Press Releases
Gillibrand Joins Call To Eliminate Food Deserts And Address Food Insecurity During Coronavirus Pandemic
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, joined more than 20 Senate colleagues in calling on the Trump administration to prioritize programs to improve access to nutritious, affordable food as low-income and communities of color are disproportionately affected by food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. In a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Gillibrand and her colleagues expressed concern about how limited … Continue Reading
June 11, 2020
Gillibrand, Colleagues Demand Answers From Trump Administration On Food Box Program
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, joined committee members in pushing the Trump administration for greater transparency on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. Recent reports have raised significant concern over the program's ability to connect the food boxes to food banks and feed hungry Americans who have had trouble accessing food due to the COVID-19 crisis. In a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) … Continue Reading
June 11, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Nearly $200K In Funding For Cornell University’s Division Of Social And Economic Sciences
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $192,235 in federal funding for Cornell University's Division of Social and Economic Sciences. This funding was awarded through the National Science Foundation (NSF) and will be used to support a research study entitled "RAPID: Understanding increased social bias during the COVID-19 crisis in the United States." Leading social psychologists and behavioral economists will analyze public opinion … Continue Reading
June 11, 2020
Gillibrand, Markey Urge Trump Administration To Reestablish The National Security Council’s Global Health Security Directorate As U.S. Struggles To Coordinate Federal Response To Coronavirus Pandemic
U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Ed Markey (D-MA) led a group of Senate Democrats in urging the Trump administration to reestablish the National Security Council's (NSC) Global Health Security Directorate (GHSD) as a separate entity from the Counterproliferation and Biodefense Directorate (CBD). The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of a central agency to set policies and coordinate responses to global health crises. The GHSD was disbanded in 2018 as part of the … Continue Reading
June 10, 2020
As Consideration Of NDAA Continues, Gillibrand Announces Passage Of Safe To Report Act Amendment To Help Address Military Sexual Assault
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, announced that her Safe to Report Act passed the full Senate Armed Service Committee as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bipartisan Safe to Report Act would empower survivors of sexual violence to report assault without fear of collateral misconduct charges for minor offenses, such as underage drinking or breaking curfew. "Sexual assault is a pervasive … Continue Reading
June 10, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Nearly $300K In Appalachian Regional Commission Funding For Broome County And The Town Of Friendship
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $289,000 in federal funding allocated through the Appalachian Regional Commission. This funding will be used to increase healthy and fresh foods accessibility for residents in the Northside of Binghamton and to strengthen Friendship Central School District's STEM program, providing STEM and Skilled Trade education for middle and high schoolers. "Access to fresh, affordable food and a quality … Continue Reading
June 10, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Over $400 Million In Federal Funding To Address Housing Insecurity During The COVID-19 Pandemic
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $400,531,196 in federal funding allocated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Emergency Solutions Grant-Coronavirus (ESG-CV) program. This second round of ESG funding was secured under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and will be used to mitigate COVID-19's impact on New Yorkers experiencing or at risk of experiencing … Continue Reading
June 09, 2020
As Congressional Democrats Push For Sweeping Police Reform Amidst Nationwide Protests On Police Brutality, Gillibrand Highlights Bicameral Plan To Hold Police Accountable, Increase Transparency, And More
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand highlighted a bicameral plan to hold police accountable for misconduct, address systemic racism in police practices, improve transparency, make lynching a federal crime, and institute other police reform measures. Following Gillibrand's introduction of the Eric Garner Excessive Force Prevention Act - the Senate companion to Representative Hakeem Jeffries' (D-NY) legislation that was introduced following the death of Eric Garner in 2014 - the bicameral … Continue Reading
June 09, 2020
VIDEO: As New York’s Transit Systems Struggle With Revenue Loss Due To COVID-19 Pandemic, Gillibrand Pushes For Public Transit Funding To Support Economic Recovery
*Watch EPW Committee Hearing Video HERE* U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, pushed for funding to support New York's public transit systems to help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic in the latest EPW Committee hearing. As transit systems struggle to adapt to significant revenue loss due to sharp declines in ridership, Gillibrand questioned witnesses about the benefits of reliable public transit on creating economic development … Continue Reading
June 09, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Nearly $1.5 Million In Federal Funding For Agricultural Research
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,448,839 in federal funding for agricultural research and development in rural New York. The funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), and will be used to address food insecurity and support economic development in rural agriculture. Specifically, this research will investigate solutions to increase food security … Continue Reading
June 09, 2020
Opening Statement As Prepared For Delivery; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; Ranking Member, Personnel Subcommittee; Committee On Armed Services; Personnel Subcommittee Markup; June 9, 2020, 2 PM
Thank you, Senator Tillis. I want to publicly acknowledge you and your staff for continuing the Subcommittee's tradition of bipartisanship, including in this markup. I am pleased that the Subcommittee mark includes several provisions that I requested, including: The expansion of victims' rights to include notice of appellate proceedings of court-martial convictions; A provision I worked on with Senator Ernst to procure body armor that properly fits a female body; A bill I worked on … Continue Reading
June 08, 2020
Gillibrand, Colleagues Condemn Devos’ Misguided Title IX Rule Weakening Protections For Survivors Of Sexual Assault
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, lead sponsor of the bipartisan Campus Accountability and Safety Act to combat sexual violence on college campuses, joined Senate Democrats in condemning Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' final Title IX rule, which weakens protections for student survivors of sexual harassment and assault. In a letter, Gillibrand and her colleagues expressed concern that the rule makes it harder for students to report sexual assault and harassment, and noted the inappropriate … Continue Reading
June 05, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Co-Sponsor Bill To Sustain, Expand Puerto Rico’s Earned Income Tax Credit
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand joined colleagues to announce bicameral legislation that would help hardworking low- and moderate-income American families in Puerto Rico. Similar legislation was included in the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800) that passed the House of Representatives last month. The bill enhances Puerto Rico's local Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by providing a 3:1 federal match, in which the federal government provides three dollars for every dollar provided by … Continue Reading
June 04, 2020
Gillibrand Introduces Bicameral Legislation To Outlaw Chokeholds By Law Enforcement As Federal Civil Rights Violation
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced Senate legislation, the Eric Garner Excessive Force Prevention Act, which would make the use of chokeholds or maneuvers that restrict oxygen intake or blood flow to the brain by law enforcement unlawful under federal civil rights law. While some police departments have prohibited, limited or discouraged the use of such maneuvers, there is no federal ban on chokeholds, nor is there a national standard on what constitutes excessive force. … Continue Reading
June 04, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Nearly $4 Million In Federal Funding For Telehealth Services
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $3,890,318 in federal funding to provide additional telehealth services for New Yorkers affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The eighth set of telehealth funding was allocated to 12 New York health care organizations through the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES). This federal funding will … Continue Reading
June 03, 2020
Gillibrand, Colleagues Urge Defense Department To Prevent Administration From Using U.S. Military Amidst Nationwide Protests
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined Senate Democrats in condemning the Trump administration's threat to use military units meant for combat to protect Trump's political interests. Amidst nationwide protests calling for justice following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to suppress peaceful protests. In a letter to U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint … Continue Reading
June 03, 2020
ICYMI: Gillibrand Speaks With NY1’S Errol Louis About Excessive Force Prevention Act, Institutional Racism, And More
***WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE*** U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand spoke with Errol Louis on NY1 last night about her upcoming introduction of the Excessive Force Prevention Act in honor of Eric Garner, George Floyd, and countless others killed by police violence. The legislation would make chokeholds or maneuvers that restrict oxygen intake or blood flow to the brain by law enforcement a federal civil rights violation. U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) introduced the original House bill … Continue Reading
June 02, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand, Tonko Announce Nearly $61 Million In Federal Funding For New Bus Rapid Transit Line In The Capital Region
U.S. Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and U.S. Congressman Paul D. Tonko today announced $60,900,000 in federal funding for the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), allocated by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)'s Capital Investment Grant Program. Specifically, this grant will provide funding for the Washington/Western Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, creating an 8.5-mile-long BRT line that will connect the corridor from the downtown … Continue Reading
June 02, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Over $1.1 Million In Federal Funding For Job Corps Scholars Program
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,186,900 in federal funding to establish a Job Scholarship Program for Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, New York. This federal funding was allocated through the US Department of Labor as part of the Job Corps Scholars Program and will provide at-risk youths with skills training and individualized employment counseling to ensure that they have the institutional support needed to succeed … Continue Reading
June 01, 2020
As COVID-19 Intensifies Racial Disparities In Maternal Health, Gillibrand Pushes To Strengthen Maternal Health Policies In Next Coronavirus Relief Package
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand called on Senate leadership to strengthen maternal health policies in the next coronavirus relief package. Communities of color, especially those in rural areas, are being hit disproportionately hard by the coronavirus pandemic which has stressed the country's maternal care system and intensified pre-existing racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. Senator Gillibrand, alongside U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Tina Smith … Continue Reading
