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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... Read More

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... Read More

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... Read More

United States Senator Charles E. Schumer, joined by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Kings County DA Charles Hynes, Queens DA Richard A. Brown, Bronx DA Robert T. Johnson, and Richmond County DA Daniel Donovan, today announced he is introducing new legislation to better protect homeowners from the recent wave of housing scams that are plaguing New Yorkers and homeowners across the country. The Fighting Real Estate Fraud Act of 2009 establishes a competitive grant program in the... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on CSX to remove the unwelcome parked rail cars from the Pebbleview Drive neighborhood in Greece. According to neighborhood residents, a string of CSX rail cars moved in to the neighborhood two weeks ago, parked, and have not left. Residents are concerned that the rail cars will become a magnet for vagrants, expose the community to unsavory graffiti, and could pose a hazard for curious children who explore the unlocked cars. As pleas from residents to... Read More

Today, United States Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the State University of New York at Buffalo will be receiving $376,800 through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for research into the processes of DNA replication and repair. "Federal funding for scientific research is needed now more than ever," said Schumer. "In these difficult... Read More

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will allocate a total of $186,431 to four counties throughout the Capital Region for emergency assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). EFSP funds can be used for a broad range of services, including mass shelter, mass feeding, food distribution through food pantries and food banks, onemonth assistance... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will allocate a total of $217,431 to nine counties throughout the Southern Tier for emergency assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). EFSP funds can be used for a broad range of services, including mass shelter, mass feeding, food distribution through food pantries and food banks, onemonth assistance with rent, mortgage and... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will allocate a total of $126,515 to four Mohawk Valley counties for emergency assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). EFSP funds can be used for a broad range of services, including mass shelter, mass feeding, food distribution through food pantries and food banks, onemonth assistance with rent,... Read More

After the New York Jets announced that they will be holding their training camp outside of New Jersey this year, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today wrote to Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum urging him to bring the Jets to an Upstate New York college this summer. In a statement this week, Jets spokesman Bruce Speight said the Jets were looking outside the 27acre Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham to get his players in shape this summer.   Jets coach Rex Ryan is reportedly... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) allocated a total of $48,589 for Oswego through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Preparedness Grant program. A total of $970 million nationwide will assist state, local and tribal governments and private industry in strengthening community preparedness.  The funding will help strengthen Oswego's ability to prevent, protect, respond and recover from terrorist... Read More

With Hudson Valley fisherman facing the prospect of devastating consequences from aquatic invasive species, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called for $20 million to protect the region's vital recreational fishing industry.  Over the past few years, the problem of didymo, a particularly damaging form of invasive algae, has worsened.  This species grows in thick mats along riverbeds, which smother plants along the bottom of freshwater streams, depriving trout of their food and habitat,... Read More

In the wake of NYRI's defeat, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announcedhis plan to ensure that power companies listen to local communities when drafting routes for future transmission lines.  Schumer's plan will prevent the Federal Energy Regulator Commission (FERC) from overriding New York State's approval process for new transmission lines and prevent companies, such as NYRI from running roughshod through houses, parks, scenic vistas, towns and villages across the state.  It will also prevent... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Port Byron School District will receive a grant of $362,850 from the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Demonstration Program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Funding will be used to establish and expand education and counseling programs in Cayuga County.   "Investing in our education system is wise in the short and long term," Schumer said. "It is important that we continue to provide our students with the resources and... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Lyndonville Central School District will receive a grant of $163,508 from the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Demonstration Program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Funding will be used to establish and expand education and counseling programs in Orleans County.   "Investing in our education system is wise in the short and long term," Schumer said. "It is important that we continue to provide our students with the... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced today that the United States General Services Administration (GSA) plans to allocate $223,730,000 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to transform the New York City federal buildings and courthouses into high performance green buildings. The GSA submitted a $236 million spending proposal to Congress highlighting the public building projects it plans to accomplish with funds from the ARRA. A total of 15 projects across New York State... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $74 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to the West Valley Demonstration for waste disposal and site clean up. The $74 million funding is part of a total of $6 billion announced by the Energy Secretary Steven Chu today to accelerate environmental cleanup work and create thousands of jobs across 12 states. Funding for West Valley will construct a storage system for... Read More

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Today, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the Steuben County Veterans Affairs Medical Center is receiving $9,990,000 through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) funded by President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding will provide grants for improvement projects such heating, ventilation... Read More

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 On the heels of the MTA approving staggering fare hikes for all subway, bus, express bus, LIRR and MetroNorth riders, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today said that thanks to an expanded federal mass transit tax break, the entire cost of those fare hikes to riders could be fully recouped. Schumer authored legislation, passed as part... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (DNY) and Mark Udall (DCO) today announced that they will be introducing the "Fair Gift Card Act" to protect millions of American consumers from unreasonable expiration dates and fees that routinely drain gift cards' value. Though gift cards are popular gifts, studies have shown that 27% of gift cards go unused, due in part to cumbersome expiration dates and fees which chisel away at cards' value, depriving consumers of purchasing power. Many stores... Read More