Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee today announced that U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has joined the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure and will become the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight. “Roughly half of New Jerseyans live within three miles of a Superfund site, far higher than the national average,” Booker said. “This is simply unacceptable, and too... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) have sent a letter to David Shulkin, the United States Secretary of Veteran Affairs, urging him to address the consequences of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) efforts to recoup improperly dispersed pension and disability payments on the ability of currently and formerly incarcerated veterans to reenter society and reintegrate into their communities. “We... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) issued the below statement following tonight’s budget vote: “I made a commitment several months ago that I wouldn’t vote for yet another funding bill that fails to include protections for the hundreds of thousands of dreamers who have been put in limbo by President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. My commitment stands. “This bill includes many priorities I support... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on Africa, released the following statement on the political situation in Kenya: “We are deeply concerned about the continued deterioration of the political situation in Kenya.  Respect for the rule of law and fundamental freedoms are critical and necessary pillars of Kenya's democracy.  Shutting down independent media and... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) today pressed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) to complete a study on the use of algorithmic risk assessment tools for determining prison terms, setting bail, and even supporting findings of guilt or innocence.  The USSC failed to comply with DOJ instructions from 2014 asking for a report on the topic. In a letter sent today to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and USSC... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To kick off Black History Month, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today published the third episode of his “Lift Every Voice” podcast featuring Vi Lyles, the first black woman to be elected mayor of Charlotte. In the episode, Mayor Lyles recounts her time growing up in South Carolina and the improbable journey that took her from the back halls of City Government to the front halls of the mayor's office, making history as the Queen City's first black female... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) released the following statement on the release of the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) findings on their investigation into the fatal 2016 Hoboken rail crash that left one Hoboken mother dead and more than 100 injured: “Today’s NTSB report underscores just how shortsighted and reckless the Trump Administration’s decision was to reverse the rule requiring sleep apnea testing and treatment. The... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the Census Funding Cap Adjustment Act (CFCA), a bill to ensure the Census Bureau is adequately funded in advance of the 2020 decennial census. Historically, federal funding has increased significantly in the years preceding a decennial census, but President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal requested $1.497 billion for the Census Bureau, which at just a 2% increase over FY2017 funding, is tantamount to flat... Read More

CLIFTON, NJ – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) was joined by U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09), New Jersey Education Association President Marie Blistan, and local teachers and students at Clifton Public School 17 in Clifton, New Jersey to announce a major piece of legislation that would help address the teacher shortage the United States is experiencing. According to a study from the Learning Policy Institute, enrollment in teacher preparation programs has fallen 35%... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement on today’s announcement that K.T. McFarland has withdrawn her nomination to be the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore: “McFarland gave inconsistent and potentially knowingly false testimony to the U.S. Senate regarding her knowledge of communications between a foreign adversary and the Trump transition team. She failed to meet the bare minimum standards... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement: “This is a moment of extreme peril for our country. President Trump and his allies in Congress are stopping at nothing to interfere with the special counsel’s Russia probe, even if it means putting the safety of the American public at risk, and degrading the rule of law. “In doing the bidding of President Trump, Congressman Nunes is engaging in... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the below statement following tonight’s State of the Union Address by President Trump: “What we saw from the President tonight was more propaganda, demagoguery, and bluster when what we need is leadership, character, and courage. The President has a distorted view of the world and one that is wildly out of step with reality and facts.” “In order to lead the United States, you have to be able to unite people... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) sent a letter today to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross urging him to reconsider reported plans to appoint Dr. Thomas Brunell to serve as Deputy Director of the Census Bureau. Brunell’s stunning lack of management and government experience, fiercely partisan background and history of support for racial and partisan gerrymandering make him deeply unqualified to serve as the Census Bureau’s chief operational... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) announced today that he would bring 29-year-old New Jersey DACA-recipient Elizabeth Vilchis to Tuesday’s State of the Union address as his guest. Vilchis, who lives in Ridgefield, New Jersey, is originally from Puebla, Mexico. Her parents brought her to the U.S. when she was 7-years-old to escape the economic crisis in Mexico. As a young student, Vilchis excelled in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), graduating... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), both members of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today introduced a bipartisan infrastructure bill to boost the utility sector workforce. The Innovative Water Workforce Development Act would establish a competitive grant program to help develop the next generation of water utility workers. Over the next decade approximately 37 percent of water utility workers and 31 percent of wastewater... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement: "For months, President Trump, his surrogates, and many of his allies in Congress have worked in plain sight to undermine the credibility of the special counsel and his investigation. Now we've learned that, behind closed doors, the president attempted to fire the special counsel last summer. The Special Counsel Independence Protection Act was urgently needed then, and it's urgently needed now. It's long past... Read More

Washington, DC—U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ, Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) sent a letter urging President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo to support a clear and transparent timeline that meets critical benchmarks in order to facilitate nationwide elections in December of 2018.  The Senators also encouraged Kabila to immediately release political prisoners per the December 2016... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) led a group of nearly a dozen of their Democratic colleagues today in urging the Administration to eliminate funding for abstinence-only education in the President’s Fiscal Year 2019 budget, and redirect those resources to programs grounded in evidence instead. The President requested $85 million in abstinence-only funding for FY18. In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, the Senators... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today published the second episode of his “Lift Every Voice” podcast focused on dreamers. The episode highlights the inspiring, yet heartbreaking stories of four dreamers from New Jersey – Elizabeth, Adriana, Deya, and Kyungmin – who were brought to the United States as kids and are fighting for the American dream. The episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play. “Dreamers are Americans... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the below statement: President Trump manufactured a crisis when he ended DACA, throwing the lives of hundreds of thousands of dreamers into chaos and uncertainty. In addition, 113 days have passed since the Children’s Health Insurance Program lapsed, and Senate Republicans have been using uninsured low-income kids as political pawns. President Trump and Republicans, who control the White House, the Senate, and the House, have a... Read More