Press Releases
Cornyn, Whitehouse Introduce Bill to Fight Substance Use in Jails & Prisons, Support Inmates upon Release
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced today the bipartisan Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act of 2021. The bill would expand access to important substance use treatments in jails and prisons around the country, and help those exiting correctional facilities continue their treatment in the community. The senators' new bill follows their success in passing into law important federal corrections reforms in 2018. "We know people fighting… Continue Reading
03.24.21
With Infrastructure Bill on the Horizon, Whitehouse & Collins Introduce IMAGINE Act to Spur Use of Innovative Materials in Rebuilding American Public Works
Washington, DC - As the Senate begins to turn its attention toward a national infrastructure investment plan, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today reintroduced the Innovative Materials for America's Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded (IMAGINE) Act, to encourage research and deployment of innovative construction materials in transportation and water infrastructure projects nationwide. Investing in new techniques and materials could help extend the life of c… Continue Reading
03.23.21
Whitehouse & Reed Support Legislative Fix to Restore Funding for RI Crime Victim Advocacy Organizations
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jack Reed (D-RI) have joined a bipartisan coalition to introduce legislation that will strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded. The legislation will redirect monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into the CVF to increase funding for local victim compensation and assistance programs in Rhode Island and across the country. "As a former … Continue Reading
03.22.21
Whitehouse Issues Statement on SCOTUS Arguments in Cedar Point Nursery Challenge to Workers’ Rights
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, issued a statement on Supreme Court oral arguments in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, a major challenge to labor unions' ability to organize agricultural workers: "The anti-union business groups behind this case are following a proven formula for success with the Republican appointees on the Roberts Court: find a plaintiff of convenience; force their case through the lower… Continue Reading
03.17.21
Whitehouse Highlights American Rescue Plan Provisions to Protect Nursing Home Residents and Workers
Washington, DC - In a Senate Finance Committee hearing covering the devastating toll COVID-19 has taken on nursing homes across the country, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today highlighted a section of the American Rescue Plan based on his proposal to protect long-term care facility residents and staff from the virus. In the hearing, Adelina Ramos, a certified nursing assistant at the Greenville Nursing Center in Greenville, Rhode Island and member of SEIU District 1199 New England, testified … Continue Reading
03.17.21
Whitehouse Calls on Dark-Money Organizations to Disclose Biggest Donors
Washington, DC - Following a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts last week, Subcommittee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released today three letters he sent to groups that defend anonymous influence over the federal judiciary. The letters call on the organizations to follow the lead of the president of People For the American Way, Ben Jealous, who committed to disclose his group's top five donors and, along with other hearing witnesses called by the majority, threw… Continue Reading
03.15.21
Whitehouse Releases Letter to Garland on Oversight Matters, OLC Politicization
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released today a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland seeking U.S. Department of Justice cooperation in four important Judiciary Committee oversight matters, and raising concerns with the politicization of the Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). During Senate confirmation hearings for Garland and nominee for Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and in an oversight hearing with FB… Continue Reading
03.15.21
With $1,400 Checks On the Way, Whitehouse Staff Available to Ensure Rhode Islanders Get Maximum Payments
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, today announced that his constituent services office stands ready to answer any questions Rhode Islanders may have about the $1,400 direct payments from the federal government that are already beginning to land in bank accounts. The Economic Impact Payments are a feature of the American Rescue Plan, a massive pandemic relief measure passed by Democrats in Congress and signed into law by … Continue Reading
03.13.21
Whitehouse: American Rescue Plan Extends Lifeline to Working Parents in RI
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, today lauded provisions in the American Rescue Plan that will send $93 million to Rhode Island child care centers, which will be paired with an expansion of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to make daycare more affordable. The pandemic has closed daycares and prevented parents from leaning on older family members who may be more susceptible to the virus. Working mothers have been … Continue Reading
03.11.21
Whitehouse, Doggett, Durbin Introduce No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act
Washington, DC - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), joined by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Jack Reed (D-RI) and over 100 House members, introduced the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act. The bill would level the playing field for American workers and small businesses by making sure multinational corporations pay the same tax rate on profits earned a… Continue Reading
03.11.21
Whitehouse Touts American Rescue Plan’s Provisions to Lift Families in RI
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, today offered examples of how historic expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit included in the American Rescue Plan are poised to lift up hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders. The American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Biden this afternoon, is the exact opposite of the Republican $1.9 trillion tax giveaway in whom it helps. "The America… Continue Reading
03.11.21
Doggett & Whitehouse Author Bill to End Offshore Corporate Tax Loopholes, Raise Billions in Revenue
Washington, DC - Today, Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Finance Committee, introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act to close egregious offshore tax loopholes that allow companies with armies of lawyers to avoid taxes by making profits earned here in America magically appear on the books in tax havens like the Cayman Islands. It would also crack down on the type of illegal tax evasion by the superric… Continue Reading
03.09.21
Whitehouse, Booker, Schatz Unveil Methane Fee to Clamp Down on Potent Driver of Climate Change
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) today introduced new legislation to curb the potent methane emissions-especially from the oil and gas sector-that are responsible for about 25 percent of global warming. The Methane Emissions Reduction Act directs the Department of Treasury to assess a fee on methane emissions beginning in 2023. The Senators contend that an accurately assessed fee on the greenhouse gas would virtually end meth… Continue Reading
03.09.21
Significant Funding for Mental Health & Substance Use Treatment Heading to RI as Part of American Rescue Plan
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that the final version of the American Rescue Plan approved by the Senate over the weekend includes robust funding for mental and behavioral health care. Whitehouse advocated for the funding to address the growing overdose crisis in Rhode Island."Pandemic-related isolation and stress have presented new challenges for many Rhode Islanders, especially those walking the long, noble road of recovery," said Whitehouse. "I was pleased … Continue Reading
03.08.21
RI Delegation Secures Change to Federal Funding Formula to Boost Local Hospitals
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that they have secured a change to the federal reimbursement formula for hospitals that could provide around $28 million to Rhode Island health care institutions as they continue to battle the pandemic. The bill will reverse a Trump administration policy that unfairly disadvantaged Rhode Island hospitals beginning in 2018. The fix was included in the pandemic relief bi… Continue Reading
03.08.21
Whitehouse, Johnson Press Federal Courts to Strengthen Rules on Judicial Lobbying
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)-Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights-and Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA)-Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet-released today a letter they wrote to the federal courts' Committee on Rule of Practice and Procedure calling for stronger disclosure requirements for funders of amicus curiae briefs. In the letter sent last… Continue Reading
03.06.21
Whitehouse Votes to Send Wide-Ranging Relief to Families and Small Businesses, Hasten Return to Normal
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today voted to pass the American Rescue Plan, which will inject $1.9 trillion into the national economy, provide direct relief to families and small businesses, build out a national vaccine distribution infrastructure, safely reopen schools and child care centers, and relieve the financial burden on state and local governments. "Help is on the way to Rhode Island. The need right now is enormous, and the American Rescue Plan meets the moment. Fr… Continue Reading
03.03.21
Reed & Whitehouse Reintroduce Background Check Expansion Act to Reduce Gun Violence
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) have joined Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and 41 Senate Democrats to reintroduce the Background Check Expansion Act, which would expand federal background checks to all gun sales. Under current federal law, unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior to transferring a firearm. This loophole gives people who are barred from purchasing or possessing firearms-because of felony o… Continue Reading
03.02.21
Whitehouse Cheers Solicitor General’s Reversal in SCOTUS Dark Money Case
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded the brief filed by the Acting U.S. Solicitor General in Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) v. Becerra, a First Amendment challenge before the Supreme Court: "I'm pleased the Solicitor General changed its position in this case. The Trump Justice Department predictably sided with the right-wing donors and their armada of anonymously funded amicus groups, who want to use … Continue Reading
03.02.21
Whitehouse Congratulates Raimondo on Senate Confirmation
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today congratulated Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo on her confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Raimondo was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan 84-15 vote. "I wish Secretary Raimondo all the best as she takes on a significant role in President Biden's cabinet overseeing the national economic recovery. As an Ocean State native leading the Department of Oceans and Commerce, Raimondo will be an important partner in protec… Continue Reading
