Gillibrand Continues To Fight For Healthier School Meals

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) urged the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee to protect new rules to make school meals healthier under the Child Nutrition bill-the first major nutritional overhaul in 15 years. The House Republican-majority Appropriations Committee recently approved a spending bill that would slash funding needed to meet new nutritional standards for school breakfasts and lunches. This week, the bill will go to the floor of the House and … Continue Reading

Gillibrand, Schumer Secure Commitment From National Endowment For Arts Chair To Keynote League Of Historic Theatres Conference In Schenectady

Washington, DC - At the invitation of U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles E. Schumer, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, announced he will tour Proctors Theatre in Schenectady this summer and give the keynote address at the annual conference of the League of Historic American Theatres. In their invitation to Chairman Landesman, the Senators highlighted the theatre as a national model of "art that works" by renovating a former vaudeville theatre, and … Continue Reading

Gillibrand Calls On Defense Department To Recruit and Retain Cyber Warriors

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today announced the Cyberspace Warriors Act of 2011. While the establishment of U.S. Cyber Command and cyber components in each of the four services has been crucial to the development of military cyber security, military leaders recognize that attracting, retaining and maintaining cyber warriors remains a challenge. Senator Gillibrand's legislation would require the Secretary of Defense to … Continue Reading

Gillibrand Announces Key Senate Committee Passes First Responder Communications Bill

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced the Senate Commerce Committee has passed the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act. Senator Gillibrand is a leader of the bipartisan effort to provide America's first responders with crucial lifesaving communications tools before the tenth anniversary of 9/11, and is fighting to pass this legislation together with Commerce Committee Chairman John Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). This … Continue Reading

Gillibrand, Schumer Invite National Endowment For The Arts Chair To Keynote League Of Historic Theatres Conference In Schenectady

Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles E. Schumer today wrote to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rocco Landesman, inviting him to visit Proctors Theatre in Schenectady this summer to give the keynote address at the annual conference of the League of Historic American Theatres. The Senators highlighted the theater as a national model of "art that works" by renovating a former vaudeville theater, and transforming it into a beacon of vitality in … Continue Reading

As Unknown E. Coli Strain Claims Lives Overseas, Gillibrand Fights To Protect Funding For Historic New Food Safety Laws From GOP Attacks - Introduces Meat Safety Legislation To Regulate Unchecked, Deadly E. Coli Strains In Meat Supply

Washington, D.C. - As a previously unknown strain of E. coli is claiming lives in Europe, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is fighting to protect funding for the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the first major update to America's food safety laws in nearly a century that Senator Gillibrand fought hard last year to pass. The new law puts new checks on domestic and imported vegetables and other food to protect Americans from food-borne illnesses. Federal funding for food safety at both the … Continue Reading

After Gillibrand Call For Investigation Into China's Unfair Trade Practices, China Ends Wind Turbine Subsidies

Washington, DC - Following U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's call for an investigation into China's unfair green technology trade practices, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced today that China has ended the practice of providing millions of dollars in subsidies to Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, which until now, gave Chinese wind power producers an unfair upper hand. Last year, Senator Gillibrand called on the USTR to investigate these practices after the United Steelworkers … Continue Reading

Slaughter, Gillibrand Introduce Legislation To Give Women In Uniform Same Reproductive Rights As Civilians

WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today announced that they have introduced legislation that would provide America's women in uniform with the same rights to reproductive choice as most other employees of the federal government. Currently, the health coverage provided to servicewomen fails to cover abortion, even in the case of rape or incest, which is unlike most other women receiving health care from the federal government … Continue Reading

In Wake of Two Deadly Bus Crashes, Gillibrand Calls On Transportation Department to Immediately Remove Unsafe Bus Drivers Off The Road, Implement Tough Safety Guidelines

Washington, DC - After two deadly bus tour crashes in Washington and Virginia claimed six lives last week, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that she is calling on the Department of Transportation (DOT) to immediately implement tough safety standards and accelerate efforts to get unsafe buses and fatigued drivers off the road. In a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, Gillibrand is demanding that the DOT shorten the timeframe in which operators must comply with tough … Continue Reading

Schumer, Gillibrand: Sunscreen Labels Promise Protection But Actually Put Sunlovers at Risk For Cancer Due to Lack Of Accurate Labeling; Join Colleagues to Introduce “SUN” Act That Would Require Clear Labeling To Protect Sunscreen Users

U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand today announced a new effort to put pressure on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to finally issue comprehensive regulations for the sunscreen industry, regarding formulation, labeling and testing requirements for over-the-counter sunscreen products, to protect consumers from dangerous ingredients and inaccurate labels. As the summer months approach, and one million more Americans are expected to be diagnosed with skin cancer this … Continue Reading

Gillibrand Announces New Steps in Ongoing Effort to Make Government More Open and Transparent at The Personal Democracy Forum 2011

New York, NY - Speaking at the Personal Democracy Forum 2011 at New York University, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today announced she is supporting two new efforts in an ongoing effort to make government more transparent and accountable. Senator Gillibrand said she will co-sponsor a proposal in the U.S. Senate which would for the first time require all Senators to file electronic Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports, a practice she will voluntarily comply with beginning the next … Continue Reading

At Watkins Glen Middle School, Gillibrand Sees Firsthand Virtual Classroom Software Program That Allows Students To Use Broadband At School And At Home

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today at Watkins Glen Middle School saw firsthand how local students are using virtual classroom software program to access the internet at school and home. At Senator Gillibrand's urging, the Greater Southern Tier Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (GST BOCES) in Watkins Glen was chosen as one of twenty national projects eligible for up to $170,000 in funding allocated through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its … Continue Reading

At Watkins Glen Middle School, Gillibrand Sees Firsthand Virtual Classroom Software Program That Allow Students to Use Broadband at School and Home

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today at Watkins Glen Middle School saw firsthand how local students are using virtual classroom software program to access the internet at school and home. At Senator Gillibrand's urging, the Greater Southern Tier Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (GST BOCES) in Watkins Glen was chosen as one of twenty national projects eligible for up to $170,000 in funding allocated through the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its … Continue Reading

Gillibrand Meets with Central New York Farmers, Continues Listening Tour to Discuss 2012 Farm Bill

Preble, NY - As Congress begins debate over the next Farm Bill, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, the first New Yorker to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in nearly 40 years, today met with Central New York farmers to continue her statewide listening sessions to discuss new efforts to help New York farmers and farming communities. Senator Gillibrand plans to focus on key areas of the Farm Bill that will have major influence on New York, including access to financing, new market … Continue Reading

At Gillibrand's Urging, U.S. Announces Pull-Out From U.N. Durban III Summit

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today commended the announcement from the Obama Administration that the U.S. will refrain from participating in the United Nation's Durban III World Conference Against Racism. In December, Senator Gillibrand led a bipartisan effort urging the U.S. not to participate in the conference that will likely once again serve as a forum for anti-Semitic and anti-American demonstrations. The Senators also expressed disappointment with the United Nation's … Continue Reading

Gillibrand Announces Nearly $20,000 For City Of Cortland Fire Department

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $19,750 in federal funding for the City of Cortland Fire Department. These federal dollars will be used by the City of Cortland Fire Department to provide comprehensive life safety education programs to the citizens of Cortland and the surrounding mutual aid areas. The funding is allocated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program under the Department of Homeland Security … Continue Reading

On Memorial Day, Gillibrand Pays Tribute To World War II Vets, Secures Posthumous Medals For Albany Family Members

Albany, NY - On Memorial Day, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), joined by Congressman Paul Tonko, paid tribute to the service of two World War II veterans by securing posthumous medals for their families in Albany. Senator Gillibrand honored a daughter's wish to secure war medals in memory of her father, the late Vincent Muraski, and an Albany soldier Robert O'Brien's dying wish to obtain medals to pass onto his grandchildren. Standing at Michael's Banquet House, the Senator presented … Continue Reading

Gillibrand Calls for Historic Landmark Designation for USS Slater

Washington, DC - This week, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) urged the National Park Service to designate the USS Slater-one of the remaining World War II naval ships and the only destroyer escort afloat in the United States -as a National Historic Landmark. Senator Gillibrand wrote in a letter to Paul Loether, Chief of the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program, "I urge you to consider the favorable findings of the National Park Service … Continue Reading

Gillibrand Announces Full Funding For Hudson Valley Company's I.E.D. Technology Program

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today announced that the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) will fully fund the second phase of the Fisher Program, which is administered and managed by the Army Geospatial center on behalf of JIEDDO. It is in the process of developing technology through the Fishkill-based Advanced Reconnaissance Corp. that would allow troops on the ground to detect improvised … Continue Reading

Schumer, Gillibrand Urge President And USDA To Swiftly Declare New York Counties Federal Disaster Areas; Storms Caused $38 Million In Damage To Land, Critical Infrastructure And Farms

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote to President Barack Obama and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, urging the immediate approval of New York State's recent request for a federal disaster declaration in response to the April 26th storms that caused more than $38 million in debris removal costs and damage to critical infrastructure. The affected counties include Allegany, Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, … Continue Reading