Press Releases
Whitehouse & Schatz Introduce Legislation to Create Massive Jobs Program to Hire, Train Up to 1.5 Million Workers to Fight COVID-19, Help States Safely Reopen
Washington, D.C. - With Rhode Island's unemployment rate soaring to 17 percent in April, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has joined U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) to introduce legislation that will create a massive new jobs program to help states across the country hire more than a million workers to stop the spread of the coronavirus. As states and cities slowly begin to reopen and strengthen COVID-19 mitigation and containment efforts, the Jobs to Fight COVID-19 Act aims to pr… Continue Reading
05.20.20
U.S. Senators Urge Congressional Leaders to Support Vulnerable Students Amid Coronavirus Crisis
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are teaming up with U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and 36 Senate colleagues in seeking new funding for the Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO) in the upcoming coronavirus relief package. TRIO includes eight programs targeted to serve and assist low-income individuals, first-generation col… Continue Reading
05.19.20
Reed, Whitehouse, Cicilline Announce $300,000 Economic Development Grant to Study Future Growth on Aquidneck Island
NEWPORT, RI - In an effort to promote smart, sustainable economic development and ensure public input in how former U.S. Navy-owned land and infrastructure is used by the three municipalities that make up Aquidneck Island, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Congressman David Cicilline today announced a new $300,000 federal grant by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). The federal funding will be used for a study to evaluate options for … Continue Reading
05.19.20
New $223K to Help RIers with Housing During COVID-19 Crisis
PROVIDENCE, RI - In an effort to prevent homelessness and help more families access safe housing amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced $223,885 in federal funding for two Rhode Island public housing agencies (PHAs) through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Mainstream Voucher Program. Providence Housing Authority is being awarded $181,273 … Continue Reading
05.18.20
Senators Join Calls for FERC to Foster Dialogue on Carbon Pricing
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) led colleagues today in calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to heed the major energy industry players urging the commission to hold a technical conference on integrating carbon-pricing policies into wholesale energy markets. The senators echoed the points raised in an April petition organized from a wide coalition of groups - including major utilities, energy companies, industry groups, and think tanks - encouraging the commissi… Continue Reading
05.18.20
Whitehouse, Schatz Urge CFTC to Incorporate Carbon Pricing, Climate Financial Risk Standards into Climate Risks Report
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI)-Senate leaders on carbon pricing and confronting the economic risks of climate change-have sent a pair of comment letters to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) urging that a key forthcoming report address carbon pricing policy and the systemic financial risks of climate change. As the Commission's Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee finalizes its report on climate change's implications for commodities … Continue Reading
05.14.20
Senators Introduce Legislation to Ban "Ghost" Guns as COVID-19 Pandemic Drives Demand for Untraceable Firearms
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) led a group of fifteen senators introducing legislation to ban "ghost" guns. Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) announced the Untraceable Firearms Act at a press call earlier today with Everytown for Gun Safety. Reports indicate that the public health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have spurred an increase in demand for and sale of these untraceable weapons. The Untraceable Firearms Act would in… Continue Reading
05.12.20
Whitehouse Applauds Introduction of HEROES Act; House Relief Bill Would Boost RI Economy
Washington, D.C. - As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to extract a mounting human and economic toll, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is applauding the introduction of legislation in the House of Representatives to provide a new round of urgently needed relief for Americans. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act would deliver additional financial help for struggling Rhode Island families and an infusion of cash to states and municipalities slammed by th… Continue Reading
05.12.20
Senate Democrats Back Stronger Ethics Guidance for Judges
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led colleagues in writing to the federal courts' Committee on the Codes of Conduct in support of the Committee's draft guidance that would bar judges from membership in the Federalist Society and American Constitution Society-two ideological outside groups. Joined by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), the s… Continue Reading
05.11.20
Whitehouse Proposes Bill to Slow the Spread of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes
Washington, D.C. - With nursing homes in Rhode Island and across the country working hard to keep residents and staff safe amid the ongoing pandemic, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Bob Casey (D-PA) are proposing a bill that would provide $20 billion to help states, nursing homes, and intermediate care facilities contain the spread of COVID-19. The Nursing Home COVID-19 Protection and Prevention Act would support state efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in congregate settings,… Continue Reading
05.08.20
RI Delegation Announces Help for RI Farmers & Hungry Families
PROVIDENCE, RI - Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, more Rhode Islanders than ever are in need of emergency and supplemental food. At the same time, Rhode Island farmers and food sector businesses are facing widespread market and supply chain disruption. In an effort to assist Rhode Island's families, farmers, and food businesses, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline helped include federal funds for the Coronavir… Continue Reading
05.08.20
Whitehouse & Blumenthal Demand Independent Investigation of Political Interference at DOJ After Flynn Prosecution Abruptly Dropped
Washington, D.C. - After the Department of Justice dropped charges against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz calling for an independent inquiry into the unprecedented decision and "the Department's pattern of politicized decision making." Whitehouse and Blumenthal sent a similar letter to Jeffrey Ragsdale, Acting Director of the DOJ's Offi… Continue Reading
05.07.20
Support Grows for Repeal of GOP Tax Scam Slipped into Vital COVID Relief Legislation
Washington, DC - Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced new support for their bill to unwind a Republican giveaway to millionaires slipped into vital coronavirus relief legislation. As Whitehouse formally introduced the bill in the Senate today, a majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus have cosponsored the legislation, while 52 members have joined the bill in the House. A broad array of influential groups have also come out … Continue Reading
05.07.20
Reed & Whitehouse Seek Additional Support for Fishing Communities
WASHINGTON, DC - The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has taken a huge bite out of the fishing industry, with fisherman seeing a slump in demand from restaurants and a shutdown of export markets, leaving many fishing vessels tied up at the docks during prime fishing months. Meanwhile, harbor costs and equipment rental bills are still piling up and it can cost some boats more in fuel alone than they can make selling their catch during such a depressed market. U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sh… Continue Reading
05.06.20
Reed & Whitehouse: Don’t Allow COVID-19 to Spread Anti-Asian Hostility & Discrimination
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are teaming up with U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and 12 Senators in urging the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division to take concrete steps to address the surge in discrimination and hate crimes against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) individuals. The Senators called for the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division to release a detailed plan t… Continue Reading
05.06.20
Rhode Island Congressional Delegation Announces $8 Million for Mental Health Services
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, today announced that Thrive Behavioral Health, Inc. and Newport Mental Health have been awarded $8 million in federal grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services. All four members of Rhode Island's Congressional Delegation advocated for this federal funding earlier this year in a joint letter … Continue Reading
05.05.20
Reed & Whitehouse: Trump’s Meat Packing Plan is a Recipe for COVID-19 Disaster That Skimps on Worker Health & Safety
WASHINGTON, DC - After President Trump issued an order to keep meatpacking plants open and help plant owners at the expense of workers who are charged with keeping our food supply safe, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are calling on the Trump Administration to modify the order to prioritize worker health and safety and help prevent further outbreaks of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The Senators joined 16 of their colleagues in sending a letter demanding that Preside… Continue Reading
05.01.20
Reed, Whitehouse Call For Tax Credit Expansion To Help Working Families During Coronavirus Crisis
WASHINGTON, DC - Seeking to help put more money in the pockets of working families in Rhode Island and nationwide as they cope with the ongoing coronavirus crisis, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today joined a group of 39 senators in sending a letter to Senate Leaders Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) calling for a temporary expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the next coronavirus relief package. The sena… Continue Reading
04.27.20
Whitehouse, Markey, Merkley, Schatz, Gillibrand Call on DC Circuit to Strike Down Trump EPA’s Do-Nothing Power Plant Rule
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) submitted a friend-of-the-court brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in a major challenge to the Trump administration's Clean Power Plan replacement rule. The senators write that the so-called Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule-a toothless replacement for the Obama administration's plan to reduce carbon emissions… Continue Reading
04.24.20
Reed & Whitehouse Call on Trump to Waive Cost-Sharing Requirements for States Battling Coronavirus
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse are joining their Democratic colleagues in calling on President Trump to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to waive all cost-share requirements for states responding to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency related to the outbreak, authorizing federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts. Despite continued calls from Congress… Continue Reading
