Charles Schumer

Press release:

On a conference call with reporters and in the midst of an industrial hemp explosion across Upstate New York — triggered by a Schumer-championed provision in the recently passed Farm Bill — U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue guidance and allow producers to fully take advantage of the popular cannabidiol (CBD) market and also protect consumers.

Even though CBD products have gained popularity since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the farming, manufacturing, and selling of industrial hemp, Schumer explained that the FDA has yet to set regulations or safety requirements for CBD derived from hemp.

According to Schumer, the lack of federal guidance and clarity is sowing chaos for both consumers and in the rapidly-emerging Upstate New York industrial hemp industry, which saw sales of CBD products surpass $200 million nationally in 2018.

To address this lack of clarity, to protect consumers, and to allow the industrial hemp industry to maximize job creation from this cash crop, Schumer urged the FDA to expediently issue guidance on the classification, labeling, quality, marketing, and sale of CBD products.

“CBD is brimming with potential to be a billion dollar industry across New York State, bringing along countless jobs and truly meaningful economic development with it. But before that can happen, farmers, growers, producers, consumers and vendors need to know exactly what the rules of the road are and right now they’ve got no idea,” Senator Schumer said.

“That’s why I’m calling on the FDA to do its job in a timely manner and issue guidance related to CBD classification, labeling, quality, marketing, and sales. And once the feds spell out these ABC’s of CBD, the industry will seed and grow from one corner of the state to the other, many jobs will be created in the industrial hemp space, and farmers will be able to safely cash in on this cash crop.”

CBD is one of the two main chemical compounds that can be found in the cannabis plant. However, CBD is not psychoactive, meaning that it cannot get a person high—like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the other chemical compound found in many types of cannabis plants, primarily marijuana. CBD products have become exceptionally popular in the marketplace, with estimated sales of CBD-containing products, such as oils, gummies, balms, lotions, and capsules, surpassing $200 million in 2018.

According to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, there are currently just under 500 people, businesses, and organizations spread across New York State licensed to grow and process industrial hemp.

According to news reports, roughly three-quarters of those licenses were approved for the purposes of cultivating and extracting CBD. Currently, there are 18,000 acres of land licensed for industrial hemp growing in New York State, with 14,000 designated for CBD cultivation and extraction.

Furthermore, of New York’s 62 counties, 56 are home to industrial hemp farms and related growing operations. Schumer says these figures show just how much potential CBD products have to boost the economy across New York State, should clear guidance on CBD be issued by the FDA.

Schumer pointed out that the FDA is responsible for protecting public health, and guidance related to CBD is desperately needed to ensure that products on the market are safe. He also said that consumers rely on the FDA to conduct timely and appropriate oversight of new and emerging ingredients, like CBD, and that guidance from the agency would provide crucial direction for manufacturers seeking a pathway to develop safe and credible products for consumers.

Schumer argued that the market for CBD products is rapidly growing and that the agency must expedite its efforts to promote accuracy and transparency within the CBD industry. Specifically, Schumer called on the FDA to provide an outline of its plans for a regulatory framework related to CBD, as well as a timeline for when comprehensive enforcement policies for CBD products will be finalized and implemented.

The Schumer-backed Hemp Farming Act of 2018 was introduced by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). It passed and was signed into law as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. This legislation:

• Removes industrial hemp from Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act;
• Empowers states to be the principal regulators of hemp;
• Allows hemp researchers to apply for competitive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); and
• Makes hemp farmers eligible to apply for crop insurance.

Industrial hemp is a type of cannabis plant that is grown largely for industrial uses, but it can also be used for food, oil, and cosmetic products. Hemp contains a very small amount of THC, typically between 0.2 and 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, and while from the same species of plant as marijuana, the two plants have varied widely in use.

However, due to the existence of THC in hemp, Schumer explained, both plants were considered “controlled substances” under federal law, meaning the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was the primary regulator for hemp production.

Schumer argued that this narrow view has undermined the crop’s agricultural and economic potential. With the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 passed by Congress and signed into law last year, this unnecessary roadblock has been lifted, and industrial hemp’s significant potential to become a cash crop in Upstate New York’s will be unleashed.

Below is the full text of the letter Schumer sent to Acting Commissioner Norman Sharpless.

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Dear Acting Commissioner Sharpless:

We write today to ask that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urgently clarify and implement regulations for cannabidiol (CBD) derived from hemp. Since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334), which paved the way for industrial hemp cultivation and marketing, farmers, processors and retailers across the country are eager to enter this new market and leverage its potential. With new products containing CBD becoming available nearly every day, your agency’s lack of an official stance on this ingredient remains confusing to manufacturers and potentially dangerous to consumers. It is now imperative that the FDA finalize and implement a comprehensive regulatory framework for CBD, including guidance on the classification, labeling, quality, marketing, and sale of CBD-containing products, to ensure each manufacturer is producing safe and effective products for consumers. In accordance with your agency’s July statement regarding CBD oversight, we expect an update on your activities no later than 90 days from today’s date.

The CBD industry has exploded in recent years. Estimated annual sales of CBD-containing products were over $200 million in 2018, and CBD oils, gummies, balms, lotions, capsules, and other products are broadly available and widely advertised in stores and online. However, as the CBD industry expands, the lack of clarity and regulation around CBD use has created significant confusion and uncertainty among stakeholders in every segment of the supply chain. It is crucial that the FDA remain proactive in its duty to safeguard public health, protect consumers from potentially unsafe products, and provide a predictable pathway to market for producers and manufacturers.

Purveyors of CBD-containing products attribute a wide range of health benefits to this ingredient, including relieving pain and anxiety, preventing seizures, treating post-traumatic stress disorder, and easing inflammation. But consumers still lack answers to questions about the potential risks, including adverse side effects and drug interactions, associated with CBD.

Consumers rely on the FDA to conduct timely and appropriate oversight of new and emerging ingredients, and guidance from the FDA would also help manufacturers to develop safer, more effective, and more credible products for consumer use. The market for CBD products is rapidly outpacing the FDA’s current regulatory efforts, and your agency clearly must expedite its efforts to promote accuracy and transparency within the CBD industry. It is imperative that any comprehensive regulatory framework for products containing CBD provide straightforward guidance to manufacturers and retailers who wish to incorporate CBD into new products.

Consumers and manufacturers of this fledgling industry are counting on regulatory oversight and certainty that only the FDA can provide. Your efforts to date have been woefully inadequate. Within 90 days please provide our offices with an outline of your agency’s current plans for a specific regulatory framework related to CBD along with a timeline for when comprehensive enforcement policies for CBD products will be finalized and implemented.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to your response.

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer

Press release:

The IRS issued new rules that would undermine a critical tax deduction on which New York homeowners rely. This prompted U.S. Senator Charles Schemer to move forward with an effort to restore New York State’s ability to work-around the part of the federal tax law that takes an unfair aim at the state by eliminating a homeowners’ SALT tax deduction.

(SALT stands for State And Local Taxes.)

Loss of the SALT tax deduction will cost New York homeowners tens-of-thousands of dollars.

For example, in Genesee County in 2016, the average SALT deduction amounted to $9,800 and about 6,700 local homeowners took advantage of it, according to statistics compiled by the National Association of Counties.

Schumer says that just as New York State was tying the bow on its work-around plan by passing a law that circumvented the feds, the IRS swooped in and used regulations to squash everything, adding insult to injury for local homeowners.

Therefore, Schumer today (Oct. 22) announced that he will use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) tool to force a vote on the Senate floor this week, on a resolution to nullify recent IRS rules blocking critical state workarounds to harmful state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, and that restores New York’s ability to work around the harmful caps, allowing homeowners to again fully retain their SALT deduction.

While the IRS blocked New York’s work-around for families, the Treasury Department in September 2018 issued guidance that allowed businesses to continue to benefit from these same work-arounds. Reversing the IRS’s harmful rule will also preserve the ability of states to maintain their own local charitable deductions for education, childcare and nonprofits serving children, rural hospitals, environmental conservation, and more.

“As if the Trump-Republican tax bill — which has spiked tax payments for countless New York homeowners by eliminating the SALT deduction—wasn’t already bad enough, these new IRS rules add insult to injury. They are rubbing salt in the New York homeowners’ SALT-inflicted wounds,” Schumer said.

“Taking away the SALT deduction was brutally unfair to Upstate homeowners and hit ‘em right between the eyes and that’s why later this week, I plan to take control of the Senate floor and force a vote to nullify the IRS’s horrible rule and put power back in the hands of Upstate New York homeowners to soften the blow of the elimination of SALT deductions.

"New York’s hard-working homeowners shouldn’t be forced to bear the burden of the political games that target and punish specific regions of the nation.”

Schumer explained that he can use the special legislative power, provided for under the Congressional Review Act, in an attempt to nullify the recent IRS decision that blocks New York State from working around the provision in the federal tax law that strips New York homeowners from claiming their full SALT tax deduction.

The disapproval resolution under the CRA gives Congress the power to expeditiously review any new federal regulation, like the recent IRS decision that hurts Upstate New York, so long as the CRA disapproval resolution is filed within 60 legislative days of the regulation being finalized. Schumer said the use of the CRA power is comparable to declaring a policy emergency, and when it comes to the SALT deduction in New York State, the issue is serious.

The CRA legislative review is not held to the 60-vote requirement to pass the Senate, Schumer added, making it an attractive plan in this anti-New York era. Schumer reiterated just how serious the SALT issue is across Upstate New York, pointing out county-by-county the average SALT deduction taken by homeowners.

Under the pre-Trump tax code, taxpayers who itemized deductions on their federal income tax returns could deduct state and local real estate and personal property taxes, as well as either income taxes or general sales taxes.

State and local income and real estate taxes had made up approximately sixty percent of local and state tax deductions while sales tax and personal property taxes made up the remainder. According to the Tax Policy Center, approximately one-third of tax filers had itemized deductions on their federal income tax returns.

Schumer has traveled from one corner of the state to the other to push back against the capping of SALT deductions. In 2018, Schumer urged the IRS to grant New Yorkers who paid their 2018 taxes early the ability to apply those taxes to their 2017 SALT deduction, even if their property taxes were not assessed.

As the administration was seeking to pass its tax plan, which capped New Yorkers' SALT deductions, Schumer campaigned against the destructive legislation...calling on the New York Congressional Delegation to reject the misguided plan.

From Senator Charles Schumer:

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced Saturday that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has awarded a $23,337,281 contract to a company in Victor to begin construction on Phase 1A of the Western New York National Veterans Cemetery in Pembroke.

The nation's newest veterans cemetery will be located at 1232 Indian Falls Road in the Town of Pembroke. The cemetery site was originally 132 acres, then they purchased adjoining 60-acre and 77-acre parcels, closing on those early last year. Phase 1A construction encompasses 65 acres of the cemetery's total 269 acres.

“The awarding of this $23 million contract to Ontario County-based Global Urban Enterprise clears the way for the construction of the long-sought and sorely needed Western New York National Veterans Cemetery to, at long last, get underway," Senator Schumer said.

"Making this cemetery come to reality has been and remains one of my top priorities, and I won’t stop fighting until it comes to fruition."

Phase 1A of construction will create 4,000 gravesites, including roughly 2,500 gravesites for casket interments, and 1,500 in-ground sites for cremated remains.

When it is time to complete the project, Global Urban Enterprise in Victor will partner with Syracuse-based Hueber-Breuer Construction, along with other subcontractors to do the work.

Schumer said the establishment of the Genesee County cemetery is a well-deserved opportunity to honor the more than 96,000 veterans and family members in this region who will have a proper military burial at a site close to their homes, families, and communities they served and defended.

It will be the first and only of its kind in the Buffalo-Rochester area and will save thousands of military families from having to travel more than 100 miles in some cases to visit their loved ones at what is now the closest veterans' cemetery in Bath.

“This contract and the cemetery’s construction soon getting underway helps guarantee Western New York’s military veterans will have a proper burial, at a site close to the homes, families, and the very communities they dedicated their lives to defend and serve,” Schumer said.

According to guidance provided by the VA, the first burials are expected to occur at the cemetery by November/December 2020.

Veterans with a qualifying discharge, their spouses, and eligible dependent children may be buried in a VA national cemetery. Also eligible are military personnel who die on active duty, their spouses and eligible dependents.

Burial benefits available for all eligible veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate, and a government headstone or marker.

Press release:

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today revealed the details of the newly released 2018 Farm Bill, Conference Report, which passed the Senate by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 87-13 yesterday.

Schumer said the bill will benefit key Upstate New York agricultural communities. Senator Schumer detailed several major areas in which the Farm Bill will be a major boost to Upstate farmers, growers, food-needy families and producers, as well as other New York businesses.

Schumer said the newly announced bill reflects a variety of different priorities he pushed for on behalf of the New York agricultural community. Schumer explained the bill will give New York's agricultural industry a shot in the arm.

Schumer lauded the months-long bipartisan process to craft the Farm Bill and congratulated committee leaders Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Republican Chair Pat Roberts, as well as Committee Member Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand for their assiduous work.

“The Farm Bill is a major victory for Upstate New York and its large and vital agricultural community,” Schumer said. “Ensuring the passage of a Farm Bill is vital for New York’s agricultural community and our economy as a whole.

"The bill makes further investments to help Upstate New York dairy farmers, boosts the rapidly growing organic sector, builds on New York’s burgeoning industrial hemp industry, expands rural broadband, strengthens crop insurance, and protects our most vulnerable hungry families and seniors from harmful cuts.

"While the bill does not contain everything that we fought for, it is ultimately a win for the farmers that are the heart of Upstate New York."

Dairy

The newly introduced Farm Bill includes major victories for Upstate New York dairy farmers and producers. The newly introduced Farm Bill invests in programs to help give much-needed relief to Upstate New York dairy farmers and producers. The Farm Bill includes a variety of helpful reforms including, an investment of $100 million to help improve the Federal dairy insurance program to help make the program work better for small to medium dairy farms, a provision waiving administrative fees for beginning, veteran, and underserved farmers, a provision continuing the vital changes made in the Omnibus Budget bill that allowed for the creation of new dairy insurance tools in the future, and a program that would provide funding to dairy organizations who chose to donate their products.

Rural Communities

This Farm Bill focused on investing in our small rural communities across New York State and nationwide. One example of this was the establishment of a new grant program that will target high-need, rural areas seeking to undertake broadband internet projects. These projects will help connect our most in need areas and upgrade to more modern internet access. Additionally, the Farm Bill made important investments in programs that help grow our rural small businesses, as well as those that help to fight the opioid crisis.

Agriculture and Farming/Growing

Organic Farming

The newly introduced Farm Bill establishes mandatory funding of $24 million over FY19-23 for the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program (NOCCSP), which helps support farmers who want to become involved in the organic market by providing reimbursements of some of their annual fees for United States Department of Agriculture organic certification -- it includes an increase in critical funding for organic research through the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative from its current level of $20 million to $50 million by FY2023. Finally, the Farm Bill increases the authorization for the National Organic Program (NOP). Schumer has been a major supporter of this program that helps USDA protect farmers from having to unfairly compete against fraudulent organic imports while also helping to maintain consumer confidence in the USDA certified organic brand. This bill increases the authorization for the NOP to $16.5 million in FY2019, $18 million in FY2020, $20 million in FY2021, $22 million in FY2022, and $24 million in FY2023.

Specialty Crops

The Farm Bill contained a number of provisions beneficial to Upstate farmers, but especially to farmers of specialty crops. New York produces a wide range of specialty crops (fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, herbs and spices, maple syrup, Christmas trees, etc.) that rank highly nationwide in terms of both production and economic value. The Senate Farm Bill, according to Schumer, provides vital funding to key programs that aid specialty crop producers, such as the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program and the Specialty Crop Research Initiative. These programs help provide support to New York's specialty crop industry in the form of robust research funding.

Maple

The Farm Bill reauthorizes Schumer’s original legislation known as The Maple Tap Act, which Schumer said is now officially called the Acer Access and Development Program. This provision will continue to help maple producers in the Hudson Valley and across Upstate New York boost their production and become more competitive with places like Canada, which produces 85 percent of the world's maple product. Schumer said, specifically, this provision provides an authorization for USDA grants to states that create programs to encourage individual and private landowners to open up their trees to maple tapping. Schumer's legislation would also provide grants to states to support market promotion, maple industry research and development, and education through leading institutions, like Cornell.

Hemp

Another important provision Schumer fought to include was the Hemp Farming Act of 2018. Schumer, a cosponsor of the Hemp Farming Act, said the provision could help unlock industrial hemp’s full potential as an agricultural commodity across Upstate New York by removing hemp from a federal list of controlled substances. Schumer said the bill will do four important things for farmers nationwide including in New York State:

• Remove industrial hemp from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act;
• Empower states to be the principal regulators of hemp;
• Allow hemp researchers to apply for competitive federal grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture;
• Make hemp farmers eligible to apply for crop insurance;
• Most importantly, Schumer said this important provision would allow for New York’s agricultural community to grow industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity if they so choose, allowing New York growers more flexibility.

Barley

The Farm Bill requires the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service to record all barley production in New York State. By ensuring that this critical information is accessible for barley farmers, they will be able to better determine any future plantings. Additionally, the provision would give crop insurance providers access to this essential information, which could spur them to expand coverage and potentially even offer a malting barley endorsement.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP)

Schumer explained that he fought tooth and nail to protect SNAP from any cuts in the Farm Bill. Schumer said that he also was able to push for other provisions to help those most in need. First, the Farm Bill creates opportunities for job training for some of the most in-need New Yorkers who participate in SNAP, to help them find and keep good-paying jobs. Second, the Farm Bill simplifies paperwork for New York seniors who participate in SNAP to ensure they get the nutritional assistance they need and deserve as quickly as possible. And lastly, the Farm Bill creates the “Farm to Food Bank” initiative, which will help provide New Yorkers using SNAP with locally grown, New York produce and other food.

Conservation

Schumer said the Farm Bill funds key environmental programs that are essential to farmers, like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). These programs are voluntary conservation initiatives that farmers can utilize through the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to help them continue to be good stewards of the land.

PAWS

The newly introduced Farm Bill also includes a vital provision called the Pet and Women Safety Act (PAWS) Act, which Schumer is currently a cosponsor of. This bill would help give victims of domestic violence and their pets greater access to safe sheltering options, as well as provide stronger legal protections to pets. According to the Humane Society, up to one-third of domestic violence victims delay leaving a dangerous situation, because they fear for the safety of their pets, and up to one-fourth return to an abuser due to concern for their pets.

Local food programs

The Farm Bill creates a new Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) by combining the Value Added Producer Grants Program and the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program. The value-added producers grant program helps dairy farmers that start producing artisanal cheese or apple growers that enter the hard cider industry. The grants administered through the new LAMP program will continue to support strengthening our local food systems from rural farmers to urban consumers.

Water, Waste Disposal, and Wastewater Facility grants

The Farm Bill provides funding to support and strengthen rural water infrastructure. Funding to Rural Development programs like the Water, Waste Disposal, and Wastewater Facility Grant program will help families and businesses across Upstate New York and nationwide continue to have access to clean drinking water.

Community facility investments

The Farm Bill supports Community Facility investments to continue to help provide resources to construct hospitals, improve schools, while also improving fire and police stations across small towns in New York State.

Sen. Charles Schumer made his annual visit to Genesee County (he visits every county in the state at least once a year) to pledge to the local medical community and the citizens who depend on that medical community that he will do everything he can to restore funding for the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

The 340B program was enacted in 1992 provides qualifying hospitals -- hospitals that tend to serve more low-income patients -- with deep discounts on medications used in the treatment of cancer. The intent of the program is to allow hospitals to treat more patients and provide comprehensive services.

Dan Ireland, CEO of United Memorial Medical Center, said the program has allowed the hospital to reinvest $2 million annually into better patient care.

"To some folks, this is about money but really what it is about is the investment that's made for people, for health care, for our friends and our neighbors and our loved ones," Ireland said. "That $2 million gets reinvested in programs to help support cancer care as we talked about and the emergency room and outpatient clinics so folks can access care close to their homes in a timely manner."

He added, "This will change the lives of people if these cuts continue. It will change the lives here at the hospital will change lives throughout our communities. So I'm grateful for the support."

The cuts to WNY regional hospitals add up to millions of dollars a year, Schumer said, and he considers it critical that the funding is restored.

"I always defend our rural hospitals because people in rural areas should get the same health care as people in urban areas," Schumer said. "First, the people have to come greater distances. But second, it's not the density of population. So when you have to use one of these expensive machines, a CAT scan or an MRI, it is very expensive. If you're in Rochester or New York City, that machine can be used almost 24/7, so it can pay itself back. But here, not so, but you still want the person here to have the same CAT scan or an MRI or whatever so they get the same health care."

Not all funding was cut to UMMC. So far, it's been about $600,000 a year.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enacted the cuts, which makes the cuts merely a matter of policy, so Schumer said he has tools to use to try and restore the funds. As minority leader, he can work to restore the funding through the budgetary process or he can pursue legislation to restore the funding.

He said his effort would receive bipartisan support because there are both Republicans and Democrats who represent rural areas and about 1,000 rural hospitals are lobbying for the funding.

"We are going to do everything we can to get 340B back to the way it was and get Noyes (a hospital in Livingston County) and UMMC and all of our hospitals the help they need."

Critics of the program -- which include pharmaceutical companies -- say that too many hospitals abused the program. Those hospitals, they say, did not use the cost savings to improve patient care. Instead, they say, they padded their bottom line.

Private oncologists have also been critical of the program, saying that it gives hospitals a subsidized, unfair price advantage in providing treatment.

"I'm trying to get lower drug prices across the board so we would try to help them as well, but because you're not getting it doesn't mean you go after somebody who is getting it," Schumer said in response to a question about the oncologists' complaint. "These are hospitals that need the help."

Before discussing the 340B program at UMMC, Schumer reflected on the upcoming World Series and explained why he hates the Red Sox. Listen (mp3).

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Sen. Schumer and Dan Ireland.

Press release:

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s May 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which freed states to legalize sports betting, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today released a new proposal to establish a desperately-needed federal framework to protect consumers and the integrity of sports.

Senator Schumer’s proposal, Protecting the Games We Love After Murphy v. NCAA: A Federal Framework for Consumer Protection and Sports Integrity, is centered around three core principles: protecting young people and those suffering from gambling addiction, protecting the integrity of the game, and protecting consumers and individuals placing bets.

Specifically, the federal framework, which Senator Schumer hopes will be taken under consideration as state legislatures across the country begin efforts to develop legislation in the coming weeks and months, includes proposals to prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from betting, require that official league data be used to determine betting outcomes, require agreement between the league or appropriate governing body and those entities taking bets on what types of bets will be permitted, and much more.

“As a New York sports fan – especially my Yankees and Giants – and a senator, my priority in the wake of the Murphy v. NCAA decision is making sure the integrity of the games we love is preserved, that young people and those suffering from gambling addiction are not taken advantage of, and that consumers that choose to engage in sports betting are appropriately protected,” Senator Schumer said.

“With the Supreme Court’s ruling, it’s incumbent on the federal government to take a leadership role and provide the necessary guidance to prevent uncertainty and confusion for the leagues, state governments, consumers and fans alike.” 

Senator Schumer continued, “The stakes are too high -- legal sports betting laws must be crafted and executed in a careful and thoughtful way. As state legislatures develop new legislation in the weeks and months ahead, I hope they will take these principles under consideration. I also support the efforts in the Congress to debate and develop bipartisan federal legislation that would adhere to these principles. The integrity of sports is too precious to not protect as best we can.”

Senator Schumer’s full proposal, “Protecting the Games We Love After Murphy v. NCAA: A Federal Framework for Consumer Protection and Sports Integrity,” can be found here and the key components of the proposal are follows: 

1. Protecting young people and those suffering from gambling addiction: Senator Schumer believes minors should not be encouraged to participate in sports gambling, and adequate resources must be provided to support those struggling with gambling addiction. To this end, Senator Schumer’s federal framework proposes to:

a. Prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from betting.

b. Prohibit advertising targeted at young people and otherwise require responsible advertising.

c. Require that information be provided by any entity taking bets about the dangers of addiction and available resources to help encourage responsible betting.

2. Protecting the integrity of the game. In order to protect the integrity of professional and collegiate sports a strong framework must be provided for coordination and enforcement. Therefore, Senator Schumer proposes the following:

a. Require that any entity accepting bets share appropriate information in a timely fashion with the league or governing body of the sport in question as well as relevant state, federal, and tribal law enforcement or other appropriate oversight bodies. This data should be scrubbed so that personal and sensitive information has been removed but must be sufficiently detailed so as to provide the league or governing body with a basis by which to identify problematic trends.

b. Require that all parties involved, including sports leagues, entities accepting bets, and state and tribal law oversight agencies where appropriate coordinate enforcement actions and notify each other of suspicious or abnormal activity or any other conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of a sporting event.

c. All leagues and sports should have effective tools to protect their own game and that includes strong limitations and prohibitions on any athlete, coach, official, team, or league representative from taking a financial stake in any wager.

​3. Protecting consumers and individuals placing bets. As sports betting becomes legal it is important that those choosing to place bets are able to avail themselves of the same protections afforded to other consumers. To that end, Senator Schumer would:

a. Require that official league data be used to determine betting outcomes.

b. Require agreement between the league or appropriate governing body and those entities taking bets on what types of bets will be permitted.

c. Provide appropriate consumer protections and requirements that deter unfair or deceptive practices, and provide safeguards against financial crimes and predatory tactics. Furthermore, consumers should have a mechanism for appropriate redress should they be unfairly harmed by some betting activity or fraudulent scheme.

d. Provide a pathway for legal online and mobile betting so that sports betting can come out of the shadows and we can further remove the competitive advantage of illegitimate online sports books.

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced Tueaday that as an amendment to the upcoming FY2019 Health and Human Services (HHS) minibus appropriations bill, the U.S. Senate passed $1 million in FY2019 funding for the national firefighter cancer registry.

Schumer explained that in June of this year, Congress passed legislation that would establish a specialized national firefighters’ cancer registry to be managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Schumer has long fought for this critical registry that would improve collection capabilities and activities related to the nationwide monitoring of cancer incidence among all firefighters, both career and volunteer.

Schumer called the Senate passing funding for this registry a big step in the right direction, and vowed to see the funding through Congress and signed into law.

“Firefighters risk their lives every day, exposing themselves to harmful toxins and pollutants, and charging into extreme danger. We owe it to these courageous men and women to ensure that if they fall ill, they receive first-rate medical care and treatment,” Senator Schumer said. “That’s why I was so proud to lead the effort to pass this bill and support this funding for the first-ever national firefighter cancer registry.

"The Senate took a big step today in getting this vital program up and running. This registry, which I’ve long supported, will help researchers track, treat, and eventually prevent firefighters being stricken by cancer. I’ll always work tirelessly on behalf of our first responders, and vow to see this funding through Congress and signed into law.”

According to a five-year study conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, there are twice as many firefighters in the United States with malignant mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, when compared to the general population. The same study also found that firefighters have an increased risk of death from lung cancer and leukemia as compared to the general population.

Schumer explained that firefighters are exposed to a range of harmful toxins when responding to emergency situations, often as a result of the noxious flame retardants and other chemicals that are used in everyday items, from furniture to clothing, and to even children’s toys. Experts and scientists have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the danger of these toxic chemicals because they have been found to cause developmental delays in children from long-term exposure in addition to rare cancers in firefighters when these products burn and the toxins become airborne.

Schumer said research has indicated that there is a strong connection between firefighting and an increased risk for several major cancers, including testicular, stomach, multiple myeloma and brain cancers. However, there has never been a long-term registry put in place that could be used to track the potential connections between firefighting and incidences of cancer.

Schumer, therefore, said this national firefighter cancer registry is of the utmost importance, so experts and researchers can more effectively monitor nationwide trends and incidences of cancer among firefighter – both career and volunteer. Schumer said such a registry would help medical professionals more effectively identify and treat cancer in firefighters over the long-term.

Specifically, this national firefighter cancer registry will do the following:

First, this registry will compile in one place the epidemiological information submitted by healthcare professionals related to cancer incidence among firefighters.

Second, it will make anonymous data available to public health researchers so that they would have access to the comprehensive datasets that will allow them to expand this groundbreaking research.

Third, this registry will improve our understanding of cancer incidence as the registry grows, which could potentially lead to the development of advanced safety protocols and safeguards for the firefighters on the front lines each day.

Finally, this legislation will allow for increased collaboration between the CDC and epidemiologists, public health experts, clinicians and firefighters through regular and consistent consultations to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of the registry.

Press release:

Last week, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer spoke directly to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to urge him to secure a level playing field with Canadian producers during the renegotiation of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

According to Schumer, in recent years, Canada has established dairy pricing policies and has maintained high tariffs that have effectively created a “Dairy Wall” -- stopping most U.S. dairy products from accessing Canadian markets and distorting global trade. Dairy farmers and producers from across New York State have been severely hurt by Canada’s manipulative and protectionist dairy trade practices, and it will only get worse without action.

Schumer, in his call, urged USTR Representative Lighthizer to press forward during NAFTA negotiations to secure free and fair trade for dairy farmers and producers in New York State and beyond. While NAFTA negotiations have stalled and there have been no scheduled NAFTA rounds, new rounds of negotiations are anticipated.

“During my call with United States Trade Representative Lighthizer, I made it clear that our hardworking New York dairy farmers and producers across Upstate New York are the most competitive in the world, but they depend on stable and fair rules to compete fairly in the nearby Canadian market," Senator Schumer said. "But Canada has erected a de facto protectionist ‘dairy wall’ and is not playing by the rules, and the current NAFTA renegotiation must be used to rectify that.

"I urged Representative Lighthizer to do more and do it now, so that dairy farmers and producers can finally compete on a level playing field, and am calling on him again to use this opportunity to fix the unfair Canadian dairy trade barriers that have plagued dairy farmers and producers across Upstate New York.”

Schumer explained Canada has an unfair advantage over New York dairy farmers and producers. In addition to Canada’s 270-percent tariff on milk, a program called the “Class 7” pricing program, a market-distorting supply management system, has caused severe pain to New York dairy producers since it came into force last year.

In fact, Canada has used the Class 7 program to triple its milk powder exports in the past year, by creating excess milk production capacity within Canada then dumping the resulting milk powder onto world markets. To further prove this dumping exists, Schumer added that Canada’s dairy farmers are some of the highest paid in the world, yet Canadian dairy companies are still able to be among the lowest cost sellers of Class 7 products globally.

Schumer made clear in his call that as the United States, Canadian and Mexican trade officials are closing in on a deal to revamp NAFTA, dairy farmers must be protected, and that more must be done to finally dismantle Canada’s market-distorting policies and ensure a level playing field for Upstate New York ’s dairy farmers and producers.

Schumer said that he has directly stressed the importance of securing meaningful changes in our dairy trade relationship with Canada to past and current administration officials, including President Trump, current United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Ambassador to the United States David MacNaughton, and the U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft -- who have all committed to address this issue.

Recently, Schumer joined Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) to urge U.S. trade officials to do more to secure a level playing field with Canadian producers during NAFTA negotiations.

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced that following his push, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has agreed to administratively provide funding for the work being done nationwide, including the Northeast Center For Occupational Safety And Health For Agriculture, Forestry And Fishing (NEC), on the national tractor rollover protection systems (ROPS) rebate program through the end of FY2019.

Schumer, who has long advocated for the ROPS program, said today’s announcement is welcomed news for thousands of Upstate farmers. Schumer lauded the CDC for funding the ROPS program and said it is a vital program, considering that farm-related deaths are up to 800 percent higher than many other major industries, with tractor overturns being their most frequent cause at a rate of 96 cases per year.

“ROPS is a critical and cost-effective rebate program that provides important information to farmers across the country on how to find and install the right rollover bar for their machinery. The CDC’s decision to provide funding administratively for this lifesaving program is a great first step, but I won’t rest until I know for certain it will still be fully operational for years to come.

"I vow to continue working with the CDC to ensure our agricultural community has every available resource to succeed,” Senator Schumer said.

The ROPS program facilitates rebates in states with state-based funding to farmers to cover approximately 70 percent of the cost for a farmer to install a ROPS roll bar retrofit kit on their tractor. According to Schumer, the original grant funding for this important program was slated to expire in September, but following a major push by Schumer, the program will be funded for at least another year.

“Keeping family farmers and farm workers who operate dangerous machinery safe must be a major priority, especially in Upstate New York, where the agricultural community is our lifeblood. That is why I laud the CDC for restoring funding for this critical farm safety program,” Schumer added. “The work done by organizations like the NEC is exactly the type of work the federal government should be investing in: it’s cost-effective, informed by real industry experts, and helps save farmers’ lives every day.

"Funding this program means that Upstate New York Farmers will have continued access to valuable critical resources including a 1-800 safety hotline number and on the ground experts in rural communities to help farmers access the ROPS Rebate Program, which helps them correctly install rollover bars on their tractors just in case the tractor flips over.

"I’m proud of the role I played in helping secure funding for the ROPS program to plow forward and will be doing everything possible to make sure this program, which puts farmers first, is protected for years to come.”

According to NEC Director, Julie Sorensen, Ph.D., the program has also been considerably cost effective with recent economic assessments pointing to a $5 million savings in NY State due to deaths and injuries averted through the program.

“Before this program, many NY farmers had neither the money nor the time to invest in these crucial lifesaving devices and unfortunately their only viable solution prior to the ROPS program was to routinely put their lives at risk hoping this wouldn’t be their day to die on the job," Sorensen said. "Senator Schumer’s advocacy sends a clear message to farmers -- you are important and valued members of the New York community.”

Schumer said the agricultural community is the lifeblood of Upstate New York, and that protecting the well-being and safety of farmers must be a major priority. In response to the hazardous environment of working on a farm, the Northeast Center For Occupational Safety And Health For Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing launched an effort to create the life-saving ROPS Rebate Program, which covers approximately 70 percent of the cost for a farmer to install a ROPS rollbar kit on their tractor.

In most cases, this means farmers only pay $500 or less for this life-saving equipment that can otherwise cost up to $1,200. NEC also provides information to farmers throughout the country on how to find and install the right rollover bar. Since its inception in 2006, the NEC reports that more than 2,150 tractors have been retrofitted with protective structures in seven states, with more than 1,500 of those retrofits occurring in New York State alone.

Farmers throughout the country benefit from the hotline and administrative support that is provided through CDC funding. Furthermore, Schumer said, participants in New York reported 221 close calls and 19 serious incidents in which death or injury was likely without the protective ROPS structures.

Schumer said now that the CDC has agreed to administratively fund the program, critical outreach and infrastructure surrounding the ROPS program can continue and grow. Schumer lauded the CDC and vowed to do everything possible to ensure that the CDC administratively funds the program now and in the future so that the inroads the ROPS program has made can continue beyond 2020.

Press release:

On the heels of new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) finding that the amount of crude oil moving by rail to Northeast refineries is on the rise, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer demanded the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Energy (DOE) propose and quickly finalize volatility standards.

***This will stabilize highly explosive crude oil before shipping it through New York.

Schumer said current law allows dangerous crude oil to be shipped by rail without being stabilized, making violent explosions far more likely.

In addition, Schumer explained that DOT and DOE should complete the ongoing formal process requesting comments from stakeholders and studying how crude oil properties affects its combustibility in rail accidents, which will inform this new rule.

Bakken crude barreling through local communities

“Every day across Upstate New York, oil railcars laden with Bakken crude pass through backyards and by schools and homes and near places of business putting communities in Upstate New York at risk if tank cars derail or puncture," Senator Schumer said. "It is clear to me that we need an all-of-the-above approach to safety, so I am urging the Federal Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy to finally publish and finalize standards that will stabilize highly explosive crude oil before shipping it through Upstate New York.

"These new regulations are an additional layer of safety that New Yorkers deserve and will help keep communities safer. We have tank cars barreling through communities throughout the state on a daily basis, and we should leave no stone unturned to further protect residents.”

According to a new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the volume of oil shipped by rail is again on the rise. Refineries in the Northeast, used about 3.1 million barrels of oil in March, a level not seen since early 2017.

Schumer said that this news in conjunction with the fact that next month is the fifth anniversary of the tragic explosion in Lac-Mèantic, which left 47 people dead in the Canadian Province of Quebec in July 2013; the issue of oil-by-rail safety is urgent.

Schumer said new crude oil volatility standards would make oil-by-rail safer. Schumer said existing efforts, including stakeholder comments collected by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) oil volatility study, should be quickly finished and used to create these new standards so shipment is safer. Schumer said is it vital the feds continue to address oil-by-rail safety concerns so that communities in Upstate New York and beyond are protected.

“The bottom line is – any time you are transporting volatile chemicals, there is a risk of explosion," Schumer said. "Things like safer tank cars, better braking, and lower speed limits – they all help make the rails safer.

"But when it comes to crude, one of the most powerful things we could do would be to set a good standard for the stability of what’s actually inside the tank cars.”

Additionally, according to a report published by the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in 2014, the Bakken crude oil that is transported on New York State rail lines is more volatile than most other types of crude oil and other products shipped by rail, and its greater volatility is linked to increased ignitability and flammability.

Schumer said this is particularly dangerous during derailments, punctures, and breaches and added that according to the PHMSA, this Bakken crude oil is primarily light and sweet, compared to heavier crude oils produced from conventional domestic reservoirs and imports. As a result, this lighter, sweeter crude oil is a higher quality and easier to refine into commercial products than the heavier crude oil.

However, this kind of oil is also easier to ignite because the flash point—the lowest temperature at which ignition can occur—is lower for Bakken than for other crude oils. This volatility is a measure of the tendency for the oil to vaporize or move from a liquid to a gaseous state. Because this Bakken oil is “lighter” and has a higher vapor pressure than most crude oils, it is particularly dangerous during rail transport, when derailments and breaches, and subsequent explosions, near communities are most likely to happen.

Although this kind of oil has been produced for decades, the recent boom in crude oil extraction in North Dakota, where a big portion of the Bakken oil emanates from, and similar deposits elsewhere has led to this dangerous and unexpected development in the industry.

Urging agencies to make a stabilization plan for highly flammable oil

Specifically, Schumer is calling on federal agencies to work together on a plan that would require oil companies to stabilize highly flammable and dangerous Bakken crude oil prior to transport. Stabilization technology is not a new concept and has been used previously in oil fields in other regions of the country and the world.

Schumer said that while North Dakota has attempted to address this issue on a state level, their regulations have not gone far enough. The North Dakota law requires that oil be stabilized to at least 13.7 pounds per square inch, a standard that the oil that caused a deadly explosion in the Lac-Mègantic disaster likely would have met.

Schumer said that because the oil in this disaster would have met this new requirement, it would have done little to prevent the disaster. Instead, Schumer said, the DOT and DOE must go even further. Schumer is asking these two agencies to work together to develop a standard for stabilization that would greatly reduce the risk of Lac-Mègantic-type disasters and require oil companies to follow it. Schumer said requiring that Bakken crude be stabilized prior to transport could help greatly improve safety.

The senator has long pushed for other key safety components in order to protect communities, including operational changes that enhance standards for new and existing tank cars, reduce train speed limits, and create reporting requirements so that first responder can be prepared in the case of a derailment or disaster.

Furthermore, in 2016 Schumer announced that, following his push, the DOT and DOE began collecting stakeholder comments and studying crude oil volatility as the first major step toward requiring oil companies to stabilize their highly flammable crude oil before shipping it by rail.

He highlighted that while that first step is important, USDOT and USDOE should not take their feet off the gas and should continue to advance the stabilization rule all the way through the regulatory process.

***For previous coverage about volatile products being transported across Genesee County, click here.

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today announced the U.S. Senate passed critical legislation that would, for the first time ever, establish a specialized national cancer registry to be managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Schumer said the registry would improve collection capabilities and activities related to the nationwide monitoring of cancer incidence among all firefighters, both career, and volunteer. Now that U.S. Senate passed this critical legislation, Schumer is now urging the House of Representatives to pass the bill immediately.

“We owe it to our brave firefighters who are on the front lines, risking their lives to protect our communities the peace of mind of knowing that if they get sick they will be taken care of,” Senator Schumer said. “This critical legislation does just that by establishing a national firefighter cancer registry, so researchers can better track, treat – and one day – prevent the potential connections between firefighting and cancer.

"I’m glad the Senate finally passed this legislation and I strongly urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass this life-saving bill immediately.”  

According to a five-year study conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, there are twice as many firefighters in the U.S. with malignant mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, when compared to the general population. The same study also found that firefighters also have an increased risk of death from lung cancer and leukemia as compared to the general population. 

Schumer explained that firefighters are exposed to a range of harmful toxins when responding to emergency situations, often as a result of the noxious flame retardants and other chemicals that are used in everyday items, from furniture to clothing, and to even children’s toys.

Experts and scientists have repeatedly sounded the alarm on the danger of these toxic chemicals because they have been found to cause developmental delays in children from long-term exposure in addition to rare cancers in firefighters when these products burn and the toxins become airborne.

Schumer said research has indicated that there is a strong connection between firefighting and an increased risk for several major cancers, including testicular, stomach, multiple myeloma and brain cancers. However, there has never been a long-term registry put in place that could be used to track the potential connections between firefighting and incidences of cancer.

Schumer, therefore, said a national firefighter cancer registry is needed, so experts and researchers can more effectively monitor nationwide trends and incidences of cancer among firefighters – both career and volunteer. Schumer said such a registry would help medical professionals more effectively identify and treat cancer in firefighters over the long term.

Specifically, this national firefighter cancer registry would do the following:

First, this registry would compile in one place the epidemiological information submitted by healthcare professionals related to cancer incidence among firefighters.

Second, it would make anonymous data available to public health researchers so that they would have access to the comprehensive datasets that will allow them to expand this groundbreaking research.

Third, this registry would improve our understanding of cancer incidence as the registry grows, which could potentially lead to the development of advanced safety protocols and safeguards for the firefighters on the front lines each day.

Finally, this bill would allow for increased collaboration between the CDC and epidemiologists, public health experts, clinicians and firefighters through regular and consistent consultations to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of the registry.

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer today called on U.S. trade officials to secure a level playing field with Canadian producers during the renegotiation of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Schumer said that in recent years, Canada has established dairy pricing policies and has maintained high tariffs that have effectively created a “Dairy Wall” stopping most U.S. dairy products from accessing Canadian markets and distorting global trade.

Dairy farmers and producers, like the 340 dairy farmers who make up Upstate Niagara Co-Op, which supplies O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc. in Batavia, have been severely hurt by Canada’s manipulative trade practices and it will only get worse without action.

O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc., with more than 400 employees and majority owned by Upstate Niagara, has already lost millions of dollars in contracts due to Canada’s actions “Dairy Wall.”

Schumer said that the time to secure a level playing field with Canada by expanding market opportunities and eliminating Canada’s unfair pricing policies – is now and we cannot let this opportunity go to waste.

“Our hardworking New York dairy farmers and producers like Upstate Niagara Co-Op’s 340 farm family members across the Finger Lakes and O-AT-KA Milk Products in Batavia are the most competitive in the world, but they depend on stable and fair rules to compete in a global economy, to sell their dairy products, expand their business and create new local jobs,” Schumer said.

“As trade officials near a deal to renegotiate NAFTA – an issue President Trump and I both agree on – we must make it a top priority to begin reversing restrictive dairy pricing policies in Canada that are hurting our dairy producers at their core, and now is a real opportunity to do just that.”

Schumer explained Canada has an unfair advantage over New York dairy farmers and producers. In addition to Canada’s 270 percent tariff on milk, a program called the “Class 7” pricing program, a market-distorting supply management system, has caused severe pain to New York dairy producers like Avon’s Anderson Farm and their fellow Upstate Niagara Co-Op dairies since it came into force last year.

In fact, Canada has used the Class 7 program to triple its milk powder exports in the past year by creating excess milk production capacity within Canada, then dumping the resulting milk powder onto world markets. To further prove this dumping exists, Schumer added that Canada’s dairy farmers are some of the highest paid in the world, yet Canadian dairy companies are still able to be among the lowest cost sellers of Class 7 products globally.

Anderson Farm is one of the 340 dairy farm members of the Upstate Niagara Co-Op, which is the majority owner of the O-AT-KA Milk Products facility in Batavia. More than 400 employees work at O-AT-KA. Upstate Niagara dairies throughout the Rochester Finger Lakes Region like Anderson Farm depend on O-AT-KA to purchase their milk to then manufacture and sell milk products for the domestic and international markets.

Since Canada’s implementation of Class 7, O-AT-KA lost $19 million in annual sales of Ultra Filtered milk (UF Milk), a product used to make cheese and other dairy products that it had been exporting into Canada. Moreover, the production of this UF milk for the Canadian market had accounted for 20 percent (about 180 million pounds) of all of O-AT-KA’s milk volume.

This severely undercut a $16 million investment made by O-AT-KA in 2012 to build a two-story addition at its Batavia plant to manufacture UF Milk to support its export business to Canada. When Canada unfairly cut off UF Milk imports and implemented Class 7, it dealt a significant blow to the local agriculture economy and was a factor in the current U.S. milk inventory imbalance that is contributing to now drive the price of milk down.

Schumer was joined by Jim Anderson, fourth generation owner of Anderson Farm, O-AT-KA Milk Products Cooperative Inc. President & Chairman John Gould, local dairy farmers, and elected officials.

Gould, who also owns an Upstate Niagara Co-Op dairy farm in Genesee County, said “Canada has a long history of erecting barriers to trade when it comes to dairy and the creation of Class 7 is an example of that. Canada's Class 7 market manipulation has caused harm to O-AT-KA Milk Products and their farm family owners, whose investments in serving legitimate customers in Canada have been blocked.

"As NAFTA is renegotiated, it is time that Canadian gamesmanship ends and a constructive agreement is reached that allows market participation and access under rules that all trading partners can follow. We thank Senator Schumer for his leadership and work in keeping this important issue top of mind as negotiations proceed."

As U.S., Canadian and Mexican trade officials are closing in on a deal to revamp North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Schumer said now represents a real opportunity to dismantle Canada’s market-distorting policies and ensure a level playing field for American dairy farmers and producers.

Schumer noted that he has directly stressed the importance of securing meaningful changes in our dairy trade relationship with Canada to past and current administration officials, including current United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, President Trump, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton, and the U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft who have all committed to address this issue.

Right now, products manufactured by O-AT-KA Milk Products include non-fat dry milk powder, buttermilk powder, whey powder, canned evaporated milk, butter, fluid condensed milk, iced coffee, nutritional beverages and other various drinks.

O-AT-KA has gross annual sales of more than $300 million and is a significant employer and economic development engine in Upstate NY’s dairy and manufacturing industries. Schumer said that in order for Upstate Niagara member dairies and O-AT-KA to continue to be global leaders, Canada’s rapacious dairy-related trade policies need to be addressed and that NAFTA represents a major opportunity to do so.

Here's Schumer's letter to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, United States Trade Representative:

Dear Ambassador Lighthizer:

As the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations come towards a conclusion, I would like to again emphasize the importance of securing meaningful concessions from Canada to provide stable market access for our dairy producers. Securing meaningful and enforceable commitments that will allow U.S. dairy producers to compete with Canada’s on a level playing field should be a top priority in NAFTA renegotiations. As I have expressed to you many times, I strongly believe that we should not miss this opportunity to protect our dairy producers from Canada’s recent predatory trade practices.

As you know, Canada’s Class 7 pricing program, a market-distorting supply management system, has caused severe pain to New York dairy producers since it came into force last year. Canada has also maintained large tariffs on dairy products, including a 270 percent tariff on milk. New York’s dairy farmers and companies like Cayuga Milk Ingredients, O-AT-KA Milk, and Ideal Dairy Farm, rely on market-based trade with Canada for a significant percentage – millions of dollars – of their revenue. Not only are New York’s producers locked out of Canada’s ultrafiltered milk market, but in just a year’s time, Canada has used its Class 7 program to triple its milk powder exports, dumping powdered milk products into global markets and undercutting New York dairy producer’s exports. This Class 7 system is likely a violation of Canada’s World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, but addressing it quickly through NAFTA renegotiation is needed, rather than waiting for years for a WTO determination. This Class 7 system should be dismantled through new NAFTA commitments.

In our discussions, you have committed to me that you would prioritize addressing this issue through NAFTA renegotiations. The President has also privately expressed to me his explicit desire to address this issue and has publically emphasized, many times, the unfair way that Canada has treated our dairy producers, noting just last month: “Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive.”

Our hard working dairy producers are the most competitive in the world, but they depend on stable and fair rules to compete in a global economy. Again, I urge you to make meaningful and enforceable commitments that level the playing field for our dairy producers a top priority as NAFTA renegotiations conclude.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

Press release:

Congressman Chris Collins (NY-27) today voted for legislation that funds all federal government discretionary programs for the 2018 fiscal year. The legislation includes providing the nation’s troops their biggest pay raise in eight years as a part of the biggest increase in defense spending in the past 15 years.

“This bill makes historic investments in the brave men and women who protect our nation by correcting the mistakes of the Obama administration by providing the military with the resources they need,” Collins said.“Hardworking Americans can be assured that Congress is spending taxpayer dollars wisely to make sure our children can feel safe in their schools, our towns and cities have sound infrastructure, and we are closing gaps in security at our borders.”  

The legislation includes funding for President Trump’s opioid campaign to combat drug abuse and the Fix NCIS bill to close loopholes in background checks for gun purchases. A total of $1.6 billion was allocated to begin building a wall along the southern border over the next six months.

The funding package includes a provision echoing Collins’ legislation to create a federal database of broadband infrastructure that would make it easier for carriers to build out in rural areas.

Congressman Collins has been an advocate for the University of Rochester’s Laboratory of Laser Energetics, which was given $75 million in the funding package to continue its groundbreaking research. The legislation also extends the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through September 2018, while keeping in place pilot training requirements enacted after the 2009 Colgan Air Flight 3407 crash in Clarence.

Additionally, this bill gives the Trump administration the ability to increase the number of H-2B visas available for temporary farm workers based on the needs of the nation. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) received full funding to protect the lakes from environmental threats.

Collins added: “While this legislation is good for Western New York, it also sets the United States on a path toward a safer, stronger America. Key priorities of Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration are represented in this package and I applaud its passage as we work to get America back on track.”

The legislation adheres to the previously enacted budget “caps” agreement and contains the full legislation and funding for all of the 12 annual Appropriations bills. For more information on the TARGET Act [Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018], click here.

Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand also put out a joint statement in support of the budget bill:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced major victories that will greatly help Upstate New York in the bipartisan federal funding bill. The senators said these victories will boost the economy and support vital programs, including funding for the opioid prevention, Great Lake Restoration Initiative (GLRI), funding HOME/CDBG Program, critical railroad safety programs, support for education and higher-education and much more. Schumer and Gillibrand provided statements for several major areas in which the budget will be a major boost for Upstate New Yorkers. 
  
The bill includes the following victories for Upstate New York: 

Opioid & Prescription Drug Prevention & Treatment Programs

“For too long, heroin and opioid use, fatal overdoses, and drug-related crimes have been on the rise, plaguing Upstate New York communities,” said Senator Schumer. “New York deserves every federal resource possible to combat the growing scourge of opioid drug abuse and trafficking – and to increase treatment and prevention. That is why I went to bat for New York and pushed my colleagues to include this vital funding to combat the opioid epidemic in the final federal funding bill. The federal government must continue to invest in new and innovative ways to combat heroin and opioid use and tackle this challenge head-on.”

“Too many lives have been destroyed, too many families have been torn apart, and too many communities all over New York are suffering because of the opioid epidemic,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This is a public health crisis, and our communities need more funding and resources to combat and help address substance abuse. I’m pleased to see that following our push, the omnibus bill includes a strong investment for states and community organizations across New York to expand prevention, treatment and monitoring programs.”

Specifically, the agreement provides a $3.3 billion increase over last year’s funding levels for efforts throughout government departments and agencies to combat the opioids and mental health crises, including more than $2.8 billion in increases for treatment, prevention, and research for programs within the Department of Health and Human Services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will get a $1.4 billion increase over last year; SAMHSA leads our nation’s treatment efforts to address the opioid and heroin crisis gripping communities throughout New York and the rest of the nation. In each of the last two fiscal years, New York received more than $111 million from SAMHSA block grants.

Additionally, the agreement funds nearly a $2 billion increase over last year’s levels for programs beyond SAMHSA in efforts through several departments and agencies specifically targeted to attack the opioid/heroin crisis.

·         $300 million more for Department of Justice initiatives including interdiction, enforcement, drug and mental health courts, and treatment programs;

·         $350 million more for the Centers for Disease Control for preventing prescription drug overdoses;

·         $500 million more in NIH funding for targeted research on opioid addiction within the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA);

·         $415 million more to the Health Resources & Services Administration, which promotes health care in underserved communities and oversees Community Health Centers. There are 65 CHCs in New York, serving nearly 2 million patients in 2015 and employing more than 15,000 New Yorkers; and

·         $61 million more to the Department of Veterans Affairs for additional funding for treatment and prevention ($434.6 million total).

More after the jump:

High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)

“For too long, heroin use, fatal overdoses, and drug-related crimes have been on the rise, plaguing Upstate New York communities.  This is why I rejected the administration’s initial request to gut the Office of National Drug Control, including HIDTA, and robustly fund the program. Now communities in New York State and beyond will have the federal resources they need to combat the growing scourge of drug trafficking. I went to bat for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), program and now with  $280 million in federal funding an increase of $26 million from FY17, communities in New York will finally have the funding needed for increased technical expertise, more law enforcement personnel and the additional resources needed to combat heroin use and tackle this challenge head-on,” said Senator Schumer.

“I’m very pleased to announce this new federal funding to help communities in Upstate New York fight the opioid epidemic,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The opioid epidemic has already torn apart too many families and destroyed too many lives in New York, and we must use every tool and resource we have to end this crisis. This funding will help ensure that law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local level are able to better coordinate with one another to safeguard our communities from drug trafficking and abuse. I was proud to fight to make sure these funds were included in the omnibus, and I won’t stop working with my colleagues until the opioid epidemic is ultimately defeated.”

INTERDICT ACT Funding – CBP Fentanyl Detection Devices

“Deadly substances are being smuggled into our communities sold on our streets, and are destroying our families. We know how they get here and where they come from, which is why I worked to pass INTERDICT into law so that narcotics, like illicit fentanyl, entering ports of entry and international mail facilities can be quickly detected, identified and seized. With the $65 million in federal funding provided by this agreement, a nearly $60 million increase than what was originally authorized, customs agents at airports and beyond will finally have the resources they need to stop this flood and help save lives. With this new multimillion dollar investment those of the front lines will have the hi-tech tools necessary to root out fentanyl and other synthetic opioids that are leading to tragic deaths throughout New York,” said Senator Schumer.

“Too many communities across New York are suffering because of the opioid epidemic. As we continue to combat this crisis, we need to ensure that law enforcement personnel have the necessary resources to keep our communities safe,” saidSenator Gillibrand. “This critical funding will help our law enforcement control illegal imports and prevent the spread of illicit fentanyl throughout the state. I was proud to be a co-sponsor of the bipartisan INTERDICT Act, and am pleased that funding will be allotted to target one of the root sources of the opioid addiction crisis.”

HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)/ Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program
“CDBG funding is the very cornerstone of Upstate economic development efforts and community revitalization, so it was critical that we fought and won to provide substantial resources via this vital program all across Upstate New York. Investing in strong neighborhoods is an important victory to help economic development efforts in Upstate neighborhoods by providing homeownership, rental assistance, and housing rehabilitation funds. We were able to secure $1.36 billion for HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funding and $3.3 billion for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Without this critical funding, already vulnerable communities could have been devastated,” said Senator Schumer. “That is why I fought with every fiber of my body to prevent the proposed elimination of both the HOME and CDBG programs. This funding means local governments and communities will now have the resources they need to provide families and their children with safe and affordable housing options and can continue the neighborhood revitalization efforts that are critical to local economic development.”  

“I’m very pleased to announce this funding for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and the Community Development Block Grant Program,” said Senator Gillibrand. “These programs help support economic development in rural and urban communities all over our state and helps ensure that low-income New Yorkers and their families can have a place to live no matter where they are from or what their life circumstances are. I was proud to fight for inclusion of this important federal investment in the omnibus, and I will continue to do everything I can in the Senate to support these programs.”

Great Lake Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Funding

“It is imperative that we continue to properly monitor, preserve and rehabilitate our Great Lakes – which are sources of drinking water, recreation, and jobs-- so residents and visitors can enjoy these invaluable Upstate NY resources for years to come,” said Senator Schumer. “We need to continue to protect New York’s most vital water resources – like Lake Ontario and Lake I will continue to fight year after year to secure the highest level of funding for the GLRI program. I am optimistic that this federal investment will allow for more fishing and tourism opportunities, which means new jobs and new revenue.”

“I am very pleased to announce new federal funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “The Great Lakes are some of New York’s most treasured resources, and this important program helps ensure that we can continue to restore and preserve the Great Lakes watershed for years to come. I will always fight in the Senate to protect our Great Lakes, and I was proud to fight to make sure this funding was included in the omnibus bill.”

Railroad Safety Including Positive Train Control (PTC)

“Positive Train Control will help prevent fatal crashes and derailments – and so it’s of the utmost importance that all of our rail lines have this life-saving technology installed as soon as possible. That is why I fought so hard to secure $250 million to help pay the cost of PTC implementation in cases where governments and taxpayers would have to bear the brunt of the expense,” said Senator Schumer. “We need to install cutting-edge technology that will save lives before we see more tragic derailments like the Philadelphia tragedy.”

“There is an urgent need to improve the safety of our railways and this federal funding will help implement Positive Train Control, grade crossing improvements, and other critical railway safety updates,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I was proud to have fought for these funds to be included in the omnibus language. We should continue to make these major investments in our rail infrastructure to ensure that New York State commuters and the communities around the tracks are safe and have access to the most efficient railways.”

Rebuilding Crumbling Veteran’s Hospitals

“Our vets need and deserve better healthcare in state-of-the-art facilities. This new bill will give the VA hospitals in New York and beyond the ability to repair, modernize and maintain their infrastructure.  These brave men and women fought to protect our freedom and it is our duty to protect them by providing access to high-quality health care services in modern hospitals,” said Senator Schumer.

“Our veterans risk their lives for this country, and they should be guaranteed the best care and the best treatment when they come home,” said Senator Gillibrand. “These federal funds will help rebuild New York’s veterans hospitals, so that any veteran who needs to use one will be able to receive the highest level of care. I was proud to fight for this funding, and I will always do everything I can in the Senate to protect our veterans.”

Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund

“This bill contains an important victory for updating New York’s aging water infrastructure and job creation: we secured $1.694 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and $1.163 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. This represents a $600 million increase in our water infrastructure. This federal funding will provide critical support to water and sewer projects across the state many of which are long overdue. New York has some of the oldest sewer systems in the country, and the State Revolving Funds can be used to upgrade and modernize water infrastructure,” said Senator Schumer. “In any given year, we have hundreds of sewer and water system projects in Upstate New York that are in need of funding, so I was proud to go to bat for this program to ensure that funding for New York was not scrapped or put on the back burner. Now I’m urging my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and in both chambers of Congress, to vote for this bill so we can send this to the president’s desk. Having safe and up to date water and sewer systems is critical to public health and helping New York towns and villages grow and prosper.”

“New Yorkers know all too well that clean water is something we can never take for granted, so I am very pleased to announce this new funding for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “These federal funds will help make sure communities in New York have the resources they need to keep their drinking water clean and safe, and to keep their wastewater systems working well. I was proud to fight for these funds, because no New Yorker should ever have to worry about whether our water is safe to use.”

Firefighter Assistance Grants

“It is critical that we continue to invest in our fire departments and brave firefighters. This bipartisan bill includes an important victory to pay for more fire equipment and hire and retain more firefighters. We were able to secure $700 million for our brave firefighters, who risk their lives every day to protect our communities, and who deserve to have the state-of-the-art equipment needed to do their jobs safely and effectively,” said Senator Schumer. “We need to continue to increase funding for these two critical programs that deliver vital resources to our fire departments across Upstate New York. I’ve fought my whole career to bring more federal resources to our volunteer and career fire departments – that is exactly why I worked double-time to keep our firefighters and communities safe this year.”

“This funding for the Firefighter Assistance Grants will help ensure that fire departments across New York have the training, equipment, and staffing they need to serve their communities safely and efficiently,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Firefighters risk their lives to keep us safe, and I will always support programs that provide them with the necessary resources they need to keep them and our communities safe.”

Infrastructure Programs like the TIGER Grant Program

“This bipartisan bill contains a major victory for communities across Upstate New York now pursuing economy-boosting transportation and infrastructure projects. The bill reverses the administration’s proposed cut and not only fully funds the TIGER Grant Program, but also secured a $1 billion increase, bringing the total funding to $1.5 billion. This is vital funding that is so critical to transportation improvement projects across Upstate. Everything from returning cars to Main St. in downtown Buffalo, to the transformation of Rochester’s Inner Loop, to improvements to the Capital District and Hudson Valley bus services have been funded by TIGER grants in the last few years,” said Senator Schumer.

“I’m very pleased that our federal infrastructure programs, including the TIGER Grant Program, will continue to receive an increase in funding from Congress despite the Trump Administration’s attempts to cut them,” said Senator Gillibrand. “These programs help ensure that when communities in New York are confronted with the need to improve their aging and outdated highways, bridges, railways, and multimodal facilities, there are federal resources to help them do the job. I was proud to fight for this funding, and I will continue to support these essential infrastructure programs in the Senate.”

Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement Grants (CRISI)

“Rail infrastructure across New York State and the entire country will get a much-needed boost as a result of this agreement. Over $590 million was included in the CRISI program which will help support rail infrastructure and safety projects across the country.  These grants go to projects aimed at advancing the safety and dependency of our railways and will work to improve rail safety, grade crossing safety, and to install Positive Train Control,” said Senator Schumer.

“Millions of New Yorkers rely on our railways for daily transportation, long-distance travel, and freight service to deliver New York goods across the country,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This federal funding for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement grant program will help increase the safety, efficiency, and reliability of our rail systems, and I’m pleased that this year’s spending package will include this important investment for rail infrastructure.”

Airport Improvement Program (AIP)

“Making sure New York’s airports are clear for takeoff is essential for the safety of air travelers and smooth functioning of the state’s economy – and especially to our upstate cities and small communities.  This new $4.35 billion in federal investment will fully fund the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and is a major win for New York State and its visitors. The bill adds $1 billion to the program which grants money to critical projects to improve many aspects of the airport including security, capacity, and environmental concerns. These funds are a win for New York’s airports and the millions of residents, tourists and business people who use them each year,” said Senator Schumer.

“These federal funds will help ensure that the Airport Improvement Program can continue to help communities all around New York improve their local airports,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Many communities in our state rely on their airports to support the local economy, and they often need resources from the Airport Improvement Program in order to complete important projects like runway construction, runway lighting, and airport safety improvements. I was proud to support this program in the Senate, and I’m very pleased that these funds were included in the omnibus.”

High-Speed Internet

 "To create the vibrant Upstate New York economy of tomorrow that creates and sustains the jobs of the future, we must invest in high-speed internet networks today, so that every Upstate home, school or small businesses gets – and stays – connected. The difference between economic success and failure in the 21st Century will be in large part determined by equal access to high-speed broadband that is reliable and affordable. With this multimillion-dollar investment, rural communities across New York state will finally have the resources needed to close the digital divide. These investments will create jobs, expand minds and build a strong base for future economic growth in New York state and beyond,” said Senator Schumer.

“There is no doubt anymore that our schools, hospitals, and businesses must have access to high-speed broadband internet in order to thrive. Imagine not having access to power or a road; that’s how we should be thinking about high-speed internet access in the year 2018,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am very proud to announce that the omnibus bill includes substantial new federal funding that will help bring high-speed internet to rural communities all over New York. This is outstanding news for our state, and I will continue to fight in the Senate to make sure New Yorkers have every opportunity to succeed.”

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

“Hundreds of thousands of fixed-income seniors and low-to moderate-income New Yorkers each year rely on LIHEAP funding to help pay for the home heating costs that have become a larger and larger share of their budget. This major federal investment –of more than $3.64 billion in federal funding – will help New York’s most vulnerable cover their high energy costs. This means fewer people will have to make the agonizing decision over whether to pay energy bills or put food on the table,” said Senator Schumer. “Having these funds available for New Yorkers who deal with harsh winters is critical.”

“LIHEAP is a lifeline for over one million New Yorkers, including many seniors living on a fixed income, veterans, and low-income families who struggle to pay their heating bills in the winter,” said Senator Gillibrand. “No New Yorker should have to choose between staying warm in the frigid cold and paying rent or putting food on their table, and I’m proud to have fought for these critical home energy assistance funds in the omnibus.”

Head Start Program

“Head Start is an investment that pays massive dividends later in life. New York has one of the largest enrollments of children in the Head Start program and this funding will allow New Yorkers to better address the needs of children and make sure that they have the opportunity to fulfill the American dream,” said Senator Schumer.

“Head Start helps ensure some of our youngest students in New York and across the country start out strong and have the resources they need to learn, grow, and succeed inside and outside the classroom later in life,” said Senator Gillibrand. “We know from studies that Head Start provides one of the most significant returns on our federal investment, and we have to keep fighting to make high-quality early childhood education a priority. I was proud to advocate for this funding, and am pleased to see it included in the omnibus." 

Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)

“High-quality child care is essential to enable parents to get and keep a job and to give children a strong start toward success in school and life. Unfortunately, it is out of reach for many families, but now with this additional $2.37 billion of  funding increases – bringing the total funding to $5.23 billion – we will add tens of thousands of new slots for working families who need access to affordable child care,” said Senator Schumer.

“I am proud to have pushed to secure funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program so that New York State and states across the country have the resources they need to ensure vulnerable children have access to the early learning experiences they need to succeed both inside and outside of the classroom,” said Senator Gillibrand. “These funds included in the Omnibus legislation are an investment in our communities and will help millions of low-income children and thousands of families in New York and across the country thrive.”

Stream gauge Funding

“Stream gauges are a critical first line of defense against impending floods, and given the repeated storms and flooding we have seen across New York, I made boosting their funding a top priority over the last year. Upstate New York communities also will be better served in flood detection, prevention, and evacuation planning as the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program received a $1.5 million funding increase specifically for stream gauges.   Now, I will push to see those funds flow to New York, where USGS can work to keep ever-threatened gauges online, and potentially add more of these flood detection devices to high-risk flood zones in order to better prepare for the next natural disaster,” said Senator Schumer.

KEG

“I’m very pleased to announce these new federal funds for the stream gauge program to help communities protect themselves against flooding from rivers and streams,” said Senator Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Communities across New York are at risk from flooding, whether it is seasonal or from heavy storms, so it’s essential that we continue these important flood prevention efforts around the state. I was proud to fight for this funding, and I will continue to do everything I can in the Senate to make sure New Yorkers are protected from floods.”

National Institute Of Health (NIH)

“This federal funding bill provides $37.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health, the epicenter of cutting-edge medical research, an increase of $3 billion over last year’s level and $2.4 billion more than the administration proposed in their budget. This money is so critical to New York State; last year, New York received more than $2.3 billion in NIH awards, supporting 30,000 jobs and research institutions from Cornell to Rochester to SUNY-Buffalo and elsewhere throughout Upstate New York. I will continue to fight for this critical funding to support Upstate New York State’s world-class research institutions and universities,” said Senator Schumer.

“The National Institutes of Health is one of the world’s leading medical research institutions, and this federal funding is a critical investment that ensures continued support for the NIH’s work to discover innovative treatment methods and cures for countless diseases,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The scientific advances made at NIH research centers are vital to the future of health care, and I am proud to have fought for this funding to be included in the Fiscal Year 2018 spending bill.”

Sen. Charles Schumer is using the visit of Vice President Mike Pence to draw attention to the potential impact of the GOP-proposed tax plan would have on WNY, including in the congressional district of Rep. Chris Collins.

Schumer said that in the NY-27, 29 percent of taxpayers take a deduction for paying state and local taxes for an average deduction of $12,125.

The GOP plan calls for the elimination of the deduction. 

“Eliminating the state and local deduction, while slashing taxes for the wealthy and huge corporations, will hurt middle-class taxpayers, and various attempts at a ‘compromise’ are just as bad," Schumer said in a release. "If the Republicans cap the state and local deduction too high, they will still blow a huge hole in the deficit. Cap it too low, and they’ll continue socking it to the middle class. And forcing people to choose between the state and local deduction and other deductions is like offering to taxpayers to cut off one hand or the other."

We asked Schumer's office for data on Genesee County and locally, a press aide provided a link to the Tax Foundation, which shows the average state and local tax deduction for Genesee County is $2,257. (The formula for this calculation appears to be different then the calculation presented by Schumer's office in the second paragraph above. That formula is the average of the 29 percent taking the deductions; this formula, according to the article, is an average of all filers in the county.)

To claim the deduction, filers must itemize their deductions, which might include things like health care costs, mortgage interest, and charitable contributions. 

Filers who don't itemize can take the standard deduction, which is currently $6,350 for single filers and $12,700 for married couples.

The current GOP tax plan calls for simplifying deductions and increasing the amount of the standard deduction. 

Collins expressed support for elimination of the state and local tax deduction in an interview with The Batavian last year when we produced our series on Trump, trade and the local economy.

“When Vice President Pence arrives in Buffalo today, I hope he’s prepared to explain why he wants to hike taxes on thousands of middle-class families in the Buffalo area and across the country," Schumer said. "It hurts the middle class; it hammers the New York economy; and, it undermines property values."

Press release:

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer yesterday (Aug. 2) called Canadian Ambassador Nominee Kelly Knight-Craft and strongly urged her to work with Canadian officials to persuade them to reverse the protectionist and restrictive trade policies that are currently harming the Upstate New York milk industry and farmers.

Schumer explained that the Province of Ontario and Canada’s federal government have adopted restrictive measures on the importation of milk products. These measures will cost tens of millions in U.S. dairy contracts. Producers like O-AT-KA Milk in Genesee County, Cayuga Milk Ingredients in Cayuga County and Ideal Dairy Farm in Washington County have all been harmed, he says.

Schumer said these policies are blatant violations of existing fair trade agreements with Canada. Schumer said this is an affront to current U.S.-Canadian trade agreements, and therefore urged Ms. Craft to push Canada reverse these unfair policies and work with the United States to keep current dairy trade agreements strong. 

“Canada’s restrictive dairy trade and pricing policies are blatantly violating our trade agreements signed by the U.S. and Canada, and they are hurting New York’s dairy producers who simply want to deal fairly with our Canadian partners," Schumer said. "That’s why I called the Canadian Ambassador Nominee and I urged her to push Canada to end these unfair policies and work with the U.S. to keep both of our dairy industries strong.

"These kinds of policies put our dairy farmers in grave jeopardy. Our New York dairy producers work hard every day to provide for their families and export quality products to the world – and they deserve to know that everyone’s competing on a level playing field.”

Schumer has long fought to protect the Upstate NY dairy industry and milk producers across the state. In September, Schumer urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Secretary Vilsack and the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, to continue to pressure Canada to end these unfair policies.

The senator said it is critical that the federal government protects the Upstate NY dairy industry, and that these protectionist trade policies should not be allowed to continually impair the value of fair trade provisions the U.S. previously secured under our prior trade agreements.

In the Spring of 2016, Schumer visited O-AT-KA Milk, Cayuga Milk Ingredients and Ideal Farm as he urged the USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Michael Froman, to protect Upstate New York’s dairy sector from the then-proposed barriers to trade. Following that push, Schumer again urged these two federal agencies to ramp up all available resources to investigate new Canadian dairy trade policies that could hurt dairy farmers in Upstate NY.

The Canadian province of Ontario has already imposed limitations on American imports and recently Canada’s national government put out a proposal to expand these restrictions nationwide.

Schumer said that the Province of Ontario and Canada’s federal pricing policies, are designed to crowd out New York’s dairy sales and discourage Canadian cheesemakers from using imported ultra-filtered milk from the United States in their products. These new pricing policies essentially set the price of Canada’s products below that of New York’s ultra-filtered milk imports, which hurts O-AT-KA and Cayuga’s more efficiently produced ultra-filtered milk.

Schumer explained that Canada’s National Ingredients Strategy for dairy takes a similar approach to Ontario’s new Class VI pricing policy by incentivizing Canadian processors to shift away from using dairy imports from the U.S. Upstate New York producers have invested millions in order to be able to export to Canada because they have long enjoyed duty-free access for this specific product under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Schumer said these Canadian trade barriers have already started to hinder development and growth of the Upstate NY dairy industry. Companies like O-AT-KA and Cayuga Milk Ingredients, along with Ideal Dairy Farm, rely on trade with Canada for a significant percentage – millions of dollars – of their revenue.

As the country’s third largest milk producing state, a significant impact on New York’s ability to tap into key foreign markets could also impact farmers in surrounding states. Therefore, Schumer said, any reductions in export sales could impact NY dairy manufacturers and their supplying farms, which are already struggling with depressed milk prices.

Press release:

“President Trump and I spoke yesterday about reversing Canada's new and unfair dairy-pricing policy. It is an unwise policy that violates our agreements and hurts our farmers, and we agreed to work together to immediately address the issue.

"Since Canada’s damaging policies also impact dairy farms in Wisconsin, I suggested reaching out to Speaker Ryan. The three of us, in conjunction with Senator Tammy Baldwin and other stakeholders, will develop a comprehensive plan to tackle this issue.

"We can all agree that, it is critical to level the playing field for our hard-working dairy farmers and make sure our Canadian neighbors rescind their unfair policy and again play by the rules,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer.

Previously: Schumer uses stop in Bergen to raise concerns about rail safety and trade with Canada

Sen. Chuck Schumer was in Bergen today to talk trains and trade.

He's concerned about volatile sweet light crude oil being shipped from North Dakota by CSX on lines that pass through many populated Upstate communities, such as Bergen, and he's ready to get tough with Canada over new barriers to imports of dairy products from WNY.

He also answered questions about a potential wall along the border with Mexico, President Donald J. Trump's tax returns, immigration and high-speed rail.

"Even with the new oil cars, if the train is going faster than 25 miles (per hour) a big explosion will occur and that kind of explosion could occur on these tracks right here in Bergen," Schumer said. "Look, there are houses all around and businesses all around."

He reminded reporters of a derailment involving fuel cars in Canada few years ago that claimed several lives.

The fuel car issue has been on Schumer's radar for a few years, but what brought him to Genesee County today to raise the issue again was the derailment of a train carrying gun powder in Batavia during the windstorm in March.

As he held an enlargement of a picture of the derailment published by The Batavian, Schumer said, "as you can see it’s frightening to look at. These are large, large cars going at a very fast speed and if they had contained flammable materials they can be dangerous."

The fuel coming through Upstate New York in recent years comes from oil wells in North Dakota that tap reserves inaccessible until new technology changed the oil business. 

That has been a very good thing, though not without a cost, Schumer said.

"It's made us much less dependent on foreign oil," Schumer said. "It’s reduced the cost of gasoline and home heating oil and other things over the years, so it’s a good thing. But they don’t refine it out there in North Dakota. It gets on our rail cars and comes right across Upstate New York and Albany. They turn south and they go to those huge refineries in New Jersey."

According to this NPR story, the number of train cars carrying oil out of North Dakota has increased 4,000 percent since 2008. It was shipped by rail because, at the time these new fields opened, there was no other infrastructure in place to deal with the new supply of oil.

The trains can be a hundred cars long, Schumer said, and that's just too dangerous. If the oil companies won't voluntarily change the way they do business, then he wants the Commerce Department and Energy Department to write new regulations requiring oil companies to burn off the mixture of methane, butane, and propane that comes out of the ground with the oil.

The natural liquid gasses, stored in a confined space, are explosive if suddenly exposed to air and a spark.

The oil companies already do what Schumer wants in Texas, he said, without government regulation.

That's one reason, Schumer said, the economic impact of his proposal would be minimal and since the gas is going to be burned off one way or another, there is no additional environmental impact by burning it off in North Dakota instead of New Jersey.

Schumer believes bringing pressure to the issue can lead to change. He said his efforts have already led to rule changes that forced rail companies to ditch older tanker cars, what he called 1-11 cars, for newer, safer tankers. 

"We pushed very hard, and it hasn’t happened as fast as I’d like, but the law now is they have to get rid of all of these unsafe cars and put safer cars in.  More than half the oil cars now are now safer."

Schumer also wanted to talk about changes in dairy import policies in Canada that he said are hurting New York dairy farmers and in particular, O-AT-KA Milk Products, which employs nearly 300 people in Batavia.

According to Schumer, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau campaigned on a promise to protect Canada's dairy industry and has since started to implement measures that are closing the market to U.S. dairy products, mostly what's known as ultra-filtered dairy product, which is used in cheese production. O-AT-KA is one of 70 producers in New York and Wisconsin that are affected by the change in trade policy.

"I'm telling Trudeau to back off because it would just lead to a lot of trouble on both sides," Schumer said.

Canada exports some $260 billion in goods to the United States, and trade with New York includes $17.7 billion in goods being shipped to New York while it imports $12.6 billion worth. Top Canadian exports to New York include aluminum ($626 million), paper ($571 million), precious metals ($444 million), motor-vehicle parts ($417 million), plastics ($354 million).

Canada has a lot to lose in a trade war with the United States sparked by a fight over dairy exports, Schumer said.

"If they persist, they’re going to suffer with their exports, not necessarily with dairy, but with something else," Schumer said. "I am just adamant about this."

He said he was surprised that Trudeau has actually been pushing the issue.

"We didn’t really think they would go through with it at the end of the day," Schumer said. "We just thought it was a campaign promise up there, that they would realize the damage it would do to the Canadian economy if we started going back and forth, back and forth, but they’re persisting, so we have to up our game."

Schumer suggested Canada's actions are a violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"That shows you what a lot of good NAFTA does," Schumer said. "I’m glad I voted against it way back when."

On trade, Schumer said he agrees on a lot more with President Trump, at least the way Trump campaigned, than people might think. He's not a fan of the World Trade Organization (on the dairy issue with Canada, he said it would take the WTO six years to issue a ruling and dairy farmers don't have six years to wait); he opposed NAFTA out of concerns with trade imbalances with Mexico and losing American jobs to Mexico; and thinks more needs to be done to promote and protect American jobs.

"My position on trade, frankly, has been closer to President Trump than to President Obama or President Bush," Schumer said. "Now I just hope he follows through on all of it. That hasn’t happened yet."

Schumer does have reservations about Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico. Trump wants to put it in the 2017 budget, but Schumer said he needs to slow down and come up with a workable plan.

"Here’s what no one knows about the wall: A -- how much it would cost?" Schumer said. "Today we were told there it is an estimate of $70 billion. That’s a huge amount of money. Wouldn’t we rather have that money fixing our roads and bridges and everything here?

"Second," he added, "no one knows where it should be or what side of the river it would be on. The Secretary of the Interior, whom the president appointed, said he can’t build it on the U.S. side because it would cut off us from the river. We can’t build it on the Mexican side because they won’t have it. Maybe we have to build it in the middle of the river. There are no plans for it. So you can’t go ahead and allocate money until there are plans.

"The final thing is, eminent domain, there are tons of property owners who own land right up to the border. It would take forever to get their property and you might not even succeed in court. So instead of rushing it through, there ought to be a discussion about it."

On immigration, he said he is pushing for reforms in the H1B visa program because foreign workers should be paid less than U.S. workers.

He said he understands the concerns local farmers have about immigrant labor but didn't express much hope that anything will change soon to help them get the help they need.

He noted that last year, there was an immigration reform bill that Dean Norton, an Elba dairy farmer who was then president of the New York Farm Bureau, helped draft, that would have given farmers the relief they need, but it didn't pass and he doesn't think there will be any movement on it this year.

"We had a really tough bill and it got bipartisan support in the Senate but it never made it in the House," Schumer said.

As for Trump's tax returns, he said the president will have an easier time with tax reform if he is completely transparent about his own tax returns. He said Trump is no longer a private citizen and he should release his returns.

"He should do it because it's going to slow down tax reform," Schumer said. "Any proposal he might make for cutting something, people will say, 'is he doing that because it's good for the American people or is he doing it because it's good for his own real estate holdings?' "

The last time Schumer was in Bergen, it was to push construction of a high-speed rail line between Bergen and Churchville as a demonstration project. We've heard nothing about the proposal since then.

"We did get a big transportation budget and in that budget, there was money for high-speed rail," Schumer said. "The Republicans took out the money for high-speed rail. Now, this is an area where there is some agreement, if we could get a major infrastructure bill, there could be money for high speed rail.

"I know there is division here in Bergen about whether we should have it or not," Schumer added. "I would want to come back to the communities, but if people thought it was a good idea I would probably try to get the money."

Press release:

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that, following his push, $36 million in federal funding for the construction phase of the newest National Veterans’ Cemetery in Western New York has been included in the final continuing resolution (CR) package.

This final appropriations bill includes the FY2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Bill and it is set to be signed into law by the president soon. The cemetery will be located on 132 acres on Indian Falls Road in Pembroke.

Schumer said the Veterans’ Cemetery in Genesee County will be the first and only of its kind in the Buffalo-Rochester area, and will save thousands of military families from having to travel upward of 100 miles to visit their loved ones at what is now the closest vet cemetery in Bath.

The Pembroke cemetery will provide a fitting burial option to approximately 96,000 currently underserved veterans and family members living in Western New York. Veterans with a qualifying discharge, their spouses and eligible dependent children may be buried in a VA national cemetery. Also eligible are military personnel who die on active duty, their spouses and eligible dependents. Burial benefits available for all eligible Veterans, regardless of whether they are buried in a national cemetery or a private cemetery, include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or marker.

Additionally, with the anticipated completion of the VA’s required Environmental Review by the end of November 2016, the VA anticipates it will complete the acquisition of the two adjoining parcels, a 60-acre parcel and a 77-acre parcel, by the second quarter of FY17 (early calendar year 2017) to enlarge the area of the cemetery. Currently the VA parcel is 132 acres. The acquisitions of the two parcels would effectively double the size of the cemetery.

According to guidance provided by the VA on cemetery development timelines, it can typically take up to 24 months to complete the cemetery master planning and design process. Following the completion of that phase, the construction phase typically requires 24-30 months to compete, with early-use burial areas made available approximately 12 months after the start of construction. Now that the $36 million to fund the construction is secure, the VA anticipates it will begin solicitation of a General Contractor to award construction. Solicitation and contract award is anticipated to require approximately six months.