Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced the Mamas First Act, legislation that directly and meaningfully addresses the maternal mortality crisis by expanding Medicaid to include doula and midwifery care. A House companion bill was also introduced today by U.S. Representatives Gwen Moore (D-WI), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), Alma Adams (D-NC), and Debbie Dingell (D-NC). “Expanding Medicaid to include... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), along with U.S. Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-CA-44) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), joined advocates from FWD.us,... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris administration announced their decision to finalize a rule allowing eligible DACA recipients to enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage. “I applaud the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to finalize the rule granting DACA recipients access to affordable health care. For far too long, DACA recipients have faced unjust barriers to accessing... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced legislation aimed at combating discrimination against natural and protective hairstyles traditionally worn by people of African descent. The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act bansdiscrimination based on hairstyles commonly associated with a particular race or national origin, including tightly coiled or curled hair, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros.... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR)reintroduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, comprehensive legislation that would end the harmful federal prohibition of cannabis by removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and empowering states to create their own laws. This legislation would be a historic step toward rectifying the failed policies of... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Patty Murray (D-WA) led the reintroduction of the Access to Birth Control Act. The legislation would guarantee patients’ timely access to birth control at the pharmacynationwide—including by addressing pharmacies’ refusals of contraception that prevent patients from obtaining their preferred form of birth control medication. U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) introduced companion legislation in the House.  Contraception is an... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement after the Department of Justice announced that it will reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug.  “Moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III is a step in the right direction, and I’m deeply grateful for it. The long-term solution to righting the injustices of our federal marijuana laws is for Congress to act. We have long known that federal law should not treat marijuana the same way it does meth and... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) announced the introduction of the AI Grand Challenges Act, a bipartisan bill to harness the promise of artificial intelligence to solve complex problems across a range of sectors, including health, energy, environment, national security, materials science, and cybersecurity – as well as address AI system-specific challenges like bias mitigation, content provenance, and explainability.  The... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism, led colleagues in calling on the Federal Bureau of Prison’s (BOP) Director Colette Peters to take immediate action to ensure proper medical care and humane treatment for individuals remaining in custody at FCI Dublin and those currently being transferred. FCI Dublin is a low-security federal prison for female inmates in Dublin, California which has been... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement: “I’m heartbroken at the loss of Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. Like his father before him, Donald was a trailblazing figure in our civic institutions, dedicating his career to the soul-feeding work of serving others. Over the almost three decades I knew Donald, he was a dear friend and a powerful colleague in Newark and in Washington.  He was never about adulation or applause; the cause of his life was fighting for... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) led colleagues in writing a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra urging the bureau to finalize their proposed rule to rein in excessive overdraft fees charged by the nation’s largest financial institutions. Last December, CFPB announced they would begin a crackdown on exploitative overdraft fees, and take aim at financial institutions charging overdraft fees on debit card... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement: “In passing this national security and foreign aid package by wide, bipartisan majorities, Congress is sending a clear message: the United States stands with its allies and will rise to address humanitarian needs that are causing enormous human suffering in the world.   “Supporting the defense of other democracies under urgent threat and working to... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), along with U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), reintroduced theProtecting Communities from Plastics Act, legislation that addresses the plastic production crisis that is fueling climate change and perpetuating environmental injustice. With plastic production and consumption on track to double in the next decade, the resulting greenhouse gas emissions threaten to put our climate goals further out of... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development announced that they are moving forward with $1 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funding to purchase U.S.-grown commodities to provide emergency international food assistance: “I am grateful that the process has... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on federal food purchases that shows large scale opportunities for federal agencies to increase local sourcing of fruits and vegetables. The report focused on federal food purchases made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) between fiscal years 2018 and 2022, including the extent of small business... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Laphonza Butler (D-CA) along with U.S. Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC-12) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), introduced the bicameral resolution recognizing April 11 through April 17 as Black Maternal Health Week. This resolution serves to bring national attention to the maternal health crisis in the United States and the critical need to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates among Black mothers.  The resolution underscores... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced theForest Biomass Emissions Act of 2024, legislation that would direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with forest biomass combustion for electricity and study the impact of the industry on communities living in direct proximity to forest biomass industrial areas, including mills.   The... Read More

Washington, DC — US Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement: “Through its proxies, Iran has been fostering, supplying, and funding terrorism against Israel and throughout the Middle East. Now, Iran has launched a direct attack against the Israeli people. The United States stands with Israel against Iranian aggression. This attack will only strengthen US resolve in supporting our ally against threats from Iran and its... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Kennedy (R-LA), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced the Samaritan Efforts to Ensure Key Health Emergency and Life-saving Protections Act (SEEK HELP Act), a bipartisan bill that would provide limited legal protections to individuals who administer naloxone or other FDA-approved opioid reversal drugs to save a life in the event of an overdose. The bill also directs federal government resources towards raising... Read More

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement after the Department of Justice announced a new rule that would reduce the number of firearms sold without a background check and address the fire sale loophole.  “For too long, families across our country have been ripped apart by the scourge of gun violence. Under the Biden Administration, we passed and signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the... Read More