Press Releases
Whitehouse: Rhode Islanders Can Now Sign Up for Delivery of Free At-Home COVID-19 Test Kits
Washington, D.C. - With pressure continuing to build on local hospitals, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today invited Rhode Islanders to sign up for delivery of free at-home COVID-19 test kits at COVIDtests.gov. The new home testing initiative was officially launched by the Biden administration today. "Ordering COVID-19 tests to your doorstep takes less than a minute thanks to a new initiative from the Biden administration," said Whitehouse. "I hope all Rhode Islanders will use this free progr… Continue Reading
01.18.22
Whitehouse Statement on Congressman Langevin’s Retirement
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today issued the following statement regarding Congressman Jim Langevin's decision not to seek another term in the U.S. House of Representatives: "Jim's courage and decency make him a personal hero of mine, so I have very mixed feelings about his retirement, but I'm sure he's made the right decision in his own life. Jim was well ahead of the curve, warning the nation about the need to shore up our cyber defenses long before that threat was wide… Continue Reading
01.14.22
Whitehouse & Cornyn Applaud New Bureau of Prisons Rule Adopting Their Input on First Step Act Anti-recidivism Measure
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX) applauded the federal Bureau of Prisons' final rule implementing the prison reform measures of the senators' landmark criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act. Whitehouse and Cornyn authored First Step provisions establishing recidivism reduction programs to allow qualifying inmates to receive reductions to their sentences through time credits. After the Bureau's initial draft rule failed to carry out those provis… Continue Reading
01.14.22
New $47.1M Federal Investment Will Upgrade & Strengthen RI Bridges
PROVIDENCE, RI -- As the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) plans out their 2022 construction season, the Ocean State is getting a $47.1 million federal boost for bridge projects this week, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58). Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced that an additional $47.1 million in federal funds is being wired to the state as a result of the bipartisan infra… Continue Reading
01.10.22
Amidst Worldwide Energy Price Spike & Record Demand, RI Gets $52.7M in Federal LIHEAP Aid to Help Pay Home Energy Bills
WAHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced that Rhode Island has received a total of $52.7 million for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) available this fiscal year, which runs through September 2022. In addition to an annual appropriation of $21.9 million for Rhode Island, the Ocean State received an additional $30.8 million in federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2… Continue Reading
01.07.22
RI Delegation Urges Biden Administration to Protect Consumers from Unfairly High Heating and Energy Prices This Winter
Providence, RI - U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) have joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in sending a bicameral letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Richard Glick urging the agency to use its authority to protect consumers from unfairly high energy costs. "We write to express our concer… Continue Reading
01.06.22
Whitehouse Statement on the One-Year Anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection
Washington, D.C. - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol: "One year ago today, I watched from the window in my Capitol office as insurrectionists sent by the former President launched an assault to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. Today, I'm thinking of the United States Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police, and all of the law enforce… Continue Reading
01.05.22
Whitehouse Statement on Attorney General Garland’s Speech on January 6th Investigation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a former U.S. Attorney, released the following statement on Attorney General Merrick Garland's remarks today on the status of the Justice Department's investigation of the January 6th attack: "Sweeping up low-level players while ignoring the kingpins upstream isn't a full investigation. "The Attorney General committed today to a fearless investigation that 'follows the money' and those res… Continue Reading
01.05.22
Woonsocket Police Department Receives $819k Grant for New Program to Curb Opioid Crisis and Save Lives
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman David Cicilline today announced that the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance has awarded the Woonsocket Police Department a three-year $819,109 grant to create a new diversion program aimed at connecting people who are struggling with opioid addiction to treatment rather than sending them to jail. Woonsocket's Law Enforcement Assisted Deflection, Engagement, and Retention (LEADER) in Treatment p… Continue Reading
12.22.21
Whitehouse, Cicilline Introduce Bill to Hold Police Departments Accountable for Officers’ Constitutional Violations
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a former Rhode Island Attorney General and U.S. Attorney, and Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) have introduced the Constitutional Accountability Act to hold police departments accountable for unconstitutional conduct by their officers. The legislation would extend liability for constitutional violations to the departments responsible for officer hiring, training, supervision, discipline, a… Continue Reading
12.21.21
RI Delegation Secures $599,966 to Expand Quality, Trauma-Informed Services for Survivors of Sexual Assault
RHODE ISLAND -- U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that Rhode Island Hospital will be receiving $599,966 from the Department of Justice's Office of Victims of Crime to establish Rhode Island's first SAFE (Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner) program. This federal funding will enable Rhode Island to provide equitable access to quality, trauma-informed medical and forensic care for survivors of sexual assault, and support co… Continue Reading
12.21.21
Whitehouse, Warren, & Schatz Call on Tech Giants to Follow Through on Pledges to Stop Facilitating Climate Denial
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) are calling on the leaders of two of the nation's largest tech companies to follow through on the public commitments they've made to rein in the widespread climate denial misleading users of their influential platforms. In a letter sent today to the CEOs of Facebook and Google, the Senators urge the platforms to stop profiting from the spread of climate disinformation that is worsening climate c… Continue Reading
12.17.21
New $1.5 Million Federal Grant Will Outfit Hundreds of RI Police with Body-Worn Cameras
WASHINGTON, DC - Rhode Island's Congressional delegation has teamed up with local law enforcement, communities, and the U.S. Department of Justice to help provide frontline patrol officers across the state with body-worn cameras. These cameras help enhance transparency and strengthen community trust and can be an effective tool for increasing police accountability, de-escalating confrontational situations, and improving evidence documentation. Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehou… Continue Reading
12.17.21
First Tranche of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Funding Lands at RI Airports
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has delivered the first tranche of funds from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to Rhode Island airports. The FY2022 funding from the infrastructure bill totals just over $9 million, which can be used to upgrade facilities and improve airport operations. The state's airports will receive an estimated $45 mill… Continue Reading
12.16.21
Whitehouse Applauds Biden Orders Tackling Transnational Organized Crime, Narcotics Trafficking, and Illicit Finance
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, applauded the Biden Administration's new executive orders strengthening U.S. efforts to attack transnational organized crime, narcotics traffickers, and those who facilitate related criminal actions, including corruption and money laundering. Whitehouse has urged the administration to integrate strategies to counter money laundering and corruption into America's efforts to counter globa… Continue Reading
12.16.21
Whitehouse, Grassley Call on Treasury to Deploy U.S. Officials with Expertise in Narcotics-Related Finance
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the Chairman and Co-Chairman respectively of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, have sent a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the Treasury Department to ensure that its new financial attachés and Foreign Financial Intelligence Unit Liaisons have expertise in narcotics-related finance, in addition to other money laundering issues. "Drug trafficking organizations (DTO… Continue Reading
12.16.21
Whitehouse-Sullivan Provision in Defense Bill Aimed at Cracking Down on Pirate Fishing
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) today announced passage of their maritime security proposal as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has now cleared Congress and is expected to be signed into law by President Biden. The Senators' amendment requires the Secretary of the Navy to produce a report on maritime security measures related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. "We need to protect Rhode Island's hard… Continue Reading
12.14.21
AMICUS Act Introduced to Ensure Transparency in Judicial Lobbying
Washington, D.C. - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Representatives Hank Johnson (D-GA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Mondaire Jones (D-NY) today introduced the Assessing Monetary Influence in the Courts of the United States (AMICUS) Act to bring transparency to the lobbying of federal judges by big special interests. The bill would re… Continue Reading
12.13.21
Whitehouse, Cassidy, Colleagues Welcome GAO Trade-Based Money Laundering Report
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report outlining the need for better information sharing and collaboration to combat Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML), the system criminal organizations use to hijack international trade markets to launder money through rule-of-law countries. The practice involves transferring funds through thousands… Continue Reading
12.08.21
Whitehouse Issues Statement on Supreme Court Commission Report
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts and a leading critic of special interest influence over the federal judiciary, released the following statement on the draft final report of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, which voted to adopt the draft report on Tuesday: "The final report includes discussion of the weaknesses in transparency and ethics requirements for the justices. I'm … Continue Reading
