Press Releases
Whitehouse Urges Stronger Transparency for Real Estate Transactions
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) submitted a comment to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) calling on the Department to safeguard America's rule-of-law financial system by codifying and strengthening the disclosure requirements in the current Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) for all-cash real estate transactions conducted through shell companies. "The United States is engaged in a 'clash of civilizations' between rule-of-law nations and t… Continue Reading
02.21.22
Joint Statement from Congressional Delegation to Munich Security Conference
Washington, DC - Members of the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives participating in the bipartisan Congressional Delegation to the Munich Security Conference (MSC) today released this statement. "It now appears increasingly likely that Russian forces will initiate hostilities against a free and peaceful Ukraine. We as a bipartisan delegation will bring home the same unity and resolve we have seen among our Atlantic allies against Russian aggression. We pledge to wor… Continue Reading
02.17.22
Whitehouse Co-Chairs Bipartisan Delegation to 2022 Munich Security Conference
Washington, D.C. - Against a backdrop of rising tensions in Eastern Europe, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) this evening set off for Munich, Germany to join hundreds of world leaders and international security decisionmakers at the annual Munich Security Conference. Whitehouse and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are leading a delegation of more than two dozen members of Congress to the world's major global forum for the discussion of security policy. Whitehouse has served as the Democr… Continue Reading
02.17.22
Whitehouse, Grassley, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen the U.S. Criminal Code against Money Laundering
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Combatting Money Laundering, Terrorist Finance and Counterfeiting Act of 2022. Their bipartisan legislation modernizes and strengthens criminal money laundering statutes by giving federal law enforcement the tools it needs to keep pace with emerging techniques that criminals use to conceal and transport dirty money. "Criminal e… Continue Reading
02.16.22
Congressional Delegation Hauls in $371,000 in COVID-19 Relief for RI Seafood Industry
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to help Rhode Island fishermen and seafood processors weather economic turmoil brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will grant the Ocean State $371,412 through the Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant Program (SPRS). Administered at the local level by the Rhode Island Department of Environmen… Continue Reading
02.16.22
Whitehouse Cheers New Guidance to Support Expansion of Carbon Utilization and Direct Air Capture
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a leading climate champion in the Senate, today applauded new guidance on carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) released by the Biden administration's Council on Environmental Quality. The guidelines for developers and operators of CCUS projects and carbon dioxide pipelines were called for in Whitehouse's Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act. "We're on track to overshoot the 1.5-degree Celsi… Continue Reading
02.15.22
Whitehouse Calls on FinCEN to Harden Financial Defenses against Kleptocracy and International Corruption
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has submitted a comment to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) urging the Department to implement a strong regulatory regime to counter the abuse of our financial system by kleptocrats and criminals who hide their ill-gotten gains in the U.S. behind anonymous trusts, shell corporations, and other financial schemes. "Ensuring the integrity of our financial system through a robust anti-money laundering (AML) an… Continue Reading
02.13.22
RI Delegation Delivers $3.38 Million to Boost RI’s Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
WASHINGTON, DC - As electric vehicle (EV) sales in the United States continue to accelerate at a rapid pace, Rhode Island's Congressional delegation says it is important for states to keep up with demand and for the federal government to be a reliable partner in strengthening the nation's charging capacity for electric vehicles. Sales of electric vehicles doubled in 2021 compared with 2020 and global automakers are projected to spend $515 billion dollars on electric vehicles and batteries throug… Continue Reading
02.10.22
Reed, Whitehouse Join with New England Delegation in Introducing Resolution Honoring Tom Brady
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse joined with Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in introducing a resolution in the U.S. Senate honoring the career of Tom Brady, who announced his retirement from the National Football League (NFL) earlier this month. The resolution highlights Tom Brady's record-breaking career, during which he… Continue Reading
02.09.22
Cicilline, Whitehouse Seek to Honor First Rhode Island Regiment with the Congressional Gold Medal
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) were joined by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Congressman Jim Langevin (RI-02) in introducing the First Rhode Island Regiment Congressional Gold Medal Act (H.R.6660/S.3607), to posthumously award America's first integrated military unit with the Congressional Gold Medal. Long overdue, this legislation seeks to recognize the heroic efforts of this mil… Continue Reading
02.09.22
Whitehouse Chairs Courts Subcommittee Hearing on Corporate Abuse of Bankruptcy to Avoid Accountability
Washington, DC - Yesterday, Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) led the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights in a hearing entitled, "Abusing Chapter 11: Corporate Efforts to Side-Step Accountability Through Bankruptcy." The hearing examined the growing trend of corporate actors using a bankruptcy procedure known as the "Texas Two-Step" to attempt to evade tort liabilities and make it more burdensome for tort plaintiffs to recover. Chairman … Continue Reading
02.08.22
Congress Approves Bill to Name Slatersville Post Office After Fallen Soldier Spc. Matthew Turcotte
WASHINGTON, DC - Congress today approved legislation to name the U.S. postal facility located at 42 Main Street in Slatersville, Rhode Island, as the "Specialist Matthew R. Turcotte Post Office." Turcotte, of North Smithfield, was killed in August of 2017 during a live-ammunition training exercise at Fort Carson in Colorado while serving with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division. The bill, which previously passed the U.S. Senate in July, now goes to President Biden'… Continue Reading
02.07.22
Whitehouse, Wyden Applaud New FinCEN Anti-Money Laundering Rule Aimed at Protecting Americans from International Corruption
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) submitted today a comment to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on its new rule implementing the most important anti-money laundering reform law in two decades, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The senators both played key roles in crafting the CTA, and are champions of greater transparency in U.S. incorporation laws to crack down on shell companies used to facilitate money launder… Continue Reading
02.04.22
Whitehouse Calls for Confirmation of USPS Board of Governors Nominees to Address Major Operational Problems Under Postmaster General DeJoy
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today called for speedy approval of the two pending nominees to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors, citing an urgent need for a change in leadership at the agency. Whitehouse's call comes after a new report that the EPA and the White House Council on Environmental Quality have warned USPS that its plan to replace its massive fleet with thousands of polluting gas-powered delivery vehicles does not comply with the … Continue Reading
02.02.22
With Climate Bill Stalled, Whitehouse Delivers 280th ‘Time to Wake Up’ Speech
Washington, D.C. - With Build Back Better's historic climate provisions stalled in the Senate, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) this afternoon dusted off his ragged Time to Wake Up poster and delivered his 280th climate speech on the Senate floor. Whitehouse's remarks ended a year-long hiatus from delivering weekly speeches calling on Congress to pass a legislative solution to climate change. Whitehouse detailed the lack of momentum behind emissions-reducing legislation one year into th… Continue Reading
01.31.22
Whitehouse Joins Call for Increased IRS Funding As Americans Prepare for Tax Filing Season
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, has joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing concern that persistent underfunding of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will have negative effects on American taxpayers this year. Tax filing season began last week. The Senators call for a minimum 14 percent increase… Continue Reading
01.28.22
RI Delegation Announces $450k in American Rescue Plan Funds for Local Arts Organizations
Providence, RI - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that six Rhode Island arts organizations have been awarded a total of $450,000 in competitive grant funding from the American Rescue Plan to help cover payroll costs and pandemic-related expenses. The grants were awarded through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). "These American Rescue Plan grants will support local artists, create jobs, and help our arts and … Continue Reading
01.26.22
Whitehouse Statement on Breyer Retirement
Newport, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, released the following statement on the planned retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer: "I thank Justice Breyer for his dedication to the law and service to the American people, and wish him well in his retirement. Throughout his distinguished career on the Court, Justice Breyer applied his remarkable intellect to safeguard j… Continue Reading
01.24.22
Whitehouse, Sanders, Blumenthal, Warren Call Out ‘Reek of Politics’ in Right-Wing SCOTUS Challenge to Vital EPA Climate Authority
READ THE SENATORS' BRIEF HERE Washington, DC - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) submitted an amicus curiae brief in West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court case challenging the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. Counsel of record for the senators is University of California, Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. The senators point out tha… Continue Reading
01.24.22
Whitehouse, Blunt Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Recognizing ‘National Mentoring Month’
Washington, DC - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral resolution recognizing January 2022 as "National Mentoring Month" to celebrate the many ways that mentors uplift and empower young people to reach their full potential. Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) and Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-WA) introduced the resolution in the House. "A committed mentor makes a profound difference in the life of a young person. Mentors can provide sta… Continue Reading
