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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 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

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

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

US Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that they have secured $250,000 towards the implementation of the Citys East Side combined sewer overflow (CSO) Long Term Control Program. The funding was included in the Fiscal Year 2004 Omnibus Appropriations Bill conference report passed today by the Senate. "Oswego is a beautiful city dependent on its waterfront for its economic and cultural life," Schumer said. "We need to do everything we can to... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced a major new housing plan to vastly expand access to middle income housing in Ulster County where the median price of buying a new house has skyrocketed by 39 percent over the last two years. Schumer detailed a $300 million expansion of an alreadyoversubscribed Fannie Mae initiative that lets middle income families in the New York metropolitan area purchase homes with down payments as low as $500. "We all know that middle income housing has been... Read More

US Senator Charles Schumer said a new plan announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today in response to the MyDoom virus falls short and outlined a series of measures to improve federal efforts to combat viruses and cyberattacks. Schumer said DHS' emailbased warning system would likely lead to more viruses and lacks mandatory reporting requirements. "What DHS did today was essentially challenge computer hackers all over the world to put a virus into an email that mimics... Read More

Safe and dependable air service is a critical engine of Western New York's continued economic growth, said Schumer. This funding will allow Chautauqua County Jamestown Airport to acquire new technology needed to make the necessary improvements to meet today's modern aviation demands. Chautauqua County Jamestown Airport will use the grant to improve the runway safety areas that do not comply with current FAA requirements and bring them in compliance with current standards. In June of last... Read More

Because of USDA mismanagement, dairy farmers in Capital Region lost $2.7 million since 2001; Central NY $3.5m; Hudson Valley $1m; North Country $6.4m; Rochester/Finger Lakes $2.9m; Southern Tier $4.5m; Western NY $4.1m US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that his effort to penalize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) whenever it mismanages a price support program for New York's dairy farmers passed the Senate today. Last month, Schumer revealed that the USDA has shortchanged... Read More

Armed with FBI information released over the last two weeks indicating terrorists may use truck bombs to attack highprofile targets like the Empire State Building and on the heels of this week's announcement of credible intelligence information pointing to terrorist attacks in the USA this summer US Senator Charles E. Schumer today renewed his push for a comprehensive antiterrorist truckbomb plan. After 14 months of Schumer's urging, the US Transportation Security Administration finally... Read More

US Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $2.4 million under the FY05 National Defense Appropriations Act for the State University of Buffalos Center for Bioinformatics. The bill must now be approved by the full Senate before being sent to a House and Senate Conference Committee and eventually being signed into law. "This money will do great things for Buffalos economy while supporting major advances that will... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that he has secured $500,000 for the Community Action Organization (CAO) of Erie County, as part of the CommerceJusticeState Appropriations component of the omnibus bill passed today by the Senate. The funds will be used to create programs aimed at fighting crime in Buffalo's East Side. "Make no mistake about it. Innovation and hard work are important, but to really get crime down you need to provide a community with the resources it needs... Read More