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US Senator Charles E. Schumer today met with the Commander of the Niagara Air Reserve Station (NARS), Colonel Jim Roberts, to discuss ongoing operations at NARS as well as efforts to enhance the station and support its personnel. NARS is home to the 914th Airlift Wing and the 107th Air Refueling wing, both of which have served as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Niagara Air Reserve Station is critically important to the local economy and to our military. The men and women of the 914th... Read More

It has been reported today that economist and Bush Social Security Committee member, Bob Pozen, criticized Bush's Social Security privatization proposal. He said the president's insistence that individual accounts come out of Social Security is a bad idea that Democrats wont support and he advised the president to say they arent a required part of his Social Security plan. In reaction, Sen. Chuck Schumer, a member of the Senate Finance Committee and point person on Social Security for... Read More

Washington, DC Six months following the expiration of the federal assault weapons ban, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (DCA), John W. Warner (RVA), Charles Schumer (DNY), and Mike DeWine (ROH) today introduced legislation that would reestablish the ban in federal law. Since the assault weapons ban was allowed to expire, it has been open season for criminals who want the most dangerous types of militarystyle assault weapons, Senator Feinstein said. Let there be no doubt, these weapons are the... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced over $1.86 million in federal funds for North County fire departments and organizations to pay for fire operations and fire safety. The funds are being awarded through the Assistance to Firefighters program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This is a great day for fire departments in the North Country, said Schumer. Firefighters and emergency professionals put their lives on the line every day and it is imperative that we do... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, spoke to the National Press Club at a luncheon today to discuss the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court. In particular, Schumer addressed how Judge Roberts can convince Democrats to vote for his nomination in the coming weeks and months. Below is the text of the speech: MODESTY AND STABILITY ON THE BENCH: HOW JOHN ROBERTS CAN CONVINCE DEMOCRATS TO VOTE FOR HIM I want to... Read More

As the Youth Council deliberates on a location for the 2007 USA National Hockey Championships, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today wrote to the Director of Youth Ice Hockey at USA Hockey Inc. to urge the organization to choose Amherst, New York as the host of the 2007 USA Hockey National Championships. Amherst is the ideal location for host of the championship, as Western New York has long been a hotbed of hockey enthusiasm. Amherst is the perfect place to host this event, Schumer said. They... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Rep. Sander Levin (DMI) held a joint conference call to respond to President Bushs announcement last night that he wanted to not only privatize Social Security, but also include a plan that would deeply cut benefits to lower and middle class families. Schumer, a member of the Senate Finance Committee and Chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, and Levin, the senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security have both... Read More

WASHINGTON, DC Senators Chuck Schumer (DNY) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (DNY) were joined by Representatives Louise Slaughter (DNY), Tom Reynolds (RNY) and Brian Higgins (DNY) in writing to the Department of Labor (DOL) to request an immediate search for additional records about uranium rollings conducted at the Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna, NY during the 1950s. Under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act (EEOICPA), DOL has the responsibility to set eligibility dates... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today unveiled a new proposal to support volunteer firefighters and emergency medical service (EMS) providers in Rochester/Finger Lakes region. Joined by volunteer firefighters who shared their recruitment struggles, Schumer announced his legislation, the Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts (SERVE) Act to offer a $1,000 tax credit for active members of volunteer firefighting and EMS organizations. Schumer specifically addressed the recruitment and... Read More

In June of 2004, Senator Charles E. Schumer asked the Department of Justice to investigate and report on how the Department hired at least three individuals to oversee the reconstitution of Iraqs prison system, despite credible allegations of serious misconduct when those individuals previously served as prison officials in the United States. The Justice Department referred the matter to its Inspector General and today Schumer received the Inspector Generals report on this matter. During the... Read More

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $18 million for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and $36.5 million for the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the FY06 Energy and Water Appropriations Committee Report. 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. Schumer had aggressively lobbied... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that $500,000 will be awarded to Cayuga County from the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development program as a Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Grant. The federal funds will be used to assist in the creation of a renewable energy system, and to make energyefficient improvements to existing operations. "This is a winwin for Cayuga County," Schumer said. "Not only will the... Read More

Joint Statement from Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham on Yesterday's Meeting with Treasury Secretary Snow and Fed Chairman Greenspan: We had a very productive meeting. We are hopeful we will make progress in the near future." Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced $10,000 for Jazz Forum Arts, Inc., and $15,000 for Westchester Arts Council, Inc. The groups received the grants through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Access to Artistic Excellence program. This program aims to foster and preserve excellence in the arts and increase access to the arts. "This is a great day for Westchester County,@ Schumer said. An investment in the arts is an investment in Westchester Countys future as a tourist... Read More

Over one million taxpayers across New York could see an average tax increase of $3,589 if a recommendation from the Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform is made to the tax code, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer explained today. Next week, the Panel will formally recommend eliminating the federal deduction for state and local taxes as a way to pay for broader tax reforms. This idea is an absolute killer for New York, Schumer said. Repealing the deduction would devastate people at all levels of... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that former New York Assemblyman and Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Eric Vitaliano was formally nominated to fill one of two existing vacancies on the Eastern District Federal Bench this morning. Last May, Schumer asked President George W. Bush to nominate Judge Vitaliano, and if approved by the Senate, he would become the only judge on that court to hail from Staten Island. "Judge Vitaliano has had a distinguished career as a... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced the Village of Endicott Fire Department will received $109,763 from the 2005 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Village of Endicott Fire Department will use the federal funds for operations and safety improvements. This funding will go a long way in supporting the Village of Endicott Fire Department, said Schumer. We can never truly repay our firefighters and first responders... Read More

In light of an $112 million projected increase in the Rochester area home heating costs this winter, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on the Administration to fully fund the Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and to tap the government's emergency heating oil stockpile as soon as possible to help bring down high heating fuel prices. The 2 million barrels in the Northeast Heating Oil Reserve would give consumers in the region supplies for about 10 days, the time needed... Read More

As Thanksgiving approaches, and New Yorkers prepare for the busiest travel season of the year, today U.S. Senator Charles E .Schumer released a study confirming many travelers worst suspicions, New York City area airports are, for the first time, the worst airports in the country in on time performance, and the problem has gotten markedly worse in the past few years. With nearly 100 million travelers passing through NYC area airports and growing, Schumer called on the FAA, the Administration and... Read More

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the recently merged U.S. AirwaysAmerica West to serve Pepsi Products. Pepsi is headquartered in New York and employs 6,443 new Yorkers. U.S. Airways currently serves CocaCola products and America West serves Pepsi products, and executives for the airlines say they intend to make a final decision on drinks by the end of this year. There is no better way to show a commitment to New York, then to serve New Yorks products on these flights, Schumer said.... Read More