Booker’s Annual Road Trip Continues with Stops in Ocean, Hudson and Essex Counties

NEWARK, NJ - On the fourth day of his 2024 summer road trip, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) made stops in Ocean, Hudson, and Essex Counties.

In Ocean County, Booker visited Little Egg Harbor to announce three Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) awards he secured for New Jersey Veterans. The New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars (NJVFW) is set to receive two CDS awards in FY25 totaling $547K to establish a disenfranchised veterans mental health and outreach program. These awards will enable NJVFW to expand its mental wellness program for New Jersey's 338,000 veterans by increasing social worker and case management capabilities, by funding increased peer to peer programming and mental wellness retreats, and by expanding outreach to disadvantaged veterans through the purchase of two electric vans. The third CDS award is an allocation of $600K to the New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of Commerce to establish an online platform for disadvantaged and diverse small businesses. This award will allow the chamber to develop an online platform that allows the state and private sector business community to buy first from diverse businesses, to include veterans, disabled veterans, military spouses, women, and minority owned businesses.

"Our veterans have sacrificed everything for our country, and it's our duty to ensure they have access to the resources and support they need," said Senator Booker. "I am proud to have secured these three CDS awards for New Jersey's veterans. These investments will expand mental health services and outreach efforts so we can ensure no veteran in Jersey is left behind, and will help to strengthen diverse small businesses in New Jersey, to include veteran-owned businesses."

"The NJ State Veterans Chamber of Commerce is sincerely grateful to Senator Cory Booker for prioritizing veterans in this year's grant opportunities. These grants will go a long way to make the lives of veterans better in our state," said Jeff Cantor, Founder and CEO of New Jersey Veterans Chamber of Commerce. "The grant money that the NJ State Veterans Chamber of Commerce will receive will go towards building a platform that allows the state and private sector business community buy first from diverse businesses like veterans, disabled veterans, military spouses, black owned businesses, women owned businesses, Hispanic owned businesses, and minority owned businesses. This will allow for greater procurement opportunities to disadvantaged and small businesses. We are thankful for Senator Booker's tenacity in fighting for these diverse businesses and helping to find a solution for better procurement across all business sectors."

"The VFW is very honored to have been awarded this grant through Senator Booker. This funding will allow the VFW to provide mental health counseling and outreach resources to some of the most fragile and disenfranchised veterans that call New Jersey home. We look forward to working with Senator Booker to better the lives of veterans in New Jersey," said Jay 'Doc' Boxwell Jr., Past All-American Department Commander 2022-23, Legislative Director, and Convention Director of the New Jersey Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Later, in Hudson County, Senator Booker visited the new UPS Automation Facility in Bayonne and toured the robust economic development along Bayonne's waterfront.

"I am blown away by the amount of economic activity happening in Bayonne, which has created hundreds of jobs, and strengthened the local community," said Senator Booker. "I would like to thank Mayor Davis for his hard work and leadership that has helped create so much opportunity here in Bayonne. I look forward to continue to work with the city and the local and state representatives, to continue to bring home historic levels of federal investment into our state's infrastructure and our communities."

"Throughout every neighborhood of Bayonne, we see a strong, vibrant economy at work," said Congressman Rob Menendez. "I'm grateful that Senator Booker, Mayor Davis, our local partners, and I were able to witness the impacts of historic funding from the federal government here in the 8th District. From infrastructure, to transportation, to small businesses, Bayonne is thriving."

In his final stop of the day in Essex County, Senator Booker took his staff out for a movie night at a theater in Newark. The theater, Cityplex12, opened in 2012 under Booker's Mayoral administration in partnership with Newark-native Shaquile O'Neal and Boraie Development.