Press Releases
As Communities Prepare For Reopening, Gillibrand Pushes For Legislation To Fund And Stabilize Child Care
Confronting shortages of essential child care caused by the outbreak of COVID-19, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pushing for the inclusion of the Child Care Is Essential Act in the next coronavirus relief package. During the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly half of all child care providers have had to shut their doors and the industry faces a potential loss of more than 4 million child care slots, which would leave millions of families without access to essential child care services when normal … Continue Reading
June 16, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Over $2.5 Million In Federal Funding For Telehealth Services
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $2,667,741 in federal funding to provide additional telehealth services for New Yorkers affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The ninth set of telehealth funding was awarded to seven 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 16, 2020
ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Gillibrand Urges Congress To Pass The Justice In Policing Act
**WATCH Senator Gillibrand's Speech on the Senate Floor HERE** U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today spoke on the Senate floor to urge her colleagues to pass the Justice in Policing Act amidst nationwide protests calling for actions to address systemic racism and police brutality. The legislation proposes sweeping reforms to hold police accountable for misconduct, improve transparency, establish lynching as a federal crime, ban chokeholds, and enact other essential police reform measures. In … Continue Reading
June 15, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Co-Sponsor Bill To Make Safety Equipment Mandatory On Helicopters
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand co-sponsored the Helicopter Safety Act of 2020, a bill to require terrain awareness and warning systems, crash-resistant flight data, and voice recorders on all helicopters that carry six or more passengers. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) introduced this bicameral legislation. Since 2006, the National Transportation Safety Board has issued and re-issued recommendations … Continue Reading
June 15, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Nearly $4 Million In Federal Funding For Transportation Services In Chemung County
U.S. Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $3,800,000 in federal funding for Chemung County's C-Tran System. This federal funding was allocated by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the CARES Act and will help ensure the C-Tran busing system can continue offering essential public transportation during the COVID-19 outbreak. "As upstate communities in the Southern Tier reopen, it's imperative that they get all the federal tools … Continue Reading
June 15, 2020
Schumer, Gillibrand Announce Over $7.8 Million In Federal Head Start Funding For Long Island
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $7,861,808 in federal funding for the Economic Opportunity Commission of Nassau County. The funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Head Start Program and will be used to support child care, early childhood education and support services for low-income families in the area. "Study after study shows that the better we prepare our young children through programs … Continue Reading
June 12, 2020
Gillibrand Works To Expand Health Care Access For Immigrant Women By Co-Sponsoring The Heal Act
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has joined the calls of over 250 organizations to co-sponsor the Health Equity and Access under the Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Women and Families Act. This legislation would remove barriers to health care for immigrants, as our country and immigrant communities in particular are grappling with the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The HEAL Act would expand access to care by removing the five-year bar that immigrants face before becoming eligible for Medicaid and the … Continue Reading
June 12, 2020
Gillibrand, Colleagues Reiterate Call For Federal Investigation Into Racially Discriminatory And Violent Policing At Minneapolis Police Department After George Floyd’s Death
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined two dozen colleagues in a follow up letter to Attorney General Barr reiterating a previous request that the Department of Justice open an investigation into patterns and practices of racially discriminatory and violent policing practices in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). The senators asked for an explanation from Attorney General Barr on why he did not respond to their letter and to explain his statements on June 7th in an appearance on … Continue Reading
June 12, 2020
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
