Press Releases
SCHUMER: SENATE APPROVES MAJOR CREDIT CARD REFORM BILL INCLUDING NEW RULES TO CURB HIDDEN TRICKS AND FEES ON GIFT CARDS
WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Senate has approved an agreement that will dramatically improve protections for New York shoppers who buy gift cards but then find that those cards come with sky high fees and balances that can draw down to zero if the cards aren't used quickly. Schumer said that this package of reforms was approved with bipartisan support and passed the full Senate as part of the major credit card reform legislation. President Obama has sai… Continue Reading
05.18.09
SCHUMER TO REVEAL: CAPITAL REGION AMBULANCES ON VERGE OF LOSING CRITICAL FEDERAL FUNDS - WOULD HURT ABILITY TO INVEST IN LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT TO BETTER SERVE ELDERLY POPULATION
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that ambulance providers across the Capital Region are on the verge of cuts in critical Medicare payments, hampering their ability to invest in lifesaving medical equipment and procedures. The cut, which is the result of an expiring provision, is the latest in a series of Medicare payment transitions. Medicare ambulance payments have undergone major changes in the past 10 years, but a 2007 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report showed that a… Continue Reading
05.13.09
SCHUMER URGES FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION TO REEVALUATE TRAINING CRITERIA FOR PILOTS, EXAMINE ALL POSSIBLE CAUSES OF CRASH AND APPLY PREVENTATIVE SOLUTIONS
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 After meeting with nine family members of Flight 3407's victims yesterday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today wrote to Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood urging him to ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reevaluate their training requirements for airline pilot training curricula. Hearings on the fateful crash of Flight 3407 indicate that the pilot of Colgan Air, Inc, the airline th… Continue Reading
05.13.09
SCHUMER RELEASES SURVEY SUGGESTING BALLOTS OF ONE IN FOUR OVERSEAS MILITARY VOTERS WENT UNCOUNTED IN '08 ELECTION
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (DNY), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, released troubling new data Wednesday suggesting that during the 2008 presidential election, more than a quarter of the ballots requested by U.S. military personnel deployed overseas-and other eligible voters living abroad-went either uncollected or uncounted. Speaking at a Senate hearing on the matter, Schumer said he … Continue Reading
05.13.09
SCHUMER INTRODUCES HOMES FOR HEROES ACT, LEGISLATION WILL EXPAND HOUSING AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE TO HOMELESS VETERANS, EXPAND SERVICES AT VETERANS AFFAIRS IN UPSTATE NY
With Memorial Day around the corner, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that he is introducing the Homes for Heroes Act, a bill that would expand housing and rental assistance for homeless veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that approximately 200,000 adult veterans live on the streets or in shelters on any given day, and nearly twice as many are homeless at some point during the year. Schumer said the legislation is supported by President Obama - a former le… Continue Reading
05.13.09
SCHUMER REVEALS: INVASIVE SPECIES THREATENING UPSTATE NY FORESTS AND TREES, INCREASED FUNDING FOR PEST SUPPRESSION PROGRAM WOULD HELP CONTROL SPREAD
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer joined Senators Robert Menendez, Robert Casey and Jay Rockefeller today wrote to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee urging them to support critical funding for the Forest Health Management's Pest Suppression program to fight the spread of invasive species threatening the forests and trees across Upstate New York and the Northeast region. The Pest Suppression program, which has been chronically underfunded under previous Administrations, funds partnerships with… Continue Reading
05.07.09
SCHUMER ANNOUNCES: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S BUDGET PROPOSES NEW FUNDING FOR REDEVELOPMENT OF VACANT HOMES IN UPSTATE NEW YORK
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that in the budget released today, President Obama has included substantial new funding that can be used to fight the housing blight that plagues communities across Upstate New York. In his budget request released today, the President created a $1 billion Housing Trust Fund and fully funds Community D… Continue Reading
05.04.09
SCHUMER: SHORTAGE IN WOMEN VETERAN'S HEALTH CARE SERVICES COULD PLAGUE REGION AS WAVE OF FEMALE SOLDIERS RETURN TO CENTRAL NEW YORK - SYRACUSE VA'S EXEMPLARY WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER SHOULD BE MODEL FOR NATION
Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 With a record number of women troops serving our country and set to return home from serving abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that specialized services for women veterans have not been uniformly prioritized by the Department of Veterans Affairs to handle the influx. Standing at the Syracuse VA Medical Center, Schumer announced his new Women Veterans Health Agenda to improve the… Continue Reading
04.28.09
SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $4 MILLION IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT FUNDING COMING TO FORT HAMILTON FOR REPAIR PROJECTS
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will provide $4,071,300 million to Fort Hamilton through the Department of Defense for repair projects and job creation. A total of $10.9 million has been administered to New York State military bases. "These projects are a winwin for Fort Hamilton and for Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst that will bring greater investment in these facilities and improv… Continue Reading
04.28.09
SCHUMER AND SUOZZI COMBINE FORCES TO SUPPORT USE OF STIMULUS FUNDS TO ENHANCE BUS SERVICE TO CENTRAL NASSAU
United States Senator Charles E. Schumer and Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi announced today that they are teaming up to improve bus service between the Mineola LIRR train station and Nassau Coliseum. The proposed enhanced N24 service, unofficially dubbed the "Coliseum Clipper", would transport riders from the Mineola Intermodal Center to the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in roughly 18 minutes, thus shaving approximately 10 minutes off the current commute time. … Continue Reading
04.28.09
SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $120,000 FOR INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES FOR CENTRAL NEW YORK
Washington , D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $120,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take on civil works projects for Central New York. The federal dollars will help support job creation, rebuild and strengthen critical infrastructure, and enhance security for Central New York. The investments are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Senators Schumer and Gillibrand helped pass earlier this year. "Investing in C… Continue Reading
04.28.09
SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $1 MILLION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES FOR THE NORTH COUNTRY
Washington , D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,400,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take on a broad range of civil works projects for the North Country. The federal dollars will help support job creation, rebuild and strengthen critical infrastructure, and enhance security for the North Country. The investments are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Senators Schumer and Gillibrand helped pass earlier this year… Continue Reading
04.28.09
SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND: DEEPLY FLAWED GOVERNMENT STUDIES JEOPARDIZE JOBS, THROW LIVES INTO TURMOIL AND PRODUCE NO BENEFIT TO TAXPAYERS
Today U .S . Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirstin Gillibrand announced the introduction of "The Clean Up Act" to end the use of a deeply flawed type of study used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to examine the cost and benefits of privatizing employees in certain government installations. Schumer and Gillibrand noted that while reducing costs is important, the type of study current used to compare the use of private versus public employees (referred to as an A76 study) yields … Continue Reading
04.28.09
SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE $2.9 MILLION IN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT FUNDING COMING TO WEST POINT FOR FACILITY INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS AND REPAIR PROJECTS
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will provide $2.9 million to West Point through the Department of Defense for facility infrastructure investments and repair projects that will upgrade army military bases in New York State and create jobs. A total of $10.9 million has been administered to New York State military bases. "These projects are a winwin for West Point and the Hudson Valley that will bri… Continue Reading
04.28.09
INCOMING IMMIGRATION CHIEF TELLS SCHUMER HIS AGENTS NEED BROADER ARREST POWERS TO CRACK DOWN ON MEXICAN CARTELS
WASHINGTON , DC -President Obama's nominee to head the nation's immigration enforcement office told U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (DNY) on Tuesday that Mexican drug cartels have branched out into the humantrafficking business, but said his agency can't effectively police this professionalized smuggling of illegal immigrants across the southern border because it lacks broad arrest powers. The Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the nation's lead agency stationed along t… Continue Reading
04.27.09
HIGGINS, SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND, LEE, SLAUGHTER & MASSA ANNOUNCE BILL ENSURING FORMER BETHLEHEM STEEL WORKERS AND FAMILIES RECEIVE COMPENSATION THEY DESERVE
Today, Senator Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressmembers Brian Higgins, Chris Lee, Louise Slaughter and Eric Massa introduced legislation in their respective Houses in Congress to allow former Bethlehem Steel workers to receive compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICP). The Ed Walker Memorial Act works to reform the compensation program for nuclear workers at Bethlehem Steel and other former New York atomic weapons production faci… Continue Reading
04.27.09
SCHUMER AND WESTCHESTER, ROCKLAND DA'S UNVEIL NEW LEGISLATION TO CRACK DOWN ON FLOOD OF NEW MORTGAGE SCAMS BY CREATING ELITE MORTGAGE FRAUD UNITS IN WESTCHESTER, ROCKLAND DA'S OFFICES
US Senator Charles E. Schumer, joined by Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore and Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe, today announced he is introducing new legislation to better protect homeowners from the recent wave of housing scams that are plaguing Hudson Valley residents and homeowners across the country. The Fighting Real Estate Fraud Act of 2009 establishes a competitive grant program in the Department of Justice for local District Attorneys' offices to battle r… Continue Reading
04.22.09
SCHUMER REVEALS: WITH GRADUATION AROUND THE CORNER, UPSTATE NY COLLEGE STUDENTS BURDENED WITH OVER $1.2 BILLION IN CREDIT CARD DEBT
As Upstate New York college students graduate this month, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today released a new countybycounty report detailing how credit card debt carried by college students in Upstate New York has skyrocketed to $1.2 billion. This increase has been fueled in part by the weakening economy and misleading marketing practices by credit card companies, such as ratcheting up interest rates without clear disclosure and aggressively targeting students with irresponsible offers of cre… Continue Reading
04.21.09
SCHUMER: PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS INTO LAW GROUNDBREAKING LEGISLATION TO DESIGNATE SEPTEMBER 11 AS A NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE
Today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that President Barack Obama has signed into law his provision that designates September 11 th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance as part of the "Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act". Schumer's provision will designate September 11 th as a national day of service and will encourage Americans to spend that day working for and with members of their community, for the benefit of others. Service opportunities on September 11 th will be pub… Continue Reading
04.20.09
SCHUMER: NEW YORK FISHERMEN ARE BEING UNFAIRLY REGULATED WITHOUT REPRESENTATION - SENATOR TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO GIVE NEW YORK A SEAT ON THE NEW ENGLAND FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
Today, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer introduced legislation that would amend the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to add New York to the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). A seat on the NEFMC would provide New York fishermen a necessary voice in decisions that directly affect the rules and regulations governing New York fisheries. The Long Island fishing community strongly supports the legislation. Just last month, Schumer raised concerns over a rec… Continue Reading
