Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to maintain current drug charging policies that give federal prosecutors discretion not to charge the mandatory minimum for nonviolent, low-level drug cases, instead of requiring them to charge one-size-fits-all penalties.  Mandatory minimum penalties, the Senators state in a letter to Sessions, are one of the largest drivers of mass... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson questioning his commitment to transparency and human rights. Specifically, the letter raised concerns about Tillerson’s recent decisions to break with precedent by limiting press access on international trips, drastically cutting the number of weekly press briefings, and not participating in the public release of the annual... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement: “President Trump’s budget would set our country back and make hardworking Americans suffer. If adopted by Congress, it would stifle our nation's economic competitiveness, hurt the most vulnerable among us, and make our country less safe. “By gutting the institutions that protect the rights of workers, Trump’s budget would make it more difficult for hardworking people who play by the rules... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have urged the CEOs of two large agricultural trading companies, Bunge Ltd. and Cargill, Inc., to take action in response to reports that their soy purchasing policies have contributed to the widespread destruction of tropical forests and other native ecosystems across South America. Noting Bunge and Cargill’s successful past efforts to stop deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the Senators pressed the... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement:   “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office just put into stark relief the devastating impact of the Republican plan to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and give tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest Americans. According to the CBO, this bill will explode healthcare costs for millions, particularly older Americans, cause the number of uninsured to rise by 24 million over the next decade,... Read More

NEWARK, NJ – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez urged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Thomas Homan to give full consideration to the stay of removal application filed by Catalino Guerrero, a New Jersey grandfather facing deportation under President Trump’s aggressive immigration policies.  Mr. Guerrero, an undocumented immigrant living in the United States for 25 years, has no criminal record and has owned a home in Union City,... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) led a letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross urging him to respond to unanswered questions regarding his banking ties to Russia, and asking additional questions about possible Russian connections and Ross’ severing ties with the Bank of Cyprus. Joining Booker on the letter were fellow Senate Commerce Committee members U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Tammy Baldwin... Read More

Washington, DC – In the wake of the Senate’s vote today to gut critical accountability provisions within the Every Student Succeeds Act, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement: “Almost two years ago, Congress passed the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act, which turned the page from the damaging No Child Left Behind Era. This bipartisan agreement struck the appropriate balance between ensuring all schools and states are held to high... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement after voting in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today against the confirmation of David Friedman to serve as US ambassador to Israel: “I am deeply concerned that confirming David Friedman to serve as ambassador to Israel would damage the prospects of finding a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians, the only path to a lasting peace that would bring true security and Middle East... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC– U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Mike Lee (R-UT) today introduced the Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act of 2017, a bill that will strengthen protections for consumers against predatory debt collection practices.  Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) and Rep. Keith Ellison [D-MN] introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives. “From hardworking families to small businesses owners and students, too many Americans have fallen victim to predatory debt... Read More

WASHINGTON – After President Donald Trump re-issued his harmful restriction on refugees and immigrants from six Muslim-majority nations in Africa and the Middle East, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and 14 senators on Tuesday in introducing legislation to reverse the executive order and block its implementation. Booker and Murphy are both members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Specifically, the bill – which is... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – One day before FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is set to testify before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) urged Chairman Pai to explain his decision to direct the FCC’s lawyers not to defend a critical cap on the price paid by prisoners to make phone calls to their families and legal representatives. Booker is a member of the Commerce Committee. Since the FCC’s cap on intrastate calling charges was implemented last... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement: “This repeal bill would force millions of Americans to pay more money for worse health insurance that’s attainable for fewer people. It cuts taxes for the wealthiest Americans and shifts more costs onto working families, all while allowing insurance companies to charge older Americans much higher premiums, dismantling Medicaid as we know it, and ending federal funding entirely for the... Read More

CHERRY HILL, NJ – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01) were joined by local officials and community leaders at the Betty and Milton Katz Jewish Community Center to discuss their efforts to address the decline in New Jersey’s federal security funding for religious centers.  The lawmakers’ efforts come as several local Jewish Community Centers (JCC), including the Betty and Milton Katz JCC, have been targets of recent bomb... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement:  “A rebranded Muslim ban is still a Muslim ban, plain and simple. It’s clear that the Trump administration’s intent with this executive order is the same as it was with the first, which is to exclude refugees and immigrants of a certain religion from entering the United States. Like the previous ban that was rejected by millions of Americans and blocked by the federal courts, this reckless... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement: “It is profoundly disturbing that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had direct contact with Russia’s ambassador on multiple occasions last year even though he swore under oath during his Senate confirmation hearing that he ‘did not have communications with the Russians.’  “Given the lines of inquiry during his confirmation process, it’s clear that Mr. Sessions withheld... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement:  “This speech was more of the same fear and factual distortion that President Trump has made central to his campaign, transition, and first weeks in office. He doubled down on actions that are counter to some of our most fundamental American values and did nothing to meaningfully reach out to people who are scared of losing their economic security, their access to affordable health coverage, and even... Read More

Washington, D.C. – A resolution introduced by U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. commemorating Black History Month passed the U.S. Senate late Monday. S.Res.69 celebrates the achievements of African Americans and acknowledges the history and legacy of systematic racial discrimination in the United States.  “In passing this resolution, the United States Senate affirms and celebrates the... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Bob Casey (D-Penn.) introduced legislation Tuesday to lower the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs by allowing Americans to import safe, low-cost medicine from Canada. Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) introduced a companion bill in the House. Both measures would authorize the secretary of Health and Human Services in two years to allow importation from other advanced countries. In... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) urged President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, to answer questions that have come to light since his confirmation hearing regarding his banking ties to Russia. In a letter to Mr. Ross, Booker requested answers to 11 questions pertaining to Ross’s businesses dealings with Russian shareholders during his time as Vice Chairman of the Bank of Cyprus’s Board of... Read More