Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Donald Norcross (D-NJ), today sent a letter urging Senate and House leadership to increase funding dedicated to supporting the unique needs of the children of migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic as a part of the next Congressional relief package.  Multiple times a year, more than 300,000 children relocate throughout the country with their families who are seeking seasonal agricultural work. In... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C – In response to rising food insecurity and supply chain disruptions witnessed during the coronavirus pandemic and stemming from our hyper-consolidated food system, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today introduced the Local Food Assistance and Resilient Markets Act, or the Local FARM Act, legislation that expands food assistance to vulnerable Americans and increases support for the local and regional food systems that have proven most resilient during the COVID-19 crisis. “The... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today announced the awarding of $5,370,096 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) to support the New Jersey Department of Health’s response and recovery efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic. “These funds are absolutely critical as our state continues to battle COVID-19 and prepares for future spikes,” said Sen. Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced a resolution outlining the importance of the U.S. Postal Service and urging increased funding in the next COVID-19 relief package to help the key agency offset losses incurred due to the pandemic. The resolution also makes clear that the USPS should not be forced... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – During a hearing held today by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) condemned the Trump Administration’s two-year delay in moving the critical Hudson Tunnel Project forward. The administration refused to meet a March 2018 deadline to approve a required environmental review of the vital infrastructure project, despite repeated urging from Booker and others. “I've been working in a bipartisan manner with people on this... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker today announced $68,579,836 in U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding for the State of New Jersey to bolster security and emergency preparedness efforts at our ports, houses of worship and transit hubs.“Because of our state’s location, proximity to large metro areas, airports, seaports and transit hubs, New Jersey must remain vigilant and prepared to respond to any type of attack,” said Sen. Menendez. “This critical... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the below statement in response to Israel’s proposed annexation of territories in the West Bank. “As a long-time supporter of the State of Israel and the unshakable bond between our two countries, I am deeply disheartened by the proposed unilateral annexation of territory in the West Bank. What happens to the West Bank, with its Palestinian population of almost three million and... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the below statement on passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the House of Representatives, a bill he co-authored with U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Karen Bass, and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler. The sweeping legislation, which is cosponsored by 37 Senators and 230 members of the House of Representatives, awaits consideration in the Senate. “I applaud my colleagues in the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the below statement after the GOP forced a vote, which ultimately failed, on the inadequate, deeply flawed Justice Act: “We will not meet this moment with half-measures and half-steps that don’t meaningfully fix our broken policing system. The Justice Act is woefully inadequate, deeply flawed, and painfully weak, but don’t take my word for it – take the word of the more than 130 civil rights and faith-based organizations that have... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) today demanded bipartisan talks to get to a constructive starting point on policing reform legislation. Leader McConnell said last week that he would not negotiate with Democrats before bringing Senate Republicans’ JUSTICE Act to the floor, despite the weight and magnitude of this time.As people across the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today introduced legislation that would increase tree planting and reduce residential energy bills across the United States. The Tackling Residential Energy burdens Efficiently Act, or the TREE Act, creates a cost-share grant program at the Department of Energy to provide funding to plant a minimum of 300,000 trees annually in residential neighborhoods that will reduce energy consumption and help protect public... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) today announced they will introduce Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. “Juneteenth”, observed on June 19, commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and is also known as “Emancipation Day”, “Jubilee Day”, and “Juneteenth Independence Day”. On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Major General Gordon Granger... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) took to the Senate floor today in an attempt to use a procedural maneuver to pass legislation removing Confederate statues from the United States Capitol but was blocked by Republican objections. Booker is the co-author of the Confederate Monument Removal Act, which will remove all statues of people who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America from the National Statuary Hall Collection within 120 days of passage. Booker attempted to... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) took to the Senate floor today in an attempt to use a procedural maneuver to pass legislation removing Confederate statues from the United States Capitol but was blocked by Republican objections. Booker is the co-author of the Confederate Monument Removal Act, which will remove all statues of people who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America from the National Statuary Hall Collection within 120 days of passage. Booker attempted to... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Cory Booker and U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill, both New Jersey Democrats, today sent a letter to Senate and House leaders urging them to ease application requirements for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) program in the final COVID 4 legislative package.Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, non-profits and local and state governments enrolled in the CoC program are experiencing a severe strain on their time and resources,... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the below statement on the GOP policing bill released today: “The Republican proposal is heavy on gestures and light on real reform. It does nothing to meaningfully hold law enforcement officers accountable in court for egregious misconduct; it does nothing to provide public access to records of police misconduct; it does nothing to actually mandate that law enforcement agencies ban dangerous and extreme tactics like chokeholds and... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today spoke on the Senate Floor on the urgency of passing the Justice in Policing Act and appealed to his Republican colleagues to create “meaningful reforms in this moment” and not “symbolic gestures that will do nothing to save people’s lives.” Invoking the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown “and so many others” who have been killed at the hands of law enforcement, Booker explained how our current policing and justice system... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to address the rising number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the VA New Jersey Health Care System – which is now the highest in the nation. In a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, Booker calls for the federal agency to develop a plan to address the increasing fatalities, review existing policies related to patient care, and raises concern regarding inadequate supply of... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Cory Booker and U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill, both D-NJ, today celebrated Women Veterans Appreciation Day, recognizing the distinguished service of women in the Active Duty, Guard, and Reserve Forces. They marked the day by hosting a virtual roundtable with women veterans across the state this afternoon. June 12 marks the anniversary of the signing of the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, which allowed women to serve as permanent, regular... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) re-introduced a bicameral bill in the Senate and House to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol. The Confederate Monument Removal Act would remove all statues of people who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America from the National Statuary Hall Collection within 120 days.Booker and Lee originally introduced the bill in 2017.“The National Statuary Hall Collection is... Read More