WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Committee, Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) were joined today by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in calling on the Biden administration to confront the unfolding catastro  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 13, 2022: * * * Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues Co-Chairs Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Gus M. Bilirakis (FL-12), Jackie Speier (CA-14), David G. Valadao (CA-21), and Adam B. Schiff (CA-28) issued the following statement after troubling reports of Azerbaijanis blocking the sole road connecting the people of Artsakh to Armenia and posing huge risks to vulnerable populations. "W  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: A bipartisan group of 85 Members of Congress introduced a House Resolution condemning antisemitic celebrities and public figures. This comes during the current crisis of rising antisemitism both at home and around the world. The bipartisan House Resolution is led by U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Don Bacon (NE-2), Kathy Manning (NC-6), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1). "Over the last years,  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 16, 2022: The Blue Dog Coalition, a group of pragmatic, moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives, today endorsed Rep. Sherrill's bipartisan Auto Theft Prevention Act. This legislation will provide federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to help them successfully crack down on car thefts and keep our communities safe. "Car thefts are a significant and growing threat   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 15, 2022: * * * "I support and celebrate many critically important elements of this legislation, especially those honoring our service members by giving them a well-deserved pay raise, helping veterans suffering from exposure to toxic burn pits, and better supporting military families. I also applaud provisions increasing the energy resilience of the Department of Defense and providing security assist  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 16, 2022: * * * U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead sponsor of the EQUAL Act that would eliminate the federal crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity, issued the following statement. "It is fundamentally unjust that, for decades, baseless and unscientific sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine have contributed to the explosion of m  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release and letters: U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) led colleagues to demand meatpacking companies take immediate steps to put an end to the use of child labor at their facilities and pressed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on their response to the use of child labor in meatpacking facilities. "According to court documents, the Department of (DOL) found children between 13 and 17 years old   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release and letter: U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighting the severe lack of progress our nation's federally managed pension funds have made in boosting representation of diverse asset management firms over the years. In the letter Chair  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) questioned FTX Group CEO John Ray III during a House Financial Services Committee Hearing on the collapse of FTX. Gottheimer's questions for Ray included whether he believed that U.S. financial regulators would have been satisfied with the accounting and risk mitigation practices that were in place at FTX; what U.S. regulators -- including the SEC -- could have   more

NORTH JERSEY, New Jersey, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 15, 2022: * * * U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) released the following statement on a swastika found in North Jersey. "As our nation continues to experience a spike in antisemitic attacks and hate, I am disgusted and deeply concerned, once again, to receive updates of a swastika being found at the Glen Rock Middle School. "This symbol of hate cannot and will not be tolerate  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 -- Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: The House has now passed key provisions authored by U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), including the bipartisan Darren Drake Act that Gottheimer introduced to stop ISIS-inspired and lone-wolf terrorists from using trucks and other vehicles as weapons. It also includes investment in water infrastructure and flood management projects to benefit North Jersey from the Water Resources Development Act,  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, D-South Carolina, issued the following news release on Dec. 14, 2022: U.S. House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn commended House passage of H.R.1082 - Sami's Law. Named after University of South Carolina senior Samantha "Sami" Josephson who was kidnapped and murdered by a man impersonating a ride-hail driver, this bipartisan legislation will require ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to deploy enhanced verification systems to pr  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 14, 2022: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today questioned witnesses on the effects and importance of applying existing regulations to cryptocurrencies in light of the recent FTX collapse as Congress seeks answers on how to protect investors, our financial system, and our national security from crypto-related risk  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJN705-MqQsU.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, in today's hearing urged Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra to investigate customer service issues with MOHELA, the sole servicer for student loan borrowers pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2022: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Chairman of the Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment, today chaired a subcommittee hearing entitled: "Examining How Capital Markets Serve Diverse Entrepreneurs and Investors." The hearing was convened by Chairman Menendez to highlight how women  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 15, 2022: * * * U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J) today applauded Senate passed the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which included several of the senator's priorities, including the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act. The $857.9 billion FY2023 defense spending bill provides vital funding to support our national security, American's troops, vetera  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 14, 2022: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) today announced a combined $34,101,121 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to make upgrades to three NJ TRANSIT stations to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities. The senators secured the funding in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law last year. "Public   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today introduced bipartisan legislation to increase the diversity of participants in all National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded trials. The NIH Clinical Trial Diversity Act builds upon the NIH's current policies to enhance the inclusion of women, racially and ethnically diverse individuals and people across the lifespa  more

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey, Dec. 12 (TNSres) -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 10, 2022: Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced the winners of the 2022 Congressional App Challenge for high school and middle school students in New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District. Ashvin Trehan, Siddharth Paul, and Jared Wyetzner from Metuchen High School won this year's competition. Their app, Myndful, is an artificial intelligence mental health res  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 13, 2022: * * * Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today issued the following statement after the House Democratic Caucus unanimously elected him Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 118th Congress. "I am honored to be elected Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Over the last two years, we accomplished a tremendous amount for the American people  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 16, 2022: U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today expressed satisfaction at an announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a proposed agreement that would force responsible parties to fund the cleanup of the Lower Passaic River, part of the largest superfund site in the United States. "The Passaic River is such a critical natural resource and its neighbors have wait  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2022: U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today condemned recent statements by a prominent Republican congresswoman in support of violent insurrection, as well as reports confirming that in 2021, several Republican congressmembers conspired with the Trump White House to overturn the 2020 election with violence. "Make no mistake: these sitting Republican members conspired to violently o  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today voted in favor of H.R. 8393, the Puerto Rico Status Act, bipartisan legislation that will give the American people of Puerto Rico the ability to decide their political future. "Self-determination is the central plank of democracy and human civilization," said Rep. Pascrell. "Puerto Ricans must be allowed to vote on and so decide their own  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release and letter on Dec. 14, 2022: U.S. Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today led an official request to fund the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) at $360,000,000 for Fiscal Year 2023, to be split evenly among the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) NSGP and the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP) NSGP. In a letter to appropriators, Pascrell and his co-signers cited several recen  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, today released a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) describing the unanswered phone calls and backlog of paperwork at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). "These findings from the GAO confirm much of what we already know: the IRS under the direction of T  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- Rep. Donald W. Norcross, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 13, 2022: U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (D-NJ-01) applauded the announcement that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has proposed to expand access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) at a time when more than 107,000 Americans lost their lives to an overdose last year. He also called   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Donald W. Norcross, D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 16, 2022: * * * U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01), a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, responded to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's citing Amazon for 14 violations over worker safety in its warehouses with the following statement. "These violations by Amazon are gravely concerning and confirm my worst fears. Behind each violation is a person being hu  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Donald W. Norcross, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) announced that CAMcare Health Corporation, a federally qualified health care center in South Jersey, will receive a $3.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Center Cluster Program. The federal funding will allow regional health care providers to continue delivering essential care to underserved communities in Sout  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement on Dec. 13, 2022: * * * Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) today issued the following statement after the House Democratic Caucus unanimously elected him Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 118th Congress: "I am honored to be elected Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Over the last two years, we ac  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 14, 2022: Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) delivered the following opening remarks as prepared for delivery today at a full Committee markup of a Republican resolution of inquiry: Today, the full Committee is coming together for the first time since the loss of our dear friend and Committee colleague Congress  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: On Thursday, Chair Kathy Castor of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Chairman Bobby L. Rush of the Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy shared a report from   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: This week, Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology's Environment Subcommittee, secured House passage of two bipartisan bills that she introduced to address flooding, the most common and widespread of all weather-related natural disasters in New Jersey, and across the United States. This legislative package will head to the President's desk for his signatu  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release and letter on Dec. 15, 2022: In a bicameral letter today, 66 Members of Congress called on Secretary Lloyd Austin to "immediately" revoke his illegal Defense Department policy funding travel for abortions, saying they were "appalled by the flagrant disregard for the law" demonstrated by the Biden Administration. The letter--led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and Sens. Steve Daines (R  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release and letter: Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) led a group of her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus in a letter calling for Senate leadership to include the Congresswoman's CROWN Act in its end-of-year omnibus funding legislation. The CROWN Act would prohibit discrimination based on a person's hair texture or hairstyle if that style or texture is commonly associated with a par  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 -- Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-New Jersey, issued the following statement on Dec. 14, 2022: * * * Senate Republicans blocked passage of the CROWN Act, which passed the House earlier this year. The CROWN Act bans hair discrimination, including discrimination against natural Black hair. Specifically, the bill prohibits this type of discrimination against those participating in federally assisted programs, housing programs, public accommodations, and employment. Congresswoma  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Donald W. Norcross, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 14, 2022: U.S. Congressmen Donald Norcross (NJ-01) and Chairman Don Beyer (VA-08) of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics introduced the Space Safety and Situational Awareness Transition Act of 2022. Space situational awareness (SSA) provides a foundation for understanding where space objects are now, predicting their future trajectories, and evaluating the risk of potential collisions t  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 16, 2022, and letter: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today sent a new letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen calling for accountability for those undermining institutions and the rule of law in Leb  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 16, 2022: 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 following joint statement on their meeting in the U.S. Capitol with President Kais Saied of Tunisia: "This week, we met with President Saied to discuss the U.S-Tunisia relationship, and   more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: 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 after their bipartisan Department of State Authorization Act of 2022 was approved by Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY23. For the s  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: 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 Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in issuing the below statements after their bipartisan United Stat  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, are calling on Senate and House Leadership to meet the challenges presented i  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Albio Sires, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: Representatives Albio Sires (NJ-08), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Norma Torres (CA-35), Raul M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Nanette Barragan (CA-44) Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Ilhan Omar (MN-05) introduced the Americas Regional Monitoring of Arms Sales (ARMAS) Act, legislation that seeks to disrupt firearm trafficking from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean by implementing stronger transparency, acc  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Dec. 15, 2022: At a bipartisan congressional hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), human rights activists today sounded alarm bells over the brutal crackdown on the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, calling on the Vatican and White House to speak out and take immediate action in response to the extreme anti-Catholic persecution being perpetrated by Daniel Ortega's dictatorship. The Tom Lantos Human Ri  more