Press Releases
Whitehouse Joins Bipartisan Call for Permanent Expansion of Telehealth Beyond COVID-19 Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has joined U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and a bipartisan group of 29 senators in calling for the expansion of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic to be made permanent. Previous COVID-related legislation allowed Medicare beneficiaries to utilize telehealth services, and freed up more types of health care providers to provide telehealth for the first time. Those measures are set to expir… Continue Reading
06.16.20
RI Wins Landmark $65 Million Federal Grant to Overhaul Route 146
Providence, RI - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) has been awarded a landmark $65 million federal grant to overhaul Route 146. The Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grant, also known as an INFRA Grant, will fund the replacement of multiple bridges along the Route 146 corridor, the reconfiguration of the interchange at Sayles Hill Road, and the repaving of… Continue Reading
06.12.20
Reed & Whitehouse Call on Trump Admin to Simplify PPP Loan Forgiveness
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to make it easier for Rhode Island small businesses to apply for federal loan forgiveness, U.S. Senators Jack reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today joined all 45 of their Democratic and Independent Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza calling for urgently needed improvements to streamline and simplify the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness applicat… Continue Reading
06.12.20
Senators Introduce Bill to Combat Impacts of Climate Change
WASHINGTON, DC- Surrounding Capitol Hill Ocean Week, Senate Oceans Caucus co-chairs U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today introduced legislation focused on protecting and utilizing blue carbon. The Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act highlights the habitats that continue to remove carbon out of our atmosphere, helping to combat the impacts of climate change. Blue carbon refers to carbon dioxide that is naturally captured and stored by the world's ocean and coastal e… Continue Reading
06.10.20
Whitehouse, Reed Call for Federal Support for Local Chambers of Commerce and Tourism Boards During COVID-19 Crisis
Washington, D.C. - With small businesses in need of local chambers of commerce and tourism initiatives more than ever, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jack Reed (D-RI) are calling on Senate leaders to amend the CARES Act to allow small 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations to participate in the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program. Organizations that would become eligible for a forgivable federal loan to cover payroll and overhead expenses during the CO… Continue Reading
06.10.20
Whitehouse Presses Antitrust Head for Answers on Politicized Investigation of California Fuel Economy Agreement
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is pressing Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, who leads the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, for complete answers about the origins of the Trump administration's now-closed and highly political antitrust investigation into California's agreement with four automakers on vehicle emissions standards. The antitrust investigation was launched in close succession with tweets from President Trump attacking California's vehicle emi… Continue Reading
06.09.20
Reed & Whitehouse Urge Trump Admin to Crack Down on Unemployment Scammers & Help Protect Americans from Being Exploited by Overseas Crime Rings
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to protect taxpayers, crack down on criminals, and prevent bogus bank transfers from wiring hundreds of millions of dollars to fraudulent accounts, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are urging the Trump Administration to step up efforts to identify, halt, and prosecute unemployment insurance (UI) fraud and claw back stolen funds. Since March, 42.7 million people -- including over 200,000 Rhode Islanders -- have filed applications for unem… Continue Reading
06.09.20
Whitehouse Marks 248th Anniversary of Gaspee Raid with Virtual Retelling
Washington, D.C. - On this the 248th anniversary of the night bold Rhode Island colonists set the British Royal Navy's HMS Gaspee ablaze on Narragansett Bay, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is teaming up with Pawtuxet Rangers Commanding Officer Col. Ronald Barnes for a virtual retelling of the story of the Gaspee Affair. While the burning of the Gaspee was one of the events that helped spark the American Revolution, it remains relatively unknown outside Rhode Island. The Gaspee Affair took pla… Continue Reading
06.05.20
Reed & Whitehouse: Trump’s Latest Environmental Rollbacks Could Generate More Money for Lawyers Than Fishermen
PROVIDENCE, RI -- U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today issued the following joint statement in response to the Trump Administration's announcement that it is removing environmental protections for national marine monuments in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New England: "If President Trump had done his job and taken the threat of COVID-19 more seriously, our fishermen and our nation would be better positioned to weather this pandemic. Once again, President Tr… Continue Reading
06.04.20
Whitehouse Applauds PPP Fixes, Calls for Simplification of Loan Forgiveness Process for Small Businesses
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today applauded Senate passage of legislation to better align the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) with the needs of small businesses, and called for additional changes to the program to simplify the loan forgiveness process for small borrowers. The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act now awaits the President's signature to be signed into law. "Congress has taken a significant step to fine-tune the Paycheck Protection Program t… Continue Reading
06.04.20
Whitehouse Marks Moment of Silence for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse this morning gathered with members of the Senate Democratic Caucus at the U.S. Capitol for a moment of silence to commemorate the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and to stand in solidarity with Americans peacefully objecting to racial injustice across the country. "Our country is at a crossroads. A nation reeling from a pandemic and an economic catastrophe that have disproportionately affected communities of color is mo… Continue Reading
06.04.20
Growing Climate Solutions Act set to be introduced in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Braun (R-IN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will introduce the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which will break down barriers for farmers and foresters interested in participating in carbon markets so they can be rewarded for climate-smart practices. The bill has the support of the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, McDonald's, Microsoft, and ove… Continue Reading
06.02.20
Whitehouse Statement on Overnight Events in Providence
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse this morning issued the following statement on the events that happened in Providence overnight: "I am heartsick to see the destruction of small businesses in downtown Providence and attacks on police officers working to contain a dangerous situation. Nobody has a right to inflict violence, which only serves to drown out the message of lawful protestors. We must hold the people who organized this riot accountable and help rebuild what was broke… Continue Reading
05.29.20
Whitehouse Statement on Overnight Events in Minneapolis
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today issued the following statement on the death of George Floyd and overnight events in Minneapolis, Minnesota: "A nation already grieving the tragic death of George Floyd woke up this morning to news of a black journalist arrested, a police station in embers, and a Commander in Chief who winks at white nationalism threatening black protestors with violence. The President is on a mission to divide us, but we must not turn away from one another… Continue Reading
05.27.20
As COVID-19 Death Toll Reaches 100,000 in U.S., Whitehouse Joins Call for National Moment of Silence to Honor the Lives Lost
Washington, D.C. - As the nation mourns the 100,000 Americans who have tragically lost their fight to COVID-19, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is announcing legislation introduced with U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that pays tribute to the victims of the pandemic, including more than 600 Rhode Islanders, with a moment of silence at noon on Monday, June 1, 2020. "We all mourn for the lives taken b… Continue Reading
05.22.20
U.S. Senators Seek to Help Save RI’s Independent Music Venues
WASHINGTON, DC - As concert venues around the country have shuttered to help prevent the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are teaming up with U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Tom Carper (D-DE) and 39 colleagues in calling on Congress to help save locally-owned, independent concert venues - and the hundreds of thousands of employees that staff them - from going out of business. "Rhode Island is an arts-centric community that… Continue Reading
05.22.20
Reed & Whitehouse: Children’s Hospitals & Health Providers Need Urgent Financial Assistance to Survive Pandemic
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are teaming up with Tina Smith (D-MN) in leading the charge for dedicated funding for children's hospitals in the next novel coronavirus (COVID-19) federal emergency response package. The Senators penned a letter with 19 colleagues noting that hospitals serving children cannot continue to sustain the expected $10 billion in losses in the next several months and are pressing Senate leaders to include relief specifical… Continue Reading
05.22.20
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
