Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) re-introduced the Access to Birth Control Act, a bill that would guarantee patients' timely access to birth control at the pharmacy. Contraception is an essential part of reproductive health care, and patients who need this care should be able to access it in a timely manner. However, there have been reports of pharmacies in at least 25 states that have refused to dispense contraception to... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced he will introduce a bill to form a commission for the study of reparation proposals for African-Americans. Final legislative language of the bill will be filed shortly. The bill is the Senate companion to HR40, introduced earlier this year by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX). The Commission will aim to study the impact of slavery and continuing discrimination against African-Americans... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Key criminal justice measures authored by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) were included in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA), which passed the House of Representatives today on a vote of 263-158. The measures would reform the way women are treated behind bars and close an egregious loophole in federal law that allows law enforcement officers to claim consent as a defense when accused of sexually assaulting someone in their custody. "Today's passage marks... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. House Assistant Democratic Leader Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC) today introduced a sweeping anti-poverty bill to better target federal grant dollars to high-poverty urban, rural, and tribal communities. The bill, An Act Targeting Resources into Communities in Need, expands the successful 10-20-30 anti-poverty formula to include a significantly larger group of struggling communities and broader universe of federal accounts. "While... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) along with Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Karen Bass (D-CA) today reintroduced the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act, a bill that would make serious reforms to the way women are treated behind bars. The bill would make it easier for women behind bars to keep in touch with their families, better prepare incarcerated women to return to their communities, and provide better trauma-informed care for women behind... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A bipartisan, bicameral bill authored by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to give formerly incarcerated individuals a fairer shot at finding a job sailed through the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today on a voice vote. The bill is led in the House by Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Doug Collins (R-GA). Booker's co-author in the Senate is Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI). "There are more than 650,000 people released from prison each year, people who have served... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In a hearing on gun violence prevention in the Senate's Judiciary Committee today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) blasted inaction on gun safety legislation in the wake of continuous mass shootings: "There's something really wrong with a society that can't get things done where overwhelmingly the majority of people agree that we need to get it done," Booker said in the hearing. "Black men make up six percent of this nations' population, but we are more than half of all the... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate's Judiciary Committee and author of the landmark Marijuana Justice Act, issued the following statement in support of New Jersey's efforts to legalize marijuana. "New Jersey is the first state in the country to couple decriminalizing marijuana with strong criminal justice reform measures to redress the decades of immense harm inflicted by an unfair system. All too often, communities of color and low-income individuals are... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) reintroduced the Atlantic Seismic Airgun Protection Act, a bill that prohibits oil, gas, and methane hydrate-related seismic activities in the Atlantic Ocean. The bill is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Ed Markey (D-MA). The bill bans the use... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) today introduced historic, comprehensive federal legislation -- the Equality Act of 2019 -- to explicitly ban discrimination against LGBTQ Americans. They were joined by 43 of their Senate colleagues. The legislation was filed simultaneously in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), joined by 293 Representatives. "We cannot profess to be a nation of liberty and justice... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. -- U.S. Senator Cory Booker today joined N.J. Citizen Action, Seth Frotman of the Student Borrower Protection Center, and New Jersey student loan borrowers to address the growing student debt crisis. Last year, U.S. student loan debt hit an unprecedented $1.5 trillion and in New Jersey alone, students carry a staggering $43 billion in student debt. Earlier this week, Senator Booker helped reintroduce the Debt-Free College Act, which would provide incentives to states to increase... Read More

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