Press Releases
Schumer Reveals: Feds Have Reneged On Their Commitment To Provide Adequate Tamiflu Stockpiles
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 manufactu… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Visits Putnam Hospital Center, Pushes New Proposal For Health Care For Small Businesses
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 P… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Presses Feds For Straight Answers On Proposed Rail Garbage Project
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 rai… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer, Feingold Call On Specter To Urge Ashcroft, Comey, Others To Testify At Hearings On Secret Domestic Spying Program
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, 2006 … Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Urges Feds To Relocate Social Seurity Administration Office To Downtown Ogdensburg
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 con… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Introduces Bipartisan Extension Of Historic Voting Rights Act
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 … Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer To Delay Approval Of U.S. Trade Rep Nomination Over Concerns On Trade Reciprocity In China
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 nomine… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Blasts Cuts To CDBG Program In Administration Budget Fights To Restore Funding
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… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Announces $300 Million For East Side Access, Funding For Second Avenue Subway
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 Lon… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer: New Evidence Suggests Oil Companies Could Be Intentionally Driving Prices Up For Summer Driving Season
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 co… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Sends White House List Of Unanswered Questions That Must Be Answered About The Dubai Ports Deal
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 funct… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Introduces Bill To Grant Supreme Court Expedited Review Of NSA Secret Spying Program
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today introduced legislation to allow the Supreme Court to rule on the National Security Agencys secret spying program. Schumer, who has been critical of the Administration for not consulting with Congress before enacting the program, said his legislation would put the controversial spying program on the fast track to Supreme Court consideration so the nations highest tribunal can definitively decide on the constitutionality and legality of the program. This is … Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Announces More Than $40 Million For New Air Traffic Control Tower At LaGuardia
Today, Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has approved significant funding for a new air traffic control tower at LaGuardia Airport. Schumer said the new tower will help ease crippling flight delays at the airport and help controllers manage traffic on the runways in order to prevent more near aircraft collisions. Schumer has been actively lobbying the FAA to make the new tower a priority and wrote to Department of Transportation Secretary Mineta last N… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer, Menendez, Weiner Demand National Parks Service Reopen The Statue Of Liberty By July 4th
Today Senator Charles E. Schumer, Senator Robert Menendez and Congressman Anthony Weiner called on the National Parks Service to reopen the Statue of Liberty by July 4th. Lady Liberty was shut down, like other monuments following September 11th and has since only been partially reopened. Visitors are still prohibited from climbing up to the Crown, one of the monuments most popular attractions. Americas symbol of freedom has sadly become a symbol of fear, Schumer said. When I was a child my fat… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Levin And Schumer Question Escape Of Al Qaeda Prisoners In Yemen
Today, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Chuck Schumer addressed the recent escape of Al Qaeda prisoners from a prison in Yemen, one of whom is the mastermind of the terrorist attacks on the USS Cole. Schumer is sending a letter to President Bush urging him to investigate this matter immediately by inspecting and evaluating all foreign prisons where Al Qaeda members are being held. The letter it is below: February 7, 2006 The Honorable George W. Bush President The White House 1600 Pennsy… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer And Spitzer Announce Legislation To Ban Shipment Of Tobacco Through The U.S. Mail
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced that they have teamed up to support legislation to stop the shipment of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco through the U.S. Mail. At a joint news conference with Spitzer, held at New Yorks historic Farley Post Office, Schumer announced his bill that would prohibit mailing cigarettes through the United States Postal Service, impose fines of at least $1,000 per offense and jail time for repeat offende… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer Announces Legislation Allowing MTA Busses To Bring Staten Island Residents Directly To Bayonne, NJ Transit Hub
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 tim… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Schumer To Mets: Name New Stadium For Jackie Robinson
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 Jac… Continue Reading
07.25.06
In Wake Of National Body Part Transplant Scandal, Schumer To Unveil Critical Legislation To Regulate Tissue Transplants
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 Bat… Continue Reading
07.25.06
Judiciary Dems Call On Specter To Urge Ashcroft, Comey, Others To Testify At Hearings On Secret Domestic Spying Program
Today all eight Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee 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. Schumer and Feingold had previously sent a letter calling on Chairman Specter to expand and diversify the witness list so that the … Continue Reading
