Press Releases
Reed, Whitehouse, Langevin, & Cicilline Join State and Union Officials to Celebrate $82.5 Million Federal Grant to Modernize Pell Bridge
Jamestown, RI - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today joined state and union officials to celebrate a $82.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation's INFRA Grant Program to upgrade the iconic Pell Bridge that connects Newport and Jamestown. Planned improvements to the deck, cable suspension system, and towers will extend the life of New England's longest suspension bridge by an additional 50 to 75 years. Today's e… Continue Reading
10.31.22
Whitehouse Applauds President Biden’s Call for Big Oil to Stop Profiteering and Lower Energy Prices
Providence, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) cheered remarks by President Joe Biden today urging the fossil fuel industry to stop its reckless profiteering and lower energy prices. Whitehouse is the lead Senate sponsor of the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax, a bill to claw back the largest oil companies' excess profits and return them to American families. Whitehouse issued the following statement on the President's remarks: "Big Oil is exploiting Putin's invasion of Ukraine and a cartel-d… Continue Reading
10.27.22
Delegation Delivers Another $11.25M to Shore Up Port Infrastructure at Quonset
NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI - In an effort to boost the number of ships, jobs, and revenue generated by Quonset's Port of Davisville, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives James Langevin and David Cicilline today announced $11,250,000 to upgrade the port's North Berth at Pier 1, which was built in 1941. The project includes demolition and removal of existing material, construction of approximately 32,000 square feet of pier deck/foundation/pile caps, 20 mooring bollard… Continue Reading
10.26.22
Sen. Whitehouse and Rep. Johnson Zero In On Opaque Web of Election Deniers and Vote Suppressors Peddling Sham Legal Theory in High-Stakes Election Case
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA-04), Chairmen of the Senate and House Judiciary Courts Subcommittees respectively, today filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in Moore v. Harper, a pending high-stakes partisan gerrymandering case with the potential to unleash chaos in American elections. In their brief, Whitehouse and Johnson reveal how the individuals and funders behind various amicus curiae-or "friend of the court"-briefs fil… Continue Reading
10.24.22
Whitehouse Urges Rhode Islanders to Apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Waiver by Oct. 31 Deadline
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today joined with Rhode Islanders who have had considerable student loan balances erased through the U.S. Department of Education's Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program to raise awareness about the upcoming October 31 deadline to apply for loan forgiveness under a temporary waiver broadening PSLF eligibility. This morning's event took place at College Visions, a Providence nonprofit that helps first-generation and low-income students ac… Continue Reading
10.18.22
Central Falls Gets $1.2M COPS Hiring Grant to Add 6 New Police Officers
CENTRAL FALLS, RI - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representative David Cicilline joined Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera in announcing $1.2 million in federal funding to help the Central Falls Police Department add six more police officers to patrols and fill existing vacancies. Administered by the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, this COPS Hiring Program (CHP) grant will help put more police officers on the street… Continue Reading
10.17.22
RI Delegation Delivers $6M to Strengthen Manufacturing
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to strengthen Rhode Island manufacturing and the domestic supply chain, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced $6,021,500 in federal funding to support the Polaris Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). Based in Providence, Polaris MEP is a statewide non-profit organization that provides competitive manufacturing business improvement programs to help the state's manufacturing sector innovat… Continue Reading
10.12.22
RI Gets Another $353 Million for Transportation Infrastructure Upgrades from Historic Infrastructure Law
PROVIDENCE, RI -- Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced that Rhode Island has been allocated another $353 million from the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) to strengthen roads, bridges, and other key transportation infrastructure across the state. The $ 352,961,207 in federal infrastructure funding for Fiscal Year 2023 is being released to the state this week by the U.S. Department of Transpo… Continue Reading
10.11.22
Whitehouse to Lead Bicameral Resolution Declaring October 2022 National Youth Justice Action Month
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is set to introduce a bicameral, bipartisan resolution designating October 2022 as National Youth Justice Action Month. The Senate resolution raises awareness about the collateral consequences youth face when they are treated as adults in the criminal justice system, and encourages the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to fully implement Whitehouse's Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018. U.S. Senator … Continue Reading
10.05.22
CRMC Nets $206,000 NOAA Grant to Examine RI’s Shoreline Public Access Needs
WAKEFIELD, RI - The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (RI CRMC) has designated 235 rights-of-way to the shore under its program since 1978, working with municipalities, non-profits, and individual citizens to provide protection for these shoreline public access points against time, neglect, and other forces. In recent years, however, it has become clear that the distribution of those ROWs is uneven, and more attention to improving shoreline access for all Rhode Islanders is warra… Continue Reading
10.04.22
Senators Offer Russian Asset Seizure Legislation Tracking Biden Administration Call for New Authority
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have offered bipartisan legislation to empower U.S. authorities to seize high-priced assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin's oligarchs, and to put the proceeds from the sale of those assets toward aid for the Ukrainian people. The legislation includes authorities requested by President Biden in his comprehensive plan to hold Russian oligarchs an… Continue Reading
10.04.22
$1.5M Federal Grant to Help Jamestown Housing Authority with Urgent Heating Upgrades at Pemberton Apartments
JAMESTOWN, RI - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman David Cicilline announced that the Jamestown Housing Authority is getting $1,488,677 in federal funding to make emergency heating and electrical renovations for residents of Pemberton Apartments in Jamestown. Reed, Whitehouse, and Cicilline advocated for the emergency federal grant, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The federal funds will help speed up repair… Continue Reading
10.03.22
Whitehouse, Wicker Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Clamp Down on Kleptocrats & Criminals Laundering Money through U.S. Financial System
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) have introduced bipartisan legislation to guard against kleptocrats and criminals exploiting American professionals to hide their ill-gotten gains and carry out other financial crimes in the United States. The bipartisan senators offered the legislation as an amendment to the vital defense authorization bill set for consideration in the Senate later this year. The senators' Establishing New Authorities for Businesses … Continue Reading
09.29.22
Whitehouse Welcomes Implementation of His Bipartisan Corporate Transparency Bill to Crack Down on Money Laundering & Other Forms of Illicit Finance
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a leader in the fight against international corruption and illicit finance, welcomed a vital new tool for law enforcement to shed light on kleptocrats and criminals' efforts to hide dirty money in our financial system. The new rule from the U.S. Department of Treasury is based on Whitehouse's bipartisan legislation requiring reporting of the true identity, or "beneficial owner," of those who establish companies that can be used for money laund… Continue Reading
09.28.22
RI Delegation Announces $2.4 Million to Support Local Law Enforcement, Enhance Forensic Science & Stop Hate Crimes
PROVIDENCE, RI - In an effort to enhance public safety, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced new federal justice assistance grants totaling $1,297,839 for local police departments and municipalities across the state. The federal funds are made available through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The federal grants will enable cities and towns to prevent, deter, and combat crime based on th… Continue Reading
09.27.22
Whitehouse Announces Grant to Improve Shoreline Access in Portsmouth and Charlestown
Portsmouth, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today joined with state officials and community partners along the shore of Gull Cove in Portsmouth to announce a new $200,000 federal grant for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM). In partnership with Save The Bay and The Nature Conservancy, RIDEM will use the funding to improve shoreline access and coastal resiliency at Gull Cove and Quonochontaug Pond Breachway in Charlestown. "The resiliency projects at Gull Cove … Continue Reading
09.23.22
RI Delegation Announces $11.3M to Combat Opioid Epidemic & Improve Mental Health
WASHINGTON, DC -- In an effort to connect Rhode Islanders struggling with mental health issues, opioid use disorder, and other behavioral health issues to treatment, recovery and prevention services, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced $11,371,485 in new federal grants for Rhode Island. Over $7.4 million in federal State Opioid Response Grant funding will enhance statewide opioid addiction prevention, treatment, and rec… Continue Reading
09.23.22
U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Designating September 17-24 National Estuaries Week
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that the Senate has designated September 17 through September 24, 2022 as National Estuaries Week. Whitehouse led 22 of his Senate colleagues in introducing the resolution calling for the protection and restoration of America's estuaries. The Senate agreed to the resolution unanimously. "For Rhode Islanders, the Narragansett Bay estuary is the beating heart of our economy and the backdrop of daily life. The Bay sustains many … Continue Reading
09.22.22
Whitehouse Blasts Republican Blockade of the DISCLOSE Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) slammed Senate Republicans' unified refusal today to advance the DISCLOSE Act, Whitehouse's bill to shine a light on the big special interests spending unlimited sums to purchase influence over the American government. The cloture vote failed 49-49. The measure needed 60 votes to advance. All Senate Republicans in attendance voted against the bill, while all members of the Democratic Caucus in attendance voted for it. "Today, Senate Rep… Continue Reading
09.21.22
Whitehouse Cheers Bipartisan Passage of Kigali Amendment to Phase Out Use of Potent HFCs Driving Climate Change
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today applauded bipartisan passage of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, affirming the U.S.'s commitment to phasing out use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by at least 85 percent over the next 15 years. The legislation passed the Senate in a 69-27 vote. HFCs, potent greenhouse gases commonly used for cooling and refrigeration, significantly contribute to global warming. "The Kigali Amendment is a very big deal for the climate. This ag… Continue Reading
