Press Releases

NEWARK, N.J. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker hosted a roundtable discussion with women stakeholders in his office in Newark to mark Women's History Month. Leaders from across the state joined Senator Booker to discuss their priorities and voice the need to defend women's rights. "We have made tremendous strides in the fight for gender equality, but there is still much work to be done," said Senator Booker. "I am so grateful to the women who joined me today to discuss the various and systemic issues... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) today introduced a sweeping criminal justice bill - the Next Step Act - that would make serious and substantial reforms to sentencing guidelines, prison conditions, law enforcement training, and re-entry efforts. The Next Step Act is the most comprehensive criminal justice bill to be introduced in Congress in decades. "It's been 75 days since the First... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), along with several of their Democratic colleagues, reintroduced the Debt-Free College Act, legislation that will reverse the growing student debt crisis in the United States. The bill restores a path to affordable college by providing states incentives through matching grants to increase investments in public higher education and provide students with debt-free college. If signed into law, the Debt-Free College... Read More

Today, on the last day of Black History Month, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) released the latest episode of his "Lift Every Voice" podcast featuring Questlove and celebrating the rich history and diversity of African-American music. Spanning the genres of hip hop, jazz, gospel, and more, Booker and Questlove share some of their favorite songs and artists that have defined and reflected the African-American experience, including James Brown, Gil Scott-Heron, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Michael... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Co-Chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), today reintroduced their landmark bill to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. In the Senate, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Michael Bennet... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) asked for unanimous consent on the Senate floor to pass the bipartisan Justice for Victims of Lynching Act, legislation that would criminalize lynching for the first time in American history. The motion was passed, marking a historic step towards the first federal anti-lynching law in the United States. The legislation was introduced earlier today by Senators Booker, Harris, and Tim Scott (R-SC). In... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today released a new episode of his "Lift Every Voice" podcast featuring a conversation with his State of the Union guest, Edward Douglas, and Douglas' daughter, Shanice. Douglas was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for a nonviolent, low-level drug crime. He is one of more than 2,000 prisoners eligible for release now thanks to much-needed fixes included in a sweeping criminal justice overhaul that was signed into law in late... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement after his bipartisan Fair Chance Act was passed out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The bill now heads to the Senate floor. This is the third time the bill has been sent to the Senate floor. The Fair Chance Act would give formerly incarcerated individuals a fairer chance at finding a job by prohibiting the federal government and federal contractors from asking about the... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today joined Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) to introduce a Green New Deal resolution in both the Senate and House of Representatives that would create millions of good, high-wage jobs in the United States, provide unprecedented levels of prosperity and economic security for Americans, support family farmers, and counteract systemic injustices – all while addressing the existential challenge of climate... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Cory Booker voted against advancing the nomination of William Barr to serve as Attorney General. Booker released the following statement: “After two years of relentless attacks on Americans’ civil rights by the President and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, we need an Attorney General who will work to uphold the values that are most in danger,” said Booker. “We need an Attorney General... Read More

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) and Doug Collins (R-GA) introduced the Fair Chance Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to give formerly incarcerated individuals a fairer chance at finding a job by prohibiting the federal government and federal contractors from asking about the criminal history of a job applicant prior to a conditional offer of employment. U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Joni Ernst (R-IA),... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A formerly incarcerated individual just released from prison who was serving a lifetime sentence for a low-level drug crime will be U.S. Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) guest for tonight’s State of the Union address. Edward Douglas, of Chicago, was sentenced to life in prison in 2003 for selling 140 grams of crack cocaine – about the weight of a baseball. He is one of more than 2,000 prisoners eligible for release now thanks to much-needed fixes included... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Coons (D-DE), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the below statement on the elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): “We acknowledge the Congolese Constitutional Court’s ruling that Felix Tshisekedi will be the next President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. We commend and congratulate the millions of Congolese that demonstrated their unwavering desire to uphold the... Read More

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raising concerns over potential ethical conflicts of interest by Dr. J. Peter Pham, the Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa (SEGL). Booker’s concerns stem from Pham’s continued employment at the Atlantic Council, a think tank where Pham... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement. “We are deeply troubled by reports of deaths, widespread arrests, beatings, and harassment of protestors by security forces of the Government of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean people have the constitutional right to protest peacefully and express themselves regarding developments in their country. Government officials and... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today pressed Attorney General nominee William Barr on the racial disparities that infect the criminal justice system. Booker asked Barr to explain previous statements he had made about how “the benefits of increased incarceration would be enjoyed disproportionately by black Americans living in inner cities” and “a failure to incarcerate hurts black Americans... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today joined U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and more than a dozen colleagues in the House and Senate to introduce sweeping reforms that would reduce prescription drug prices in the United States. The plan to reduce the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs includes three bills: The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act, which would peg the price of prescription drugs in the United States to the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Judiciary Committee, today urged the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to retract a misleading report from January 2018 that is underpinning many of the false arguments President Trump is currently making about the link between immigration and crime and terrorism. The January 2018 report is titled “Executive Order 13780: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the U.S.” and was issued... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), this week will re-introduce the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act. The legislation would protect Special Counsels from inappropriate removal or political pressure. The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last Congress with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 14-7. The Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act: Codifies existing Department... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Judiciary Committee and co-author of the First Step Act, issued the below statement following news that the first person has been released from a federal prison due to the sentencing reform guidelines passed and signed into law last month. One of those provisions made retroactive a 2010 law that reduced the egregious sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine - disparities that overwhelmingly and... Read More