Newsroom

E-Cig Use Dramatically Increasing Among High-Schoolers & Even Middle-Schoolers; While Not As Harmful As Cigarettes, E-Cigs Do Contain Dangerous & Addictive Nicotine, Which Surgeon General Has Said Can Be Harmful to Adolescent Brain Development; FDA Plan To Regulate E-Cig Advertising On Kids Has Languished For Over A Year  With Nearly 2.5 Million Kids Now Puffing, Schumer Wants Same Marketing Regs On E-Cigs That Already Exist for Traditional Cigs; Says FDA Should Also Consider... Read More

City of Jamestown & City of Lockport Fire Depts. Will Use Funding to Replace Critical, Life-Saving Equipment to Keep Firefighters Safe   U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a total of $177,430 in federal funding for two Western New York fire departments. Specifically, the City of Jamestown Fire Department in Chautauqua County will receive $48,637 and the City of Lockport Fire Department in Niagara County will receive $128,793. This funding was... Read More

Federal Funding For Binghamton Fire Department Will Be Used to Replace Outdated Equipment U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $292,671 in federal funding for the City of Binghamton Fire Department to purchase new protective equipment to respond to emergencies more effectively. The money was allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) Grant Program. The Binghamton Fire Department will... Read More

Federal Funding For Black River Ambulance Inc. Will Be Used to Replace Outdated Equipment U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $105,443 for the Black River Ambulance Squad Inc. The money was allocated through the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). The federal grant funds will be used by the Black River Ambulance to replace outdated stretchers with three medical Power Lifting Stretchers. “It is critical that... Read More

Federal Funding For Yonkers And Valhalla Will Be Used to Train First Responders And Purchase New Equipment U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $449,091 in federal funding for the Yonkers Fire Department and $29,080 in federal funding for the Valhalla Volunteer Ambulance Corps to train first responders and purchase new equipment. The money was allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG)... Read More

Federal Funding For Ithaca and Trumansburg Fire Departments Will Be Used to Replace Outdated Equipment U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $413,637 in federal funding for the Ithaca Fire Department and $21,265 in federal funding for the Ithaca Fire Department. The money was allocated through the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). “It is critical that we provide local fire departments, like the Ithaca... Read More

Schuyler Ambulance, Inc. in Utica Will Use Funding To Purchase New Turnout Gear to Protect Firefighters   U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $21,486 in federal funding for Schuyler Ambulance, Inc., located in Utica in Oneida County. The funding was allocated through the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program’s (AFG) Fire Prevention & Safety Program (FP&S) and will be used to purchase new... Read More

City of Rochester & Town of Gates Fire Depts. Will Use Funding to Provide Rescue Training & Purchase Life-Saving Equipment in Order to Keep Firefighters Safe  U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a total of $461,938 in federal funding for two Rochester area fire departments. Specifically, the City of Rochester will receive $115,249 in federal funding and the Town of Gates Fire District will receive $346,689. These federal funds were allocated... Read More

Proposed Federal Local Hiring Pilot Program and Rule Would Allow Transit Agencies Across The Country Receiving Fed Funds to Require All Buses and Trains Be Produced Locally, Meaning All Manufacturers & Workers Must Be Located in That Specific City to Bid on a Contract – Schumer Says This Rule Could Have Disastrous, Unintended Consequences For Jobs in the North Country   Under New Rule, Rural-Based Companies Like Bombardier & Nova Bus and & Prevost in Plattsburgh –... Read More

Proposed Federal Local Hiring Pilot Program and Rule Would Allow Transit Agencies Across The Country Receiving Fed Funds to Require All Buses and Trains Be Produced Locally, Meaning All Manufacturers & Workers Must Be Located in That Specific City to Bid on a Contract – Schumer Says This Rule Could Have Disastrous, Unintended Consequences For Jobs in the Southern Tier   Under New Rule, Rural-Based Companies Like Alstom & CAF USA in the Southern Tier  – Which Produce... Read More

Proposed Federal Local Hiring Pilot Program and Rule Would Allow Transit Agencies Across The Country Receiving Fed Funds to Require All Buses and Trains Be Produced Locally, Meaning All Manufacturers & Workers Must Be Located in That Specific City to Bid on a Contract – Schumer Says This Rule Could Have Disastrous, Unintended Consequences For Jobs in Rochester Finger Lakes Area  Under New Rule, Companies Like Alstom in Rochester And Coach & Equipment in Penn Yan – Which... Read More

Upstate NY Dairy Farmers Are Saddled With Lump-Sum Insurance Payments Through Turbulent Milk Prices –Schumer Pushes USDA To Create New Payment Program Where Coops and Farmers Could Work Together to Spread Out Milk Insurance Payments Through Deduction System   NY Dairy Farmers & Upstate NY Co-Ops, Which Buy & Market Milk, Have Expressed Need to Spread Out Payments Through New Kind of Payment Program; Co-Ops or Private Companies Would Pay Costs Up Front For Farmers & Farmers... Read More

Schumer Says Greek Yogurt Will Be Added To The List Of Available Items In The School Lunch Program; After The Last Successful Pilot Program, Which Schumer Helped Make a Reality Across Twelve States, Feds Concluded That There Is Nutritional Value and High Demand For Greek Yogurt Schumer Previously Urged the USDA to Expand Successful Greek Yogurt Pilot Program, With Idea Of Providing High-Nutrition Protein Option For Kids And Increase Demand For Greek Yogurt Nationwide – NY’s Own... Read More

Schumer, Gillibrand Say the City of Buffalo Needs an 8-Month Extension From HUD To Complete Vital Community Housing Projects; City Could Lose Millions in Funding if Program Expenditure Period is Not Extended   City is Making Solid Progress on Projects, But Delays, Including the Loss of 2013 Construction Season Due to Bureaucratic Changes Mandated By HUD, Require an Extended Timeline   Schumer, Gillibrand to HUD: Grant This Extension And Let Buffalo Finish The Job On Important Community... Read More

Deliberately False Alerts In Rochester Are Causing The Deployment Of Armed SWAT Teams, Bomb Squads, And Other Police Units, to Unsuspecting Area Residents & Causing the Closure of Streets, Businesses; Resulting In A Terrifying Experience For Victims & Puts Communities At Great Risk  Schumer Introduces Legislation To Increase Penalties For Swatting Perpetrators From a Max of 5 Years In Prison To 8 Years, Make Criminals Pay Restitution to Police –Also Pushes to Closes... Read More

Schumer: During The Busiest 50-70 Days Per Year, Wait Times At Lewiston-Queenstown Bridge Regularly Exceed One Hour – and Have Peaked at Nearly Three Hours, Which has Detrimental Impact on the Regional Economy; Canadian Shoppers and Businesses Spend $1.7 Billion Per Year in New York State   Schumer Urges CBP & GSA to Fund Desperately Needed Plaza Expansion To Improve Traffic Flow, Bolster the Regional Economy, & Create and Protect Jobs in WNY   Schumer: Lewiston Plaza... Read More

Schumer, Blumenthal Announce Legislation That Will Require Railroads to Implement PTC by 2018 & Require Status Reports on Progress; ‘Positive Train Control Safety Act’ Also Requires Trains Carrying Crude Oil To Run On Tracks With PTC, Aiming to Avoid Future Explosive Crashes   Schumer, Blumenthal Legislation Stands in Contrast to Other Efforts in Congress to Give Railroads an Additional 5 Years to Implement Life-Saving PTC Technology; Senators Say 5 Years is Far... Read More

Schumer Led Legislation to Extend Key Support Programs for Rural Emergency Medical Services Providers for New Yorkers – Rural EMS Agencies Get an Extension Through 2018 With Passage of Bipartisan Deal   Without This Extension, $19.8 Million in Funding for over 450 Ambulance Service Providers That Treat High Number of Medicare Patients Across NY State Would be Lost   Schumer: Upstate Ambulance Providers Can Rest Easy That Critical Medicare Funding Will Last until 2018 U.S. Senator... Read More

Funds Will Allow Community Health Centers to Continue Improving Access to Critical Health and Primary Care Services for Residents Across NY State   Schumer Previously Pushed Legislation to Be Included in Must-Pass Legislation to Avoid ‘Primary Care Funding Cliff’ That Faced These Community Health Centers if Funding Were to Expire   Schumer: Funding Extension Means NY Can Keep an Essential Piece of Our Health Care in Place   Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer... Read More

Children’s Health Insurance Program Is A Critical Lifeline for Low- To Moderate-Income Families and Pregnant Women, And Will Now Be Extended Through 2017 – CHIP Supports Comprehensive Care & Is Critical For Families Whose Income Is Too High to Qualify For Medicaid; A Family of 4 Can Make Up To $100K & Qualify for CHIP   In March, Schumer Pushed Bill To Extend Program; More Than 116,000 Upstate NY Families Would Have Lost Out on $414 Million in Fed Funds if Critical CHIP... Read More