Charles Schumer

Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (born November 23, 1950) is an American politician. He is currently the senior Senator from the state of New York. Elected as a Democrat, in 2004 he became of chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

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November 23 - 1950 - American - Currently - Senior - Senator - New York - Democrat - Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

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Schumer was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn. He attended public schools in Brooklyn and continued his education at Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He served in the New York Assembly from 1975 to 1981. He represented New York's ninth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1999. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998, after he won the Democratic primary against Mark Green and Geraldine Ferraro, he defeated three-term incumbent Republican Al D'Amato. In 2004 he was re-elected with more than 70 percent of the vote.

Related Topics:
Jewish - Brooklyn - Harvard College - Harvard Law School - Assembly - 1975 - 1981 - Congressional District - U.S. House of Representatives - 1999 - Elected - 1998 - Mark Green - Geraldine Ferraro - Incumbent - Republican - Al D'Amato - 2004

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Schumer currently serves on the following Congressional committees:

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• Senate Committee on Finance
• Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
• Senate Committee on the Judiciary
• Senate Committee on Rules and Administration

Schumer coauthored the federal assault weapons ban in 1994 with California Senator Dianne Feinstein, which expired in 2004. The National Rifle Association and other gun groups (see gun politics) have criticized him for allegedly not knowing much about guns, pointing to various errors regarding the subject. Supporters of gun control legislation, however, give him much of the credit for passage of both the assault weapons law and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act despite intense lobbying from opponents.

Related Topics:
Federal assault weapons ban - 1994 - California - Dianne Feinstein - National Rifle Association - Gun politics - Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act

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In addition to gun control, Schumer has focused on banking and consumer issues, counter-terrorism, and debate over confirmation of federal judges, as well as economic development in New York.

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In 2004, Schumer handily won re-election against Republican Assemblyman Howard Mills of Middletown and Conservative Marilyn O'Grady. Schumer outpolled Mills, the second-place finisher, by 2.8 million votes and won reelection with 71% of the vote, the highest ever for a Senator's election in New York. Schumer won every county in the state except one, Hamilton County in the Adirondacks.

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Assemblyman - Howard Mills - Middletown - Conservative - Marilyn O'Grady - Hamilton County - Adirondacks

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Schumer is currently the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, part of the Democratic Senate Leadership, with primary responsibility for raising funds and recruiting candidates for the Democrats in the 2006 Senate election. When he took this post, he announced that he would not run for Governor of New York in 2006, as many had speculated he would. This step avoided a potentially divisive gubernatorial primary election in 2006 between Schumer and Eliot Spitzer, New York's attorney general.

Related Topics:
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee - Governor of New York - 2006 - Primary election - Eliot Spitzer - Attorney general

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Schumer has recently been criticized by video game players for siding with Joe Lieberman, promoting regulation of video games. He is known to attack Eidos Interactive for the game 25 to Life, urging Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft to end their license agreements with Eidos Interactive.

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Video game players - Joe Lieberman - Regulation of video games - Eidos Interactive - 25 to Life - Sony Computer Entertainment - Microsoft

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Schumer's propensity for publicity is the subject of a running joke amongst many commentators, leading Bob Dole to quip that "the most dangerous place in Washington is between Charles Schumer and a television camera." Schumer frequently schedules media appearances on Sundays, a slow day for news, in the hope of getting television coverage, typically on subjects other than legislative matters. http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/election/2004/us_senate_hutch01.asp http://news.neilrogers.com/news/articles/2004122117.html http://www.observer.com/thepoliticker/2005/01/hardest-job-in-new-york.html

Related Topics:
Publicity - Bob Dole - Washington

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He and his wife, Iris Weinshall, have two daughters. His wife is the New York City Commissioner of Transportationhttp://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/iweinshallbio.html, and his daughter Jessica is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School.

Related Topics:
Iris Weinshall - New York City - Transportation - Stuyvesant High School

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