EMPIRE STATE LYME DISEASE ASSOCIATION, INC. US Senator Chuck Schumer on Board of Empire State Lyme Disease Association About Senator Chuck Schumer

We are pleased to have US Senator Chuck Schumer as an Honorary member of the Board of Empire State Lyme Disease Association, Inc.

Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer (born November 23, 1950) is the senior U.S. Senator from the state of New York, serving since 1999. A Democrat, in 2005, he became chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In November 2006, he was elected to the new post of Vice Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. In this position, he is the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, behind Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin.
Because of his high position, he was recently found fourth most powerful U.S. Senator, just behind Leader Harry Reid, whip Dick Durbin, president pro tempore Robert Byrd, and preceding minority leader Mitch McConnell
In January 2007, he published a book called Positively American about how Democrats could reclaim middle-class voters.

Stefan Zaklin/European Pressphoto Agency

Senator Charles E. Schumer, a Democrat from New York, is considered one of Washington's fiercest political practitioners. Indeed, Democratic leaders turned to Mr. Schumer to engineer the party's Senate comeback in the 2006 midterm elections, appointing him chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

He did not disappoint. Democrats picked up six seats that year, enabling their party to retake a majority, after Mr. Schumer had micromanaged every Senate race around the country. He required, for example, that candidates respond to attacks by their opponents within 24 hours, a rule he says he learned in 1998 when he first ran for the Senate and defeated the incumbent Republican, Alfonse M. D'Amato, in a bruising contest.

In the Senate, Mr. Schumer has distinguished himself governmentally as one of President Bush's harshest critics. For example, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, he pushed Democrats to use an extreme legislative tactic, the filibuster, to block some of the Bush administration nominees for federal judgeships.

He also led a Senate inquiry in 2007 into the ouster of eight United States attorneys in what critics claim was a political purge that was orchestrated by the White House.

Mr. Schumer's thirst for publicity has become the stuff of playful banter. He once prompted a colleague to assert that the "the most dangerous place in Washington is between Charles Schumer and a television camera."

Even before arriving in the Senate, Mr. Schumer stood out for his aggressive tactics. As a member of the House of Representatives, where his district included parts of Brooklyn and Queens, he became well-known with weekly Sunday news conferences intended to generate headlines on what are normally slow news days.

Mr. Schumer is a native of Brooklyn. He began his political career in 1974, when he won a seat in the New York Assembly. He served three terms, then in 1980 ran successfully for an open seat in the House, where he served until 1998. -- Raymond Hernandez (June 8, 2007)

US Senator Chuck Schumer Becomes an Honorary Board Member of Empire State Lyme Disease Association

Contact person: Eva Haughie
Phone 631-878-6657
email: EmpireStateLyme@aol.com

For Immediate Release

Manorville, NY, October 16- The Empire State Lyme Disease Association, is very pleased to announce the addition to our Board, of a staunch advocate and supporter of Lyme patients both here in New York and across the US. We extend a heartfelt welcome to US Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) who has consented to become an honorary board member of Empire State Lyme Disease Association, Inc. (ESLDA)

We are grateful to the Senator for his prior work on Lyme disease and look forward to working with him as we move forward to eradicate this devastating disease. His concern and sincerity are reflected in his acceptance to work more closely with patients and advocates in New York as well as those on the national level.

Senator Schumer added, “I am happy to serve as an honorary board member of the Empire State Lyme Disease Association. As I continue to fight for more funding for research and technology on the federal level, this organization will play a vital role on the local level to promote education, prevention, and treatment of Lyme Disease. I look forward to working together to mitigate the impacts of this horrible disease.”

Lyme disease is called the great imitator. If under treated or missed in the early stages, Lyme disease can mimic viruses, attention deficit disorder, Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Lupus, dementia, Parkinson's, ALS, autoimmune diseases, stress-related illnesses, arthritis, hearing disorders and others.

Preventing Lyme disease is difficult in part because the ticks can as small as the period at the end of this sentence and can go unnoticed. Approximately 50 percent of people with Lyme disease don’t recall a tick bite and less than 50 percent have the “typical bulls-eye rash.” Standard Lyme tests may miss up to 75% of cases. As tick populations increase, more people will contract this disabling chronic tick-borne disease. Unfortunately, our children are at highest risk of acquiring the disease, thus ESLDA is presenting a special program on Oct 20 in Manorville called Children of Lyme. See http://www.EmpireStateLymeDiseaseAssociation.org/ for further details on the program.

Empire State Lyme Disease Association is an organization dedicated to educating the public about the spread of tick-borne diseases in New York State.