Bob Menendez

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, it was my intention to come to the floor to ask unanimous consent for a $1 billion replenishment for Iron Dome. We Democrats believe that this is incredibly important for the safety and security of the State of Israel, our ally. Unfortunately, Senator Paul, who has an amendment to my unanimous consent request, could not be here tonight, and, as a courtesy to him, we are postponing until Monday, but on Monday I intend to come to the floor and ask for that unanimous consent. I yield the floor.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, we heard over the course of many hours last week and, indeed, over the many months that Foreign Affairs nominees have been languishing on the Senate floor, the concerns of the junior Senator from Texas related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. We also have heard at length from Members of this body about the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan--from the junior Senator from Missouri. As I have said publicly and repeatedly, I share my colleague's concerns about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He put up a series of my quotes. They are all true. I am still of that view, but I am not of the view that you stop the national security apparatus in order to pursue a policy difference and create a whole host of other serious risks for the United States. I believe and have said that the evacuation from Afghanistan was fatally flawed. In fact, the Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing and heard from Secretary Blinken about the situation in Afghanistan. The Foreign Relations Committee is holding a briefing tomorrow about the administration's efforts to bolster European energy security to counter Russia's efforts in this area. And I intend to continue oversight of the situation in Afghanistan and why, over the course of 20 years, we have failed. What I fail to understand is the relationship between the foreign affairs nominees pending before this body and those topics. These individuals are critical to confronting numerous other global challenges, promoting American values, and advancing the safety, health, and economic well-being of America. We need them confirmed today--today. I therefore will rise to seek unanimous consent for the confirmation of 10 nominees, including seven career diplomats. Each of them moved through the Foreign Relations Committee with bipartisan support. There is no reason for Republicans to block their confirmation. Let me speak to them for a minute or two. This is especially the case at the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Administrator of USAID, Samantha Power, is the only member of that Agency's senior leadership that has been confirmed by this body. Ambassador Power needs her senior leadership team in place. Yet her two deputies are languishing on the floor because of Republican holds. This Agency is grappling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other humanitarian emergencies that are ravaging the globe. It simply cannot function at its best without senior leadership. So why is it that Republicans insist on blocking Paloma Adams-Allen and Isobel Coleman, two highly qualified nominees to serve as USAID Deputy Administrators? Let me take a moment to once again raise Haiti. We hear a lot about Haiti here on the floor, particularly from our Republican colleagues, and the challenge at the border. Well, in August, a massive earthquake in Haiti killed more than 2,200 people, injured 12,000 more, and destroyed tens of thousands of buildings. This comes after the assassination of Haiti's President. But here, again, Republicans are holding a senior member of Ambassador Powers' team, Marcela Escobari, the nominee to be the Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID. Escobari, who will manage our response to the Haiti earthquake, once confirmed, already held this very job in the Obama administration. Guess what. She was confirmed by voice vote then. Now we want to deal with the challenge of Haitian refugees coming to the border and other refugees of the hemisphere coming to the border. Let's confirm the USAID Deputy Administrator who will deal with that issue so we can deal with the root causes. How do we create stability in Haiti? How do we provide relief for the Haitian people? How do we create feeding for the Haitian people so they are not fleeing their country? But, no, we are going to stop this nominee who is going to be at the very heart of that. So when you see a new group of Haitian refugees, blame yourself. We spent many months in this body talking about the challenges posed by the Government of the People's Republic of China. The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, passed by this body in June, and the Strategic Competition Act, which passed almost unanimously out of the Foreign Relations Committee, 21 to 1, are proof of that. We have collectively come together on this much: to recognize China as the greatest geopolitical and geoeconomic challenge for U.S. foreign policy. We have rightfully focused on effectively confronting Chinese malign influence. Yet we are failing to ensure a fundamentally critical element of that strategy; that is, empowered leadership in our diplomatic corps across the world. Our former colleague Senator Ken Salazar is the only--hear me--the only Biden administration nominee who has been confirmed to serve as a country Ambassador representing U.S. interests abroad, the only one in the 9 months of this administration. Let me be clear. Holding up diplomats is effectively ceding influence to China and actively undermining U.S. national security interests. People come to the floor and talk about China. Well, they are empowering China by not having our people in position to counter their influence. It is a fact that Congo and Angola owe over 40 percent of their entire national debt--to whom? To China. So I ask my colleagues, why have we not yet confirmed Tulinabo Mushingi, a career Foreign Service officer, as our Ambassador to Angola? Why have we not yet confirmed Eugene Young, another career Foreign Service officer, as our Ambassador to the Congo? China and Somalia have recently entered into a new fishing agreement, and Chinese vessels are increasingly accessing Somalia's waters and strategic coastline adjacent to the Red Sea. Why have we not confirmed Larry Andre, Jr., a career Foreign Service officer, as our Ambassador to Somalia? China's influence is spread across the continent of Africa, including its Belt and Road Initiative, which is branded as a development initiative but being used by China to advance its own interests. Why have we not yet confirmed Elizabeth Aubin and Maria Brewer, two career Foreign Service officers, as our Ambassadors to Algeria and Lesotho, respectively? I spoke on the Senate floor several months ago about Chinese influence in Cameroon. We have not had an American Ambassador in Cameroon in over a year. Why have we not yet confirmed Christopher John Lamora, a career Foreign Service officer, as our Ambassador to Cameroon? Vietnam sits on the border of China. It is on the frontlines of Chinese coercion in the South China Sea. Why have we not yet confirmed Mark Knapper, a career Foreign Service officer, as our Ambassador to Vietnam? Colleagues, each of these nominees I mentioned deserves to be confirmed today, and our national security interests demand it. In pursuit of what I hope will be a recognition of that--because at some point, something is going to happen here in the world, in one of these countries or one of these regions. When it happens and we don't have our representative there, I think a Member who is objecting is going to have to live with that reality. Let me ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to consider the following nomination: Executive Calendar No. 336, Paloma Adams-Allen to be a Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development; that the nomination be confirmed; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order in terms of the nomination; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. MENENDEZ. I have remarks. I ask that it be in order to make the same unanimous consent request to Calendar No. 337, Isobel Coleman to be Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 323, Marcela Escobari, of Massachusetts, to be an Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 237, Tulinabo S. Mushingi, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Angola, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 238, Eugene S. Young, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of the Congo.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 233, Larry Edward Andre, Jr., of Texas, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Federal Republic of Somalia.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 234, Elizabeth Moore Aubin, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 235, Maria E. Brewer, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Lesotho.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 236, Christopher John Lamora, of Rhode Island, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Cameroon.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask that it be in order to make the same request with respect to Executive Calendar No. 317, Marc Evans Knapper, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, the Senator from Missouri wants accountability. That is fine. But from a slew of career Foreign Service officers who had absolutely nothing--nothing--to do with whatever decisions were made in Afghanistan, that is where the accountability is going to come from? These are people who have committed their lives to serving the United States of America. They have committed their lives either in Republican or Democratic administrations. It doesn't matter. They carry out the mission of the United States and its foreign policy as dictated by the President and Congress. They had nothing--nothing--Sao Tome and Principe? The Congo? Somalia? Algeria? Lesotho? Cameroon? Vietnam?--to do with the decisions in Afghanistan. Yet they are the ones we are going to extract a pound of flesh of accountability from--on people who had absolutely nothing to do with the decisions on Afghanistan and who have committed their lives to the career Foreign Service. These aren't political nominees. These are career Foreign Service officers. I heard my colleague talk about--that our enemies around the world are emboldened. Well, guess what. They are really going to be emboldened when we have no Ambassador to counter them in these countries, because they have gotten clear sailing. They can do whatever they want. They can talk to those heads of state. There is no American Ambassador to go in and talk to that head of state and say: Mr. President or Mr. Prime Minister--whatever the title may be--don't make that choice. It would be a bad choice. We offer you a different alternative. We offer you a different set of principles, a different set of values--ones that would inure to the benefit of your country. But no, there is no one from the United States of America who is going to be able to go into those countries and say any of that, because we are going to extract--when I say ``we,'' I should retract that. The Senator from Missouri wants to extract accountability on people who have done absolutely nothing as it relates to making these decisions. When we have problems in this hemisphere with migration, I want my colleagues to know, who are objecting, that they will bear a significant part of the responsibility, because if we can't deal with the root causes to stop people from coming to our southern border, whether they be from Haiti or Central America or any other place, then we are going to continuously have a flow of people as they avoid disaster, civil conflict, authoritarian governments. But, if we had people in place to develop the plans and the programs and implement them so we could stop the flow and so we could create stability in Haiti--guess what--we are less likely to have people come to the southern border. But, no, we are going to extract accountability on people who have absolutely nothing to do with Afghanistan. Not only is this shortsighted, but for those who stand on the Senate floor and talk about the national security of the United States, this hurts the national security of the United States. It hurts the national interests of the United States. So I hope that there will be a reflection. Maybe there are better targets to pick than career Foreign Service officers in countries that have no decision, no policymaking on any of these issues that my colleague has a problem with. Maybe there are better ones to pursue. In the absence of that, I will tell you there is going to be a rude awakening. Mark my words. I have been doing foreign policy for 30 years between the House and the Senate. It will happen sooner than you think, and you will remember this moment and wish you hadn't objected to some of these people. I yield the floor.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to make a statement prior to the vote that is pending and that my full statement be allowed to be made prior to that.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, you know, we are here at this--normally, Thursday night we wouldn't be here under normal circumstances, but we are here because one Member of the Senate has determined to impede the entire national security infrastructure as it relates to the foreign policy of the United States. What we do in the State Department and that which comes through the Committee on Foreign Relations has to do with the essential security of the United States. It is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that has jurisdiction over global arms sales. It is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that has jurisdiction over the use of force. It is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that deals with treaties across the globe. It is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that deals with the question of nuclear arms and proliferation and so much more. And it is the State Department that perpetuates the national interests and security of the United States in its positions across the globe, both at home, in the first place, but across the globe. Now, I have had plenty, over the course of 30 years of doing foreign policy work between the House and the Senate, and 16 years in the Senate--plenty of moments where I had a fundamental disagreement, a very strong one, with an administration about their policy, but I did not hold up the entire national security infrastructure of the State Department that puts at risk the Nation. I hear all these speeches about security. You are putting at risk the Nation. Wouldn't it be nice if we had some of the critical people--I just heard my colleague from Texas--in a position, beyond the Department of Homeland Security, to deal with the hemispheric challenges that we have on immigration in Central America, in Latin America? The Haitians who are at the border today didn't just come from the earthquake and disasters and assassination and hurricanes that have taken place. They have been in Latin America for quite some time. They have just made their way to the border. Wouldn't it be nice if we had the people in place to deal--Ambassadors and others--to deal in those countries to find a way forward on how we humanely deal with that challenge? Wouldn't it be nice if we had the person in charge of East Asia and the Pacific to deal with our challenges with China? This Senate came together a few months ago and said China is the single most significant national security challenge, the most significant strategic challenge we have in the world. And yet we have vacancies galore to deal with that very challenge. I have Members who come to me and say: This company from my State is having problems with XYZ. Well, wouldn't it be nice to be able to have an ambassador in that country to deal with the challenges of that American company or people who come to me and talk to me about their challenges in getting a loved one, somebody from their State, to be able to come? Our consular officers. Wouldn't it be nice to have somebody in the position to deal with that? Wouldn't it be critical, as we deal with the questions of law enforcement and drug trafficking, to have the head of that, the Assistant Secretary, in position so that we could deal with those challenges? So whatever view our colleague from Texas has about Nord Stream, and I happen to believe that on the substance he is right, but this procedure is wretchedly wrong because it puts us at risk in so, so many dimensions. And something will happen--something will happen somewhere in the world where we are not present because one Senator decided to hold up that nominee that would have made a difference. We already saw it. We already saw it as we were trying to deal with challenges in our hemisphere and those that related to Afghanistan. Ridiculous. So our colleague who is holding this all up--because these nominees overwhelmingly passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee either unanimously--hear me--unanimously or with strong bipartisan votes. We just saw the cloture vote before--77. We are leaving these positions unfilled. The position is untenable to continue to be able to meet the challenges the State Department has in fulfilling whose interest? The interests of the American people across the globe. So it is time to get over that. We have only passed in this body two--two--of President Biden's ambassadorial appointments--two. This administration has been in office 9 months. If I were to look at the same time period with President Trump, we did far better. I didn't agree with President Trump on a whole host of foreign policy decisions, but I understood that having people in place was critical, even when I disagreed with them philosophically. It was critical to promote the national interests and security of the United States. So it is time to get over this. These positions would normally pass by voice, much less taking hours--hours, of which, by the way, the debate is not even about the nominees or their positions. It is about immigration and this and that and the other. The debate is not even about these critical national security positions. I don't want to hear about people coming to the floor and talking about national security when they are leaving all these positions vacant. Now, let me specifically address the nominees that we are voting on. I want to express my support for the nominations of Daniel Kritenbrink to be the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific. Whoa. China. Karen Donfried to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs. Oh, we are trying to have a strong transatlantic alliance. We are talking about Ukraine, Belarus. Monica Medina to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs--Scientific Affairs. Yeah, COVID. Mary Catherine Phee to be the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. We are having a huge challenge. I have been privileged to meet two of the African Presidents here in the last couple of days since they are here for U.N. Week. China is all over Africa. We need an Assistant Secretary who is engaged in the continent of Africa to be promoting the views of America's democracy, human rights, rule of law, investment, trade, and opportunity. We are nowhere there. Todd Robinson to be the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement. You know, I hear speeches about fentanyl; I agree. Wouldn't it be nice to have the Assistant Secretary of State to work hemispherically and beyond to make sure that we don't get more fentanyl into our country? And Jessica Lewis to be the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. If ever we needed someone who is engaged on the conduct of political and military affairs and how that faces national security challenges, it is now. These are the people we are voting on. These are the people who overwhelmingly came out of the committee on either unanimous or bipartisan votes. These are superbly qualified nominees, and I have, if it is not obvious, a very deep frustration about them languishing on the floor for weeks--weeks--due to Republican holds. And I have a frustration that we have not been able to more precipitously move people to the committee to bring them to the floor. We have close to 100 nominations for the State Department and USAID that are pending. That is a crisis number. These nominations include positions and ambassadorships to countries throughout Latin America and Africa: places where competition with China and Russia is real, where we need Ambassadors in place to project U.S. power, to assist and protect U.S. citizens, and to promote our companies. We are less safe when our national security Agencies are so underwhelmed. We owe it to the Senate and the American people to fix this problem. I am pleased to be supporting the nomination of Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink to be Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs. In recent years, and on a bipartisan basis, the United States has reassessed and rebalanced our approach to the Indo-Pacific to take into account the reality of our competitive relationship with China. So this is a region rich with pressing challenges from North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to a rollback in human rights and democracy across the region. Ambassador Kritenbrink will be able to draw from decades of experience in the region to lead our efforts in this area. Also pleased to be supporting Dr. Karen Donfried's nomination, which is a testament to the Biden administration's effort to rebuild the transatlantic relationship, which was significantly damaged by the last administration. I know that Dr. Donfried's knowledge and experience--including previously as the Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council--will serve the country well as we seek to renew that transatlantic relationship. These are issues dealing with Russia, Turkey, Belarus, our support for Ukraine. I hear all the time in speeches about support for these countries. Wouldn't it be nice to have the person--forget about nice. Isn't it critical to have the person that can be promoting that view? There is Monica Medina to be the Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. I am convinced that she is eminently qualified, including the time she spent as Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Oceans and Atmosphere at the Department of Commerce and in a broad variety of leadership roles focused on ocean conservation, environmental policy, and science. Likewise, I am pleased to support Ambassador Mary Catherine Phee to be the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. As I said, we have an enormous challenge on the African continent. I support Todd Robinson to be a leader as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. If we want to deal with the coyotes whom my colleague was talking about, let's put somebody in a position to go after them. I know this work is critical to our international efforts to combat narcotics, to deal with fentanyl, and to deal with the trafficking routes that extend through Mexico and all the way back to China. Then there is Jessica Lewis, finally. It is with a mixture of deep pride and some sorrow that this body will consider the nomination of Ms. Lewis to be the next Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Almost 20 years ago, I hired Jessica for her first job on Capitol Hill as my foreign policy adviser and staff director of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, of which I was ranking member. After moving to the Senate and working for Senator Harry Reid for nearly a decade, she took up the staff director position of the Foreign Relations Committee. Throughout her tenure in all of these positions, Members, Senators, and staff on both sides of the aisle benefited from her deep knowledge of foreign policy, her leadership, and indeed her love for Congress itself, with all its nuanced rules and procedures. Jessica is recognized across party lines as one of the most effective and trusted leaders on Capitol Hill. She is a trailblazer for women in national security. When approved by the Senate--and I have no doubt she will be--she will be the first woman confirmed to hold this position. It would be impossible to catalogue all of her accomplishments, from getting countless bills passed through the committee and into law, supporting efforts to conduct serious oversight of the executive branch regardless of which party is in power, to striving to build a truly diverse staff of the Foreign Relations Committee. I have no doubt she will bring her commitment to mentorship, integrity, and public service to the State Department as well. So we expect to see her, after she gets confirmed, back here answering questions and being part of this incredibly important job that she will be doing in bringing political and military affairs together. I hope that we do not have to go through these 100 nominees, through 2-hour sessions of each nominee, in order to get them to start working for U.S. national security. That is what is at stake here. I yield the floor.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that after the first cloture vote on the Medina nomination, that the other three be 10-minute votes.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I know of no other debate before the Senate.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.

Mr. MENENDEZ

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations Committee, room SD-423.