Newsroom

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today warned about a serious and growing problem - cell phone batteries that rapidly expand and even explode, causing fires, burns and other injuries.  Schumer said that there have been over 60 reported incidents of phone batteries smoking, catching fire or exploding over the last two years - and those are just the ones that were voluntarily reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), so the problem could be much more wide spread.  Incidents have... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced he would be supporting legislation to ban guns produced cheaply and easily, by anyone, in their home, with a 3D printer. These printers, using digital blueprints, can produce 3D objects using hard, molded plastic.  They have been around for more than a decade, and are a miraculous technology that could revolutionize manufacturing.  However in recent years there has been a push to use them to make plastic, fully functional guns that can slip through... Read More

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Richard Blumenthal revealed that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), the nation's chief rail safety overseers, is woefully underfunded and unable to fully evaluate existing and future rail safety programs across the nation's freight and passenger railroads. The agency lacks the resources to inspect 99% of the nation's rails and to sufficiently prepare for the oversight of new safety measures.  Schumer and Blumenthal announced that they will fight... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced a new effort to close shocking loopholes that allow those who are on the nation's terrorist watch list from purchasing guns. Under current federal law, the federal government cannot stop the sale of guns or explosives to known or suspected terrorists unless they meet one of nine other disqualifying criteria, such as being a convicted felon or domestic abuser. Therefore, the Boston bombers and other terrorists would have would have had no problems... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to delay a sudden mandate on local municipalities that will force New York City to throw out and replace over $1 millionworth of brand new fire hydrants and parts after  January 4, 2014. Schumer explained that on October 22 nd, the EPA released its interpretation of the  Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act of 2011, and for the first time disclosed that fire hydrants will be subject to new... Read More

Today, Senator Schumer announced that he has secured the first $800,000 for the "Picture Main Street" project in Williamsville that will revitalize the neighborhood around the historic Williamsville Water Mill on Spring Street. In July, Schumer joined Mayor Brian Kulpa, and local business leaders and village board members to push for several pots of funding to support the project, the first of which was a Federal Green Infrastructure Grant provided through the Environmental Facilities... Read More

Today, at the Frankfort Village Hall, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer launched a twopronged plan to help ensure that veterans returning home to Herkimer County from Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving critical benefits that will allow them to afford a home and live stable civilian lives. Schumer said that nearly 6,000 veterans live in Herkimer but many have not applied for the property tax benefit for veterans that is available to them and worth hundreds of dollars a year.  He explained that a... Read More

Today, at Rooster Fish Brewing in Watkins Glen, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that he is joining more than 20 bipartisan colleagues to introduce legislation that will cut the excise tax on small breweries in half, helping small brewers in Schuyler and Chemung Counties reinvest in their business, hire new employees, and revitalize downtown communities. Currently, brewers pay a $7 excise tax for the first 60,000 barrels they brew per year. Under the Small BREW (Brewer Reinvestment and... Read More

Today at DeFisher Fruit Farm in Williamson, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer unveiled a twopronged plan to boost business, and particularly hard cider sales, at Wayne County's DeFisher Fruit Farm. First, Schumer will urge the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to expeditiously approve a pending permit application to allow DeFisher to open a new apple cidery production and bottling operation, at its one year old Apple County Spirits distillery. The DeFisher family, who grow apples, pears,... Read More

Today, at 33 Pulaski Street in the Town of Dickinson, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer was joined by local law enforcement and other officials to push legislation that would crackdown on the recent rash of scrap metal theft in the region that threatens private property, local residents, and taxpayers. Due to the high price of iron, copper, and other metal, Broome County has seen a significant number of scrap metal burglaries and larcenies in the area, including multiple cases just this month. So... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today joined the Superintendent of the Middletown School District for the grand opening of Presidential Park Middletown Elementary School. Last year, Schumer recommended Middletown School district for federal Race to the Top Funds last year, and they subsequently became one of only 16 awardees in the nation and received almost $20 million from the U.S. Department of Education. The massive federal grant Schumer helped secure has made the opening of the new... Read More

Today, at the Police Department's Public Safety building in Poughkeepsie, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced legislation that will make it a federal crime to tamper with the unique identification number of a cell phone by imposing a five year criminal penalty, in the wake of a dramatic spike in cell phone thefts in Dutchess County. According to the Dutchess County Sherriff's Department, over 40% of all robberies this year in Dutchess county involved the theft of a cell phone up from 32%... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer unveiled new legislation that would open a pathway for the McGinnSmith victims to appeal for financial reimbursement with the Securities Investor Protection Corp (SIPC).  Schumer's bill would give the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) broad authority to refer cases to SIPC, eliminating SIPC's authority to challenge and ultimately overturn an SEC referral. In the case of the McGinnSmith, Schumer's plan would require SIPC to compensate the 900... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that, after his push, the Department of the Interior (DOI) has approved a Save America's Treasure grant (SAT) for the National Women's Hall of Fame (NWHF) in Seneca Falls that will allow the NWHF to move forward on construction. Specifically, NWHF has started on Phase II of construction, which will allow them to move into the historic Seneca Knitting Mill, but that phase can't be completed without this grant funding. The Save American's Treasure... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Drug Quality and Security Act has passed the Senate without a provision that would have harmed companies like Finch Paper, and will go to President Obama for his signature. This harmful provision, which was included in the House version of the bill, would have stopped the printing of critical prescription drug information for health care professionals, and instead would have only required the information to be available online. Schumer... Read More

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a federal grant worth $35,282 for the Robbins Family Grain Company, LLC. The funding is allocated through the USDA's Rural Development Rural Energy for America Grant Program and will be used to purchase and install an energy efficient grain dryer.   "Smaller farms often have difficulty affording the highcost of equipment, and that's exactly the problem this loan will help solve," said Senator Schumer. "The... Read More

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that Woodcrest Dairy in St. Lawrence County will receive a $403,627 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, specifically from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). This funding will be used to purchase an anaerobic digester, which is expected to generate enough electricity to power their farm and potentially add power back onto the grid.     "Rural farms often have difficulty accessing efficient sources of... Read More

Today, at the Rochester Public Safety Building, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced legislation that will make it a federal crime to tamper with the unique identification number of a cell phone by imposing a fiveyear criminal penalty, in the wake of a dramatic spike in cell phone thefts in the Rochester area. In the first half of 2013 alone, robberies in the Rochester area were up 14%, 75% of which involved the theft of a cell phone.  The problem is not slowing down, with robbery rates... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Binghamton University's Southern Tier High Technology Incubator Inc. has received a final $2 million award through the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), which will develop a shovel ready construction site for a 40,000 square foot hightech business and technology incubator in downtown Binghamton. This year, Binghamton University submitted a funding application for the project to the EDA Public Works program to support... Read More

Today, in a letter to the Board of Directors of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), U.S. Senator Charles Schumer pitched Upstate New York as the international center for the growing semiconductor and chipfabrication industry. Schumer touted several upstate locales and specifically pointed to the newest potential megasite for chip fab, the Genesee County Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP).  Schumer highlighted the development of Upstate New York's nanotech... Read More