According to Senator Charles Schumer’s office, Jamestown’s share is $5 million more than even what Chautauqua County government will receive, and over $18 million more than what Dunkirk will receive.

During Monday night’s Jamestown city council work session, Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the total federal aid for COVID relief is definitely good news.

“That is a large number and that is quite shocking, but know that there are some strings attached,” Sundquist said. “We won’t get that funding all at once. It needs to be used to provide a response to COVID, to a potential for premium pay, to make up for lost revenue reductions, as well as water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.”

Part of the reason why Jamestown’s total was significantly higher is due to the federal government using the community development block grant formula to help determine total aid.

Sundquist also said that the because Jamestown is considered an “entitlement community” by the federal government, the federal aid will go directly to the city, and not have to be passed through Albany first.

“I will note that since we are an entitlement community, it provides us with a little bit different usage. Normally that funding would go to the state first and then the state would then provide that money to us, many times adjusting their payment to us, or the aid to municipalities,” Sundquist said. “Because we are an entitlement community, that money will come directly from the treasurer department. It will not go to the state first, so we do have some advantages there.”

According to Senator Schumer’s office, a total of $12.6 billion in the federal money will go to New York state governments.

Vice President Mike Pence, who serves as president pro tem of the U.S. Senate, and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the Joint Session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

WASHINGTON – Congress has concluded its count of the electoral vote for the 2020 presidential election and has certified President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory.

The action occurred early Thursday morning and took place only after an historic day at the nation’s capitol in which a mob of individuals, identified as supporters of President Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol building Wednesday afternoon while congress was in session to disrupt certification proceedings that are part of the constitutional process for allowing a peaceful transfer of power at the White House.

Following Thursday’s morning certification by Congress, President Trump for the first time acknowledged his defeat in the November election and announced there would be an “orderly transition on January 20th.”

But Trump’s acknowledgement came only the certification vote was completed and also after he attended a rally near the Capitol, where he continued to urge supporters to fight the election results and encouraged them to march to the Capitol, using remarks that were peppered with incendiary language and rife with violent undertones.

Once the mob arrived at the Capitol, there wasn’t enough security on hand to keep the large group at bay and hundreds of people eventually rushed and entered the building and freely roamed the halls, ransacked offices, and took items and posed for pictures in the chambers of both the Senate and House of Representatives. Meanwhile, members of Congress, their staff, and media were ushered into a secure location in the basement of the Capitol out of fear for their safety.

During the chaos, one woman was shot and killed, and three others died due to what was described as medical emergencies. No elected representatives were reported to be injured.

After the mob was cleared from the building and the chaos was subdued, both chambers resumed proceedings early Wednesday night, and they continued until the business of the people was concluded early Thursday morning.

Sen. Chuck Schumer

Sen. Charles Schumer, who represents New York in the Senate and who is the current minority leader of the Democratic Party, spoke events that occured earlier in the day.

“I have never lived through or even imagined an experience like the one we have just witnessed in this Capitol,” Schumer said. “President Franklin Roosevelt set aside Dec. 7, 1941, as a day that will live in infamy. Unfortunately, we can now add Jan. 6, 2021, to that very short list of dates in American history that will live forever in infamy.”

Schumer also pulled no punches in blaming President Trump for the chaos.

“This will be a stain on our country not so easily washed away – the final, terrible, indelible legacy of the 45th president of the United States, undoubtedly our worst… Make no mistake, today’s events did not happen spontaneously. The president, who promoted conspiracy theories and motivated these thugs, the president who exhorted them to come to our nation’s capital, egged them on – he hardly ever discourages violence and more often encourages it – this president bears a great deal of the blame. This mob was in good part President Trump’s doing, incited by his words, his lies. This violence, in good part his responsibility, his ever-lasting shame. Today’s events certainly — certainly — would not have happened without him.”

Schumer also said that those who participated in storming the Capitol should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

“I want to be very clear: Those who performed these reprehensible acts cannot be called protesters – no, these were rioters and insurrectionists, goons and thugs, domestic terrorists. They do not represent America. They were a few thousand violent extremists who tried to take over the Capitol building and attack our democracy. They must and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law – hopefully by this administration, if not certainly by the next. They should be provided no leniency,” Schumer said.

Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, Chautauqua County’s representative in Washington – Republican Congressman Tom Reed – also spoke out against the storming of the Capitol.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

“I come to this side of the aisle as a proud Republican, but most importantly, as a proud American,” Reed said as he moved from the Republican side of the House chamber to the Democratic side. “Today we saw an assault on our democracy. I love this institution. I love the United States Congress. And I love the United States of America. And what I saw today was mob rule that spat upon the blood of my father that is in the soil of Europe and in the soil of Korea. And who gave us that blood this sacred constitution and this sacred ability to lead this world as a power that says, we settle our differences not with mob rule, we settle our differences through elections. And when those elections are over, we have a peaceful transition of power.

Meanwhile, Trumps’ acknowledgement of losing the election also included a statement that may lead to additional unrest in the future, saying, “While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again.”

Trump’s statement was posted to Twitter by his social media director. His own account had been locked by the company for posting messages that appeared to justify the assault on the seat of the nation’s democracy. His Facebook and Instagram accounts were also locked from being used.

Trump’s response to the violence underscored his months-long obsession with trying to overturn the results of the election.

He has spent the final days of his presidency angrily stewing and lashing out at Republicans for perceived disloyalty while refusing to acknowledge his loss or concede.

The violence, coupled with the president’s tepid response, alarmed many in the White House and appeared to push Republicans allies to the breaking point after years of allegiance to Trump. According to the Associated Press, a number of White House aides were discussing a potential mass resignation, according to people familiar with the conversation. And others quickly departed. More departures were expected in the coming days, although other aides indicated they planned to stay to help smooth the transition to the Biden administration. And some harbored concerns about what Trump might do in his final two weeks in office if they were not there to serve as guardrails when so few remain.

Trump has been single-mindedly focused on his electoral defeat since Election Day, aides said, at the expense of the other responsibilities of his office, including the fight against the raging coronavirus. Indeed, it was Vice President Mike Pence, not Trump, who spoke with the acting defense secretary to discuss mobilizing the D.C National Guard on Wednesday afternoon.

Locally, Jamestown will get just over $302,000 while Dunkirk will recieve an estimated $111,000.

Earlier this year, Jamestown Also received over $705,000 in additional CDBG money to assist the community with dealing with COVID-19. That funding was provided to offer both rental assistance to qualifying applicants, as well as small business funding to help various businesses in the community.

City Development Director Crystal Surdyk announced in August that all of the funding from that first round of COVID-19 CDBG money had been allocated. She also told WRFA on Wednesday the city will likely use the latest round of funding for the COVID-19 programs developed earlier this year, but will have to wait on further clarification from the regional HUD office on the specific process to follow.

Late last week the state’s two Senators in Washington – Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand – announced that Upstate New York’s ‘safety net’ hospitals, which provide healthcare to patients in need regardless of insurance, will receive a total of $290,730,000 in health system funding allocated by Health and Human Services. The federal assistance comes as healthcare providers across the state face financial difficulty due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Schumer and Gillibrand explained that while hospitals in Upstate New York were extremely busy as the frontline defense against the virus, many health systems saw a significant decrease in earnings as revenue-creating services, such as elective surgeries, were put on hold to help combat the pandemic.

As part of the funding allocation, Brooks-TLC Hospital in Dunkirk will also receive $5,000,000.

Chuck Schumer (left) and Kirsten Gillibrand

WASHINGTON – New York’s two U.S. Senators are joining their Democratic colleagues in condemning President Donald Trump’s threat to use military force to combat demonstrations and protests that had grown into riots in some areas of the country.

While the demonstrations have remained large but mostly without the violence both Tuesday and Wednesday, that wasn’t the case earlier in the week and over the weekend. President Trump responded on Monday by threatening to use the military to “dominate” the streets where Americans are demonstrating following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died when a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.

Trump had urged governors to call out the National Guard to contain protests that turned violent and warned that if they do not, he would invoke the Insurrection Act and send in active duty military forces.

The response by the president led to U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to join other Senate Democrats in condemning the Trump administration’s threat. In a letter to U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Sen. Gillibrand expressed deep concerns over the use of the military to restrict what they are calling peaceful protests, which fall under rights given to Americans by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“Rather than listen or acknowledge the legitimate pain of protesters and the black community, President Trump has sought to divide us further, eagerly inflaming tensions and sowing anger and fear,” said Senator Gillibrand. “His continued threats to use violence against peaceful protesters and deploy our military to states is outrageous and deeply troubling. The Department of Defense must immediately answer whether the Department would deploy federal troops outside of the use of the Insurrection Act and I demand that combat units are not used to impede on Americans’ civil liberties in the fight for racial justice.”

Defense Secretary Esper reportedly angered Trump when he said he opposed using military troops for law enforcement, seemingly taking the teeth out of the president’s threat to use the Insurrection Act. Esper said the 1807 law should be invoked “only in the most urgent and dire of situations.” He added, “We are not in one of those situations now.”

President Donald Trump holds up a bible while taking a photo outside of St. John’s Episcopal Church, near Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. Prior to the photo being taken, peaceful protesters were forced by authorities dressed in riot gear and who were wielding shields and using pepper spray .

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis, a retired Marine general, also lambasted both Trump and Esper in an essay in The Atlantic for their consideration of using the active-duty military in law enforcement — and for the use of the National Guard in clearing out a largely peaceful protest at Lafayette Square near the White House on Monday evening.

According to Gillibrand’s office, the Insurrection Act, last used in 1992 during the L.A. Riots, is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act to be invoked only under extreme conditions. The legislation allows states to request support from the federal government, and would allow the President to activate federal troops independent of a state’s request – under specific and limited conditions that Gillibrand argues are not currently met.

In the letter, Gillibrand urges the Department of Defense provide information by Friday, June 5 on whether the Department would deploy federal troops outside of the use of the Insurrection Act, if deployments would ever include combat designated troops, how troops would be trained and prepared, what the mission, scope, and rules would entail for the use of force as well if they would be authorized to perform arrests.

Schumer, meanwhile, tried to force action in the U.S. senate on Tuesday for lawmaker to approve a symbolic resolution to condemn both the violence and Trump’s actions at Lafayette Square. But Majority leader and Sen. Mitch McConnell objected, chiding Democrats for pushing a measure that he said addressed neither justice for black Americans nor “peace for our country in the face of looting.”

“Instead, it just indulges in the myopic obsession with President Trump that has come to define the Democratic side,” Mr. McConnell said.

The representatives asked that any eligible work paid for through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) be paid for by the federal government rather the New York taxpayers, as was done by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama after 9-11 and Superstorm Sandy.

“With New York State at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, it is imperative that New York receive all the federal resources available to save lives and protect public health and safety. The costs associated with responding to this public health crisis are astronomical,” the jointly signed letter stated. “New York State expects to request billions of additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the DRF in the coming months. If New York State must shoulder the cost of even 25 percent of this massive bill, it could deal a devastating blow to New York’s vibrant economy.”

The complete 28 member New York delegation that joined the letter were Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Representatives Lee Zeldin (NY-1), Pete King (NY-2), Thomas Suozzi (NY-3), Kathleen Rice (NY-4), Gregory Meeks (NY-5), Grace Meng (NY-6), Nydia Velazquez (NY-7), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), Yvette Clarke (NY-9), Jerry Nadler (NY-10), Max Rose (NY-11), Carolyn Maloney (NY-12), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Jose Serrano (NY-15), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Nita Lowey (NY-17), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Tom Reed (NY-23), John Katko (NY-24), Joe Morelle (NY-25), and Brian Higgins (NY-26).

A copy of the letter sent to President Trump can be found below:

Dear President Trump: 

We write today to urge you to expeditiously grant New York a waiver that provides 100 percent federal funding for all FEMA emergency work in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Any eligible work paid for through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) should be paid for by the federal government, not New Yorkers.

On March 13, you issued an Emergency Declaration for New York, as well as for 55 other states, territories, and the District of Columbia. On March 17, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York requested a Major Disaster Declaration (MDD), the first in the country, to aid the state’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. On March 20, you granted the first-in-the-nation COVID-19 MDD for New York after a strong push from the New York Congressional Delegation. Both of these declarations allow New York State to receive reimbursement for eligible work from the DRF. On March 25, the Senate passed H.R.748, the CARES Act, which more than doubled the DRF by adding $45 billion. The March 20 MDD now grants New York State access to Public Assistance, Category B – Emergency Protective Measures and the Crisis Counselling program for individuals. While this is an incredibly important step in combating the COVID-19 outbreak, this assistance comes at a 75 percent federal and 25 percent state cost share.

As of April 13, the New York State Department of Health reported over 195,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York State, with over 104,000 in New York City alone. Tragically, our home state has already experienced at least 10,000 deaths from this outbreak and experts anticipate this number will continue to rise. 

With New York State at the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, it is imperative that New York receive all the federal resources available to save lives and protect public health and safety. The costs associated with responding to this public health crisis are astronomical. New York State expects to request billions of additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the DRF in the coming months. If New York State must shoulder the cost of even 25 percent of this massive bill, it could deal a devastating blow to New York’s vibrant economy.

As New York continues to address the escalating outbreak of COVID-19, we urge you to expeditiously grant a waiver that adjusts the current DRF cost-share to provide 100 percent federal funding for New York State’s response to this outbreak. We thank you for your time and attention to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our staff members with any questions.

Sen. Chuck Schumer

DUNKIRK – U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer was in Dunkirk Thursday to draw attention to an ongoing crisis involving health-care benefits for Veitnam veterans.

Schumer is calling on the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Veterans Affairs to add new conditions to the Agent Orange presumptive conditions list. Schumer said he is demanding a detailed explanation as to why the agencies continue to block billions in health care coverage and benefits for thousands of Vietnam veterans.

A 2016 National Academies report found suggestive evidence that bladder cancer and hypothyroidism were associated with veterans’ service, as well as clarified that veterans with “Parkinson-like symptoms” should be considered eligible under the presumption that Parkinson’s disease and the veterans’ service are connected.

According to Schumer, some 32,000 Western New Yorkers served in the war in the 1960s and 70s.

Chuck Schumer (left) and Kirsten Gillibrand

WASHINGTON – New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to prioritize funding to protect the lake’s water quality from toxic algal blooms by including a Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study in its Fiscal Year 2020 Work Plan.

In a joint press release, the senators said Chautauqua Lake and its surrounding communities suffer from continued environmental, public health, and economic damage caused by repeated harmful algal blooms, and this study would allow USACE to evaluate the excessive phosphorous runoff that causes these harmful algal blooms.  Additionally, the USACE would be able to study flood risk management measures, assess ecosystem restoration efforts, and address the accelerated erosion along the lake’s tributary stream banks.

“Chautauqua Lake is a jewel of Western New York and a vital source of drinking water, recreation and economic activity for both residents and countless visitors alike, but it is threatened by harmful algal blooms that we must do more to reverse and prevent,” said Senator Schumer. “That’s why today I’m calling on the Army Corps to include the Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study in its Fiscal Year 2020 Work Plan, to carefully examine the destructive, repeated harmful algal blooms in Chautauqua Lake that have significantly diminished water quality. To successfully battle the blooms, Chautauqua Lake is going to need the Army Corps’ expertise and support.”

The Chautauqua Lake Feasibility Study would enable the local communities to better understand changing flood risks and provide tools to help guard against future environmental degradation and property damage. The study would inform best practices concerning excessive weed and harmful algae growth, as well as mitigation for sediments deposited at the mouths of the tributaries, to further minimize flood risks harming the environmental health and economic viability of Chautauqua Lake.

Sen. Chuck Schumer

WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Schumer says he has reached out to the Chairman and CEO of Cummins to ensure that its workforce at the Jamestown Engine Plant is maintained in light of last week’s news that the company would be cutting as many as 2,000 jobs worldwide.

Schumer said he called CEO Tom Linebarger and urged him to do all in his power to retain the plant’s employees in Jamestown. Following the call, Schumer said he is very confident the plant has a good future and is hopeful that Cummins will do everything possible to help Jamestown withstand the global cost-cutting measures.

“I spoke directly with Cummins Chairman and CEO Tom Linebarger, and I feel very confident that Cummins remains deeply committed to its workforce in Jamestown and will strive to minimize the impact of its global cost-cutting on Western New York,” said Senator Schumer. “I conveyed to Mr. Linebarger that their Jamestown Engine Plant is productive and profitable, and that Cummins must do their best to shield JEP’s world-class workers from layoffs. And he agreed that the workers there are superb, and a critical part of the Jamestown economy.”

The Jamestown facility itself is about 1 million sq. ft. and produces roughly 400 engines per day for semi-trucks, RV’s, trains, and tractors. In 2015, John Deere announced that the Cummins Jamestown Engine Plant would be the site to produce the QSX15 engine, a heavy-duty tractor engine meant for large-scale farming equipment. This represented a significant investment in both Cummins and the Jamestown Engine Plant, which Schumer says widened the scope of manufacturing in Western New York.

Cummins employs an estimated 54,000 people worldwide.

Congressman Tom Reed held a Town Hall Meeting in Falconer on Thursday night, Nov. 7, 2019 with about 40 local residents in attendance.

FALCONER – About 40 people were at the Town of Ellicott Municipal Building in Falconer Thursday to attend a Town Hall Meeting with Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning, NY 23).

Topics that were discussed included the Mexico-Canada trade agreement, clean and renewable energy initiatives and impeachment. The last topic created the most contentious back-and-forth between the Congressman and attendees, with some raising their voices at times and interrupting Reed as he explained why he doesn’t support the impeachment process against President Trump.

During the opening remarks of the meeting, Reed, a 5-term republican congressman from Corning- reiterated his views on the issue of impeaching president Trump.

“Right now the topic of the day is impeachment. Impeachment has taken up the airwaves and kind of taken up the oxygen in the room. As I have publicly stated and I will state here again, I do not support the impeachment process. I don’t support the inquiries,” Reed said. “When you look at impeachment, the lessons of President Clinton, the lessons of President Nixon, and when impeachment is employed historically we’re talking about the overturning a duly held election in America. Going down the path, in my opinion, is not warranted.”

Following his opening remarks, it was another 20 minutes or so before impeachment was brought up again. But once it was, the issue took up the vast remainder of the hour-long meeting with Reed and attendees trading remarks on the matter, often times talking over each other in the process.

Most of those in attendance appeared to disagree with Reed about the impeachment issue. But while Reed was unable to convince many in the room that Impeachment is unwarranted, there was some agreement when it came to U.S. troops in Syria, when Reed explained that he has always been against any president using military forces without first consulting with Congress and has pushed for that Congressional approval despite it not being a popular sentiment.

“I can tell you the conversations that are occurring on the floor of the house. ‘Tom, why do you keep advocating for a politically toxic vote that you would have to take if you’re going to put men and women into war zones?’ I said to them to their face, ‘If you’re telling me that we’re going to ask men and women of the military to risk their physical lives in terms of a mission that we’re asking them to do, I can risk my political life in regards to taking that vote up or down,” Reed said, followed by applause from those in attendance.

Congressman Tom Reed listens as a member of the audience discusses the issues of impeachment during the Nov. 7 Town Hall Meeting in Falconer.

Following the meeting, we asked Reed for his reaction to the response he got from those in attendance as well as if there were any takeaways from the hour-long conversation.

“There’s a lot of passion out there in America today and obviously you saw some of that displayed today. But I think we had a good conversation on Syria and it was good to see people recognized where we are coming from,” Reed said. “But overall this is what it’s all about – just continuing to be accessible and they now know the people behind the voices and faces in the office so they can feel comfortable giving us a call.”

Meanwhile Reed was in Jamestown earlier in the day to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony that was held at the Chautauqua Center on Institute St.

Reed said the new medical center will improve the quality of health care in the Jamestown area.

“They’re having 200 patients a day coming through there and that integrated care model is something I’m a big fan. Where you have easy access to all the care, to get all the concerns when somebody walks into a doctor’s office or a provider’s office, one location to take care of all the problems to the best extent possible,” Reed said.

The new facility was made possible with federal and state grants that were secured, in part, through the work of Reed’s office along with that of Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

For more information, visit thechautauquacenter.org.