mr. menendez: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at a certain time during my remarks, i be allowed to address the senate in spanish. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: mr. president, i rise today to urge leaders across the united states and governments around the world to stand in solidarity with the people of cuba as they cry out for freedom, for libertad, and for an end to decades of dictatorship. what is happening in cuba today is nothing short of historic. yes, we've seen protests take place in years past, but the demonstrations that began on july 11 stand apart. what began as one small pro-democracy protest in san antonio spread across the island in a matter of hours. cubans from all walks of life took to the streets in a courageous call for democratic change. among those clamoring for freedom were afro-cubans demanding an end to discrimination and injustice. young people dreaming of a br

mr. menendez: thank you. i rise today to express my support for the nomination of us a zeya to be the next under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights. ms. zeya is immensely qualified to recenter our most fundamental values in our foreign policy efforts and to strengthen the bureau. her experience and the more than 20 years has a foreign service officer, including as the acting assistant secretary of state for democracy, human righted, and labor in the state department, make her the perfect fit for this position. the previous administration abdicated our global responsibility, but we now have the opportunity to restore u.s. leadership and the fight for democracy, human rights, the rule of law around the world. it is an excising prospect for us but more importantly it will give hope to those still fighting for their rights. the millions of people around the world who look to the united states for inspiration and support in their own democratic struggles. we see that in places li

mr. menendez: let's start with the very recent developments from the region. yesterday president erdogan visited illegally occupied cyprus and announced a lan to develop a seaside town. over the years i met with greek cypriots who had to evacuated there in 1974 fleeing the turkish army. many emigrated to the united states. 47 years following the invasion, their stories remain harrowing, a daily reminder of those terrible days in 1974. for years, many international community, including biden administration himself has supported a peace proscies which would a started a bicommunal operation on the island. his goal is to advance a separate state on the island of cyprus. island, simply put, this violation of international law is unacceptable may expect to hear from the secretary to a plan on how the biden administration will r pond. i read a letter to the president last week, his actions are not simply about cyprus but a crucial test for the un system and u.s. response. we need to see a strong statement of the un security council today condemning this move. unfortu

mr. chairman. >> senator menendez is recognized. sen. menendez: as the fed seeks to fulfill its mandate of maximum employment, i want to discuss the tremendous impact that immigration has on the labor force. isn't it true that over the past 10 years, the immigrant labor force participation rate has been consistently higher than that of nativeborn workers? chair powell: i believe that is right. sen. menendez: let me help you verify that. the st. louis fed noted that as of june 2021, the foreign born labor participation rate is 3% higher than the nativeborn rate, and that gap hasn't ever been lower for the past -- lower than 2% for the past 10 years. the characteristic of these immigrants is there youth. according to the bureau of labor statistics, 71% of foreign labor workers are between 25 and 54 years of age, compared to 62.2% of the native labor force. so as the american labor force ages, will immigrants and therefore immigration policy play an increasingly important role in maintaining a healthy u.s. labor force, and therefore a healt

mr. chairman. >> senator menendez of new jersey is recognized. >> chairman powell, as the federal reserve seeks to its mandate of maximum employment, i want to discuss with you the tremendous impact that immigration has on the labor force. isn't it true that over the past ten years the immigrant labor force participation rate has been consistently higher than that of native-born workers? >> i believe that's right. >> yeah. and let me help you verify that. the st. louis fed noted in their study that as of june 2021 the foreign-born labor force participation rate is 3% higher than the native-important rate and that gap hasn't been lower than 2% for the past ten years an important but often overlooked characteristicsistic of these immigrants tis their beyond meat. 78% of workers are between 25 and 54 years of age scared to 62.2% of the native labor force. so as the american labor force ages, will immigrants and, therefore, immigration policy, play an increasingly important role in maintaining a healthy u.s. labor force, therefore, a healthy economy? >> senator, i am going to stay away from making any

mr. chairman. >> senator menendez of new jersey is recognized. >> chairman powell, as the federal reserve seeks to fulfill its mandate of maximum employment i want to ask you with you the tremendous impact that immigration has on the labor force. isn't it true that over the past ten years the immigrant labor force participation rate has been consistently higher than that of native-born workers? >> i believe that's right. >> yeah. let me help you verify that. the st. louis fed noted in their study that as of june 2021 the foreign-born labor force participation rate is 3% higher than the native-born rate and that gap hasn't ever been lower than nearly 2% for the past ten years. an important but often overlooked characteristic of these immigrants is their youth. according to the bureau of labor statistics 71.8% of foreign-born workers are between 25 and 54 years of age compared to 62.2% of the native labor force. so as the american labor force ages, will immigrants and therefore immigration policy play an increasingly important role in maintaining a healthy u.s. labor force therefore a healthy econom

menendez. it's also the work that came out of the house. can you talk, mr. secretary, about the challenges faced by dairies and pork producers when they are trying to meet their year-round workforce needs when they just have one of these seasonal visas? i'd like to hear it from you from the ground. >> they simply can't find the workers. the result is they either have to reduce the amount that they are producing or they have to destroy that which they have grown because they don't have enough pop to pick and harvest. this is an issue that goes to the heart of our food supply. it goes to the heart of our capacity to have choice in the grocery store. it goes to the ability to have affordable food for all our country and our ability to, port, which supports millions and millions of jobs. so at the end of the day, you need workforce to be able to do that. you need a stable and secure system to plan ahead so you can determine whether or not you are able to expand. able to buy that additional tarm. able to expand by buying and expanding your herd. farmers can't do

citizenship act that i'm a co-sponsor of with senator menendez but it's also the work that came out of the house. can you talk mrcretary about the challenges trying to meet their year-round workforce needs when they just have one of thesa seasonal visas? i've heard it i'd like to hear from you on the ground. >> senator we simply can't find the workers and the result is they have to reduce the amount that they are producing or they have to destroy that which they have grownes because they simply don't harvest. this is an issue that goes to the heart of our food supply and goes to the heart of our capacity to have choice in the grocery store and goes to the ability to have affordable food for our country and the ability to export which supports millions of jobs. at the end of the day for the workforce to be able to do that you need a stable and secure systems we can plan ahead to determine whether or not you are able to expand and able to buy that additional firemen able to expand by expanding your heard. farmers can't do that today. they can't make those decisions because they don't have the security and stabilit