Newsroom

After a week of warm weather and spring showers throughout the Northeast, US Senator Chuck Schumer today declared that the war of the competing Groundhog Day groundhogs is over, because the Staten Island groundhog has beaten his betterknown Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania cousin in a landslide. Armed with data showing Staten Island Chuck's vastly superior record predicting the end of winter, Schumer today wrote to the Mayor of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, asking him to relinquish his town's... Read More

Joined by whistle blowers who work as passenger and baggage screeners for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that guards without government background checks are guarding airport terminals at night, checking passengers IDs and boarding passes, and handling luggage after it has been screened all because federal budget cutbacks mean there aren't enough TSA screeners with full... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged Secretary of State Colin Powell to use his influence to help award Lockheed Martin's Owego plant with a massive multimillion dollar presidential helicopter contract. Schumer urged Powell to help deliver the contract to Lockheed by emphasizing the superiority of Lockheed's US 101, a helicopter that has seen service in Bosnia and Operation Iraqi Freedom. If Lockheed Martin were to get the contract to build helicopters that transport the president,... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced over $64,000 in federal funds for the Barnard fire department to pay for fire operations and fire prevention. The funds are being awarded through the Assistance to Firefighters program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This is a great day for the Barnard fire department, said Schumer. In the brave new post9/11 world, our first responders must be well trained and well equipped to deal with any problem that comes their... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged Columbia County residents at the Providence Hall Senior Housing center in Hudson to join him in putting grassroots pressure on the President to protect full Social Security benefits for current and future retirees. Schumer's effort comes on the heels of Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan's suggestion last week that the benefits be significantly scaled down. "When it comes to cutting Social Security, my answer is no way, no time, no... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced over $79,000 in federal funds for the Lewiston fire department to pay for fire operations and fire prevention. The funds are being awarded through the Assistance to Firefighters program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This is a great day for the Lewiston fire department, said Schumer. In the brave new post9/11 world, our first responders must be well trained and well equipped to deal with any problem that comes their... Read More

A broad coalition of groups including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Medical Association (AMA), the National Medical Association (NMA) and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) today endorsed US Senator Charles E. Schumer's Sickle Cell Treatment Act, which would help treat and expand services for Americans with Sickle Cell Disease. At a press conference in Washington, DC, elementary school children presented artwork to... Read More

With published reports today indicating that Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) leaders may be secondguessing their plans to cut oil production by up to 2.5 million barrels a day, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked President Bush to weigh in and urge the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other OPEC leaders not to make the cuts, which were specifically designed to drive up the costs of gasoline and home heating oil prices. "It's too soon to say, but there may be a... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today implored Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Mark W. Everson to overrule the proposal to transfer 135 jobs from the IRS's Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Holtsville offices to service centers located in other states. Schumer said that both the lost jobs and the potential reductions in service convenience for local taxpayers and businesses argue for keeping the jobs where they are. "I understand that the IRS feels it needs to make cuts, but deciding... Read More

With Tuesday's Senate vote on reauthorizing the Assault Weapons Ban expected to be VERY close, US Senator Charles Schumer today urged VP Cheney to be available to cast the tiebreaking vote in favor of renewing the Assault Weapons Ban if needed. As President of the US Senate, Cheney casts the deciding vote when there is a tie. In a letter being sent to the VicePresident today, "I expect that should there be a tie vote on the Assault Weapons Ban, you will fulfill the Presidents commitment... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer said today that the worstcase scenario for New York dairy farmers has apparently been averted in the newly created free trade agreement with Australia. In response to fears that the agreement would open up New York's dairy markets to floods of cheap Australian imports, a measure that could cost New York dairy farmers billions in lost revenues, Schumer last month urged the President to ensure that the agreement protect US dairy producers from such an influx of... Read More

Joined by Caryn Battaglia, whose husband was brutally murdered by gang members and died on the steps of their Lynbrook home in September, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled sweeping bipartisan legislation to give prosecutors tough new tools to go after gang activity in New York. Gang slayings are up 80% over the last year in New York City, despite the historic lows in overall number of murders. "When a father of two can be shot and stabbed to death for absolutely no reason while... Read More

Standing with workers at the struggling Precision Grinding & Manufacturing factory in Rochester, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today detailed his new plan to get tough with China and keep manufacturing jobs in the Rochester/Finger Lakes area. With Rochester facing its highest unemployment rate of the last twenty years, Schumer detailed his bipartisan effort to get the Chinese government to stop manipulating the value of its currency (the yuan), a practice that gives the Chinese an unfair... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that he has received assurances from the Army that the 105th Military Police unit currently in Iraq will leave Iraq in early May and that its service will be complete June 17. The unit, based at the Masten Avenue Armory in Buffalo, was to return home in April but was told this week that its stay has been extended. With their families concerned that the stay had been extended indefinitely, Schumer today called the Army and demanded a firm date for... Read More

Armed with a new study showing that the average American family with two cars will be forced to spend most of their federal tax rebate on increased gas prices, US Senators Charles Schumer, Barbara Boxer, and Harry Reid today asked President Bush to immediately to stop filling and instead tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) to increase supplies and reduce the cost of driving for American families. "The $400 tax cut was passed to put extra money in the taxpayers' hands, but instead... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled sweeping bipartisan legislation that would give prosecutors tough new tools to go after gang activity in Newburgh, where hundreds of gang members have been identified by local law enforcement. Schumer said that in light of the occurrence of gang activity in the area it is vital that law enforcement be beefed up with more personnel, stronger punishments for criminals, and more money to fund special toughoncrime programs. "It's not something we... Read More

Armed with a new study showing that the average New York family with 2 cars will be forced to spend their entire $400 federal tax rebate on increased gas prices, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked President Bush to immediately to stop filling and instead tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR), to increase supplies and reduce the cost of driving for New Yorkers. "The $400 tax cut was passed to put extra money in the taxpayers' hands, but instead it slipped right through their... Read More

The proposed company that would result from a Bank of America/Fleet merger should have a representative of Upstate New York on its Board of Directors, US Senator Charles E. Schumer said today. Schumer said that the region should be represented in company deliberations to ensure that Fleet's strong presence in the area is maintained and that decisions affecting jobs and other major concerns include input from someone knowledgeable in and protective of the area. "I've spoken with the... Read More

Standing outside an East Side IRT subway station, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today said that the tragic terrorist bombings in Madrid this week should serve as a wakeup call to the United States to finally get serious about improving rail security. In light of this week's events, Schumer proposed a 3point plan to speed up the development of bombdetecting sensors for subway and rail stations, provide more federal funds to help cashstrapped cities and transit systems pay for additional... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today invited the President of the Ivory Coast, S.E.M. Laurent Gbagbo, to come to Fulton to tour the New York Chocolate plant and meet with its developers. Schumer said that having the top official from the Ivory Coast see firsthand the plans for what will be one of his nation's top economic enterprises for its cocoa producers, will give the project further credibility and could encourage the consortium to get even more active at Fulton. "What's... Read More