Press Releases
Senators Urge Administration to Address Methane Pollution
Washington, D.C. - Fifteen U.S. Senators led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today applauded the Obama Administration's efforts to act on climate change, while urging swifter action to limit methane pollution from oil and natural gas production. Methane is the principal component of natural gas and emits less carbon pollution than coal or oil when burned to generate heat or electricity. However, when natural gas leaks before it is burned, it is significantly worse for the climate and dimini… Continue Reading
09.25.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Marine Monument Designation
Washington, DC - Today President Obama signed a proclamation designating the world's largest marine reserve, expanding the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument to encompass 370,000 square nautical miles. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a co-chair of the Senate Oceans Caucus, released the statement below applauding the designation: "I have long argued that we must become caretakers - not just takers - of our marine resources. The ocean is a source of food, energy, recreation… Continue Reading
09.25.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on AG Holder’s Resignation
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below today regarding Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement that he will step down: "Eric will be remembered as the Attorney General who brought the Department of Justice back from years of darkness under President Bush; when U.S. Attorneys were politicized, partisan tests influenced hiring, and sham legal opinions enabled our nation's descent into torture. Attorney General Holder restored the confidence and m… Continue Reading
09.24.14
URI Signs Agreements to Partner with Indonesia on Fisheries Education
Providence, RI - Today, at a meeting hosted by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, University of Rhode Island (URI) President David Dooley and Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) Director General Gellwynn Jusuf signed agreements finalizing a sustained education partnership between URI and MMAF. The agreements establish terms under which MMAF will send 25 staff members to URI over the next five years to study ocean and fisheries management and related subjects. During 2013,… Continue Reading
09.19.14
Delegation Announces $791,000 in Federal Funding to Help Combat Teen Dating Violence
Providence, RI - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced $791,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for a study on teen dating violence, which will be conducted at Rhode Island Hospital and will focus on aggressive attitudes among middle school-aged boys. Rhode Island Hospital and Klein Buendel, Inc., a technology research company, will use the funds to study the effectiveness of web-based games and vide… Continue Reading
09.17.14
Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Combat Drug Addiction and Support Recovering Addicts
Washington, D.C. - With ever more Americans falling victim to drug addiction and overdoses from opiates, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) today introduced bipartisan legislation that could help turn the tide in the struggle against this epidemic. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2014, cosponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), would provide a series of incentives and resources designed to encourage st… Continue Reading
09.16.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds New Effort to Reduce HFC Emissions
Washington, DC - Today the Obama Administration announced a series of new executive actions and private-sector commitments to reduce hydroflourocarbons (HFCs), extremely potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and that are commonly used in air conditioners and refrigerators. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a leading voice for action on climate change who has repeatedly called for major American corporations to be more vocal about the need to act on climate change, rele… Continue Reading
09.10.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on President’s Address to the Nation
Washington, DC - Tonight President Barack Obama laid out a strategy for combatting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a live address to the nation. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding the President's plan: "After a decade of war, I share the concerns of many Rhode Islanders about further military engagement, but I also share their alarm over the rising influence of ISIL and their horror over the brutal tactics used by these extremis… Continue Reading
09.04.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds the Million Comments Calling on SEC to Require Corporations to Disclose Political Spending
Washington, DC - Today it was announced that one million comments have been sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urging the Commissioners to require publicly-traded corporations to disclose their political spending to shareholders. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the lead sponsor of the DISCLOSE Act, released the statement below regarding this strong call for campaign finance transparency: "Secret money has no place in elections, period. I'll continue fighting to pass t… Continue Reading
09.04.14
Reed and Whitehouse Hear from Rhode Islanders about Student Debt Crisis
Newport, RI - With the U.S. Senate expected to consider legislation next week which would lower student loan payments for millions of Americans, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today held a discussion with students, financial aid experts, and community leaders at the Community College of Rhode Island's (CCRI) Newport campus to hear from Rhode Islanders who are concerned about the growing student debt crisis. The Senators heard from working Rhode Islanders who are struggling to pa… Continue Reading
09.03.14
Reed, Whitehouse & Cicilline Announce $250,000 in ACA Support for Community Health Center in East Providence
Providence, RI - Today U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman David Cicilline announced a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration to support improvements to facilities at the East Bay Community Action Program's (EBCAP) Family Health Center in East Providence. The grant comes as part of nationwide Affordable Care Act (ACA) funds to help health centers that have achieved the patient-centered medica… Continue Reading
08.27.14
Whitehouse Presents Medals to WWII Veteran in Providence
Providence, RI - Today U.S. Senator Sheldon presented medals and awards to World War II Navy veteran Raymond J. Mahon at Saint Elizabeth Court assisted living residence in Providence before Mahon's family and friends. Mahon, a long-time Cranston resident, served aboard the USS Ancon during World War II, earning a number of military honors that he never received. Whitehouse helped Mahon and his family to navigate the process of procuring the medals. "World War II veterans answered their count… Continue Reading
08.20.14
Whitehouse Hosts Conversation on RI’s Real Estate Market
Pawtucket, RI - On Wednesday morning in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Pawtucket, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse toured recently sold properties, and led a conversation with Rhode Island realtors, homebuyers, and housing advocates on conditions in the real estate market and how to give Rhode Islanders a fair shot at owning an affordable home. During the tour, Whitehouse visited properties that Pawtucket nonprofit Blackstone Valley Community Action and local realtors have marketed and sold to fir… Continue Reading
08.14.14
Reed, Whitehouse & Langevin Announce $772,000 in Funding for Firefighters in Warwick & Johnston
Providence, RI - Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Langevin today announced over $772,000 in federal grant funding for fire departments in Warwick and Johnston to upgrade fire safety, training, and communications equipment. The Members of Congress supported the towns' successful grant applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funding comes from FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), which is designed to help fire departments and… Continue Reading
08.07.14
Whitehouse and McCain Visiting Vietnam
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam for the first leg of a trip to Southeast Asia with Senator John McCain. They will continue traveling in the region in the days ahead. "Vietnam is a key strategic partner for United States in Asia, and I look forward to meeting with top officials here to discuss issues of shared concern," said Whitehouse. "I'm also honored to travel again with Senator McCain. His time as a prisoner in Vietnam and his subsequent eff… Continue Reading
08.01.14
Sens. Whitehouse & Reed Host Conversation With Minority Business Owners About Job Growth
Providence, RI - Today, during a luncheon at El Macuto Restaurant on Broad Street, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed led a conversation with Rhode Island minority business owners about what they need to grow their businesses and create jobs in their communities. Senator Whitehouse organized the luncheon and invited Rhode Island Senator Juan Pichardo, Rhode Island Representative Grace Diaz, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Rhode Island Director Mark Hayward, Rhode Island Dep… Continue Reading
07.31.14
Sen. Whitehouse Brings Rhode Island Guest to Criminal Justice Event at White House
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Teny Oded Gross, Executive Director of the Providence-based Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, were among the participants today at a roundtable discussion about criminal justice reform hosted by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the White House. The discussion, which was held in the White House's Roosevelt room, focused on how to best reform the nation's criminal justice system in ways that both lower costs and … Continue Reading
07.30.14
Senate Republicans Filibuster Bill to Bring Jobs Home to America
Washington, DC - Today Senate Republicans filibustered the Bring Jobs Home Act, killing the legislation on a procedural vote. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a cosponsor of the bill, released the statement below regarding the failed vote: "Today Senate Republicans voted to preserve a tax loophole that rewards companies for sending jobs overseas, and declined to support companies that bring jobs back to America. That might make their big business allies in the Chamber of Commerce happy… Continue Reading
07.30.14
Judiciary Committee Examines the Effect of Gun Violence on Women in America
Washington, DC - Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled "VAWA Next Steps: Protecting Women from Gun Violence." With American women more than ten times more likely to be murdered with a gun than women in other industrialized countries, the hearing examined whether changes to federal law could help to better protect women from gun violence. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) chaired the hearing, and started things off by sharing the story of Rhode Islander Carmen Cruz,… Continue Reading
07.29.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Senate Approval of Highway Bill
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the statement below today regarding the Senate's vote to approve a short-term extension of federal highway funding: "Rhode Island needs a long-term highway bill to create jobs and make our roads and bridges safer. This bill comes up short, but I voted for it to avoid a highway funding shutdown that would cripple our economy and cost jobs. Today we've missed an important opportunity to make a real investment in our nation's infrastructu… Continue Reading
