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Today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Internal Revenue Service to release approximately $520,000 in FICA reimbursements owed to Nassau County and some of its employees for the years 19961999. The IRS has failed to release the money for a decade due to a dispute over a small portion of the refund and Schumer said today that its well past time to make the payment. The IRS must speed up the longdelayed refunds of more than half a million dollars to Nassau County and some of its... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fully fund the New York State Office of Mental Healths (NYSOMH) application for Crisis Counseling Services, Regular Services Program. Project Recovery is a state coordinated program offering mental health and crisis counseling to victims of this past summers disastrous flooding from Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Montgomery, Otsego and Tioga Counties. The State will submit an appeal to FEMA for... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the North Country has received three federal grants totaling $123,728 from the FY06 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Saranac Volunteer Fire Department in Clinton County will receive a $54,055 grant, Wilmington Fire District #1 in Essex County will receive a $12,920 grant and Rutland Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. in Jefferson County will receive a $56,753 grant. All... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced $2,555,100 has been awarded to Maranatha Human Services of Poughkeepsie by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Grant program. The funds will be used to build new senior housing units in Amsterdam "This is great news for Amsterdam, said Schumer. For far too many seniors, the cost of living is so high that it forces them to move elsewhere, or move into substandard... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Hudson Valley has received two federal grants totaling $147,565 from the FY06 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Good Will Fire District in Orange County will receive $82,585 grant and the Youngsville Fire District in Sullivan County will receive a $64,980 grant. Both fire departments will use these funds to improve operations and safety. The grants are part of... Read More

After a week of warm weather and spring showers throughout the Northeast, US Senator Chuck Schumer today declared that the war of the competing Groundhog Day groundhogs is over, because the Staten Island groundhog has beaten his betterknown Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania cousin in a landslide. Armed with data showing Staten Island Chuck's vastly superior record predicting the end of winter, Schumer today wrote to the Mayor of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania, asking him to relinquish his town's... Read More

Joined by whistle blowers who work as passenger and baggage screeners for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that guards without government background checks are guarding airport terminals at night, checking passengers IDs and boarding passes, and handling luggage after it has been screened all because federal budget cutbacks mean there aren't enough TSA screeners with full... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged Secretary of State Colin Powell to use his influence to help award Lockheed Martin's Owego plant with a massive multimillion dollar presidential helicopter contract. Schumer urged Powell to help deliver the contract to Lockheed by emphasizing the superiority of Lockheed's US 101, a helicopter that has seen service in Bosnia and Operation Iraqi Freedom. If Lockheed Martin were to get the contract to build helicopters that transport the president,... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced over $64,000 in federal funds for the Barnard fire department to pay for fire operations and fire prevention. The funds are being awarded through the Assistance to Firefighters program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This is a great day for the Barnard fire department, said Schumer. In the brave new post9/11 world, our first responders must be well trained and well equipped to deal with any problem that comes their... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged Columbia County residents at the Providence Hall Senior Housing center in Hudson to join him in putting grassroots pressure on the President to protect full Social Security benefits for current and future retirees. Schumer's effort comes on the heels of Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan's suggestion last week that the benefits be significantly scaled down. "When it comes to cutting Social Security, my answer is no way, no time, no... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced over $79,000 in federal funds for the Lewiston fire department to pay for fire operations and fire prevention. The funds are being awarded through the Assistance to Firefighters program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This is a great day for the Lewiston fire department, said Schumer. In the brave new post9/11 world, our first responders must be well trained and well equipped to deal with any problem that comes their... Read More

A broad coalition of groups including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Medical Association (AMA), the National Medical Association (NMA) and the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) today endorsed US Senator Charles E. Schumer's Sickle Cell Treatment Act, which would help treat and expand services for Americans with Sickle Cell Disease. At a press conference in Washington, DC, elementary school children presented artwork to... Read More

With published reports today indicating that Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) leaders may be secondguessing their plans to cut oil production by up to 2.5 million barrels a day, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked President Bush to weigh in and urge the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other OPEC leaders not to make the cuts, which were specifically designed to drive up the costs of gasoline and home heating oil prices. "It's too soon to say, but there may be a... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today implored Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Mark W. Everson to overrule the proposal to transfer 135 jobs from the IRS's Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Holtsville offices to service centers located in other states. Schumer said that both the lost jobs and the potential reductions in service convenience for local taxpayers and businesses argue for keeping the jobs where they are. "I understand that the IRS feels it needs to make cuts, but deciding... Read More

With Tuesday's Senate vote on reauthorizing the Assault Weapons Ban expected to be VERY close, US Senator Charles Schumer today urged VP Cheney to be available to cast the tiebreaking vote in favor of renewing the Assault Weapons Ban if needed. As President of the US Senate, Cheney casts the deciding vote when there is a tie. In a letter being sent to the VicePresident today, "I expect that should there be a tie vote on the Assault Weapons Ban, you will fulfill the Presidents commitment... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer said today that the worstcase scenario for New York dairy farmers has apparently been averted in the newly created free trade agreement with Australia. In response to fears that the agreement would open up New York's dairy markets to floods of cheap Australian imports, a measure that could cost New York dairy farmers billions in lost revenues, Schumer last month urged the President to ensure that the agreement protect US dairy producers from such an influx of... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled sweeping bipartisan legislation that would give prosecutors tough new tools to go after gang activity in Newburgh, where hundreds of gang members have been identified by local law enforcement. Schumer said that in light of the occurrence of gang activity in the area it is vital that law enforcement be beefed up with more personnel, stronger punishments for criminals, and more money to fund special toughoncrime programs. "It's not something we... Read More

The proposed company that would result from a Bank of America/Fleet merger should have a representative of Upstate New York on its Board of Directors, US Senator Charles E. Schumer said today. Schumer said that the region should be represented in company deliberations to ensure that Fleet's strong presence in the area is maintained and that decisions affecting jobs and other major concerns include input from someone knowledgeable in and protective of the area. "I've spoken with the... Read More

Standing with workers at the struggling Precision Grinding & Manufacturing factory in Rochester, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today detailed his new plan to get tough with China and keep manufacturing jobs in the Rochester/Finger Lakes area. With Rochester facing its highest unemployment rate of the last twenty years, Schumer detailed his bipartisan effort to get the Chinese government to stop manipulating the value of its currency (the yuan), a practice that gives the Chinese an unfair... Read More

Joined by Caryn Battaglia, whose husband was brutally murdered by gang members and died on the steps of their Lynbrook home in September, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled sweeping bipartisan legislation to give prosecutors tough new tools to go after gang activity in New York. Gang slayings are up 80% over the last year in New York City, despite the historic lows in overall number of murders. "When a father of two can be shot and stabbed to death for absolutely no reason while... Read More