Schumer completes N.Y. tour, touts Micron deal
SARATOGA SPRINGS — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer touted completion of his annual tour of every county in New York as “one of the most impactful of his career” as he finished up in Saratoga Springs on Monday, where he discussed aid to area fire departments struggling with training and staff retention.
At the top of Schumer’s list of accomplishments: the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS & Science Bill.
Schumer reflected on Congress’ work regarding the price of insulin, the elimination of burn pits and especially the investment in chip manufacturing in New York.
The deal to convince Micron to come to the Syracuse area, a project that represents a $100 billion investment that officials say will create 50,000 jobs, is of particular note to Schumer.
“Micron, planning the biggest investment, said they needed the investment tax credit and that would help them come to New York and so we got that passed as a part of the CHIPS bill,” he said of the Senate’s work.
The state passed a similar Green CHIPS bill that provides up to $10 billion in potential tax breaks to the industry.
The state legislation passed in the final hours of session. An Empire State Development spokeswoman, at the time, described the bill as a way to capitalize on the anticipated passage of Schumer’s federal bill that would put New York “in the best position to stand apart from the other states and countries who are trying to attract the semiconductor industry.”
Schumer on Monday noted that Micron’s decision to come to New York is also expected to spur SUNY’s Albany Nanotech campus and others in the area in the chip manufacturing business.
It was his 24th time visiting all 62 counties in New York and the second time since becoming majority leader. He recalled his election in 1998, defeating three-term U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato.
“D’Amato said, ‘If Chuck Schumer wins, you’ll never see him west of the Hudson (River).’ I said, ‘God willing I win — I’ll visit every county in my first year.’ I did and I learned so much,” Schumer said.
This year, U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin invoked the Schumer’s well-known journey across all 62 counties, “a full Schumer,” when he completed his own tour of the state on the gubernatorial campaign trail. When he visited all the counties twice over, he quipped at rallies that it should be called “the full Zeldin.”
Schumer, in an interview, encouraged all elected officials to visit every part of their constituency.
