Robert Menendez was born in New York, N.Y., on January 1, 1954. He graduated from Union Hill High School, Union City, NJ in 1972. He attended Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, NJ where he received his B.A. in 1976. He received a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law in Newark, NJ in 1979. He has been a lawyer in private practice; member of the Union City, NJ, Board of Education from 1974-1978, a chief financial officer 1978-1982; Mayor of Union City, NJ from 1986-1992; a member of the New Jersey state general Assembly from 1987-1991 and a member of the New Jersey state Senate 1991-1993. He was elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Third and to the six succeeding Congresses, where he served from January 3, 1993, to January 16, 2006. He resigned to become a U.S. senator. He is Chair of the House Democratic Caucus (One Hundred Eighth through One Hundred Ninth Congresses). He was appointed to the United States Senate to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Jon S. Corzine. He took the oath of office on January 18, 2006. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 for the term ending January 3, 2013.
Bob Menendez grew up the son of immigrants in a tenement building in Union City. A product of New Jersey's public schools and a graduate of the state's universities, he has served as a school board member, a mayor and a state legislator. Since 1992, he has been fighting for New Jersey families in Washington, where he rose to become the third-highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives before taking office in the Senate in 2006.
Bob first entered public service as a 19-year old college student when he launched a successful petition drive to reform his local school board. He learned then the importance of standing up for what's right, no matter how powerful the opposition.
That same commitment led Bob to stand up to the powerful mayor of Union City when he saw him abusing his office for personal gain. He took on the mayor and testified against him in court, even though it meant wearing a bulletproof vest after receiving threats to his life. Bob stood up to the entire political establishment in his hometown, and led a coalition of reformers that cleaned up the city.
In Congress, he has fought to make health care more affordable for New Jersey's families and to improve schools so they prepare our children for a successful future. Now he is fighting to make college more affordable for the next generation of leaders.
Bob believes we should honor our parents by making sure they can retire with dignity and has introduced legislation to make it easier for families to care for their aging loved ones. And he has led the fight to stop the privatization of Social Security.
After September 11, 2001, Bob earned national recognition for his leadership in reforming the country's intelligence and public health systems and for fighting to establish an independent commission to investigate the terrorist attacks on our country. Today, he is working to improve the security of our bus, rail and public transit systems.
Elected by his colleagues in 2002 as the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Bob Menendez became the highest-ranking Hispanic in Congressional history. He previously served as the Vice Chairman of the Democratic Caucus and has led key Task Forces on Education and Homeland Security.
After being appointed by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, Bob was sworn in to the Senate on January 18, 2006. In November of that year, New Jerseyans elected Bob to serve a full six-year term as United States Senator. He currently serves on the Senate Committees on Banking; Finance; Housing and Urban Affairs; Energy and Natural Resources; Budget; and Foreign Relations. Bob is also the Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection.
Senator Menendez currently lives in Hoboken and has two children, Alicia and Robert.