Press Releases
Whitehouse Statement on Senate Republicans’ Vote for Default
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse this evening issued the following statement after Senate Republicans unanimously voted against proceeding to a measure to keep the government open and pay the nation's previously incurred debt: "Senate Republicans put a two trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthy on the national credit card under former President Trump. Now that the bill is coming due, they won't even allow a vote on paying for it. I'm optimistic Democrats will find a way to ma… Continue Reading
09.27.21
RI Delegation Secures $500,000 to Prevent Childhood Lead Exposure
RHODE ISLAND -- U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that the Rhode Island Department of Health will be receiving $500,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce lead exposure in children. Specifically, the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program funding will support increased lead testing and reporting among high-risk children, improved data collection and surveillance, tailored and commu… Continue Reading
09.24.21
U.S. Senate Designates September 19-25 National Estuaries Week
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that the U.S. Senate has designated September 19 through September 25, 2021 as National Estuaries Week in a resolution unanimously approved earlier this week. The resolution, sponsored by Whitehouse and seventeen colleagues from both sides of the aisle, recognizes the importance of coastal and estuarine regions to the national economy and reaffirms the Senate's commitment to protecting and restoring the important natural resource… Continue Reading
09.22.21
Reed & Whitehouse Announce $4.2 Million to Support Victims of Crime
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse announced that the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has awarded grants from the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) worth $4.2 million to enhance State Victim Compensation payments that provide financial assistance to victims of crime, including victims of domestic violence, child and elder abuse, and human trafficking. Using fines and monetary penalties against criminal defendants who lost at trial,… Continue Reading
09.15.21
Whitehouse Thanks U.S. Women Gymnasts for Testimony on FBI Handling of Larry Nassar Investigation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) thanked members of the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Team for coming forward to tell their stories in the Senate Judiciary Committee today. "I want to compliment all of our witnesses for the stunning clarity and grace of your testimony here. Your quest for accountability is 100 percent justified, and thank you for pursuing it. We will endeavor to help you in that pursuit," Whitehouse said. "It is astonishing and disturbing how many adults let you dow… Continue Reading
09.14.21
Whitehouse Cheers Inclusion of DISCLOSE Act in New Government Ethics & Elections Bill
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on Senate Democrats' compromise ethics and elections bill announced today. The bill includes Whitehouse's DISCLOSE Act, to require organizations spending money in federal elections to disclose their donors, allowing the American people to see who is attempting to sway their elections and gain control over their government. "The backbone of this proposal … Continue Reading
09.07.21
RI Delegation Secures $1.8 Million for Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) to Strengthen Youth Mental Health
RHODE ISLAND -- U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will be receiving $1.8 million in federal funding to strengthen youth mental health. Funded through the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), this funding will be used to increase awareness of mental health issues among students, provide training f… Continue Reading
09.03.21
Senators File Brief in Key Transparency Case Involving Barr’s Justification for Obstruction of Justice Decision
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) filed a brief today in a major challenge to the Department of Justice's assertion of privilege over a memo from the Department's Office of Legal Counsel to then-Attorney General Barr about whether President Trump's conduct, as described in the Mueller report, amounted to obstruction of justice. The Freedom of I… Continue Reading
09.03.21
Whitehouse, Durbin, Van Hollen, Warren & Reed Urge Adoption of Key Biden International Tax Reforms
Washington, DC - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Jack Reed (D-RI) responded to an invitation to comment on the draft plan authored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Mark Warner (D-VA) to overhaul the U.S. system for international taxation. The drafters sought feedback on key questions that will determine the legislation's effectiveness. The senators call … Continue Reading
08.18.21
Reed & Whitehouse Celebrate Legislative Fix to Restore Funding for RI Crime Victim Advocacy Organizations
Warwick, RI - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today joined with organizations that help Rhode Islanders who have been victims of violent crimes to celebrate passage of bipartisan legislation that will strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund is funded. Both senators sponsored the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021, which will redirect monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into … Continue Reading
08.14.21
Senate-Passed Infrastructure Bill Would Launch Significant Expansion of Electric Vehicles and Clean Transit
Washington, D.C. - The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday would bring Rhode Island millions of dollars to build out charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and to get more electric ferries and buses in service. "We're doing our part in the Senate to make driving a clean car much more convenient and to electrify the nation's public transit fleet. I'm particularly excited about the prospect of electric ferries carrying Rhode Islanders acro… Continue Reading
08.13.21
Whitehouse Calls on Select Committee to Investigate New Reports of Dark-Money Coordination behind January 6 Insurrection
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) today to urge the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol to examine the dark-money organizations and powerful donors who organized and funded efforts to undermine the 2020 election - efforts that contributed to the storming of the Capitol on January 6. Whitehouse points to new revelations in recent days that big-money … Continue Reading
08.12.21
Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Passed by Senate Would Provide $275 Million to Launch Whitehouse-Created Recycling Fund
Washington, D.C. - The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday would invest $275 million over five years in a new recycling grant program designed by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse to prevent plastic debris from polluting marine environments and having adverse effects on human health and wildlife. The Environmental Protection Agency's Post-Consumer Materials Management Infrastructure Grant Program will provide grants to states to improve local wast… Continue Reading
08.11.21
Senate-Approved Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Would Send $492 Million to Whitehouse’s Coastal Resilience Fund
Washington, D.C. - The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the U.S. Senate yesterday would invest $492 million over five years in a climate resiliency grant fund designed by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Whitehouse created the National Coastal Resilience Fund to restore and strengthen the natural infrastructure that protects coastal communities while safeguarding wildlife habitats. "Climate change is here, and I'm working hard to prepare Rhode Island homes and busines… Continue Reading
08.11.21
Whitehouse, Schumer Call on the Senate to Pass the DISCLOSE Act
Washington, DC - Earlier today, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) requested that the Senate pass legislation to combat the flood of dark money in American politics. Senator Cruz objected to the request, blocking passage of the bill. "The fight isn't over. This started when Citizens United unleashed unlimited money into our politics and it will end with the passage of my DISCLOSE Act," said Whitehouse, who has introduced the bill in every Congress since 20… Continue Reading
08.10.21
Whitehouse Votes to Pass Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill That Will Invest $1.5 Billion in RI Roads and Bridges
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today voted to approve a nearly $1 trillion investment in upgrading the nation's roads, bridges, transit systems, and water infrastructure. The infrastructure bill passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 69-30. The legislation will send more than $1.5 billion to Rhode Island for highway and bridge repairs over five years. Whitehouse helped secure the highway and bridge funding as a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public W… Continue Reading
08.06.21
Whitehouse & Quigley Introduce Bills to Power Clean Energy Future
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) have introduced two bills aimed at improving the nation's power infrastructure and streamlining the regulatory process to help put the country on the path to a sustainable future. The Streamlining Interstate Transmission of Electricity (SITE) Act and the Advanced Energy Technologies and Grid Efficiency Act would create jobs, stimulate the economy, and advance the transition to clean energy. "Th… Continue Reading
08.06.21
Whitehouse Unveils REDUCE Act to Tackle Plastic Pollution
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of both the Senate Finance and Environment and Public Works Committees, has introduced legislation to create a powerful new incentive to recycle plastic, and to help end the flood of plastic waste that is overwhelming vital ecosystems and threatening public health. Whitehouse's Rewarding Efforts to Decrease Unrecycled Contaminants in Ecosystems (REDUCE) Act would impose a 20-cent per pound fee on the sale of new, or "virgin", plastic u… Continue Reading
08.06.21
Whitehouse, Wicker Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Crack Down on State-Sponsored Doping
Washington, DC - Today, Helsinki Commissioner Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) along with Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) introduced the Guaranteeing Oversight and Litigation on Doping (GOLD) Act. The bipartisan, bicameral bill would enable a doping fraud violation of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act to also activate charges under the U.S. criminal anti-money laundering… Continue Reading
08.06.21
Whitehouse Joins President Biden for Signing of Executive Order Setting Ambitious Target for Electric Vehicle Transition
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, yesterday afternoon joined President Joe Biden at the White House for the signing of an Executive Order setting an ambitious new target for getting vastly more electric vehicles on the road. The Executive Order aims to make half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero-emission vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or fuel cell electric vehicles… Continue Reading
