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Normal 0 false false false ENUS XNONE XNONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today wrote to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging them to enhance their efforts to promote farmers markets and the benefits of locally grown food by creating a new, informative and easy to navigate website.  The current site is outdated, difficult to access and search , and it does not... Read More

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand urged the U.S. State Department to act swiftly to prevent the destruction of a historic Jewish cemetery in Spain. The situation is championed by community and international human rights leader Rabbi David Niederman, President of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. According to Rabbi Niederman, exhumation of bodies is currently underway at an ancient Jewish cemetery in Toledo, Spain, in order to construct a... Read More

United States Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Paul Tonko today called on Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Tom Vilsack to review a decision made by the government of West Virginia to cancel all bids for a competitive contract for the State of West Virginia's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Three bids had been submitted to West Virginia for the contract, and BeechNut Nutrition Corporation's bid was revealed to be the most competitive.  After the... Read More

As New York State's Quadricentennial celebrations unfold, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today personally called CSX CEO Michael Ward urging him to designate a temporary easement of 1200 feet of land on the eastern side of the Walkway over the Hudson Bridge until a final land transaction is completed. The land is required to establish trails to the bridge for pedestrian access for the marquee event of the celebration that will commemorate the 400 th anniversary of Henry Hudson's... Read More

Washington , D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $35,160 in federal dollars to help give students and teachers at Binghamton University's handson training and research experience in National Institutes of Health (NIH) laboratories. These federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Senators Schumer and Gillibrand helped pass earlier this year.   "Federal... Read More

Standing at Little York Lake Dam in Homer, NY, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealedthat dams in Cortland County and across New York State are in a dangerous state of disrepair.  Schumer today announced the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2009. Schumer said that many dams are more than 100 years old and some have been without attentive ownership and upkeep for decades.  Today, the Senator unveiled new legislation that would provide millions of dollars to communities across the... Read More

Normal 0 false false false ENUS XNONE XNONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Today, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Tim Bishop urged Department of Interior Secretary  Ken Salazar to establish a 30day interagency deadline to produce a response to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' soontobereleased Fire Island to Montauk Point Reformulation Draft Plan (FIMP) upon receipt of... Read More

WASHINGTON , D.C. - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced Thursday he would join 27 other senators in introducing a resolution calling for the inclusion of federallybacked health insurance option in health care reform.The resolution, led by Senator Sherrod Brown (DOH), says that any reform of our nation's health care system should give consumers a choice of an affordable, federallybacked option to introduce competition in the health insurance market and contain health care costs. A copy of... Read More

United States Senator Charles E Schumer, in a personal call to Wells Fargo & Company Chairman Richard Kovacevich, will tonight urge the company to accept a new, competitive bid for Hartmarx, parent company of Rochester business icon, Hickey Freeman.  Schumer will urge the bank to accept the bid, as it will allow the company to come out of bankruptcy intact and operational, preserving some 600plus jobs in Rochester and scores more in Buffalo.  Schumer noted that this offer to Wells Fargo -... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (DNY), the Chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, revealed at a Senate hearing Wednesday that illegal border crossings have been cut by more than 27 percent from a year ago, a potential sign of progress in the federal government's push to secure the nation's borders.                            The figure, provided by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office, represents a reduction in the number of apprehensions of illegal migrants by... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC-U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Senate has approved an agreement that will dramatically improve protections for New York shoppers who buy gift cards but then find that those cards come with sky high fees and balances that can draw down to zero if the cards aren't used quickly. Schumer said that this package of reforms was approved with bipartisan support and passed the full Senate as part of the major credit card reform legislation. President Obama has... Read More

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture will provide $110,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to the Churubusco Volunteer Fire Department through the USDA Rural Development's Community Facilities program. Funding will be used for emergency services and systems, and fire and rescue equipment including fire vehicles. The funding is part of $60 million in community facilities and emergency... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that ambulance providers across the Capital Region are on the verge of cuts in critical Medicare payments, hampering their ability to invest in lifesaving medical equipment and procedures. The cut, which is the result of an expiring provision, is the latest in a series of Medicare payment transitions.  Medicare ambulance payments have undergone major changes in the past 10 years, but a 2007 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report showed that... Read More

With Memorial Day around the corner, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that he is introducing the Homes for Heroes Act, a bill that would expand housing and rental assistance for homeless veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) estimates that approximately 200,000 adult veterans live on the streets or in shelters on any given day, and nearly twice as many are homeless at some point during the year. Schumer said the legislation is supported by President Obama - a former... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer joined Senators Robert Menendez, Robert Casey and Jay Rockefeller today wrote to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee urging them to support critical funding for the Forest Health Management's Pest Suppression program to fight the spread of invasive species threatening the forests and trees across Upstate New York and the Northeast region. The Pest Suppression program, which has been chronically underfunded under previous Administrations, funds partnerships with... Read More

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (DNY), the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, released troubling new data Wednesday suggesting that during the 2008 presidential election, more than a quarter of the ballots requested by U.S. military personnel deployed overseas-and other eligible voters living abroad-went... Read More

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 After meeting with nine family members of Flight 3407's victims yesterday, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today wrote to Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood urging him to ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reevaluate their training requirements for airline pilot training curricula. Hearings on the... Read More

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that in the budget released today, President Obama has included substantial new funding that can be used to fight the housing... Read More

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 With a record number of women troops serving our country and set to return home from serving abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed that specialized services for women veterans have not been uniformly prioritized by the Department of Veterans Affairs to handle the influx. Standing at the Syracuse... Read More

WASHINGTON , DC -President Obama's nominee to head the nation's immigration enforcement office told U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (DNY) on Tuesday that Mexican drug cartels have branched out into the humantrafficking business, but said his agency can't effectively police this professionalized smuggling of illegal immigrants across the southern border because it lacks broad arrest powers.   The Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the nation's lead agency stationed along the... Read More