Every year, Chuck commits to traveling to all62 counties in New York to meet with constituents.
On June 20, 2022, following recent reports of a new wave of overdose deaths in the Capital Region, Senator Schumer stood at the Addictions Care Center of Albany to launch a two-part plan to reduce opioid dependence, stop drug traffickers, keep Capital Region communities safe, and save lives. First, the senator detailed his formal push to supercharge the federal funds that help the nation, New York, and Capital Region combat the public health crisis that is opioid addiction by $3.2 billion dollars to bolster evidence-based prevention, treatment, and addiction recovery services like those at Albany’s Addiction Care Center. Second, Schumer revealed that two of the Capital Region’s largest counties, Schenectady and Rensselaer, still lack a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) designation despite experiencing back-to-back record opioid overdose deaths in 2020-21. Schumer said he is calling on the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to approve the counties requests to become HIDTA-designated areas to unlock key federal funding to stop major drug traffickers in their tracks.