'I'm Proud to Secure $1.4 Million' for Chemung County's Sewers. The Grant Is Real. It Came Through ARC's Review Process, Sen. Schumer Credits a 2021 Law, and He Announced It the Same Day.

Credit-Claiming Source: Facebook Post (official page) and Press Release MISSING CONTEXT

Original source → · Archived copy →

Why this matters

Chemung County is getting $1.4 million from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to rebuild sewers at the Southern Tier Logistics Business Park in the Village of Horseheads. With $1.4 million in state money, the $2.8 million project would add about 4,500 feet of sewer main and a new pump station, helping prepare a former military depot site for manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, according to his release.

That is good news for the county. The question is the verb. Rep. Langworthy told constituents he was “proud to secure” the money. But ARC grants are decided through a process that runs without him: applications are reviewed by regional and state officials and by ARC, and ARC decides whether to fund them. No step in ARC’s published process gives a member of Congress a vote or a decision. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who announced the same grant the same day, says the money comes from a 2021 law, passed before Rep. Langworthy took office. His own press release describes no role for him in winning it.

Statement

Source: Official Facebook page, October 16, 2026, sharing his October 15 press release:

“I’m proud to secure $1.4 million for Chemung County to make critical sewer improvements necessary for the Southern Tier Logistics Business Park to continue the redevelopment of the former military depot. If we want to attract jobs and economic development, we need the public infrastructure in place to make it happen. This funding will pave the way for new private investments in manufacturing, warehousing, and logistics to strengthen the Southern Tier’s long-term economic future.”

Facebook post from the Congressman Nick Langworthy official page reading I'm proud to secure $1.4 million for Chemung County to make critical sewer improvements, linking a press release headlined Congressman Langworthy Announces $1.4 Million for Chemung County Sewer

The October 16, 2026 post on the official page.

The press release it links, dated October 15, is worded differently:

“Congressman Nick Langworthy today announced that Chemung County has been awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) …”

“We can’t expect to attract jobs and economic development if we don’t have the public infrastructure to support the growth and that’s why I’ve been so focused on securing federal dollars to help position projects like this one.”

The post itself does not name the Appalachian Regional Commission, the state, or the county’s application. A reader who sees only the post is told he secured the money; the release is where ARC is named.

How ARC grants are awarded in New York

The decision is made without him. In ARC’s published process for New York, every step is handled by the applicant, a regional planning board, the state and ARC itself. A member of Congress does not apply, does not rate applications, does not approve them and does not decide funding.

ARC grants start with the state, not Congress. ARC is a federal-state partnership. Its own guidance says: “All ARC Area Development grant proposals originate at the state level in consultation with the ARC state program manager.” For Chemung County, the local partner is the Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board. Its published process:

  • Applicants work with the board; pre-applications are rated by its review committee and approved by its board.
  • The New York State Department of State reviews them, and “the Secretary of State will approve the projects for additional review by ARC.”
  • ARC then does its own review and decides funding.

This grant may have taken a different track. The board’s 2027 presentation also says “The maximum grant level allowed by New York State is $500,000 through this program,” and that “Larger awards are being allowed under POWER, WORC, INSPIRE, and the ARISE funding ‘pools’.” At $1.4 million, this award is nearly three times that cap, so it may have come from one of those separate ARC programs. We could not confirm which track or process applied. In every ARC track, ARC itself decides funding.

Members of Congress can write support letters. The board’s 2027 application presentation says: “Support Letters are good, and nice to have (particularly from your congressperson and your senators).” That optional letter is the only role for a member that the board’s materials describe; it is not a step in the decision. His release does not say he wrote one, and we found no record that he did; support letters are usually not made public.

Sen. Schumer says the money comes from a 2021 law. His same-day release describes the grant as “$1,400,000 through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for Chemung County’s Sewer Improvement for Economic Growth project” and quotes him: “I’m proud to deliver $1.4 million from my Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law.” It adds that “In 2021, Schumer negotiated and secured $1 billion for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)” in that law. We did not find an ARC record confirming the funding source. House records show Rep. Langworthy took his seat in January 2023.

It is not an earmark. His Community Project Funding request lists for fiscal years 2024 through 2027 include no Chemung County sewer, Horseheads or Southern Tier Logistics project.

Sen. Schumer announced it too. His release, also dated October 15, is headlined “Schumer Delivers $1.4 Million to Improve Wastewater Infrastructure in Chemung County.” Neither release has a timestamp, so we cannot say who announced first.

What we could not find: an ARC award notice for this grant. ARC’s posted project lists stop at fiscal 2025; that list includes the county’s earlier Chemung Canal Connector grant but not this one. We also could not find the program track the money came from, or the source of the $1.4 million state match.

In plain language: the county applied and ARC decided, in a process that does not run through his office. The money, according to Sen. Schumer, comes from a law passed before Rep. Langworthy was in office. He announced the result. The record shows no part he played in getting it, which is what “secure” claims.

The fair reading

  • Announcing grants is normal, and useful. Members routinely tell constituents about federal money coming to their district.
  • He may have helped. The planning board invites support letters from members of Congress. If his office wrote one, that is a real, if small, role, and this entry will say so.
  • His release is more careful than his post. The release says he “announced” an ARC award; the post says he secured the money and does not mention ARC.
  • Sen. Schumer claims credit too. “I’m proud to deliver” is the same kind of claim, though Schumer can point to ARC funding he says he negotiated in the 2021 law.
  • This is a pattern the site has documented before with ARC grants in Steuben and Allegany counties and an earlier Chemung County grant (see the earmarks entry).

Questions this raises

  1. Did Rep. Langworthy’s office write a letter supporting Chemung County’s application? If so, when?
  2. What does “secure” mean here, if not a request, a letter or an earmark?
  3. Where does the $1.4 million state match come from?

Sources

Note: This entry documents publicly available information from Rep. Langworthy’s and Sen. Schumer’s releases, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board and the House Clerk. It makes no claim about motive. Corrections with sources are welcome at [email protected].

Last updated: October 18, 2026