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Schumer: With New York State education money already in doubt, feds must come through with money it promised schools in Rochester/Finger Lakes area; New bipartisan plan would restore full funding for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) With New York State education funds mired in uncertainty, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today called for the federal government to deliver on its commitment to fully fund its education budget for the Rochester/Finger Lakes area. Schumer today... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today pressed VA Secretary Anthony Principi about his unexpected delay in announcing the fate of the Canandaigua VA hospital. Principi, who was expected to decide earlier this month whether to approve a plan to keep the hospital open and move 50 psychiatric beds to the Batavia and/or Buffalo VA facilities, assured Schumer last night that the delay does not indicate a change in the plan to keep the facility open and said a final announcement was likely to come within... Read More

With New York State education funds mired in uncertainty, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today called for the federal government to deliver on its commitment to fully fund its education budget for the Syracuse/Central New York area. Schumer today released a new analysis showing that under the Administration's proposed federal budget, schools in Central New York would be shortchanged approximately $43 million for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that funds special... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked America Online to find a solution to ensure that a Staten Island 9/11 father can continue to use his AOL account to send emails to other 9/11 families. Because he was sending emails to so many 9/11 families that have asked to be placed on his distribution lists, AOL computers automatically flagged him as a spammer. Schumer, the leading antispam advocate in Congress, said that AOL should be commended for their strong policies and procedures to fight spam,... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today detailed a comprehensive plan to bolster law enforcement efforts in Plattsburgh. The Senator outlined plans to locate a new law enforcement center at the former Air Force base that will house federal, local, and state agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). In addition, Schumer announced a commitment from the DEA to bring three additional agents to Plattsburgh for better defense against a potential... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today asked US Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton to reopen the Statue of Liberty's Crown to visitors and sightseers, not just the base of the statue. In an interview on NBC's Today show this morning, the Secretary promised that the public will be allowed to climb the 354 steps to the statue's crown. But Secretary Norton did not repeat that promise in her official remarks at the Statue. Schumer today asked the Secretary to reconfirm her commitment to... Read More

US Senator Charles Schumer Friday will host a delegation of Buffalo elected and economic development officials at Battery Park City in Manhattan on Friday to discuss how the Battery Park City project can serve as a model for Buffalo's outer harbor redevelopment efforts. Schumer and the Buffalo officials will meet with the Battery Park City authority and tour the site of the Battery Park City project. "A Buffalo version of Battery Park City would have this area buzzing with... Read More

In the war on terrorism, John Ashcroft has frequently gone overboard when dealing with liberties, but hasnt even gotten the ship out of port when it comes to administration, coordination, technology, and funding, Schumer said. Thirtyone months after 9/11, the FBIs computer system is still an unmitigated disaster, were woefully short on appropriately trained analysts and translators, and the Administration steadfastly refuses to adequately fund the war on terror. Its simply indefensible that the... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on President Bush to use his clout with the House of Representatives to secure passage of urgentlyneeded legislation in the war on terror. The bill, which is sponsored by Senators Schumer and John Kyl (RAZ) and passed the Senate 904 nearly a year ago, would give the FBI the power to get foreign intelligence surveillance warrants on lone wolf terrorists who cannot be linked to existing terror groups. The hearings before the 9/11 Commission have made it... Read More

In an attempt to reassure the financially struggling airline, US Senator Charles Schumer today urged Delta Air Lines to bring its air service to the ElmiraCorning Regional Airport in New York. Schumer, who successfully brought JetBlue to upstate New York, said adding the flights would not only offer residents greater travel options and provide businesses incentives to locate in the Southern Tier, but it could provide Delta with potential for new growth. "Bringing Delta's service to... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today visited the Oswegatchie River to see firsthand the collapsed retaining wall that he helped obtain federal funds to repair. Part of the retaining wall has fallen into the river and the wall threatens to damage the state Route 812 bridge. Schumer and Rep. McHugh spent the last two weeks successfully urging the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDANRCS) State Conservationist Joseph DelVecchio to approve St. Lawrence... Read More

Standing on a Manhattan block where FDNY Ladder and Engine Companies share a common wall with an NYPD precinct, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled a new proposal to create a new US Homeland Security Signal Corps a model program funded with $50 million from the Federal government to create a specialized regiment of police, firefighters, EMTs, and other emergency personnel whose only job is to guarantee that first responders can communicate with one another, headquarters and the public... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer announced today that police departments across New York State have secured more than $1.3 million from the US Department of Justice's Bulletproof Vest Partnership, a program Schumer cosponsored that splits the cost of new body armor with localities. Over the last year, Schumer had repeatedly reached out to police departments statewide, urging them to apply for these funds and guiding them through application process. "This funding will ensure that the men... Read More

The program that has added over 3,000 police officers to patrol Upstate New York since 1994 would be decimated if the Administration's current budget proposal is approved, US Senator Charles E. Schumer warned today. Schumer, one of the original authors of the 1994 legislation creating the COPS program, today urged Congress and the White House to save the program by restoring full funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Grant Program, which has sent upstate police... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that a second prison official in Iraq has a troubling history of defending prisoner abuse and called on Attorney General John Ashcroft to immediately initiate an investigation of all crimes committed by civilian contractors in the Iraqi prison system. Schumer discovered that John Armstrong, was forced from his post as the head of Connecticuts corrections department for defending abuses of prisoners but now serves in a highranking management position... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that the US Senate last night passed his legislation to increase research and improve treatment of Sickle Cell Disease. The bill, which Schumer cosponsored with Senator Jim Talent (RMO), was included in the the JumpStart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Bill that passed by a 92 to 5 vote late last night. This bill will provide a major boost for the health care of thousands of people. Thats why it won such broad and bipartisan support in a Senate where,... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the danger of a single company controlling as much as 80 or 90 percent of the New York milk market now appears to be averted because Farmland Dairies and Parmalat USA announced that they would restructure their bankrupt American operations rather than sell the company to a competitor. Last week, the US Department of Justice revealed it had already launched an antitrust investigation Schumer had requested that was assessing the potential impact... Read More

US Senator Charles Schumer today announced that he brokered a bipartisan arrangement that moves the DestinyNY megamall in Syracuse deal closer to completion. A measure that Schumer requested to place taxexempt "green bonds" that would help finance the project took a major step forward Wednesday night, as the Senate passed an amendment adding them to a pending international tax bill. "This is very good news for Destiny," Schumer said. "It bodes very well for green bonds.... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the US Department of Justice has agreed to a request he made six weeks ago and has already launched an antitrust investigation into the proposed sale of milk giant Parmalat. Schumer had asked the Justice Department in late March to closely monitor the potential impact on New York farm prices of a sale of Parmalat to one of the existing large New York milk suppliers before approving any deal. Schumer was concerned that if Parmalat were sold to... Read More

Washington, DCU.S. Senators Tim Johnson (DSD) and Charles Schumer (DNY) today requested that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) work with Congress to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs in the Medicare program. The Senators urged Secretary Tommy G. Thompsons assistance in repealing language in the Medicare prescription drug benefit law that expressly prohibits the Secretary from negotiating lower drug prices. Secretary Thompson recently approved a plan that will allow 5... Read More