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean. Menendez is currently traveling through the region prom… Continue Reading
April 17, 2019
Menendez Statement on Announcement to Let Cuban Americans File Suit over Property Confiscated by Cuban Regime
NICOSIA, CYPRUS - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-.N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in reaction to an announcement by the Trump Administration that the United States will implement Title III of the LIBERTAD Act. In Section 302 of the law, Congress provided U.S. citizens with verified claims for confiscated properties by the Cuban regime with the ability to pursue litigation in U.S. courts against companies that are conducting business i… Continue Reading
April 12, 2019
Senado Aprueba Resolución Bipartidista Liderada por Menéndez, Durbin y Cruz Apoyando Principios Democráticos en Bolivia
WASHINGTON - El senador Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.), miembro de más alto rango del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado, junto con los senadores Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) y Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) anunciaron que el Senado de los Estados Unidos aprobó por unanimidad su resolución bipartidista en apoyo a los principios y estándares democráticos en Bolivia y en toda América Latina. La resolución reconoce las importantes transiciones a la democraci… Continue Reading
April 12, 2019
Senate Passes Menendez, Cruz, Durbin Resolution Supporting Democratic Principles in Bolivia
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) applauded the Senate for unanimously approving their bipartisan resolution supporting democratic principles and standards in Bolivia and throughout Latin America. The resolution recognizes the importance of peaceful, democratic transfers of power through elections that have taken place in the majority of Latin American countries, and calls on Lati… Continue Reading
April 11, 2019
Menendez, Risch Statement on Removal of Sudanese President from Power
Washington - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made the following statement about the removal of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir from power by the Sudanese military: "We stand in solidarity with the Sudanese people, who for months have taken to the streets to reclaim their country from a ruthless military regime, led by a war criminal that has ruled through fear, violence, and the repression of d… Continue Reading
April 11, 2019
Menendez Statement on Arrest of WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in London. "Although Julian Assange may have begun WikiLeaks as an effort to promote transparency, it long ago ceased to be an neutral platform for distributing information. Assange's abuse of his platform to illegally publish thousands of secret U.S. military and diplomatic documents compromised our national … Continue Reading
April 10, 2019
At Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Menendez Delivers Speech about Threats to Democracy across the Globe
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered a speech today at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for an event titled "Democracy Under Assault: How American Foreign Policy Can Rise to the Challenge." Menendez spoke about threats to the liberal international order and the role Congress can play in defending it. "We must show the American people and people around the world that democracy is capable of solving problems … Continue Reading
April 10, 2019
Menendez, Cruz Introduce Bipartisan Senate Resolution Affirming U.S. Recognition of Armenian Genocide
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today introduced a Senate resolution to ensure the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning the Armenian Genocide. Carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, the Armenian Genocide resulted in the forced deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, of whom 1.5 million were killed. "As we near the anniversa… Continue Reading
April 10, 2019
Senator Menendez Opening Remarks at SFRC Hearing with Secretary Pompeo
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks at a hearing this morning with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the Trump Administration's FY 2020 State Department Budget Request. "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome, Mr. Secretary, back to the committee. We appreciate you being here. It is something of a cliché to say at hearings like this that we meet at a critical juncture or a co… Continue Reading
April 09, 2019
Menendez, Rubio Introduce Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today announced the introduction of bipartisan legislation to reshape U.S. strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 would allow the U.S. to fully support the trilateral partnership of Israel, Greece, and Cyprus through energy and defense cooperation initiatives - including by lifting the embargo on arms… Continue Reading
April 04, 2019
Menendez, Carper and More than 30 Democratic Senators Warn Pres. Trump against Cutting Funding to Northern Triangle Countries
WASHINGTON - Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Tom Carper (D-Del.), a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, today led a group of 34 Democratic senators in sending a letter to President Donald Trump opposing his plan to cut national security funding to Northern Triangle countries. In their missive, the Senators make clear the U.S. Congress already appropriated these funds to advance United States' for… Continue Reading
April 04, 2019
Menendez, Rubio, Colleagues Urge Strong Sanctions, Export Controls & Financial Disclosures to Counter Chinese Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and U.S. Representatives James P. McGovern (D-Mass.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.) led a bipartisan group of 24 Senators and 19 Representatives in a letter urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to swiftly impose Global Magnitsky Act sanctions against Chen Quanguo, Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary… Continue Reading
April 03, 2019
Menendez, Rubio Lead Bipartisan Group Introducing the VERDAD Act, Comprehensive Legislation to Help Restore Democracy in Venezuela
WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced new comprehensive legislation to help restore … Continue Reading
April 02, 2019
Sens. Menendez and Rubio Question Energy Secretary over Approval of U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Cooperation
WASHINGTON - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), today sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry expressing their concern and asking for clarifications about the Administration's approval of multiple licenses for U.S. companies to sell nuclear energy technology and support to Saudi Arabia. The United States does not have a framework pact for bilateral nuclear cooperation known as a "123 Agreement" with S… Continue Reading
April 01, 2019
Menendez Statement on Presidential Elections in Ukraine
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement following this weekend's first round of presidential elections in Ukraine: "I congratulate the people of Ukraine for a successful election process on Sunday. International election observers affirmed that voters were able to freely exercise their right to choose from a broad choice of candidates the polls, who were also able to campaign freely. As the country … Continue Reading
March 30, 2019
Menendez Reacts to Trump Administration’s Attempt to Cut Foreign Aid to Central America
NEWARK - Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement following reports that President Trump ordered the State Department to cut foreign aid to Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador: "If carried out, President Trump's irresponsible decision to cut off our assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras would undermine American interests and put our national security at risk. U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it ad… Continue Reading
