Press Releases

  WASHINGTON – This morning, the Senate Commerce Committee approved bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). The bill addresses the future impact of new connected technology, known as the “Internet of Things.” This legislation, known as S. 2607, the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act, builds upon the senators’ resolution, which... Read More

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tim Scott (R-SC) and Congressmen Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Ron Kind (D-WI) introduced the Investing in Opportunity Act to help revitalize economically distressed communities by facilitating new incentives for investment in those areas. Currently, more than 50 million Americans live in a distressed community, and American investors have trillions of dollars of inactive capital that, if reinvested, could be used as an important new source... Read More

NEWARK, NJ – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez (both D-NJ) announced they were successful in helping to stop the proposed installation of a mooring buoy for commercial barges in the Hudson River just north of Ellis Island and east of Liberty State Park, just one day after  urging the Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to consider the probable adverse impacts of the project. The Army Corps has confirmed that the... Read More

NEWARK, NJ – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez (both D-NJ) urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Cops) to consider the probable adverse impacts of a permit application before the agency proposing the installation of a mooring buoy for commercial barges in the Hudson River just north of Ellis Island and east of Liberty State Park. In a letter to Col. David Caldwell, the Commander of Army Corp’s New York District, Booker and Menendez cited the... Read More

Washington, DC – U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, today introduced a Senate measure to encourage active lifestyles for children across America by designating May 21 National Kids to Parks Day.   The sixth annual Kids to Parks Day kicks off a summer-long series of events at local, state and national parks. Kids to Parks Day began in... Read More

  WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Maritime Administration (MARAD) at the Department of Transportation. The bill, known as S. 2829 the Maritime Administration Authorization and Enhancement Act of 2017, recognizes the important role of America’s maritime transportation system and takes critical steps to improve the management of MARAD.   Importantly, the bill also strengthens... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Senate Democrats introduced a broad-based new plan today that strengthens the federal government’s role in water infrastructure investment, lead remediation and drinking water protection, and a provision co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) to help school districts across the country test their drinking water for potential lead contamination is a key component. “Under no circumstance should the health and safety of our children be jeopardized by... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) today urged the Department of Commerce to take steps to leverage the connecting of technologies known as the Internet of Things (IoT) for the benefit of consumers, businesses, and the government. In a joint letter to the Department of Commerce, the senators expressed their concern that U.S. agencies may not be taking a holistic view of how to facilitate and... Read More

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) joined Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and Sens. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), in praising the passage of the Brownfields reauthorization as part of S.2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015, which passed by a vote of 85 to 12 today.  This bipartisan amendment would reauthorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Several priorities championed by U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) were included in legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that won Senate passage today. The legislation (H.R. 636) reauthorizes the FAA for 18 months and provides increased funding levels for fiscal year 2017. The Booker provisions will improve air travel for passengers, help disadvantaged women and minority-owned businesses compete for aviation-related projects, and help... Read More

Washington, D.C. – Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the bipartisan Nuclear Energy Regulatory Modernization Act (NERMA) today, to reform the process for licensing advanced nuclear reactors that have the potential to produce reliable, low-carbon energy for American consumers.  The legislation, which Booker and Whitehouse co-authored with Senators James Inhofe (R-OK) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), would also establish new transparency and accountability measures... Read More

WASHINGTON – On the eve of the April 15 federal income tax filing deadline, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) today introduced the Tax Refund Protection Act of 2015, a bill that seeks to improve consumer protections against predatory tax refund products by strengthening disclosure and oversight regulations on certain tax preparers, making those who offer some tax products and services to hardworking Americans more accountable.   “Each tax season, far too many low-income taxpayers... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – As millions  of Americans hurry to file their taxes before the April 18 deadline, today, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Jerry Moran(R-KS) introduced The Refund to Rainy Day Savings Act, a first-of-its-kind, bipartisan proposal  that would enable Americans to more easily build emergency savings during tax season by allowing tax filers to save a portion of their refund for a “rainy day” later in the year.   “Our nation... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), joined Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Patty Murray (D-WA) in a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver urging him to move the 2017 NBA All-Star game away from Charlotte, North Carolina. The Senators’ call for a new location follows North Carolina’s passage of HB2, anti-LGBT legislation that provides businesses, government contractors,... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), joined Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) to mark Equal Pay Day by introducing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Opportunities Act, legislation that would improve inclusion of women, minorities, and people with disabilities in STEM careers. Equal Pay Day marks the day in 2016 when, on average, women’s wages catch up to what men earned in 2015. The Senate measure is also cosponsored by Sens. Richard... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced The Transparent Environment in School Testing (TEST) for Lead Act, the Senate companion to Rep. Donald Payne’s (D-NJ) legislation that would require states to help schools test for lead if those states receive federal funding for safe water programs.    “Under no circumstance should the health and safety of our children be jeopardized by water quality, particularly in a... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced the Real Education for Healthy Youth Act (REHYA), legislation that seeks to support the health and well-being of young people by providing the comprehensive education they need to make informed, responsible, and healthy decisions. The legislation was initially introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Booker’s predecessor Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), who championed this... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), joined Oregon’s Sen. Jeff Merkley and Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR), to introduce the Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act. The SAFE Lending Act would crack down on some of the worst abuses of the payday lending industry, particularly in... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, (D-NJ), who has worked over the past year to advance an updated fiduciary rule, issued the following statement after the Department of Labor announced a final rule today.  The new rule is designed to better protect American families from bad retirement advice by requiring retirement advisers to abide by a “fiduciary” standard—putting their clients’ best interests first. Booker joined Labor Secretary Tom Perez, and Sens.... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. – On the first day of Autism Awareness Month and on the eve of World Autism Awareness Day, U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez (both D-N.J.) stress the need for robust federal investments for research and support for those living with autism spectrum disorders, especially given newly-released data by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that shows New Jersey continues to have the highest autism prevalence rates in the nation for... Read More