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U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that four fire departments in the Capitol Region will receive federal grants totaling $162, 973 from the 2006 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). City of Amsterdam Fire Department in Montgomery County will receive a $52,473 grant, Schodack Valley Fire Company in Rensselaer County will receive a $42,570 grant, West Charlton Fire District in Saratoga County will receive a... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that two fire departments in the Madison Region will receive federal grants totaling $299,794 from the 2006 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Morrisville Volunteer Fire Department will receive a $148,443 grant to improve operations and safety, and the Canastota Fire Department will receive a $176,294 grant for vehicle acquisition. The grants are part of the nineteenth... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that one two departments in Central New York will receive federal grants totaling $202,805 from the 2006 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). South Onondaga Fire Department, Inc. in Onondaga County will receive a $41,305 grant and the Mexico Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. in Oswego County will receive a $161,500 grant. The two grants will be used to improve operations and... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that Schoharie Fire Department has received a federal grant totaling $90,725 from the FY06 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This grant will be used to improve operations and safety. This grant is part of the eighteenth round of DHS FY06 AFG program awards to several fire departments throughout the country. "This funding will go a long way in supporting the first... Read More

Senator Charles E. Schumer today praised passage in the Senate Appropriations Committee of a bill that will block hospital spending cuts sought by the Administration. The full Senate is expected to vote on the measure next week. Senator Schumer challenged the Administration on the cuts and has been working with Senate colleagues to restore the funding. The Supplemental Funding bill also prevents the elimination of the Medicaid Graduate Medical Education program, which provides funding to... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Gloversville Fire Department in Fulton County will receive a federal grant totaling $23,750 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 and is part of the twentysecond round of DHS FY06 AFG program awards to several fire departments throughout the country. "This funding will go a long way in... Read More

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer called on the Air Force to reopen the books on the flawed bidding process that led to Boeing being awarded the Combat Search and Rescue Personnel Recovery Vehicle (CSARX) over Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin, who had said they would build the vehicle at its plant in Owego. On Monday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest filed by Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft, saying that the U.S. Air Force's evaluation of the "life... Read More

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