Press Releases
Whitehouse Joins National Arts Council
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has been appointed to serve as an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). He was named to the Council by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). "I'm honored to represent the Ocean State on this distinguished panel," Whitehouse said. "The NEA supports Rhode Island artists, performances, and educational opportunities that make our communities richer, our … Continue Reading
07.18.07
Freshman Senators Call For Commission To Investigate Wartime Contracting
Washington, DC - Senate Democratic freshmen today introduced a bill to establish an independent, bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting to investigate U.S. wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Commission would significantly increase transparency and accountability and generate important solutions for systematic contracting problems, potentially saving taxpayers billions of dollars. The Commission will study and investigate the impact of the government's growing reli… Continue Reading
07.18.07
Homeland Security Announces Funding For Rhode Island
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rhode Island's Congressional Delegation today announced the state will be receiving approximately $19.5 million in Homeland Security funding for Fiscal Year 2008. Included in this amount is approximately $5.15 million designated under the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) program. In January, Providence qualified for UASI for the first time. UASI targets funding in high-threat, high-density urban areas. Eligibility is based on a number of factors, including c… Continue Reading
07.05.07
Whitehouse Statement on Cape Verde Independence Day
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has released the following statement: "I'd like to wish a happy Independence Day to the Cape Verdeans of Rhode Island. Whether expressed in the sounds of traditional Morna music or in a bowl of delicious cachupa, the vibrant culture of Rhode Island's Cape Verdean community is one of our great treasures." ###… Continue Reading
07.02.07
Whitehouse Statement on Libby Prison Sentence Commutation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement in response to President Bush's decision to commute the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney: "President Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's prison sentence is shocking and highly inappropriate. From a secret program that eavesdropped on Americans without a warrant to efforts to expose a C… Continue Reading
06.28.07
Whitehouse Statement on Subpoenas for Bush Administration Over Warrantless Wiretapping
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) commented today on the decision by the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena the Bush White House for documents and other information on the administration's illegal warrantless wiretapping program. Whitehouse serves on the Judiciary Committee and voted last week to authorize the subpoenas. "At every turn, this administration has tried to evade its responsibility to tell the truth - the whole truth - to this Congress … Continue Reading
06.27.07
Whitehouse Meets Cranston Junior Statesman
Washington, D.C. - Bart Johnson-Harris, of Cranston, met this week with U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) during his stay in Washington for the Junior Statesman Summer School program. Johnson-Harris will be a senior at the Wheeler School in September. The Junior Statesman Summer School program conducts intensive college-level programs at Georgetown and three college campuses across the country, with programs in U.S. Government, U.S. Foreign Policy, and Law. The course, in conjunction wit… Continue Reading
06.22.07
Whitehouse: Senate Energy Bill Reduces Oil Dependence, Improves Efficiency
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) applauded the Senate's passage of energy reform legislation late last night. The CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) now moves to the House of Representatives. "Last night, the Senate took a dramatic step toward reducing our reliance on foreign oil, conserving more of the energy we use in our homes, cars, and businesses, and investing in new technologies that will help in the fight against global warming. "Our energy bill will require m… Continue Reading
06.19.07
Boxer, Lautenberg, Whitehouse Join CEOs to Discuss Democrats' Efforts to Make America More Energy Efficient
Washington, DC-Senator Barbara Boxer, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Senators Frank Lautenberg and Sheldon Whitehouse joined environmentally friendly CEOs Tuesday to discuss the Senate's energy legislation and how its energy-efficiency provisions would stimulate innovation and competition, strengthen our economy, and protect our environment. Democrats are moving ahead this week with The Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 200… Continue Reading
06.18.07
Senators Demand DOJ Investigation Into Voter Suppression Allegations
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today called for a Justice Department investigation into allegations of illegal voter suppression tactics by Republican political operatives, including former Karl Rove aide Tim Griffin, during the 2004 elections. Griffin is now serving as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. "At a time when the Department's political independence and its commitment to enforcement of civil rights … Continue Reading
06.08.07
U.S. Senate Congratulates Brown University's Women's Crew Team
WASHINGTON, DC - The United States Senate last night unanimously passed a resolution offered by U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) recognizing the Brown University women's crew team on winning the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Championship.On May 27, 2007, Brown took home top honors at the NCAA Championship with 58 points, defeating a field that included the University of Virginia (second place - 54 points) and Ohio State University (third place - 52 p… Continue Reading
06.06.07
Funding Fix for URI Transportation Center Passes Senate Committee, Reed and Whitehouse Announce
Washington, D.C. - The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has approved legislation that will make it easier for the University of Rhode Island Transportation Center (URITC) to receive critically-needed federal funding, Rhode Island's U.S. Senators announced today. Established in 1999, URITC conducts multi-disciplinary education, research, technology transfer, and outreach for surface transportation systems and advanced transportation infrastructure. Under its original authoriza… Continue Reading
06.04.07
Whitehouse Asks DOJ IG to Investigate Gonzales's Definition of Wrongdoing
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today called for an investigation into a definition of wrongdoing, repeatedly invoked by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other Justice Department officials during the Senate's inquiry into the firing of several United States Attorneys, arguing that the only "improper" reason to dismiss a U.S. Attorney would be to interfere with or influence a "particular case" for partisan gain. "The notion that the definition of impropriety for … Continue Reading
06.03.07
Judiciary Senators Seek Safeguards In DOJ Investigation
WASHINGTON (Tuesday, April 3) - Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), sent a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish appropriate safeguards to avoid potential conflicts of interest as the Judiciary Committee continues its ongoing investigation into the dismissals and replacements of several U.S. attorneys. Leahy, the chairman of the committee, and Whitehouse, a member of the panel and a former U.S. att… Continue Reading
06.01.07
FY'08 Intelligence Authorization Bill Approved by Senate Panel Includes Provision to Require National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Potential National Security Impacts of Climate Change
Washington, DC - The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week approved the FY'08 Intelligence Authorization bill, which includes a provision sponsored by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), John Warner (R-Va.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) to require the Director of National Intelligence to produce a formal intelligence assessment on the potential national security impacts of climate change. Specifically… Continue Reading
05.25.07
On War Funding, Whitehouse Votes to Keep Pressure On Bush
Washington, D.C. - Amidst the release of a new report that the Bush Administration ignored intelligence community assessments of potential Al Qaeda influence in post-war Iraq, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) voted against legislation that would provide funding for the war without compelling the President to take steps to end it. "Whether I or any other member of this body supports our troops is not in question. We always have, and we always will," Whitehouse said. "Neither i… Continue Reading
05.25.07
Schumer, Feinstein & Whitehouse Demand Answers About Justice Hiring Practices on Gonzales' Watch
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to reveal what he knew about inappropriate, unethical and possibly illegal hiring practices occurring at the Justice Department under his watch. Earlier this week, Monica Goodling, a former Justice Department aide and White House liaison, admitted in testimony before the before the House Judiciary Committee that she "crossed the… Continue Reading
05.24.07
Schumer, Feinstein & Whitehouse: Gonzales No Confidence Vote Coming After Immigration
Washington, DC - Today U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced their intention to bring a vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The joint resolution will be brought before the Senate for a vote at the conclusion of debate on the immigration bill. "We fully intend to bring this vote, we expect it to pass, and for the good of the Justice Department and the rule of law in this country, we believe it … Continue Reading
05.22.07
Whitehouse Delivers First Speech in Series on Health Reform Legislation
Washington, D.C. - In the first of a planned week-long series of addresses on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today outlined critical challenges facing America's health care system and solutions he has proposed in the first legislation he has authored since taking office. "I have heard from countless Rhode Islanders who have struggled to pay for their health care, and who live in fear of losing coverage on which they and their families depend," Wh… Continue Reading
05.21.07
Whitehouse's First Senate Bills Focus on Health Reform
Cranston, R.I. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today unveiled his first legislation since taking office in January: a trio of bills grounded in his experience working with health care in Rhode Island and aimed at expanding the use of health information technology and improving the quality of care. "Over many years, Rhode Islanders have told me they're frustrated at a health care system that costs too much but leaves most people without the care they need," Whitehouse said. … Continue Reading
