Press Releases
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Nearly $7 Million Head Start Grant For Monroe County
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced a $6,942,997 federal grant for Action For a Better Community (ABC), a Rochester community-based early-education agency. Funding for ABC will support the Early Learning and Head Start programs that provide education and development services for low-income children. "Study after study shows that the better we prepare our young children via Head Start, the better they perform in school later in life," said … Continue Reading
February 03, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce More Than $740,000 In USDA Funding To Support Beginning Farmers Program At Stone Barns In Westchester
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $744,951 in federal funding for Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, in Westchester. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and will be used to continue to provide education and training programs for new farmers and ranchers. The program provides technical training, business skills, online connectivity training as … Continue Reading
February 02, 2015
Gillibrand, Mccaskill Praise Proposed New Resources To Combat Campus Sexual Assault
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Claire McCaskill today praised the more than $30 million in new resources included in the President's budget, to help fund an additional 200 full-time staff at the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, which investigates and enforces sexual assault laws at colleges and universities. "There's a lot of work Congress must do to address and prevent campus sexual assault, and that includes enforcing the laws we already have on the … Continue Reading
February 02, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce More Than $1.4 Million In Federal Funds To Two Ithaca Institutions To Train Returning Vets To Be Farmers & Ranchers
Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide $1,420,227 in federal funds to help two New York State organizations train beginning farmers and ranchers, including returning veterans looking to start farm-related careers. These federal funds will be allocated through the USDA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). Cornell University in Ithaca will receive $712,500 in federal funds to … Continue Reading
February 02, 2015
Gillibrand: President’s Budget Important First Step For Middle Class Families & Important Investment To Fight Campus Sexual Assault
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement on the President's budget, announced today: "The President's budget is not just a starting point for discussions with Congress, it is fundamentally a statement of values. With his proposal, the President rightly makes the growth of the middle class a priority and focuses on addressing the challenges working families across the country face. On issues like paid family leave, affordable child care and early … Continue Reading
January 29, 2015
Gillibrand Urges Congress To Fully Fund Department Of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. - As Congress prepares for a debate on the funding of the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today urged her colleagues in Congress to fully fund the Department to ensure that it can continue to fulfill its duty to protect Americans. "A fully-funded Department of Homeland Security is vitally important to ensuring the safety of Americans in New York and across the country," said Senator Gillibrand. "I urge my colleagues to leave partisan politics … Continue Reading
January 29, 2015
Senators Urge Administration To Counter Palestinian Authority’s Efforts To Join International Criminal Court
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today led a group of 75 senators in urging the Obama Administration to counter efforts by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to seek membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, the senators highlighted their concerns regarding President Abbas' recent efforts to use the ICC as a means to threaten Israel, and sought the administration's assistance on several … Continue Reading
January 29, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Rochester-SUNY Proposal Will Advance To Final Round Of Competition For $110 Million To Create New National Institute Of Photonics – Senators Have Supported Effort & Say Rochester Is Well-Positioned To Win, As Home Of World’s Greatest Concentration Of Expertise In Optics, Photonics, Imaging
Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has selected the joint proposal led by the University of Rochester (UR) and the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) to advance to the final application round of the administration's new Integrated Photonics Institute for Manufacturing Innovation (IP-IMI) program. Schumer and Gillibrand explained that, in October 2014, the Obama Administration launched a new … Continue Reading
January 28, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Over $1m In Federal Hazard Mitigation Funding For Staten Island University Hospital; Grant Will Help Fund Phase 1 In Project That Will Elevate Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Systems At Hospital’s Central Utility Plant
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $1,089,855 in federal funding for Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH). The funding is being provided through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) hazard mitigation grant program. The grant will help fund the elevation of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems for the Staten Island University Hospital North Campus' Central Utility Plant. Overall, SIUH applied for $23 million in hazard mitigation … Continue Reading
January 28, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce More Than $191 Million In Fed Funds For 680 New York State Organizations Working To End Homelessness
Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced $191,794,858 in federal funding has been awarded to 680 different organizations in New York State working to end homelessness. The funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program. The CoC Program provides funding to non-profits, as well as local and state governments, to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families and promote access to … Continue Reading
January 28, 2015
Gillibrand Introduces Loretta Lynch During Senate Judiciary Committee Attorney General Confirmation Hearing
Watch Senator Gillibrand Introduce Loretta Lynch Before the Committee Here Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced Loretta Lynch during the Senate Judiciary Committee U.S. Attorney General confirmation hearing. Below are the Senator's remarks as prepared for delivery: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Ranking Member Leahy. I am honored to be here today with Senator Schumer to introduce United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Loretta Lynch, as … Continue Reading
January 27, 2015
Gillibrand Statement Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released the following statement today to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau: "On the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, we remember the more than one million innocent Europeans, mostly Jewish, who perished at that camp because they had the wrong name, the wrong face, or the wrong God. "We must use this anniversary today to warn against a new wave of anti-Semitism - a movement that … Continue Reading
January 27, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce More Than $4 Million In Fed Funding For Westchester County For Hurricane Sandy Repairs At Glen Island Park
Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that Westchester County will receive $4,032,891.38 in federal funds to make permanent repairs to Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, which was damaged during Hurricane Sandy. Sections of the bath house were completely demolished and half the sand on the beach was swept away during Sandy. Many trees were also downed during the storm. The funding is being allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) … Continue Reading
January 23, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce New York Will Receive Additional $33 Million From Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program To Help Seniors And Low Income Families Offset The Cost Of Heating Their Homes – Second Installment Of Liheap Funding Will Help New Yorkers In Midst Of Cold Winter
Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that New York State will receive an additional $33,337,670 in heating assistance funds. The funds were allocated through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' (HHS) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Schumer and Gillibrand said this additional $33 million will bring New York State's total federal assistance for Fiscal Year 2015 to $377,245,102. Both Schumer and Gillibrand called on HHS to … Continue Reading
January 22, 2015
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce $154 Million In Federal Funding For Long Beach’s South Nassau Communities Hospital To Rebuild Former Long Beach Medical Center That Was Damaged By Superstorm Sandy
U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $154 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance will be obligated to South Nassau Communities Hospital for damages incurred at the former Long Beach Medical Center as a result of Superstorm Sandy. This federal funding will be used to rebuild an essential facility that provides Long Beach and the surrounding communities with vital medical services. The funding is authorized by FEMA's Alternative … Continue Reading
January 21, 2015
Burr, Gillibrand Bill Empowers American Families to Better Meet Child Care Needs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) reintroduced the Child and Dependent Care FSA Enhancement Act, a bill that strengthens dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for American families by increasing the amount of pre-tax dollars that families can put into these accounts from $5,000 to $7,500. The bill will also index this new cap to inflation so that the value of dependent care FSAs keeps up over time as the cost of child care … Continue Reading
January 21, 2015
As Keystone Debate Continues, Gillibrand Introduces Amendments To Protect Clean Water, Hold Oil & Gas Companies Accountable
WATCH VIDEO HERE Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced three new amendments to the Keystone XL Pipeline Act that would protect clean drinking water and hold oil and gas companies accountable for spills. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Senator Gillibrand reiterated her opposition to the Pipeline project but said the bill must be made better for Americans. "This project has many risks and few advantages, and I will be voting against it, but if this legislation … Continue Reading
January 20, 2015
Gillibrand Applauds President Obama For Focusing On Economic Opportunity, Growing The Middle Class In State Of The Union Address
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement tonight after President Obama delivered his State of the Union Address: "Tonight President Obama presented a plan to ensure a fair shot at the American dream for anyone willing to earn it. As I travel throughout the state, New Yorkers tell me they are still struggling even as the economy begins to show signs of recovery. They want action from Congress to ease the burden of the basic costs of living so they can … Continue Reading
January 20, 2015
Gillibrand Urges President & Congress To Finally Make College Safer By Passing Bipartisan Campus Sexual Assault Prevention Bill
Washington, DC - As the President prepares to discuss his proposal to help make college more affordable, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today urged the White House and Congress to also make campuses safer. Senator Gillibrand discussed the bipartisan legislation she introduced last fall, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, which will be reintroduced this Congress. She invited Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia University student and campus sexual assault survivor, as her guest to attend the … Continue Reading
January 16, 2015
With New York Ranked Least-Affordable State For Child Care, Gillibrand Announces New Bipartisan Legislation To Ease Burden Of Sky-High Child Care Costs For Working Families
Buffalo, NY - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced new bipartisan legislation today that would change the federal tax system to help make child care more affordable and accessible for working parents and families. With a new report confirming that New York families pay the highest child care costs in the country, parents and advocates from across Upstate New York joined Gillibrand to discuss the new push to make the services more affordable. "While middle class wages remain … Continue Reading
