Press Releases

Whitehouse, Quigley Reintroduce Bill to Modernize the Nation’s Electric Grid

SITE Act would speed build-out of interstate transmission lines to connect and upgrade regional grids

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) today introduced the Streamlining Interstate Transmission of Electricity (SITE) Act, a bill to improve the process of constructing long range, inter-regional high voltage transmission lines throughout the United States. "If we don't build more long-range transmission lines, much of the low-cost clean energy that is coming online will simply not be able to get to the homes and businesses that need it. Our SITE Ac… Continue Reading

Blumenthal & Whitehouse Introduce Junk Fee Prevention Act to End Unfair Surprise Costs for Consumers

With hidden fees costing consumers billions each year, the new legislation would mandate airline, entertainment, ticketing industry fairness

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced new legislation to eliminate excessive fees and bring transparency to the marketplace as hidden fees cost Americans billions of dollars annually. Today's introduction of the Junk Fee Prevention Act follows calls from President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address. The legislation would eliminate excessive, hidden, and unnecessary fees imposed on consumers and require full prices of services be provided up… Continue Reading

Sen. Whitehouse & Rep. Johnson Release Correspondence with Michael Chertoff Regarding Dobbs Leak Investigation

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA) today released their correspondence with Michael Chertoff, Executive Chairman of The Chertoff Group, regarding the Supreme Court's internal investigation into the leak of the draft opinion in the Dobbs case. The Chertoff Group, a security firm that had previously been hired as a contractor for the Supreme Court, was again brought on by the Court to assess the quality of the Court's internal investigation into the source … Continue Reading

In the News

‘The Scheme’: a senator’s plan to highlight rightwing influence on the supreme court

Sheldon Whitehouse spent nine years rousing the Senate to act on climate change. Now he’s set his sights on the changes at the supreme court

The US Senate is not a crowded, rambunctious place like Britain's House of Commons or other more lively legislative bodies around the world. Members are accustomed to speaking among row after row of empty desks, unheckled by absent colleagues. This has not deterred Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from stepping into the arena to champion urgent causes. For almost nine years the Democrat took to the Senate floor every week the chamber was in session to demand that attention be paid to the climate cris… Continue Reading

This senator thought he had given his 279th and final speech on climate change. He was wrong.

With climate action stalled, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is reviving his "Time to Wake Up" speeches.

A little over a year ago, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, stood on the Senate floor looking exuberant. To his right was his trademark green sign - a picture of the Earth and "TIME TO WAKE UP" in large capital letters. The senator, a longtime climate activist, was celebrating what he thought would be a milestone: his 279th and final speech urging the country to take action on global warming. President Joe Biden, who had campaigned aggressively on the subject of climate c… Continue Reading

This member of Congress wants everyone to know about the 'dark money scheme' that's 'captured' the Supreme Court

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is fighting to end the "dark money" that he says is plaguing the Supreme Court. The Rhode Island Democrat is referring to private groups using anonymous donations to advance their interests at the highest court.

For the ninth time this year, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse gave a speech this week blasting right-wing anonymous donors whom he believes have "captured" the Supreme Court and "built" its current 6-3 conservative majority. "Our Supreme Court is awash in dark money influence," the Rhode Island Democrat said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. "The American people may not be able to see all of the rot, but they can see enough to know that something is rotten over there across First Street at that court." … Continue Reading

Speeches

Time to Wake Up 287: Climate in the Budget Committee

Mr. President, here I am again with my trusty, battered chart by my side, this time here to talk about the looming costs and economic risks of climate upheaval. Almost exactly 5 years ago, I sent around a binder about this thick to all of my Senate colleagues in which I compiled some of the most compelling warnings about the looming climate economic crisis. I have just recently updated it and shared it with all of the Budget Committee members. It is now more like this thick, as the warnings jus… Continue Reading

The Scheme 20: The Ethics-Free Zone Around The Supreme Court

Mr. President, I am back today now for the 20th time to shed a little light on the dark money scheme to capture and control our Supreme Court. Part of what allows that scheme to flourish is the ethics-free zone around the Supreme Court. It is quite unique. So let's look at it. The last time I gave this speech, No. 19, I walked through the various problems with how the Supreme Court handles allegations of misconduct by the Justices. The short answer is that it doesn't. The U.S. Supreme Court is… Continue Reading

Scheme Speech 19: “Operation Higher Court” and the Supreme Court Ethics Crisis

Mr. President, I rise today for the 19th time to discuss the dark money scheme to capture and control our Supreme Court. These themed speeches have covered a lot of ground, and if they have shown one thing, it is that the capture of the Supreme Court didn't happen overnight. It took years of planning and hundreds of millions in dark money dollars to turn our highest Court into a delivery system for far-right special interests. Slowly but surely, these special interests engulfed our Supreme Court… Continue Reading

Op-Eds

The U.S. Chamber still blocks climate progress

Much has changed in Congress over the past decade - but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is still the number one political obstruction in the path of climate progress. There's now fresh evidence that the Chamber's actions reflect a persistent pattern of opposing good climate policies, and that the most powerful trade association in the country is actively working against the interests of many of the companies it's supposed to represent. Last month, the independent research think tank InfluenceMap p… Continue Reading

Republican efforts to limit ESG investing are anti-capitalist

There is a cohort of elected officials in the United States presently engaged in an anti-capitalist crusade against free-market principles. No, they are not socialists. They are congressional Republicans, and they are attempting to prevent financial institutions from allocating capital in accordance with investor preferences and risk management principles. This attempted crackdown is purely ideological in nature - it is an exercise in political pressure to force a gross government overreach into… Continue Reading

The Case for Mandating Climate-Risk Disclosure

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a proposal to require some companies to disclose information relating to the risks they face from climate change. But the agency is coming under pressure to scrap or water down the proposal because of a recent Supreme Court decision.

Climate change is usually thought of as an environmental problem. But it also poses serious threats to businesses, investors, and the financial system. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently considering a proposal that would require certain publicly traded companies to disclose information relating to the risks they face from climate change. Troublingly, the agency is coming under increasing pressure from a range of politicians and business interests who… Continue Reading