Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker and Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (N.J.-09) today announced the awarding of $11,816,087 to the State of New Jersey in Byrne-JAG funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to support the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will allow the state to hire additional frontline workers and first responders, purchase personal protective equipment, train staff and address the needs of inmates in state and local... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Paycheck Protection Program Second Chance Act, which will allow small business owners with criminal records to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP provides forgivable loans to small businesses that keep their employees on payroll during the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. But as a result of rules put forward by the Treasury... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- United States Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Representatives G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), and Karen Bass (D-CA) today sent a letter requesting further information about the State Department’s handling of complaints by Tianna Spears, a Foreign Service Officer who was repeatedly racially harassed while posted at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico . The letter also urges the Department of State to address and identify steps being taken... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) delivered powerful and emotional remarks on the Senate Floor today on the urgent need for comprehensive police reform in America. After first remembering the lives of “a loving son,” Ahmaud Arbery; “extraordinary” Breonna Taylor; and “gentle giant” George Floyd, Booker spoke movingly on his personal experience with racism as a black man in America. He spoke on the unprecedented and tragic times that we are facing as a nation. Finally, after... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced the following framework for comprehensive legislation to stem the tide of racialized police violence in the wake of last week’s horrific murder of George Floyd by law enforcement. “Persistent, unchecked bias in policing and a history of lack of accountability is wreaking havoc on the Black community.” Booker said. “Cities are literally on fire with the pain and anguish wrought by the violence visited upon black and brown bodies.... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and 22 of his Senate colleagues today urged Senate leadership to provide emergency assistance to nonprofit museums in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Senators asked to direct $2 billion to nonprofit museums through the Institute of Museums and Library Services in the upcoming COVID-19 package. The letter comes in the aftermath of a massive loss in revenue for museums due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study conducted by the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) today unveiled comprehensive legislation to tackle the staggering COVID-19 health inequities, including racial inequities. The Community Solutions for COVID-19 Act would establish a $1.5 billion grant program to help grassroots organizations create and expand hyperlocal programs to improve health equity and reduce or eliminate inequities in the prevalence and health outcomes of COVID-19. Such programs are... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Tina Smith (D-MN) are urging Senate leaders to include an array of key maternal health policies in the next COVID-19 legislative package as the pandemic threatens to stress our maternal care system and worsen pre-existing racial disparities. “The maternal mortality rate in the United States exceeds that of almost all of its peer countries, and in fact, the U.S. is one of only a few countries... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez today announced that health care service providers across New Jersey have been awarded a combined $3.25 million in federal funding through the Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program to expand telehealth services throughout the state during the pandemic. The program was created as part of the CARES Act passed by congress in April. “Expanding telehealth services is critical to ensuring the health and safety not only... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez today announced a combined total of $9,713,870, which will help support New Jersey’s health care providers and their response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. Over $6 million was awarded to five federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and $3 million was awarded to the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) to support hospitals across the state. “New Jersey health centers and hospitals continue to lead the fight against COVID-19... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led eight of his Senate colleagues in urging Senate leaders to include language in the next COVID-19 relief package that would bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from allowing meatpacking firms to increase line speeds beyond regulatory limits. In April, the USDA approved more than a dozen such requests from meat plants to exceed regulatory caps, despite the dangers increased line speeds pose to workers, animals, and consumers.... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) joined a group of Senate and House colleagues in introducing the Equitable Nutrition Assistance for the Territories Act of 2020 to ensure that in the face of the economic, public-health, and food-security crises posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the people of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa receive equal access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).The federal SNAP program... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez and Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (N.J.-09) today applauded the announcement that New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients will be able to use their benefits to order groceries online from approved online retailers. This will help protect the program’s recipients amidst the COVID-19 outbreak in the state.  “During these challenging times, many Americans are newly unemployed and struggling to... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, along with Congressmen Bill Pascrell, Jr. (N.J.-09), Albio Sires (N.J.-08), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (N.J.-10) and Tom Malinowski (N.J.-07) today announced over $91.5 million in funding from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to advance replacement of the Portal Bridge and make other upgrades to improve service along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC). Long considered the linchpin of the entire NEC connecting Boston to Washington,... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker was joined by almost 100 colleagues in both Houses of Congress wrote to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to fulfill HHS’ commitment to its Healthy People 2020 objectives by collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic is more likely to impact members of the LGBTQ community than the general population. According to a recent report,... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) unveiled comprehensive legislation to expand access to the ballot, as the COVID-19 pandemic imposes new barriers to Americans’ right to vote. The DemocracyCorps Act would create a federal organization — modeled off the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps — of 35,000 individuals who would be deployed to all 50 states to help administer elections by registering voters, developing and implementing voter education campaigns, and serving as poll... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today introduced bold legislation to expand access to comprehensive health coverage for immigrants by reducing unfair and unjust barriers that currently exist. The HEAL (Health Equity and Access under the Law) for Immigrant Women and Families Act has three main pillars. First, it expands access to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to anyone that is federally authorized to be in the United States, including DACA... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and a group of their colleagues sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urging the inclusion of provisions to protect the health and safety of property service workers in the next coronavirus relief bill, including personal protective equipment, hazard pay, and strengthened labor protections. Many property service workers --building cleaners, security... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) today will formally introduce bipartisan legislation to deliver critical, federal resources to states and communities on the frontlines of the COVID-19 fight. The State and Municipal Assistance for Recovery and Transition (SMART) Act targets $500 billion in emergency funding to every state, county and community in the country, while prioritizing assistance to the areas with the greatest need. Sens. Joe Manchin... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – 100 mayors across the country, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Bozeman Mayor Chris Mehl, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan today endorsed a bipartisan, bicameral small business relief plan proposed by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Representatives Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The mayors represent a wide swath of cites stretching... Read More