Press Releases
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
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
