Rob Astorino met withDemocratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand as well as Reps. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison; Eliot Engel, D-Bronx; and John Hall, D-Dover.

“We agreed to work together for the good of the county,’‘  said Schumer, who was the first elected official on Astorino’s schedule.

The two met in Schumer’s office located in the Senate Hart Office Building.

Earlier in the day Astorino met with Ron Sims, deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, regarding the county’s housing desegregation agreement.

Individuals who make a suggested contribution of $1,000 will get a chance to break egg rolls at Hunan Dynasty on Pennsylvania Avenue with New York’s senior senator.

Suggested contributions by political action committee contributions are $2,500. 

According to the inviation, “Seats are very limited, so please RSVP early.’’

Schumer is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which began a markup of health care reform legislation earlier today.

Gillibrand, a former House member from the Hudson Valley appointed to the Senate in January, is sending emails this afternoon to supporters thanking them for helping her to raise $1.5 million in the April through June quarter. Her Senate campaign had raised $2.35 million through the end of March.

Four other Democrats have indicated they plan on challenging Gillibrand in a September 2010 primary, including Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan.

Quarterly campaign finance disclosure reports must be filed with the Federal Election Commission by midnight tonight.

During an address last week, New York’s junior senator added another topic to her family-friendly agenda: breast-feeding.

“This is an important issue to me as the first woman to be nursing while a senator in the history of America,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told about 50 health- care professionals attending the first Summit on Breast-feeding in Washington.

Parenting issues have been a theme for Gillibrand since her appointment to the Senate in January.

Her first bill was a proposal to eliminate the $25 administrative fee charged to single parents who seek enforcement help collecting child support. And this year, she wrote President Barack Obama expressing support for a nurse visitation program to provide low-income women with parenting instructions and to encourage them to breast-feed their babies.

Gillibrand says such issues are part of her “families first” agenda, which includes her advocacy for job creation.

“It’s been an extraordinary pleasure and privilege to be a mom and to raise two children,” she told the audience at the breast-feeding summit. “And I do think a lot of my work I do in the Senate is very well informed by my experiences as a mother.”

Thursday’s event marked the 25th anniversary of the first U.S. surgeon general’s workshop on breast-feeding. It gave experts a chance to assess the nation’s progress as well as setbacks. More than 40 percent of new mothers breast-feed now, compared to fewer than 20 percent in the early 1990s, but the percentage of women who mistakenly believe infant formula is as healthy as breast milk is on the rise, according to statistics cited Thursday by an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mothers who nurse are less likely to develop diabetes or become obese, the advocates attending the summit noted. And children who are nursed during their first year of life not only are less likely to get sick during that period; they are less likely to develop certain chronic illnesses later in life.

The program provides vouchers for expensive infant formula, but the substitute vouchers nursing mothers get are worth only the equivalent of one jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread.

There’s no reward for breast-feeding, even though a baby who’s nursed generates lower health-care costs, Lawrence said.

That was news to Gillibrand.

“But that would be a very significant concern for me,” she said. “I would prefer that they not be penalized for nursing. Moms who are nursing really need to have fruits, vegetables and healthy dairy products in order to be able to produce high-quality milk.

“It’s certainly something I will look into,” she said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced this morning that two members of the New York City congressional delegation have endorsed her.

Rep. Nydia Velázquez, chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Edolphus Towns, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, join a growing list of members of the New York congressional delegation who endorsed Gillibrand.

Gillibrand has been actively seeking endorsements, even though the 2010 election is 17 months away.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan has indicated she is close to making a formal announcement that she intends to challenge Gillibrand in a primary.

The Reverend Al Sharpton of Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens have decided to formally back Gillibrand 17 months prior to the 2010 general election.

Gillibrand has acknowledged that she’s been making phone calls to Democrats around the state, seeking early support for the 2010 race.

A major reason behind the effort, of course, is to reduce the possibility of a big name Democrat challenging Gillibrand in a September 2010 primary.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan remains the mostly likely challenger, but she has not made a formal announcement.

There also is a copy of the two-page resume she submitted to Paterson.

The documents don’t reveal anything surprising about Gillibrand, who described her health as “excellent.’’

Paterson has said he had used the questionnaires merely as a way to find out if there was anything in a candidate’s background to disqualify him or her.

Some of Gillibrand’s entries on the forms are blackened out because they contain confidential information such as her Social Security number, the balance on her mortgage, her street address and her cell phone number.

Gillibrand indicated she has employed household help, but paid taxes on their wages and verified their legal right to work in the United States.

She also signed a notarized document authorizing the governor’s office to conduct a criminal background check. A second notarized document authorized the Committee on Judicial Conduct and various bar associations to release any records regarding her rating and performance as an attorney.

The only legal proceeding she was personally involved in was brought by her insurance company against a storage facility. The building in which she was storing her personal belongings burned down in November 2002. The lawsuit was filed after the insurer paid her claim.

The Web site is: www.kirstengillibrand.com

President Barack Obama issued a statement on the unanimous vote the Illinois state senate earlier today to impeach Gov. Rod Balojevich.

The vote ousted Blagojevich from office and replaced him with Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn.

“Today ends a painful episode for Illinois,’’ stated Obama. “For months, the state had been crippled by a crisis of leadrship, Now that cloud has lifted. I wish Gov. Quinn the best and pledge my full cooperation as he undertakes his new responsibilities.’‘

Gillibrand said this afternoon she only spoke a few words in Mandarin during her telephone interview Tuesday with a Chinese ethnic newspaper.

Earlier this week Gillibrand’s press secretary disclosed that New York’s new senator had conducted an interview in Mandarin.

“At one time I knew 2,000 characters,’’ Gillibrand said. However, that was back in college.

Since then the 42-year-old attorney said she’s  forgotten much of the written and spoken language.

But Gillibrand is embracing New York’s Chinese-American population.

She will participate in the Chinese New Year parade in New York City on Sunday.

And maybe say a few words?

An ethnic Chinese newspaper based in New York City called Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s press secretary Tuesday to find out what her name was in Mandarin.

Rachel McEneny, the press secretary who received the call, relayed the question to Gillibrand. The new senator grabbed the phone and stayed on the line for about 15 minutes, answering questions in Mandarin.

Gillibrand learned to speak and write in Mandarin as an Asian Studies major at Darmouth College, where she participated in a language program that sent her to China and Taiwan.

Hall will chair the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

His Congressional District includes the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

An hour before the 12:30 p.m. ceremony today in Washington, Rivera will hold a meeting in Albany of Hispanic state lawmakers who will discuss a Democratic primary challenge to Gillibrand in September 2010.

In a press release, Rivera said the group plans to meet with Gillibrand’s potential challengers. His release says “Gillibrand’s pandering to xenophobes has made her persona non-grata in communities across the state.’‘

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid recently released a list of committee assignments for the new Congress that shows some of the most important panels no longer have vacancies.

Sen. Roland Burris, the new senator from Illinois, took the last seat available to a Democrat on the Armed Services Committee.

Gillibrand indicated Friday she wanted an Armed Services seat because she currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

However, there still are two vacancies on the Agriculture Committee, which Gillibrand indicated she would like to serve on. The upstate Democrat currently serves on the House Agriculture Committee.

What else is left? The youngest member of the Senate might consider joining the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which still has slots available for three more Democrats.

And the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs has a slot open. That could be a good choice for Gillibrand, who needs to bolster her standing with urban New Yorkers going into the 2010 election. Her background as a securities lawyer also would be a good fit. But the downside is that New York Sen. Chuck Schumer already serves on that committee and uses that platform to speak on behalf of the state’s Wall Street interests.

A better option might be the Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton served on the panel and used her seat to advocate on behalf of the health problems experienced by emergency workers involved in the World Trade Center cleanup.

Four others with vacancies are: Foreign Relations; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Health Education Labor and Pensions; and Indian Affairs.

Gillibrand said last week she intends to seek a seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee and Armed Services Committee.

She currently serves on those two panels in the House.

Her prospective New York colleague, Sen. Chuck Schumer, does not serve on either panel.

Geithner, a Mamaroneck resident, currently serves as president of the New York Federal Reserve.

The Senate Finance Committee voted last week to send Geithner’s nomination to the floor, but five Republicans voted against him because of the mistakes he made on his federal income tax returns over several years. Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes while working for the International Monetary Fund.

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand faced questions this afternoon on how a woman from upstate New York who favors Second Amendment gun rights for hunters and sportsmen can represent the downstate area of New York City and its suburbs.

In her first press conference held in Manhattan since Gov. David Paterson selected her to fill New York’s vacant Senate seat, Gillibrand said she also supports gun safety and keeping guns out of the hands of criminals.

“My goal is to travel across all across the state,’’ she said. “Meet with all the different constituency groups and really talk to them and listen to their priorities and concerns.’‘

Gillibrand told reporters that during the last Congress she voted in favor of legislation authored by gun opponent Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of Long Island.

“My advocacy will become broader,’’ she pledged.

Gillibrand faced the media joined Gov. David Paterson following a restaurant luncheon meeting they had with Sen. Chuck Schumer and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Paterson rejected one reporter’s suggestion that former first daughter Caroline Kennedy withdrew her name from consideration for the Senate seat because she received word the the governor thought she was not up to the demands of the job.

“She got no signal from me that she had to withdraw,’’ Paterson responded. “She is a great New Yorker. She is a great friend of mine.’‘

When Gov. David Paterson announced his selection of the two-term attorney from Columbia County on Friday, he said the appointment would be effective Sunday.

But the Senate has its own rules about officially recognizing new members, allowing them to vote and assigning them to committees. Gillibrand won’t be able to carry out those duties until after she’s sworn in.

In the meantime, Gillibrand will meet this afternoon at Oscar’s Restaurant in Manhattan with the governor, Sen. Chuck Schumer and the woman who she will succeed in the Senate, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Tomorrow Gillibrand is sponsoring an economic development forum in Hyde Park with the governor as the keynote speaker. The event was scheduled prior to her appointment.

Here’s a thumbnail biography of her.

Age: 42. Born Dec. 9, 1966

Family: Husband, Jonathan, is a British citizen and a legal U.S. resident. They met through a mutual friend while she was working as an attorney in Manhattan and he was studying for his MBA at Columbia University. They have two sons, Theo, 5, and Henry, born last May. She was raised in Albany by parents Doug Rutnik and Polly (nee Noonan) Rutnik. Her mom was on a college rifle team and shoots the family’s Thanksgiving turkey each year. Her maternal grandmother, Polly Noonan, was active in Albany politics and taught her grass-roots campaigning.

Religion: Roman Catholic

Residence: Hudson, a small Hudson River city in Columbia County about halfway between Poughkeepsie and Albany.

Education: Dartmouth College, bachelor’s degree in Asian studies, 1988. Captain of the varsity squash team. Intern for Republican Sen. Alfonse D’Amato in 1987. Traveled to India for her senior fellowship and interviewed the Dali Lama for a thesis on the relationship between China and Tibet. University of California-Los Angeles, law degree, 1991. Spent a semester Vienna, Austria, as a law school intern for the United Nations Crime Prevention Branch.

Work experience: Davis Polk and Wardwell law firm, associate attorney, 1991-2000 with a break in 1992-93 to clerk for Judge Roger Miner of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Department of Housing and Urban Development, special counsel to Secretary Andrew Cuomo, spring of 2000-January 2001. Boies, Schiller and Flexner, law firm partner specializing in securities litigation, antirust and commercial law, 2001-2006.

Political office: Unseated Republican Rep. John Sweeney in the November 2006 in race to represent New York’s 20th Congressional District covering 10 counties stretching from Dutchess County northward to Lake Placid. Re-elected in November 2008 to a second term by 75,000 votes in the most expensive House race in the nation. Serves on the House Agriculture and Armed Services committees. Inserted language into the 2008 reauthorization of federal farm subsidies to help farmers obtain organic certification. Member of the Blue Dog caucus of fiscally conservative Democrats. Supports Second Amendment gun rights. Voted against the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan.

Highlight: One of the first members of Congress to post all requests for special projects in her district, commonly referred to as earmarks, on the Internet. Also posts her schedule and who she meets with as part of her elected duties.

Update at 11:55 a.m.:
According to Barbara Hagenbaugh of USA Today, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus told reporters he hopes for a quick vote by the full Senate as soon as today.

Update at 12:35 p.m.:

More from Barbara Hagenbaugh:

The five senators who voted against Geithner’s nomination were all Republicans, including the highest ranking Republican on the committee, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.

Sen. Mike Enzi, an accountant from Wyoming, said he could not look past Geithner’s tax troubles, noting the problems were particularly serious given that the Treasury Secretary oversees the Internal Revenue Service.

“In previous years, nominees who have made less serious errors in their taxes were forced to withdraw,” he said before casting a “nay” vote.

But a number of Democrats and Republicans said they took Geithner at his word that he had made honest mistakes and said that he was best qualified for the job.

“I’m convinced he’s a person of great integrity,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said. “There are very few people in this country who have the qualifications he does.”

They are Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Hudson; Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-Manhattan, and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

The committee has posted on the Internet the answers provided by Geithner, who is president of the New York Federal Reserve and lives in Mamaroneck.

Here is the link:
http://www.finance.senate.gov/sitepages/leg/LEG%202009/012209%20TFG%20Questions.pdf