Congressman Bob Menendez |
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Washington -- New Jersey Democrat Robert
Menendez was sworn in as a U.S. senator January 18, becoming
the second Cuban-American to become a member of the U.S. Senate.
Menendez replaces Jon Corzine, who resigned
his Senate seat to become governor of New Jersey January
14. On the same day Corzine appointed Menendez as his successor
in the Senate. Menendez becomes the third Hispanic U.S.
senator, joining Colorado Democrat Ken Salazar and Florida
Republican Mel Martinez, also a Cuban-American.
Menendez, born in New York City in 1954,
was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in
1992, representing a New Jersey district with a large Cuban-American
population. In the House, Menendez was the highest-ranking
Democrat on the Western Hemisphere subcommittee. That subcommittee,
under the House International Relations Committee, has jurisdiction
over matters affecting the political relations between the
United States and other countries and regions in the Americas.
Menendez has been a consistent supporter
of the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba. Menendez says the
embargo, begun in 1962, is designed to pressure the Cuban
Communist regime to restore democracy and human rights to
the Cuban people. The Bush administration is firmly opposed
to the lifting of the Cuba sanctions. (For additional information
on U.S. policy, see Cuba.)
Following the December 9, 2005, announcement
that he was being appointed to the U.S. Senate, Menendez
said that when his parents came to the United States from
Cuba, what they found “was not just a country where
people are free to pursue their dreams, but a country that
also gives them the tools to realize them. In America, freedom
and opportunity are the keys that unlock success not just
for the rich or the connected, but for anyone who is willing
to work hard."
Menendez added that when he raised his hand
to take the oath of office as U.S. senator on January 18,
"I hope children across this country will see that
they can achieve their own dreams, no matter where their
path begins.”
Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
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