Additional Statements

ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

WELCOMING ROBERT MENENDEZ TO THE SENATE

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in welcoming our newest colleague, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey.

I also want to welcome Senator Menendez's family, who I know are justifiably proud of his great achievements.

And I want to thank our former colleague, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, for appointing an outstanding successor to finish his term. The people of New Jersey elected a top-notch Governor in Jon Corzine, and they will have another top-notch Senator in the bargain.

With Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez in the Senate, the people of New Jersey can be assured that they have two outstanding Senators in their corner, protecting their interests in Washington.

I have known Bob Menendez for more than a decade. We served together for 4 years in the House of Representatives. It was during those years that Congress passed the historic 1993 budget agreement. That agreement--which passed by the thinnest of margins, just one vote in both the House and the Senate, without a single Republican vote--put the Federal budget back on the course of fiscal responsibility after 12 straight years of ever larger deficits. It also made smart, targeted investments in America's greatest resource: our people--to enable more Americans to realize the American dream.

That dream is no slogan to Bob Menendez; it is the story of his life.

Like my mother, Senator Menendez's parents came to America from a nation that had lost its freedom. In my mother's case, it was Lithuania. In his parents' case, the land was Cuba.

Like so many first-generation Americans throughout our history, Senator Menendez inherited from his parents a deep appreciation for American freedom and opportunity, as well as a deep sense of personal responsibility to help preserve and expand those blessings for all Americans.

Senator Menendez entered public service at the age of 19, when he launched a successful petition drive to reform his local school board, and he has been fighting for education and opportunities for working families ever since. He has been a mayor, State legislator, House Member, and now, U.S. Senator.

He has never backed away from a fight--even to the point of wearing a bullet-proof vest when he challenged the political establishment in his hometown of Union City and led a coalition of reformers in cleaning it up.

He is the highest ranking Hispanic in the history of the House, and a proven leader. And I am proud today to call him ``my fellow Senator.''

Welcome to the U.S. Senate, Senator Menendez.

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