Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced he is signing on to the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act, legislation that seeks tobetter protect unaccompanied minors and vulnerable individuals, including those with disabilities and victims of abuse, torture, or violence, who enter the United States to escape harsh conditions in their home countries. The bill was introduced by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ).   “We cannot... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker was joined by U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and Congressmen Albio Sires (NJ-08) and Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) in calling on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to address staffing issues at Newark Liberty International Airport amid significant delays at security check points during peak travel times, including unusually long delays this past holiday season. In a letter to TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger, the lawmakers expressed... Read More

  WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and a group of 11 senators calling on Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to provide guidance on the issuance of waivers for individuals who are dual nationals of a country participating in the Visa Waiver Program and Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria.   Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, which was included in the end of year Omnibus spending bill,... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC –Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)and Ron Johnson (R-WI)that seeks to strengthen the United States’ ability to counter the online recruitment efforts of violent extremists was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs today. The Countering Online Recruitment of Violent Extremists Act, S. 2418, was introduced in December 2015.    “The digital... Read More

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Patty Murray (D-WA) along with Representatives Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA) sent a letter to Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expressing their concern over the continued practice of sexual orientation change efforts, commonly referred to as “conversion therapy.” In the letter, the lawmakers explained how the widely discredited practice harms the healthy development of youth,... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) today released the following statement regarding President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget proposal: “Budgets are about priorities, and President Obama’s budget would help close persistent gaps in fairness, access, and opportunity for New Jersey working families. It sets big goals in a host of critical areas, from prioritizing criminal justice reform and public safety to expanding apprenticeship training and college... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) today announced that he has signed on to a legislative effort that would expand the Family and Medical Leave Act to protect grieving parents from losing their jobs in the event of a child’s death. The Parental Bereavement Act would amend the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to give parents up to 12 weeks of unpaid, but job-protected, time off of work to cope with the death of a child. According to the Centers for Disease Control and... Read More

Washington–   U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced the passage of an amendment he authored that will block seismic testing for methane hydrate in the Atlantic Ocean. He was joined by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who cosponsored the amendment. ‎Methane Hydrate, a form of natural gas, is estimated to have 25 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide over a 100 year period. Booker's Methane Hydrate Amendment passed the Senate by voice vote as... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), joined by Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), today praised the passage of amendment 2991 to the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015, S. 2012, a bipartisan amendment that advanced through the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee late last night. The amendment would reauthorize the EPA Brownfields program through 2018 and was... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today announced that George Helmy will serve as his State Director, succeeding Mo Butler as Booker’s top staffer in New Jersey.  Helmy, a native of Jersey City, has served as Sen. Booker’s Deputy New Jersey Chief of Staff for two years, where he ran the day to day operations of his state offices. “George embodies the greatest qualities of our state: he’s hard-working, tenacious, and compassionate,” said... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, joined Sen. Bob Menendez and nine of his colleagues in the New Jersey Congressional Delegation in expressing concern regarding the continued decline in Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) funding for New Jersey.  In a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson, the lawmakers also requested a meeting with DHS officials and... Read More

  Washington–  A resolution authored by U.S. Sens. Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), and nine other senators honoring Anita Ashok Datar, the only American killed in the horrific November 2015 attack at the Raddisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali, which killed innocent civilians from seven countries, including the United States, Mali, Russia, China, Belgium, Israel and Senegal, was advanced through the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations today. Booker and... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) along with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), announced today the introduction of the bipartisan Federal Prisons Accountability Act of 2016.   Currently, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has significant budget authority over taxpayer dollars without their appointment having been subject to confirmation by the United States Senate.  Unlike most Department of... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement after President Barack Obama announced executive action regarding solitary confinement in federal facilities: “The solitary confinement of juveniles -- of children -- is a cruel and inhumane practice that has no place in American life. It can inflict lasting psychological and physical harm and does nothing to help adolescents become productive members of society or make our communities safer. “The... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today announced that they will introduce the Equal Protection in Travel Act.  The bill is a commonsense fix to the dual national provision in the recently approved omnibus spending bill that prohibits dual nationals of countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan from participating in the Visa Waiver Program, regardless of their travel history. The proposed bipartisan legislation would... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., today issued a statement following President Obama’s final State of the Union address:   “Tonight, the President gave an impassioned call to action on the work left to do in his presidency. From reforming our broken criminal justice system, to advancing common sense measures to reduce gun violence, to investing in the potential of our nation’s most valuable resource – our people – tonight can serve as an... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement after President Obama announced new executive actions to reduce gun violence. “I applaud the president for taking action to reduce gun violence by closing a glaring legal loophole that allows many firearm sales to occur without a background check. Legislation is needed to reinforce these measures, and I will continue to search for ways forward to find bipartisan solutions to the problem of gun violence. Now... Read More

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined a bipartisan coalition of senators, led by U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and David Vitter (R-La.), to celebrate the Senate's historic passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, a chemical safety reform bill to overhaul the nation's broken Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). The bill passed the Senate last night by a unanimous voice vote and now has 61 bipartisan cosponsors.    The... Read More

Washington – The United States Congress has voted to extend the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act as part of a major spending bill that now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The bill will extend the World Trade Center Health Program to 2090, and provide full compensation to survivors and first responders through the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund.   The two programs were in the process of shutting down after Congress missed a September 30... Read More

  WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) today issued the following statement after the Senate voted on and passed a year-long, $1.1 trillion omnibus funding bill. Booker voted in favor of the bill.                       “This bill gets a passing grade. It’s not ideal, but it is a bipartisan compromise I can accept that extends tax relief for low-income and middle class Americans, permanently... Read More