Saturday, March 27, 2004.

Sen. Charles Schumer promised that if he is returned to Washington there will continue to be "a productive, fruitful, close and even loving relationship between NYSUT and the senior senator from New York."

He said he has two main priorities in the Senate: education and fighting to prevent the appointment of conservative ideologues to the federal bench.

Schumer has been instrumental during the last few years preventing Senate approval of several of President Bush's most extreme conservative judicial nominees.

With three vacancies expected on the Supreme Court, the next president could affect the nation "not just for the next four years but for the next 40 years," he noted.

Schumer also pledged to continue fighting for adequate funding for schools from kindergarten through graduate school.

"We can be the most productive country in the world," he said. "But we certainly can't do it by beating up on teachers. We certainly can't do it by beating up on the public school system. We certainly can't do it by cutting back money for higher education."