Born in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, Bob grew up the son of immigrants - a seamstress and a carpenter - in a tenement building in Union City, New Jersey. Through hard work and sacrifice, Bob became the first in his family to go to college.

He entered public service as a 19-year old college student when Bob launched a successful petition drive to reform his local school board. That same commitment led him to take on his hometown’s powerful mayor when Bob saw him abusing the office for personal gain.

Bob stood up to the corrupt political establishment and led a coalition of reformers who cleaned up Union City. He took on the mayor and testified against him in court even though it meant wearing a bulletproof vest after being threatened.

•Bob was sworn into the U.S. Senate on January 18, 2006. Today, Senator Menendez serves on the U.S. Senate Committees on Finance; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Foreign Relations. Bob is also the Chairman of the Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development; and the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs.

•Senator Menendez led the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, preserving a Democratic majority in the last election despite the most difficult political environment for Democrats in a generation.

•Bob earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Peter's College in Jersey City and his law degree from Rutgers University. He currently lives in North Bergen and has two great adult children, Alicia and Robert.

Bob Menendez was elected Mayor of his hometown, and went on to serve as a state legislator and in the United States House of Representatives.

Today, in the United States Senate, Bob Menendez is fighting back to improve life for New Jersey’s middle class and tackling the struggles they face everyday.

That’s why Bob helped increase financial aid to make a college education more affordable, he’s fighting to end tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping jobs overseas and supported stimulus programs that created tens of thousands of New Jersey jobs.

To fight back against the abuses of insurance companies and big banks, Bob voted for common-sense reforms that keep insurance companies from denying patients care because of pre-existing conditions, stop credit card companies from misleading customers, and prohibit those companies from charging excessive rate hikes.

At a time when the American Dream seems threatened, Bob Menendez’s life and record are reminders of the promise and potential our nation holds for those who work hard. He and his family overcame the challenges of making it into the middle class, an experience that shaped his values and serves as the motivation behind his tireless work to fight back for hard working families all across New Jersey.