Newsroom

Following last Thursday's unsealed indictment charging seven individuals in Rochester, NY for illegally harvesting 36 bodies for body tissue to sell biomedical companies, today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced he will reintroduce his legislation to strengthen regulations on the tissue transplant industry. Schumer noted that yesterday's indictment highlighted the insufficient regulatory oversight for tissue transplants which allow for potentially contaminated tissue to be... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the federal agencies responsible for the cleanup at the old West Valley Nuclear facility to approve the socalled way forward to clean up the toxic site once and for all. Schumer said the new plan, devised by the Department of Energy in conjunction with state and local officials, offers concrete steps to clear areas now, rather than letting the entire site languish until a full plan is devised. Schumer also said he will fight to reverse the... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today raised five new serious questions arising from the Department of Justice documents released yesterday to Congress. Schumer today called on President George W. Bush to offer a complete explanation for each of these instances. "When it's possible the law was broken, admitting mistakes, but not doing anything about it, does not cut it," Schumer said. "Simply apologizing and firing a fall guy is not enough. We need a full accounting from the... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced he will introduce a bipartisan amendment to the 9/11 Recommendations Bill currently being debated on the Senate floor that would delay any implementation of Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) or any passport requirement at the Northern Border until at least June 2009. Schumer said his amendment is similar to legislation he announced last week during a visit to Buffalo. Schumer has raised serious concerns that DHS is trying to use a... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that a $127,881 grant was awarded to Cornell University by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) under the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Program. Federal dollars will be used to provide tuition and stipends to U.S. graduate students pursuing doctoral studies in Biomedical Engineering. "This is great news for Cornell," Schumer said. "This funding will attract the most qualified students to the University and... Read More

WASHINGTON Senator Charles E. Schumer (DNY) and Rep. Jim McDermott (DWA) today introduced the Worker Empowerment Act of 2007, the nation's first comprehensive wage insurance bill offering a safety net to workers who lose their jobs to globalization or economic downturn. Under the legislation, when workers are forced to take lowerpaying jobs, wage insurance will help cover some of the difference between their new wages and their old wages. As Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Schumer... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that $13,500 in federal funds has been awarded to the Walter Elwood Museum of Amsterdam in Montgomery County from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as a Conservation Project Support (CPS) grant. The Museum will use the funds for a variety of museum conservation projects including an environmental survey of the facilities and collections care training workshops. "This is great news for Amsterdam," Schumer said. "The... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today demanded that Federal Emergency Management Agency approve individual assistance for Ulster County and the counties for which Governor Spitzer requested aid. Last week, after Schumer personally called FEMA Administrator David Paulison, FEMA approved disaster assistance for state and local governments and certain private nonprofits in all 12 counties for Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Schoharie, Suffolk, Ulster, and... Read More

WASHINGTON With news that at least 2.5 million chickens in Indiana may have been exposed to contaminated feed, Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced his plan to reintroduce the Meat and Poultry Traceability Act, a bill that would require the Secretary of Agriculture to be able to trace all meat and poultry back to the farms or slaughterhouses where they were raised or slaughtered. Schumer also wrote to Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Agency, asking him to... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that a total of $669,873 has been awarded to two school districts in the Finger Lakes region under the Department of Education's Carol M. White Physical Education Program. Lyndonville Central School District in Orleans County will receive $416,457 and Alexander Central School District in Genesee County will receive $253,416. Both school districts will use the funds to promote physical education programs for students in grades kindergarten... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that a $50,000 grant was awarded to the Oneonta Family YMCA in Otsego County to install a new heating system in the recreational facility. The funds are being awarded through the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development program as a Community Facility Grant. "This is great news for families in Otsego County," Schumer said. "Improvements to the YMCA facility will allow more families in the surrounding... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that one two departments in Central New York will receive federal grants totaling $55,855 from the 2006 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Deansboro Fire District in Oneida County will receive a $32,604 grant and the Caughdenoy V.F.D. in Oswego County will receive a $23,251 grant. The two grants will be used to improve operations and safety. The grants are part of the... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced the Mohawk Fire Department in Herkimer County will receive a federal of $82,432 from the 2006 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The grant will be used to improve operations and safety. This grant is part of the seventeenth round of DHS FY06 AFG program awards to several fire departments throughout the country. "This funding will go a long way in supporting the first... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that a grant of $300,000 has been awarded to the Village of Deposit in Delaware County. The funds are being awarded through the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development program as a Water and Waste Disposal Grant. Federal funds will be used to rehabilitate and upgrade the present wastewater treatment facility. "This is great news for the Village of Deposit," Schumer said. "The water system is critical to... Read More

WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer welcomed Senate passage of "Math for America," an initiative Schumer authored and that was included in the America COMPETES Act with support from Senator Hillary Clinton. Included as part of a broader bill to improve America's competitiveness, Math for America will improve math and science education by bolstering recruiting and retention efforts for math and science teachers. "America's hightech industry is booming across the... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announces that a Major Disaster Declaration has been declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), for Westchester, Rockland and Orange. These counties will now be eligible for individual aid from FEMA. Schumer personally lobbied FEMA Director R. David Paulison, urging him to advise President Bush to immediately issue a Major Disaster Declaration in order to provide federal aid for this area. "This decision means that these communities and... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that a loan of $1,484,000 and a grant of $500,000 have been awarded to the Village of Heuvelton in St. Lawrence County. The funds are being awarded through the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development program as a Water and Waste Disposal Grant and Loan. Federal funds will be used to rehabilitate and upgrade the present wastewater treatment facility. "This is great news for the Village of Heuvelton," Schumer... Read More

With online tax filing fast becoming the easiest way for people to pay their taxes online Senator Schumer today blasted the IRS for charging a fee that eases the financial burden on them instead of the taxpayer. In New York City 3.3 million people will file taxes this year and 1.2 million will file online costing them 16 million dollars all while saving the IRS money. Schumer today called for the IRS to make efiling free by next year. "The bottom line is that the IRS is imposing an... Read More

Armed with a new study revealing that Long Island residents are among the nation's hardest hit by the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and that the number of residents affected will soar in 2007 unless action is taken, today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer unveiled a sweeping new package of middle class tax cuts. The extensive study, which was conducted at Schumer's request by Martin Cantor, Director of the Long Island Economic and Policy Institute at Dowling College, estimates that this... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Army to conduct a new comprehensive study to evaluate the effectiveness of a new system, developed by the Magna Power Train Corporation located in East Syracuse, which would prevent uparmored HUMVEES from flipping over. According to the Department of Defense, roughly 250 U.S. troops have been severely injured in rollovers since Operation Iraqi Freedom began in March 2003, with 90 of them dying from their injuries. "This new technology is... Read More