Press Releases
Whitehouse, Carper, Pallone Raise New Questions about Wehrum’s Involvement in Reversing EPA Position to Benefit Former Firm’s Client
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE), and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) are raising new questions about whether Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials William Wehrum and David Harlow helped to reverse the agency's position in a major enforcement action to favor a client of their former law firm. In a letter sent to the EPA Office of Inspector General today, the m… Continue Reading
03.20.19
Whitehouse Supports Bill to Ban Seismic Testing in Atlantic
Washington, DC - U.S. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and other East Coast senators to reintroduce the Atlantic Seismic Airgun Protection Act, a bill that prohibits oil, gas, and methane hydrate-related seismic activities in the Atlantic Ocean. The bill bans the use of seismic airgun blasting - a disruptive method of blasting compressed air toward the ocean floor in search of oil and gas - in the North Atlantic, Mid Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Straits of Florid… Continue Reading
03.19.19
Whitehouse Blasts Trump EPA Power Plant Rule as Product of Takeover by Fossil Fuel Industry
Pruitt, Wheeler, Wehrum all examples of fossil fuel lackeys behind EPA decisions, senator writes in Clean Air Act rule comment Whitehouse: EPA failed to consider dropping cost of CCS technology, new 45Q incentives in replacement proposal Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is blasting the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its Clean Air Act new source review replacement rule, calling it the produ… Continue Reading
03.14.19
Whitehouse, Brown, Collins, Capito Reintroduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Seniors From High Costs of Necessary Medical Care
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation to update a current loophole in Medicare policy that would help protect seniors from high medical costs for the skilled nursing care they require after hospitalization. The Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act would allow for the time patients spend in the hospital under "observation status" to count toward the requis… Continue Reading
03.14.19
Whitehouse Statement on Vote to Overturn Trump National Emergency Declaration
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement today on the Senate's 59-41 vote to overturn President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the southern border:"The vote on the national emergency gave Republicans a clear choice: put the Constitution first, or put President Trump first. The Founding Fathers granted the Congress the power of the purse to decide how to allocate funds. Yet many Republicans will raid funds appropriated by C… Continue Reading
03.14.19
Whitehouse Bill Would Improve Care for Patients Facing Advanced Illnesses
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today reintroduced a bill aimed at improving care for Medicare beneficiaries with advanced illnesses like Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and heart disease. Whitehouse's Removing Barriers to Person- and Family-Centered Care Act would establish a pilot program to test a new payment model that promotes better coordination between health care providers and places greater emphasis on the needs and preferences of Medicare beneficiaries with advanced illnesses… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Whitehouse, Doggett Author Bills to End Trump Tax Breaks for Exporting Jobs & Profits
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act and the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. Under the Trump Tax law, companies that ship jobs and invest overseas are eligible for special tax rates that may be half the domestic corporate tax rate and possibly even tax-free. The No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act would le… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Schumer, Whitehouse Lead Letter Challenging U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Largest Lobbying Organizing in the Country, to Back Basic Science And Immediately Begin Advocating for Senate Dem Resolution That Calls for Urgent Action on Climate Crisis
In New Letter to Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Senate Dems Urge Chamber to Support, Issue a "Key Vote Alert," and Include Support in Their Legislative Scorecard for New Senate Resolution Co-sponsored By Entire Senate Democratic Caucus Stating Climate Change Is Real, Caused By Humans, And That The U.S. And Congress Need To Take Immediate Action Letter Also Raises Prospect That Chamber Is Supported By Fossil Fuel Interests Working Against Climate Policies Supported By Their Broader Membe… Continue Reading
03.12.19
Whitehouse, Udall, Gardner, and Cortez Masto Introduce Bill to Put Wi-Fi on School Buses and Help Close the Digital Divide
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced a bill to make it easier to put wireless internet on school buses in order to help students without broadband access at home get online to study, learn, and complete homework. The legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) E-Rate Program to reimburse school districts that place Wi-Fi technology on school buses carry… Continue Reading
03.11.19
Whitehouse Slams Irresponsible Trump Budget
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on President Donald Trump's budget proposal released today, which would slash programs Rhode Islanders rely on for health care, education, infrastructure improvements, environmental protection and other priorities - all to help pay for a wall along the southern border: "Despite an impulsive White House, in Congress we've had a good record of passing bipartisan budgets in recent years. President Trump's ext… Continue Reading
03.08.19
Whitehouse Calls Out Corrosive Dark Money Gerrymandering Campaigns in Supreme Court Brief
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and an outspoken advocate for free and fair elections, will submit a friend-of-the-court brief today with the Supreme Court in a case involving partisan gerrymandering in North Carolina. Continuing his work with the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Whitehouse argues that extremely partisan redistricting efforts, often fueled by anonymously funded groups with extreme special interest agendas, have dist… Continue Reading
03.08.19
Whitehouse Joins Bipartisan Effort to Crack Down on Illegal Robocalls
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has joined an effort led by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and John Thune (R-SD) to crack down on disruptive illegal robocalls. Whitehouse this week signed on as a cosponsor of the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act sponsored by Senators Markey and Thune. Amid ever-increasing numbers of robocall scams, the TRACED Act gives regulators more time to find scammers, increases civil forfeiture penalties for those who … Continue Reading
03.08.19
ICYMI: Whitehouse-Petraeus Call for American Leadership in Fight against Kleptocracy
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined retired general and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency David Petraeus to publish an op-ed in the Washington Post today calling for American leadership in the fight against graft and kleptocracy. If America fails to stand up for democratic values, we become complicit in the corruption of autocrats, risking "grave consequences both for the nation's reputation abroad and Americans' well-being at home," Whitehouse and Petraeu… Continue Reading
03.06.19
Senators Welcome as ‘Breakthrough’ a Judicial Conference Warning to Judges, Clerks against Partisan Training Programs
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) welcomed as a "breakthrough" an advisory opinion published by the Judicial Conference of the United States' Committee on Codes of Conduct that warns federal judges and their clerks against participating in events sponsored by anonymously funded partisan organizations. The guidance follows revelations that a Heritage Foundation… Continue Reading
03.04.19
Whitehouse Files Brief Urging Supreme Court to Uphold Federal Agency Independence
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and an outspoken opponent of special interest capture of government, submitted a friend-of-the-court brief today with the Supreme Court in Kisor v. Wilkie, a challenge to long-standing precedent protecting the independence of federal agencies. In his brief, Whitehouse describes how Kisor is the latest chapter in a sustained effort by large corporate and radical right interests to prevent the federal g… Continue Reading
02.28.19
Whitehouse Introduces Bill to Get Americans Their Day in Court
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced legislation to bar mandatory, pre-dispute arbitration in suits involving public health and safety. Mandatory arbitration clauses in agreements push Americans into closed-door negotiations with an arbitrator, denying the aggrieved their day in court. Pre-dispute arbitration can hinder public awareness of health hazards like environmental pollution because arbitration is often combined with nondisclosure agreements. Senato… Continue Reading
02.28.19
Whitehouse Statement on Wheeler Confirmation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement on the confirmation today of Andrew Wheeler to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): "Andrew Wheeler is another poster boy for the capture of our Environmental Protection Agency by the polluters it regulates. He is a former coal lobbyist famous for literally delivering the political playbook for the coal industry. A… Continue Reading
02.27.19
Whitehouse, Cotton, Moulton, King Reintroduce ALS Disability Insurance Access Act
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Congressmen Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Peter King (R-NY) have reintroduced the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act, bipartisan legislation to eliminate the five-month waiting period before ALS patients can receive the Social Security Disability Insurance benefits they earned by contributing into Social Security. This legislation would build on previous steps by Congress and the Social Security Administration to acco… Continue Reading
02.26.19
Whitehouse, Schatz, Heinrich to McConnell: Let's Have a Real Debate on Climate Change
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) called on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to hold a full day of floor debate on climate change. "We respectfully request you and your Republican colleagues join us for a full day of floor debate on the climate crisis before any vote is taken on the Green New Deal resolution. We believe it is imperative the American people hear where both sides stand on this critical issu… Continue Reading
02.26.19
Whitehouse Joins Group of 9 Senators to Reintroduce Voter Empowerment Act to Help Protect the Voting Rights of People Across the Country and Ensure All Americans Have Equal Access to the Ballot
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, joined by U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ed Markey (D-MA) today announced the reintroduction of the Voter Empowerment Act. This legislation would help protect the voting rights of people across the country by ensuring equal access to the ballot for every eligible voter, modernizing voter registration… Continue Reading
