Press Releases

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senator Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement on today’s tragic shooting in Jersey City:    “Once again, our nation is faced with scenes of carnage, fear, hopelessness, and loss. There should be no place in America where residents are gunned down while shopping for groceries, officers are slain while protecting our communities, and children are sheltering in place at school. These tragedies cannot become our new normal.   “I am thankful to the Jersey City... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C — U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the below statement following the release of Xiyue Wang from Iran:   “I’m elated that, after three years of painful separation and uncertainty, Princeton University student Xiyue Wang and his family will finally be reunited. This is the outcome that New Jerseyans and those around the globe who followed this unjust and politically motivated ordeal had hoped for. I’m grateful for the... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate today reauthorized funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other minority serving institutions (MSIs) by passing the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, a bill cosponsored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez. Booker, whose parents both attended HBCUs, and Menendez, who attended one of New Jersey’s HSIs, had urged Senate leadership to restore... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C — U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced he is joining a bipartisan working group to facilitate ongoing discussions about student athlete compensation and related issues. The working group will provide an informal setting for discussions among members, and also with collegiate partners, athletes, and experts who wish to engage lawmakers. Additional members of the working group are Mitt Romney (R-UT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and David Perdue (R-GA).   “As... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today unveiled a bill that would ban discrimination based on hair textures and hairstyles that are commonly associated with a particular race or national origin. It is co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). U.S. Representative Cedric Richmond (D-LA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives, and is joined by Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Marcia Fudge (D-OH), and Barbara Lee (D-CA).   Hair... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement in response to the U.S. State Department’s announcement that it will appoint an ambassador to Sudan:   “After numerous calls for the urgent need for U.S. diplomatic leadership in Sudan, I’m glad that this administration has finally heeded that request. This appointment will send a strong signal that the U.S. is committed to supporting Sudan’s transition to a... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) today called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and five of the largest health care companies in the nation to provide more information on how they are addressing bias in algorithms used in many health care systems. The series of letters follows recent revelations published in the journal Science that a widely-used software program severely underestimated the health... Read More

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