Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have introduced legislation to crack down on exploitative overdraft fees that banks charge consumers when they make a purchase or pay a bill but don’t have sufficient funds in their account. The Stop Overdraft Profiteering Act of 2018 would ban overdraft fees on debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals, and limit fees placed for checks and recurring payments. It would also mandate that banks post... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on African Affairs, released the following statement after the July 30 election in Zimbabwe. “As members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on African Affairs, we strongly condemn yesterday’s violence in Harare, Zimbabwe, following elections on July 30.  We call upon... 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, issued the following statement on today’s election in Zimbabwe. This is the country’s first ever presidential election without former President Robert Mugabe on the ballot. “Today’s election in Zimbabwe is a historic opportunity for the country to embark down a path of democratic reform.... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Coons (D-DE), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following joint statement on the reported detention of South Sudanese peace activist Peter Ajak. Booker is the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy. “We are deeply concerned about the reported detention of South Sudanese peace activist Peter Biar Ajak by South Sudan’s National Security Service after his... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, U.S. Sen. 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, announced that Niger has released 17 of the 28 civil society activists who have been jailed since March for peacefully protesting against Niger’s new finance law. 11 activists remain imprisoned. “It’s encouraging to see the Nigerien government release a number of activists who peacefully... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called for Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to come before Congress to clarify his comments on the proposal of a citizenship question for the upcoming 2020 Census. In testimony before Congress, Secretary Ross asserted that the citizenship question originated at the Department of Justice, but an NPR report and recently published e-mails raise new questions about the veracity of that... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the release of a video revealing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s support for overturning the Supreme Court ruling upholding the legality of the independent counsel statute, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on Kavanaugh to recuse himself from all cases arising from the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, if he is confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. In a letter sent to Judge... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today led his Democratic colleagues on the Environment and Public Works Committee in urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its proposed modifications to an existing federal safeguard that protects communities from hazardous chemicals stored in industrial facilities. In a letter to EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the Senators wrote that the EPA’s changes to the Accidental Release Requirements for Risk... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan resolution written by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) urging the Democratic Republic of Congo to hold credible elections has passed unanimously in the Senate. The resolution, introduced in January, urges the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to take concrete steps to ensure the peaceful transfer of power by holding free and fair elections before the end of the year. DRC President Joseph Kabila refused to step down in 2016 at the... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement in regards to the Paul Amendment, scheduled to be voted on by the Foreign Relations Committee later today: “Ending security assistance to our closest ally in the Middle East at a time when Israel faces new threats emanating from Syria and continued aggression from Iran and its proxies would undermine stability in the region and harm our own national... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement: “The nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court is enormously concerning and I’m strongly opposed to it. “His nomination should be a non-starter for every member of the Senate concerned about the integrity of the special counsel's investigation and worried about the Court undermining the rights of women to make their own medical decisions;... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), and Tim Scott (R-SC), the only African-American members of the United States Senate, have introduced legislation to make lynching - the willful act of murder by a collection of people assembled with the intention of committing an act of violence upon any person – a federal crime. The Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2018will amend the United States Code to specify that lynching is a crime in itself that... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), along with Representative Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY-05), introduced a resolution designating June as African American Music Appreciation Month, to recognize the contributions of African Americans to America’s music heritage and to raise awareness of the  need for greater access to music education for African American students. Also sponsoring the resolution in the Senate are Senators Tom Carper (D-DE),... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), along with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a bill that would establish a federal grant program to help support the memorials dedicated to commemorating the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.  The September 11th National Memorials Act creates a funding stream to support the security, maintenance and successful operations of The World Trade... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today questioned the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over a policy, known as the “safety zone” policy, that allows employers to exchange detailed wage data without violating antitrust laws. The Senators warned that this policy has produced an imbalance in access to wage information that unfairly advantages employers over workers—and ultimately holds down workers’... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a Judiciary Committee meeting earlier today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) warned of the President’s conflict of interest as it relates to picking a new Supreme Court justice, while he is a subject of a criminal investigation that could eventually come before the highest court. “The President of the U.S., right now, is a subject of an ongoing criminal investigation – an investigation that every member of this Committee knows could end up before... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement: “I thank Justice Kennedy for his service to the Supreme Court and our country. “This is an enormously consequential moment for the future of our democracy. What’s at stake are some of our most important values and ideals – the rights of women to make their own medical decisions, voting rights, the rights of workers to organize for better... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), today issued the following statement: “Today’s Supreme Court ruling is an outright attack on the rights of working men and women everywhere. By ruling in favor of so-called ‘right to work’ laws —which have their origins in the Jim Crow era—this decision marks yet another distressing victory for the corporate interests and billionaires that have sought to dilute worker power for decades. I will continue to... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement: “I’m deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court has upheld the latest iteration of President Trump’s Muslim ban. It’s impossible to ignore that this policy is rooted in the President’s repeated statements during his campaign that he wanted to ban Muslims from entering our country. And it’s clear that this policy’s intent has always been to exclude refugees and... Read More

MCALLEN, TX – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) spent today in south Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border to see firsthand the human toll of President Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies. Booker arrived in McAllen, Texas, late Sunday night and immediately visited the U.S. port of entry at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge. Reports have indicated that Customs and Border Protection officers are preventing refugees from legally claiming asylum at this port of... Read More