Newsroom

Today, Senators Chuck Schumer (DNY), Norm Coleman (RMN), Bob Menendez (DNJ), Olympia Snowe (RME), Hillary Clinton (DNY), Susan Collins (RME), Tom Coburn (ROK), Jack Reed (DRI), Rick Santorum (RPA), and Frank Lautenberg (DNJ) sent a letter to Senate Leaders Bill Frist and Harry Reid urging them to cooperate in efforts to make sure that the security investigation of the Dubai ports deal meets the highest standards for protecting our national security. While a 45day investigation has finally been... Read More

Last week, amid reports of the growing scope of an under regulated tissue transplant industry, Senator Schumer wrote to the Food and Drug Administration calling for stronger regulatory oversight for tissue transplants and an accounting of how exactly contaminated tissue was transplanted into otherwise healthy patients. Since the FDA has not adequately responded to this problem, today Schumer unveiled legislation to properly regulate the tissue transplant industry. Schumer stood with Patricia... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer sent a letter to Fred Wilpon, owner of the New York Mets, calling on him to name the new stadium scheduled to be built for the New York Mets after the late Jackie Roosevelt Robinson. Schumer said that Jackie Robinsons contributions to the game of baseball, the City of New York, and our country deserve a grand living and permanent monument. The Mets are the direct inheritors of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball tradition and there is no better way to honor... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Assemblyman Michael C. Cusick today announced legislation that would allow the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to link existing MTA bus lines to New Jersey Transits HudsonBergen Light Rail lines station at 34th street in Bayonne, NJ. Staten Islanders suffer from the longest commutes, and worst traffic in this city. A buslink between the North Shore of Staten Island and the Bayonne Transit hub is a nobrainer its cheap, its easy, it will cut commuting times... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today launched an effort to restore funding for the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) Program for communities in New York State, which is slashed in the Administrations budget proposal for fiscal year 2007. The CDBG Program is one of the most important and effective programs for revitalizing distressed communities and funds housing rehabilitation, support services, public improvements, and economic development projects in communities across the nation. The... Read More

Today Senator Schumer released the following statement on the Department of Transportation requesting funding for East Side Access and the Second Avenue Subway: This funding shows that the Administration and the Department of Transportation have renewed their commitment to seeing these critical New York projects through until they are built. Both East Side Access and the Second Avenue Subway will meet commuter needs that have existed for far too long here in New York. These funds will help Long... Read More

As gas prices jumped 28.5 cents a gallon in the last three weeks alone, today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Federal Government to ensure that oil companies dont intentionally drive up prices before the summer months to increase their bottom line. Today Schumer sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission to urge them to closely monitor refining capacity and prices, which could rise even more as more Americans increase their travel this spring and summer. The Senator expressed... Read More

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer sent the following letter President Bush with a list of unanswered questions that must be answered about the Dubai Ports World acquisition of six major U.S. ports on the East Coast, including New York and New Jersey. This $6.8 billion deal is scheduled to be closed on March 2 and was approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) last month, although the President wasnt aware of it until after the approval. Except for cargo screening... Read More

Today, 31 Democrats led by Sen. Chuck Schumer sent the following letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales urging him to recuse himself from the Abramoff case. Below is the letter and signatories. Schumer stated, If there was ever a case that was both sensitive and rife with potential conflict it is this one. The Attorney General can avoid any appearance of impropriety by recusing himself. February 16, 2006 The Honorable Alberto Gonzales United States Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania... Read More

Today, Sen. Chuck Schumer sent the following letter to President Bush regarding the latest revelations that the government may be tracking journalists phone calls. In light of the governments warrantless wiretapping program and database of all Americans phone calls, Schumer called on the President to answer a series of questions about the validity of this possible program. The letter is below: May 16, 2006 President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC... Read More

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Clinton today announced $2,565,000 for the Greater Binghamton Airport from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This is great news for the Greater Binghamton Airport, said Senator Schumer. This airport welcome travelers to New York each year, and these improvements are important for local businesses and strengthening the local economy. I will continue to fight for... Read More

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Clinton today announced $2,400,000 for the Adirondack Regional Airport from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This is great news for the Adirondack Regional Airport, said Senator Schumer. This airport welcome travelers to New York each year, and these improvements are important for local businesses and strengthening the local economy. I will continue to fight for... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced today that the Senate late last night unanimously passed the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (S. 1086), comprehensive national legislation specifically designed to protect children from sexual predators. Once enacted into law, the bill will create a national database and require convicted sex offenders to register their whereabouts regularly in person. Failure to comply would be a felony. Existing sexoffender sites are managed from state... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer was joined by Sen. Lindsey Graham in writing a letter to President Bushs nominee to be the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Susan Schwab. Schumer objected to the unanimous consent request to approve her nomination without a vote or debate. In particular, the senators are concerned with the Administrations willingness to press for reciprocity for financial firms that want to invest in China. Senator Schumer has said that he is reluctant to allow the nominee... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, an original cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation, today announced the introduction of a bill that will extend key provisions of the historic Voting Right Act for the next 25 years. The legislation, named after 3 civil rights icons, Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (VRARA), will extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which has been previously renewed four times. The Voting Rights... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Federal Government to relocate the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office to downtown Ogdensburg when their current lease expires in midApril. Schumer pointed to two reasons that the move downtown will be beneficial to the community: first, due to the central location and proximity of many senior citizens, Social Security services will be much more accessible to the New Yorkers it serves; second the SSA, as a major main street tenant, will... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today questioned the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on its plans with regard to Chartwell Internationals purchase of the Middletown & New Jersey Railway, a 15mile stretch of track in Middletown, NY and its possible use. There have been varied reports with respect to Chartwells plans for its acquisition, and their Chief Financial Officer has said that the development of a solid waste transfer station would be exempt from state and local laws because the... Read More

Today U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Russ Feingold sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter urging him to call on more current and former high level Bush Administration officials including former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Deputy Attorneys General Jim Comey and Larry Thompson, and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card. They also said that no witnesses from the Administration should invoke executive privilege. The letter to Specter follows: January 25,... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today joined President and CEO Michael Webber to tour the Putnam Hospital Center. Schumer met with Webber and other health care executives to discuss plans for the hospital's growth and expansion, including construction of a new facility to begin later this year. We are in the middle of a health care crisis in the country, and getting relief for small businesses would be a huge step in the right direction, Schumer said. Small businesses are the backbone of... Read More

Today U.S. Senator Charles Schumer revealed that the federal government has reneged on its commitment to provide enough Tamiflu stockpiles to safeguard Americans from a potential bird flu pandemic. Schumer sent a letter to Michael Leavitt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), urging him to dramatically increase stockpiles for Tamiflu, the only antiviral currently available to treat Bird Flu. Schumer has been a leader in getting Roche Pharmaceuticals, the... Read More