Press Releases
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Vote to Renew Unemployment Benefits
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the statement below regarding today's successful vote in the Senate to revive the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and to retroactively extend benefits to those who lost them since the program expired in December of 2013: "Unemployment insurance benefits can mean the difference between paying bills and losing a home, and I strongly support restoring this lifeline to the thousands of Rhode Island families who have lost benefits… Continue Reading
04.03.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Intelligence Committee’s Vote to Declassify Interrogation Report
Washington, DC - Today the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee voted to declassify portions of its study of the Bush-era CIA Detention and Interrogation Program. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a former member of the Intelligence Committee who was involved in the preparation of the report and who has advocated for its declassification, released the statement below: "During my time on the Senate Intelligence Committee, I was shocked at the details we learned about the Bush Administration… Continue Reading
04.03.14
Senate Committee Approves Whitehouse’s Estuary Bill
Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee today approved the Clean Estuaries Act of 2014, introduced by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), to reauthorize the National Estuary Program (NEP). The legislation, crafted with Committee Ranking Member David Vitter (R-LA), was approved with bipartisan support. The program was first established in 1987 by the late Republican Senator John Chafee to protect and restore estuarine habitats threatened by pollution an… Continue Reading
04.03.14
Senate Approves Treaties to Protect American Fishermen
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate today unanimously approved four treaties to protect American fishermen who are put at a disadvantage by illegal pirate fishing. The co-chairs of the U.S. Senate Oceans Caucus - Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Begich (D-AK), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) - have been fighting to win approval of these treaties for months, and had just completed a series of floor speeches urging their ratification when the Senate agreed to proceed with them.… Continue Reading
04.02.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Supreme Court’s McCutcheon Ruling
Washington, DC - Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 to strike down aggregate political contribution limits in the case of McCutcheon v. FEC. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Judiciary Committee and a leader on campaign finance issues, released the statement below regarding the decision: "By reversing longstanding precedent and striking down limits on the overall amount any one person can contribute to political campaigns, the five activist Republican appointees on… Continue Reading
04.01.14
House Passes Children’s Hospital Funding Bill
Washington, DC - Today the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013. The legislation, which authorizes federal support for graduate medical education (GME) in freestanding children's teaching hospitals, includes a provision authored by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) that extends the program to children's psychiatric hospitals like Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island - making them eligible for the same CHGME funding that general … Continue Reading
03.31.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Latest IPCC Findings
Washington, DC - Today the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report titled Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. The report highlights the world's increasing vulnerability to the effects of climate change, and encourages world leaders to take serious steps to develop robust adaptation plans to protect our natural and human systems. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a co-chair of the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change and the Senate… Continue Reading
03.28.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Administration’s Interagency Methane Reduction Strategy
Washington, DC - Today the Obama Administration announced the newest piece of its comprehensive Climate Action Plan: an interagency strategy to reduce methane emissions, which contribute to climate change and smog. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), chairman of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, issued the following statement today applauding the strategy: "As climate change continues to harm American communities from the Heartland to the … Continue Reading
03.25.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds EPA’s “Waters of the U.S.” Rule
Washington, DC - Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule to clarify protections under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The rule is particularly important for defining the reach of the Act over smaller upstream waters, which had been thrown into question by several Supreme Court decisions. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, strongly supports the proposed rule. "We all h… Continue Reading
03.24.14
Nearly 14,000 RIers Benefitted from Obamacare’s Medicare “Doughnut Hole” Fix in 2013
Washington, DC - Thousands of Rhode Island seniors have saved on prescription drugs because of the Affordable Care Act, according to federal data released last week. In 2013, 13,998 Rhode Islanders on Medicare saved over $9.9 million on their prescriptions, for an average savings of $709 per person. Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, thousands of Rhode Island seniors fell into the so-called Medicare "doughnut hole" and were forced to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs.… Continue Reading
03.17.14
Whitehouse Hears from Rhode Islanders on Prison Reform Bill
Providence, RI - At a roundtable discussion in Providence on Monday, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) heard from Rhode Island law enforcement and community leaders about his bipartisan prison reform legislation that recently passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits action in the full Senate. The bill would reduce federal prison spending and decrease overcrowded prison populations by allowing some prisoners to earn credits toward time in pre-release custody in return for completing… Continue Reading
03.13.14
Flood Insurance Fix Passes Senate
Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate today approved legislation by a vote of 72-22 to spare many homeowners from sharp rate hikes in federal flood insurance policies. The bill will put a cap on future rate hikes and provides refunds for certain homeowners who bought property after July 6, 2012 when steep rate hikes went into effect. The bill, the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, was passed in response to concerns about the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. Biggert-Wat… Continue Reading
03.07.14
Whitehouse to Address American Enterprise Institute World Forum
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) will travel this week to Sea Island, GA, to take part in the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) annual World Forum. The event is the conservative think tank's yearly policy conference, bringing together policymakers, business executives, and scholars from the U.S. and around the world for off-the-record discussions on emerging issues in politics, economics, and foreign policy. Whitehouse will join two bipartisan panels of leading econo… Continue Reading
03.06.14
Whitehouse-Cornyn Prison Reform Bill Approved by Judiciary Committee
Washington, D.C. - With prison costs continuing to skyrocket and prison populations overflowing, legislation authored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX) was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan vote of 15-2. The Senators issued the following statements after the vote: "As a former state and federal prosecutor, I recognize that there are no easy solutions to overflowing prison populations and skyrocketing corrections spending," said Whiteho… Continue Reading
03.05.14
Whitehouse Statement on President’s 2015 Budget
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, applauded core elements of President Obama's Fiscal Year 2015 federal budget proposal released yesterday, which protects Social Security benefits for seniors, aids low-income workers through expanded tax credits and educational opportunities, prepares for the effects of climate change, and makes important investments in infrastructure and education to benefit Rhode Island's middle class. The Administratio… Continue Reading
03.05.14
Sen. Whitehouse Taking Climate Push to Iowa
Washington, DC - For years, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has helped to lead the fight in Washington for action on climate change. He has delivered 60 speeches on the Senate floor urging action on climate change, co-founded the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change with Rep. Henry A. Waxman and the Senate Climate Action Task Force with Sen. Barbara Boxer, and has held a number of events in Rhode Island to highlight how climate change threatens public health and coastal communities. N… Continue Reading
03.04.14
Whitehouse, Eshoo, Lance Applaud Development of Pancreatic Cancer Research Framework
Washington, D.C. - On Friday the National Cancer Institute announced a scientific framework for advancing research on pancreatic cancer, as directed under the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012. Today, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representatives Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) and Leonard Lance (R-NJ) - the authors of that legislation - are joining Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin in welcoming the framework. "Too many lives have … Continue Reading
03.03.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds EPA’s Final Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards
Washington, DC - Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards, which will reduce the sulfur content in gasoline and reduce pollution from tailpipes. EPA estimates that the standards will annually prevent as many as 2,000 premature deaths, 30,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children, and 1.4 million lost school days, work days, and days when activities would be restricted due to air pollution by 2030. Total health bene… Continue Reading
02.27.14
Senators Urge IRS to Set Clear Rules for Political Activity by Dark Money Groups
Washington, DC - Today a group of 16 U.S. Senators led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is sending a letter urging the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to put an end to unlimited secret spending in elections by tax-exempt groups. Treasury and the IRS have been collecting comments in connection with a proposed rule change for 501(c)(4) social welfare groups announced in November. Also signing the letter are Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) - who introduced the or… Continue Reading
02.26.14
Sen. Whitehouse to Chair EPW Subcommittee on Clean Air
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), one of the Senate's strongest public health and environmental champions, will soon be taking the gavel as chairman of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety. The change comes as a result of the committee assignment shakeup caused by the appointment of Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) as Ambassador to China. "This is a critical time in the fight for clean air and public health," said Whitehouse. "Peo… Continue Reading
