Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over highway projects, and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced the Toll Credit Marketplace Act, legislation that would establish a program to help states increase resources for highway and transit projects. The bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a marketplace for the sale and purchase of toll credits, which are accrued when states use toll... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the New Jersey State Assembly's passage today of a measure to reinstate voting rights for New Jerseyans on parole and probation: "Voting is a cornerstone of our democracy, and democracy functions better when more people can vote, not fewer. Those who have paid their debt to society shouldn't be blocked from participating in this most basic and sacred institution of... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three key marijuana provisions designed to reverse decades of failed drug policy and first introduced by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) passed the House Judiciary Committee today: record expungement, reinvestment in the communities most harmed by the War on Drugs, and removing marijuana from the list of deportable offenses.   Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act, originally introduced in 2017, was the first congressional bill to incorporate record expungement and community... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced legislation that would make critical investments in child care and early childhood educators at community colleges and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Preparing and Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood Teachers (PROSPECT) Act would establish competitive grants for community colleges and MSIs, so they could become incubators for infant and toddler child care talent, training, and access. The legislation would... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement ahead of the House Judiciary Committee’s Wednesday markup of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 (MORE). Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act, originally introduced in 2017, was the first congressional bill to incorporate record expungement and community reinvestment with marijuana legalization. The MORE Act also includes a Booker-provision to remove marijuana from list of deportable... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan bill authored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mike Lee (R-UT) to help safeguard American consumers by strengthening consumer protections against predatory debt collection practices passed the House Financial Services Committee last night. The bicameral Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act of 2019 would make it illegal for debt collectors to use abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices when collecting debts from consumers. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced legislation to systemically change the way prescription drugs are priced in order to reduce drug costs for Americans and increase access to the medications they need, with Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) joining him as original cosponsors. The Prescription Drug Affordability and Access Act would create an independent agency—the Bureau of Prescription Drug Affordability and Access—tasked with conducting... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following recent media reports illustrating that solitary confinement is significantly overused in federal immigration detention, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Kamala Harris (D-CA) today introduced legislation to combat the rampant and unnecessary overuse of solitary confinement in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operated and ICE contract facilities.   “Solitary confinement is cruel, demeaning, and abusive, and its exploitation in the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The House Committee on Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health today passed legislation to improve maternal health outcomes that was partly based upon Booker’s bicameral MOMMIES Act, which he introduced with Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) in May. Booker issued the below statement:   “Today’s Subcommittee passage of maternal health bills is a long awaited step in the right direction to address the pressing public health crisis facing mothers, particularly mothers of... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the White House today:   “We should not be rolling out the red carpet for a ruthless authoritarian who attacks our allies, jails more journalists than any other country, erodes his country’s democracy, and sows divisions in the NATO alliance. President Trump should have rescinded Erdogan’s invitation after... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senator John Boozman (R-AR) today called on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to provide urgently-needed U.S. diplomatic leadership to South Sudan, where a civil war has killed as many as 400,000 since it began in 2013. In a bipartisan letter sent today, the Senators highlighted the pressing need... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez today sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs asking for answers on a proposed VA health center in Ocean County and the current barriers to care faced by New Jersey Veterans.   The letter, which was also signed by Congressman Andy Kim and Chris Smith, outlines the critical demand for a new and expanded Community Based Outpatient Clinic, or CBOC, in Ocean County. The delegation cites “numerous barriers to care” for local... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. – Ahead of Veterans Day tomorrow, U.S. Senator Cory Booker today released a comprehensive resource guide for the hundreds of thousands of veterans who call New Jersey home. The handbook, available online here, is designed to help New Jersey veterans with the transition from military to civilian life. It includes information on health benefits, workforce centers, employment opportunities, crisis support resources, and federal and state education programs. “Veterans Day is a time for... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with Congressmen John Lewis (D-GA) and Richard Neal (D-MA), called on the Government Accountability Office to study the Opportunity Zones tax incentive program following multiple reports of possible wrongdoing by senior administration officials in implementing the 2017 tax incentive program. The Opportunity Zones program, based on bipartisan legislation authored by Booker, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and Congressman... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez today called on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao to explain why, despite viewing the Hudson River tunnels secretly last year and seeing the crumbling state of the rail crossings between New York and New Jersey first-hand, her Department continues to drag its feet on the critical transportation project. Despite repeated formal and informal invitations to visit the current tunnels and the Portal Bridge... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), whose father graduated from a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), today urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to restore funding for HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other minority serving-institutions (MSIs). Mandatory funding benefiting these institutions lapsed on September 30, 2019.   “HBCUs, HSIs, TCUS, and MSIs serve as one of the most significant pathways for... Read More

CAMDEN, NJ – U.S Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, Mayor Frank Moran, Congressman Donald Norcross, local elected officials, U.S. Department of Transportation, N.J. Economic Development Authority and project partners, Coopers Ferry Partnership, celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony to kick-off construction for “Camden Connections to the Future Projects”.  The scope of the project will focus on carrying out critical improvements to the City of Camden's aging infrastructure and dilapidated... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation barring the use of surveillance technology, such as facial recognition, in federally-funded public and assisted housing. The No Biometric Barriers to Housing Act prohibits the use of facial recognition and other biometric identification technology in public housing units, an alarming trend that poses significant privacy risks for vulnerable communities. It would also require that the Department of Housing and Urban... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) released the following statement on the passing of former New Jersey Congressman Bill Hughes:   “I am deeply saddened to learn of Representative Bill Hughes’ passing. He was a beloved public servant who, through his work in Congress and as an Ambassador, demonstrated pragmatism, civility, and above all else, love of country. The Jersey Shore is cleaner and our communities are safer because of Bill’s accomplishments during his two decades in... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today released the following statement on Opportunity Zone guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Treasury earlier today. The Opportunity Zone program creates a tax incentive for individuals who reinvest unrealized capital gains into high-impact, long-term projects in high-poverty communities across the country. It is based upon bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC). Governors of each... Read More