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Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer wrote a personal letter to President George W. Bush asking him to take charge in the ongoing negotiations over Shared Border Management and immediately convene a binational summit between Canadian and U.S. officials in order to resolve security issues once and for all. Schumer said that despite recent progress, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and Canadian officials continue to revisit logistical and security issues, throwing... Read More

WASHINGTON Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed U.S. Senator Herb Kohl's (DWI) bill, the "Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act" (S.316), paving the way for its consideration by the full Senate. The bill, which explicitly prohibits brandname drug manufacturers from using payoff agreements to keep cheaper generic equivalents off the market, was passed by unanimous consent and not amended during today's meeting. "I believe today's vote shows that many of my... Read More

NEW YORK Today, Senator Charles E. Schumer (DNY) and Congresswoman Nydia M. Vel�zquez (DN.Y.) introduced legislation to help resolve the ongoing housing crisis in New York City by increasing funding for public housing. "Funding for our city's public housing has slowed to a trickle under the Bush administration," Congresswoman Vel�zquez said. "This has left NYCHA underfunded and thousands of our community's neediest residents feeling the consequences." "For... Read More

With the National Guard and reserves stretched to the limit, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that benefits for members of the National Guard and reserves who are called in to military service lag far behind those for active military and announced his new sweeping legislation to close the benefits gap. Under the current system, a reserve solider who is attending school and participating in full time training receives only a $297/month stipend while active duty soldiers receive... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded an additional $2,564,433 in federal funding to Erie County following this past October's devastating snowstorms. The Public Assistance (PA) grant will reimburse the Erie County government for debris removal in the wake of the storm. "This is great news for Erie County," Schumer said. "These unexpected early snowstorms left behind an enormous amount of debris from... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced the North Bangor Volunteer Fire Department in Franklin County will receive a federal grant totaling $66,740 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... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, along with Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and Rep. Frank Pallone, introduced the "Access to LifeSaving Medicine Act," which will give Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the express legal authority to approve safe, lower cost copies of biotech drugs, also known as biologics or biopharmaceuticals. Biotech drugs, which are produced from living cell cultures rather than being synthesized chemically,... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer moved to block the sale of Starrett City, one of New York's largest affordable housing developments located in the East New York and Canarsie sections of Brooklyn. The property is spread across 140 acres and consists of 46 towers, which contain 5,881 apartments and over 14,000 tenants. Schumer revealed today that HUD has the power to forbid the sale of this critically important middle class housing development and urged them to do so immediately.... Read More

Today Senators Charles E. Schumer, Sherrod Brown, Bob Casey, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill, Jon Tester, and Sheldon Whitehouse introduced the "Middle Class Opportunity Act of 2007" which will provide tax relief for middle class families to help them manage the crunch in balancing work and family, save for their retirements, and achieve their aspirations. This legislation is designed to accomplish four primary goals: help parents start a family; help families avoid unfair tax... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Senators John McCain (RAZ) and Chuck Schumer (DNY) today introduced the Securing Adolescents From ExploitationOnline Act of 2007. The bill, to be known as the SAFE Act, is designed to clarify and enhance the current system for electronic service providers (ESPs) to report online child pornography, making the failure to report child pornography a federal crime. "The fight to protect our children from exploitation has moved from the playground to the Internet, and we must... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) has awarded $80,000 to Herkimer and Fulton Counties in Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) funding. Both counties will use federal funds to help farmers in the area recover from damage caused by this fall's floods. "This is great news for farmers in the Mohawk Valley," said Schumer. "Our farmers, who are the backbone of the upstate economy, suffered... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Office of Community Services, has awarded a total of $30,000 to the Belmont Shelter Corporation to create a program that helps individuals set up savings accounts that will be used to purchase homes. "This grant will help more people in Buffalo to realize the American Dream of homeownership," Schumer said. "This program will help individuals create savings... Read More

With concerns over the growing gang presence across upstate New York and an increase in school violence in the United States, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today released a new report showing that there has been a 10 percent increase in reports of violent crime and a nearly 20 percent jump in the number of drug arrests in cities and communities across upstate New York. According to Schumer's report, there were nearly 14,000 arrests for violent crimes in 2005. In addition to gangs, local law... Read More

Washington, DC U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (DNY) and John McCain (RAZ) today introduced the "Keeping the Internet Devoid of SexualPredators Act of 2007," to be known as the KIDS Act, that would require registered sex offenders to submit email addresses, instant message addresses or other identifying Internet information to law enforcement to be placed on the National Sex Offender Registry. This bipartisan legislation would allow social networking websites that register with the... Read More

Concerned that Suffolk County is increasingly becoming a hotbed for gangrelated violence, today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced a plan to increase federal penalties to crack down on local street gangs and to provide more than $1 billion in funding nationwide for gang enforcement, prevention and intervention programs. Over the past decade, Suffolk County has become a breeding ground for gangs with the estimated number of members rising 900%, from 200 in 1997 to 2,000 in 2007, according... Read More

Washington Senators Charles E. Schumer and Barack Obama today introduced the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007, which will criminalize efforts to confuse or intimidate voters in an attempt to keep them away from the polls on Election Day. The ObamaSchumer bill will make it a crime to knowingly communicate, within sixty days of an election, false information about the time and place of elections, voter eligibility and registration rules, and endorsements by a... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking him to personally intervene in the Shared Border Management negotiations. Schumer, who has long led the fight to institute shared border management, recently lobbied with both Canadian Security Minister Stockwell Day and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to stay focused until a deal is done. Schumer said that any and all outstanding issues, including fingerprinting at the border... Read More

With hundreds of trucks leaving the Thruway and I81 each day clogging local roads, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled his federal legislation to keep trucks out of Central New York neighborhoods and restore communities quality of life. Over 1.9 million trucks travel through Central New York every year, but many leave the highways and drive on local roads as a shortcut and to avoid weigh stations, tolls and traffic. Throughout the past few years, there have been numerous accidents... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Turin Volunteer Fire Company in Lewis County will receive a federal grant of $135,404 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. The grant is part of the fourteenth round of DHS FY06 AFG program awards to several fire departments throughout the country. "This funding will go a long way in... Read More

On the heels of Tuesday nights freight train derailment in East Rochester and a recent rash of accidents across upstate New York, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today warned that the potentially disastrous accident could be just the tip of the iceberg if the federal government doesnt move quickly to improve freight rail infrastructure in the Rochester area and across the country. Today, Schumer announced he will reintroduce in the new congress his bipartisan Rail Crossing and Hazardous... Read More