Newsroom

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced an $855,000 grant and $1,100,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Throop in Cayuga Country. This federal funding will be used to create a water system that provides access to clean drinking water for Throop residents who currently extract their water from wells with poor water quality and/or purchase bottled water for consumption. No water lines currently exist in Throop's Water District #1, hampering... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that, during a personal phone call with federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, he received a commitment from the commissioner that the FDA would reverse course on a proposed rule regulating "spent grain" - a rule that would be harmful to Upstate New York's burgeoning craft brew industry and its farmers. The FDA was attempting to regulate "spent grain" - a natural byproduct of the brewing process - in a way that... Read More

Today, in Niagara Falls, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched his campaign to prevent the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from reforming the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) in a way that would remove Niagara Falls from eligibility and deprive the City of over $2 million per year in funds it relies on. Currently, cities must have a population of at least 50,000 to be eligible for a yearly allocation of CDBG funds, and cities like Niagara Falls - which... Read More

Today at Saranac Brewery in Utica, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reverse course on a proposed rule that would be unnecessarily harmful to Upstate New York's burgeoning craft brew industry and its farmers, which are the lifeblood of the region. Specifically, the FDA is attempting to regulate "spent grain" - a natural byproduct of the brewing process - in a way that would prevent brewers from selling or donating it directly to farmers who use... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today launched his effort to ensure that the federal government does not leave out North Shore Long Island communities, like North Hempstead, in funding Sandy rebuilding and resiliency efforts. The Town of North Hempstead has a number of critical recovery projects in the works, including rebuilding the town dock in Port Washington, repairing a number of critical bulkheads and seawalls, and completing sand removal, that have yet to be funded over 18 months after... Read More

In separate inperson conversations, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer pressed Acting FERC Chairman Cheryl LaFleur and both the Chairman of the Board of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), Robert Hiney, and NYISO Executive Director SteveWhitley to reverse course on the proposed new capacity zone in the Hudson Valley that would jackup rates on consumers by as much as 12%. FERC is currently rehearing an order, first proposed by NYISO, that would establish a new capacity zone in the... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, along with local veteran leaders, launched his campaign to have the first welcome home parade for America's post 9/11 troops in New York City. Specifically, he urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to work with the city of New York to begin planning such a critical event for our returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout history, the United States has held a parade in New York City for troops returning home from war, but one has yet to be planned for... Read More

Today at Fairport High School, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer revealed that federal funding for antiviolence efforts in schools has been dramatically cut over the past few years, leaving Rochesterarea schools without critical funding to implement safety programs that can help prevent horrific incidents like Sandy Hook or the recent stabbing attack at a Pittsburgharea high school. Schumer explained that these federal programs help schools purchase safety technology, provide safety training and... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer attended the grand opening of the new New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) Utility Control Center, which received a $74 million investment thanks in part to Senator Schumer's efforts to secure a $37 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant for Smart Technology Initiatives. Schumer said that this Utility Control Center - and the federal investment in smart grid technology - will lower energy costs for families and small businesses across New York,... Read More

Today, at Cheektowaga Central High School, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer revealed that federal funding for antiviolence efforts in schools has been dramatically cut over the past few years, leaving Western New York schools without critical funding to implement safety programs that can help prevent horrific incidents like Sandy Hook or the recent stabbing attack at a Pittsburgharea high school. Schumer explained that these federal programs help schools purchase safety technology, provide safety... Read More

Today, at FayettevilleManlius High School, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer revealed that federal funding for antiviolence efforts in schools has been dramatically cut over the past few years, leaving Syracuse schools without critical funding to implement safety programs that can help prevent horrific incidents like Sandy Hook or the recent stabbing attack at a Pittsburgharea high school. Schumer explained that these federal programs help schools purchase safety technology, provide safety... Read More

(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (DNY), Dean Heller (RNV), Mark Kirk (RIL) and Jack Reed (DRI) today announced that they have reached a crucial bipartisan agreement on legislation that will reauthorize and extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) program, which is set to expire at the end of 2014. Created in 2002, the TRIA program is a critical priority for highrisk cities post9/11. The program provides a federal backstop for insurance coverage against losses from... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)has heeded his call, as well as the repeated requests of U.S. honey producers, to crack down on the misbranding and adulteration of honey. The FDA has proposed new guidelines to ensure that a product can only be labeled honey if it is made from nectar; a product cannot be labeled as "honey" if it has anysweeteners, sugar or corn syrup added. These guidelines will help FDA, Customs and other... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today joined actors Neil Patrick Harris, Bryan Cranston, other top Broadway actors and characters, as well as a number of Broadway producers, as he announced his campaign to give Broadway and live theater productions a major tax break that will encourage investment and spur job creation on the Great White Way. Schumer today called for passage of his key amendment that would change the federal tax code and create equal tax treatment for live theater by extending... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today warned that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning on cutting funding to New York City from the federal "Securing the Cities" program in the upcoming year by over 50%.  The dramatic and unexpected drop in funding would deal a major blow to the New York Police Department's (NYPD) radiation detection initiative, the importance of which was underscored yesterday when President Obama said his biggest fear was a nuclear weapon going... Read More

Today, at Poughkeepsie City Hall, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to undo an order that would unfairly hike electric rates in Ulster and Orange Counties in the coming months, given that consumers have endured a brutal winter of high energy costs and that the new zone may be unnecessary given inprogress energy upgrades. In January, FERC reapproved a proposal by the New York Independent System Operators (NYISO) - which operates and administers... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will expand its already successful Greek yogurt pilot program to eight new states, in addition to New York and three other states that participated from September to November 2013. Schumer said that from September 2014 to June 2015, New York, Arizona, Idaho, Tennessee, California, Iowa, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Mississippi will partake in the pilot program. The contract... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that Oak Orchard Harbor will receive a large maintenance dredge this year, valued at $420,000 and funded through the Sandy Supplemental Appropriations bill. Schumer met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Buffalo District Director LTC Beaudoin who confirmed the USACE's plans and estimated the dredge is scheduled to be completed by around June 15, 2014. Schumer has long fought for Oak Orchard Harbor to be dredged, especially since... Read More

Today, on a press conference call, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer launched a twopronged plan to combat the rising epidemic of heroin abuse in New York and around the country.  First, Schumer called on the President's Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to establish a detailed framework and implementation plan for New York counties to set up "DrugStat", a firstever informationsharing database that would track heroin and other drugrelated crimes, overdoses, deaths, hospital admissions... Read More

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today urged U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to provide New York with a boost in antiterror funding given that the federal budget this year for state and local homeland security funding increased by an estimated 16 percent. New York City remains the top terror target in the nation and federal funds are used to protect New York's transit systems, ports and urban nonprofits against security threats and terrorist attacks. With this... Read More