Providence, RI – A new study released today gives U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse its highest rating for consistently supporting efforts to improve economic equality. The “Inequality Report Card,” which was released by the Institute for Policy Studies, gives letter grades to Members of Congress based on their voting record and bills they have introduced or cosponsored.
Rhode Island and Vermont were the only two states to have both Senators receive a grade of A or higher, and Whitehouse was one of only five Senators to receive an A+ rating. The report notes that these five “did the most to narrow America’s economic divide over the past two years.”
“One of my primary goals as a Senator has been to fight for middle-class priorities, and to provide a straight deal for all Americans,” Whitehouse said today. “It’s an honor to be recognized in this report, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us. We need to protect Social Security, Medicare benefits, and Pell Grants, put an end to tax giveaways for big oil, close the loopholes that allow multi-million-dollar earners to pay a lower tax rate that middle class families, and so much more.”
Whitehouse is the author of the Paying a Fair Share Act, legislation that would have turned the Buffett Rule into law and required multi-million-dollar earners to pay a minimum effective federal tax rate of 30 percent. The report gives Whitehouse credit for supporting that bill, and for a variety of other votes and bill sponsorships, including:
- Voting to end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans;
- Opposing the Ryan Budget;
- Voting to repeal tax subsidies for big oil;
- Voting for the American Jobs Act;
- Introducing a resolution to protect Pell Grants from cuts;
- Introducing the Offshoring Prevention Act, a bill that would end a tax policy that currently rewards businesses for sending jobs overseas.
The full report and supporting documentation are available here.
###
