WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 14, 2023, and letter: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today is urging the Biden administration to demonstrate the United States' commitment to democracy and human rights worldwide by creating a new limited visa category for human rights defenders facing imminent grave danger and persecutio  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced a package of bills geared towards ending unfair and abusive labor practices in our country's correctional facilities: the Combating Workplace Discrimination in Correctional Facilities Act, the Correctional Facilities Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Ensuring Work Opportunities in Correctional Facilities Act, an  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism, and Dick Durbin (D-IL), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Representatives Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the House Democratic Leader, announced the reintroduction of the bipartisan Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act, l  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 15, 2023: U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) today reintroduced the American Opportunity Accounts Act, legislation that would create a federally-funded savings account for every child in order to make economic opportunity a birthright for everyone in America and help close the racial wealth gap. The lawmakers' bill comes as baby bonds programs gain tract  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) celebrated the Senate passage of a bipartisan resolution commemorating Black History Month and the important contributions made by Black Americans throughout United States history. The resolution was introduced by Senators Booker, Tim Scott (R-SC), and Warnock. "Black history is American history. Generations of Black Americans throughout our co  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 17, 2023: Congressman Van Drew announced he will be holding his first hearing in South Jersey on March 16th regarding offshore wind projects being built off the coast of New Jersey, with time and location to be announced in the coming weeks. Congressman Van Drew also announced that he will be introducing legislation that places a moratorium on all existing projects and legislation that will   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., R-New Jersey, issued the following news release: Rep. Tom Kean, Jr. (R-NJ) joined Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and nine of his colleagues to introduce a resolution in support of protecting and preserving Social Security for current beneficiaries, and for future generations to come. "For 87 years the American Dream has come with a promise; you work hard, play by the rules, and after paying into the system your entire career - you get the benefit of Soc  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 14, 2023: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Development Committee, in today's hearing "Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets," questioned witnesses on the importance of Congress passing legislation to provide strong transparency and investor protections for digital assets. "The key element I will be   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today joined MSNBC's Jose Diaz-Balart Reports live where he called on President Joe Biden to seize this historic moment to nominate a highly-qualified Latino American to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. The Senator pointed out the fact that in the Fed's 109-year history there has  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, today joined MSNBC's Jose Diaz-Balart Reports live where he spoke about his questioning yesterday of Daniel Werfel, the Biden Administration nominee for IRS Commissioner, and spoke about his efforts to improve customer service at the federal agency. "Well, he seems to be a well-qualified candidate, seems to understand  more

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, New Jersey, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), alongside Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.-06), the EPA's Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner Sean Moriarty, today announced that three Superfund sites in New Jersey are set to receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to bolster cleanup progress. Th  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 15, 2023: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, today questioned Daniel Werfel, the Biden Administration's nominee to lead the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), about his plans for the agency if confirmed as the next IRS Commissioner. The Senator focused on how Mr. Werfel will build on recent improvements at the agency to reduce the backlog of unproce  more

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, Feb. 14 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alongside U.S. House Representative Rob Menendez (D-N.J.-08) and USAID Assistant Administrator Erin E. McKee, today stood in solidarity with Ukrainian community leaders from across New Jersey to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine. T  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) announced a combined $2,127,844.28 from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through its competitive Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program to assist three New Jersey fire departments with the hiring, retention and recruitment of firefighters. "The safety of our communities and residents is one of the most fundame  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) today announced a total of $3,859,577 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the City of Newark and the Greater Bergen Community Action, Inc. in Hackensack. The funding is part of the Healthy Homes Production Grant Program that aims to protect children and their families from housing-related health   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) announced a combined $93,830,496 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to modernize public housing properties and for management improvements across the state of New Jersey. "The funds I helped secure in the FY23 federal funding bill will provide safe housing for millions of New Jerseyans across the state," said Sen. Menende  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 16, 2023: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), today joined a group of Democratic colleagues in introducing a Senate resolution opposing the plan led by Congressional Republicans to impose a nationwide sales tax on all goods and services, which would increase prices for hardworking families by 30 percent. Instead of this misguided tax increase, the resolution calls for supporting a tax cut that w  more

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, New Jersey, Feb. 14 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 13, 2023: Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today announced that three Superfund sites in New Jersey will receive funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to aid in cleanups, including the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics, Inc. Superfund site in Pallone's congressional district. The funding will be used to continue removing and safely disposing of contaminated soil and  more

LONG BRANCH, New Jersey, Feb. 18 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 17, 2023: Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today announced that he secured federal funding from the Department of Transportation (DOT) for construction of a pedestrian tunnel to improve the Long Branch Station. The tunnel will connect the east and west sides of the city that are currently bisected by the rail corridor. It will also provide safe and convenient access to each   more

LONG BRANCH, New Jersey, Feb. 14 -- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 13, 2023: Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today announced that New Jersey will receive $66.1 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address emerging contaminants in drinking water, including PFAS. This investment will be made available to communities as grants through a new grant program - the Environment Protection Agency's Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disa  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 14, 2023: U.S. Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) announced today that New Jersey will receive $66,100,000 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to address emerging contaminants in drinking water, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The funds announced today will be made available to communities in New Jersey as grants through a new grant program and will help  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 16, 2023: U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today announced that he has proudly joined the Congressional Equality Caucus in the 118th Congress. "The true test of leadership is to stand for those of our neighbors who are marginalized or face enduring discrimination," said Rep. Pascrell. "The Congressional Equality Caucus exists for just that purpose of leadership: to protect all Americans  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release and letter on Feb. 15, 2023: U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and Don Bacon (R-NE-02) today are seeking answers about a new program on TBS that seems to put contestants at an extremely high risk of brain injury. In a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Reps. Pascrell and Bacon urge the cable network to reconsider airing the program and demand information on steps taken to warn vi  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release and letter: U.S. Representatives Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and Scott H. Peters (D-CA-50) are leading a federal effort to protect Medicare recipients from new medical costs. Their letter signed by 32 House members urges the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue covering the costs of at-home COVID-19 tests for beneficiaries. Medicare coverage of these costs is slated to termina  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Rep. Donald W. Norcross, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 16, 2023: U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) today announced $1.4 million in new federal funding for two Community Partnership Centers founded and run by Rutgers University in Camden. The funding was secured by the congressman in the FY 2023 omnibus package and will be used at two community centers to increase staffing and programming in adult education, workforce development, health, w  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 15, 2023: Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) introduced the Heart Health Enhancement through Access to Research and Training (HEART) Act, legislation to expand our knowledge of cardiovascular health to better diagnose, prevent, and treat illnesses in women and ensure women's health needs are not overlooked. Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death for women in the United States  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 16, 2023: Representatives Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) and Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07) joined NJ SOS Veterans' Morris County Veteran Stakeholder meeting yesterday morning alongside Catholic Charities at Hope House in Dover to announce their introduction of the Vet CENTERS for Mental Health Act, which would expand access to Vet Center mental health counseling across a wide breadth of American communities, in  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 16, 2023: Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs) operate as official representative offices of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the United States and enjoy a series of privileges, exemptions, and immunities. HKETOs were granted these privileges under the assumption Hong Kong would remain free from the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian grip. That reality changed after the i  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 16, 2023: SFRC Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today delivered the following opening statement as this morning's full Committee hearing to consider the nomination of the Honorable Richard R. Verma to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. "In recent years, State personnel have encountered a series of mounting and complex cha  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 15, 2023: SFRC Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) today delivered the following opening statement as this morning's full Committee hearing on illicit fentanyl trafficking. Testifying before the Committee were the Honorable Todd Robinson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement; the Honorable Anne M  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 17, 2023: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today led members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) in urging President Joe Biden to seize this historic moment to nominate a highly qualified Latino American to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. The lawmakers emphasized how in the Fed's 109-year history   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 14, 2023: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today was joined by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.) in sounding the alarm on Meta's failure to address malicious actors' exploitation of its pl  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in reintroducing the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of State to inve  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- The Senate Judiciary Committee issued the following information for an executive business meeting at 10 a.m. on Feb. 16, 2023, at 216 Hart Senate Office Building: Agenda I. Committee Organization * Subcommittees II. Nominees * Charnelle Bjelkengren, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington * Matthew P. Brookman, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana * Michael Farbiarz, to be United States District Ju  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- 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, were joined by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) in introducing bipartisan legislation to bolster support for families advocating for the release of their loved ones wrongfully or unlawfully deta  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 15, 2023: Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today announced Toms River Fire District No. 1 will receive $508,256 in federal funds to help recruit and retain volunteers as part of the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program. The Fire District oversees six of the township's nine fire stations. "The vitality of Toms River's volunteer fire department depends greatl  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 17, 2023: Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today introduced new legislation--HR 1056--requiring an immediate, comprehensive investigation into the environmental approval process for offshore wind projects as Governor Murphy and the Biden Administration continue to ignore growing calls to pause offshore wind development over concerns about the recent unprecedented surge in whale deaths. "Ten dead wha  more

TOMS RIVER, New Jersey, Feb. 15 -- Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on Feb. 14, 2023: Two weeks after urging top Biden Administration officials to immediately suspend all offshore wind projects over growing concerns about recent whale deaths, Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today renewed his call for a moratorium after the nineth dead whale in two months washed ashore in Manasquan on Monday: "The Biden Administration and Governor Murphy continue to ignore the r  more