Press Releases
Whitehouse Urges Senate to Act to Bring Down Oil Prices
Washington, D.C. - Cracking down on an explosion in speculative trading in energy markets could help lower prices at the pump, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said on the Senate floor today. The Senate is debating legislation that would strengthen the federal government's authority to oversee and investigate energy commodities markets. "Families in Rhode Island and across the country are having to choose between filling their tank and feeding their families; between heating their home a… Continue Reading
07.15.08
Senate Overrides Bush’s Veto of Medicare Bill
Washington, D.C. - Doctors and seniors in Rhode Island and around the country were spared deep cuts in Medicare reimbursements today, when the United States Senate voted to override a presidential veto on legislation blocking the cuts from taking effect. The Senate initially passed the bill last week, as U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) returned for the first time since undergoing surgery for brain cancer to cast a critical vote. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who voted to overri… Continue Reading
07.14.08
Whitehouse Sponsors Bill to Help Relieve Credit Crunch
Providence, R.I. - As the U.S. economy struggles with a deepening credit crisis, Rhode Islanders saddled with high-interest loans are finding it almost impossible to repay their debts. During a visit today to the Urban League of Rhode Island, which counsels people facing credit or repayment problems, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced new legislation aimed at offering consumers some relief from sky-high interest rates. "With working families in Rhode Island and across the country… Continue Reading
07.11.08
Senate Panel Approves $7.85 Million for Rhode Island in Transportation and Housing Spending Plan
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today announced that the Appropriations Committee has approved legislation including $4.7 million in funding for Rhode Island transportation, housing, and infrastructure improvement initiatives they requested as part of the 2009 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill. The bill also includes $3.15 million that Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, secured for key programs throughou… Continue Reading
07.11.08
Whitehouse Statement on EPA’s Refusal to Address Global Warming
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, issued a statement today criticizing the announcement by Stephen Johnson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that the EPA will not take any action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles before the end of this year. In April 2007, the United States Supreme Court held that EPA was required under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenh… Continue Reading
07.09.08
Senate Passes Legislation Blocking Cuts in Medicare Reimbursements
Washington, D.C. - The United States Senate today passed legislation blocking Medicare physician payment cuts from going into effect. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a consistent advocate for health care reform during his time in the Senate, voted in favor of the legislation. Senator Edward M. Kennedy returned to the Senate for the first time since undergoing surgery for brain cancer to cast a critical vote for the bill. "It was an electrifying moment in the Senate, with Senator Kenne… Continue Reading
07.09.08
Whitehouse Statement on Allegations that Cheney Interfered with Global Warming Testimony by CDC Official
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, issued a statement today on the recent allegations by a former high-level Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official that the office of Vice President Cheney may have pressured Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to remove specific sections from her congressional testimony in order to downplay the health affects of global… Continue Reading
07.01.08
Kerry, Corker, Whitehouse Announce Nelson Mandela Will Be Removed From Terror Watch Lists
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sens. John Kerry, Bob Corker, and Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that former South African President Nelson Mandela will be removed from U.S. terrorism watch lists. President Bush today signed H.R. 5690, a law authorizing the U.S. Department of State to waive U.S. travel restrictions on President Mandela and other members of the African National Congress (ANC.) Mandela and many ANC members remained on the lists for activities they conducted against South Africa's aparthe… Continue Reading
07.01.08
Whitehouse Statement on Supreme Court’s Reversal of Lead Paint Verdict
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following statement today in response to the decision by the Rhode Island Supreme Court in State of Rhode Island v. Lead Industries Association, Inc., et al: "There is no doubt that lead paint manufactured by these companies caused grave harm to thousands of Rhode Island children. It has for years been Rhode Island's worst public health problem for children. The Court's decision to overturn a jury verdict holding the paint ma… Continue Reading
06.27.08
Senate Panel Approves $4.5 Million for Rhode Island in Labor-HHS Spending Plan
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today announced that the Appropriations Committee has approved legislation including $2.75 million in funding for Rhode Island health care initiatives they requested as part of the 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill. The bill also includes $1.75 million that Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, secured for key education and workforce training programs throughout the state. "… Continue Reading
06.27.08
Whitehouse Votes to Pass New G.I. Bill for Iraq Veterans
Washington, D.C. - In an historic step forward for Americans who have served our country in uniform since September 11th, the Senate yesterday passed landmark legislation that includes giving these veterans the same opportunities for higher education and job training available to the G.I.s of World War II. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) applauded the Senate's 92 to 6 vote, which sends the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act to the President's desk as part of an emer… Continue Reading
06.27.08
Congress Passes Kerry-Corker Legislation To Remove Nelson Mandela from Terror Watch List
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sens. John Kerry, Bob Corker, and Sheldon Whitehouse today announced the passage of their legislation to remove former South African President Nelson Mandela from the terror watch list. The bill grants the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the authority to waive U.S. travel restrictions on President Mandela and other members of the African National Congress (ANC.) Mandela and his fellow ANC members remain on the list fo… Continue Reading
06.26.08
Senators, Representatives Call for an End to Oil/Gas Market Manipulation and Excessive Speculation
WASHINGTON, DC - On Thursday, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), and Bill Nelson (D-FL), were joined by Representatives Bart Stupak (D-MI-01) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD-08) and representatives from the airline and farming industries, and labor urging swift Congressional action to close loopholes that may be responsible for market manipulation of the oil and gas markets and/or excessive speculation. Earlier this week, Cantwell introduced the P… Continue Reading
06.25.08
Whitehouse Statement on Intelligence Assessment on Security Risks of Global Warming
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a statement today about a National Intelligence Assessment on the security implications of global climate change: "The intelligence community has found that global warming threatens the security of nations and peoples around the world. Changing weather patterns, rising seas, and warming temperatures are projected to, among othe… Continue Reading
06.24.08
Justice Department IG Report Shows “Deliberate Effort” to Taint Hiring Processes, Whitehouse Says
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a former U.S. Attorney who helped lead the Senate Judiciary Committee's investigation into widespread political interference at the Department of Justice, commented today on the report by the Inspector General's office looking into hiring practices in the Department's Honors Program: "Today's report confirms that the Bush Administration was engaged in a deliberate effort to inject partisan politics into the administration of justice. A… Continue Reading
06.23.08
Senate Panel Approves Over $7.8 Million for Rhode Island in Commerce, Justice, and Science Spending Bill
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today announced that the Appropriations Committee has approved legislation including $3.604 million in funding for Rhode Island public safety and anti-drug initiatives and $3.2 million for environmental programs they requested as part of the 2009 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) spending bill. The bill also includes $1 million that Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, secured to restore and prot… Continue Reading
06.17.08
Jobless Rhode Islanders Need Federal Aid, Whitehouse Says
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) took Senate Republicans to task today for blocking legislation that would extend unemployment insurance benefits for millions of out-of-work Americans, including a former law clerk from Rhode Island who has applied for 65 positions since losing his job in January. The bill would give extra help to several states with the highest unemployment rates, including Rhode Island, whose unemployment rate now hovers around 6 percent. "These are d… Continue Reading
06.12.08
Whitehouse Applauds Supreme Court’s Decision Upholding Right of Habeas Corpus for Detainees
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary and Intelligence Committees and a former Rhode Island U.S. Attorney and Attorney General, commented today on the Supreme Court's decision allowing detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to challenge their detention in U.S. courts: "The Court made the right decision today, and for the third straight time has rejected this Administration's arguments that its authority is unlimited and that its powers are uncheck… Continue Reading
05.21.08
Senate Judiciary Committee Hears from Oil Companies About Rising Costs at the Pump
Washington, D.C. - As crude oil prices reached a new all-time high of $132.08 per barrel and Rhode Islanders paid more than $3.85 a gallon at the pump, the Senate Judiciary Committee today heard testimony from top executives of America's biggest oil companies in an effort to get an explanation for record-breaking oil prices. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse helped to chair the hearing. Executives of BP America Inc., Shell Oil Company, Chevron Corporation, ConocoPhillips Company, and Exxon Mobil… Continue Reading
05.21.08
Reed, Whitehouse, and Kennedy Applaud Coast Guard’s Final Determination that Weaver's Cove LNG Plan is Unsafe
PROVIDENCE, RI - The U.S. Coast Guard today announced that it has denied Weaver's Cove Energy's appeal and affirmed that the waterway is navigationally unsuitable for LNG shipments. This ruling upholds a Coast Guard decision handed down last fall, effectively blocking the proposed Liquified Natural Gas terminal proposed for Weaver's Cove in Fall River. U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), who have been working t… Continue Reading
