Press Releases
In Wake of Cascading Supreme Court Ethics Scandals, Whitehouse Chairs Courts Subcommittee Hearing on his Comprehensive Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act
Washington, DC - Yesterday afternoon, Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) led the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights in a hearing entitled, "Ensuring an Impartial Judiciary: Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023." The hearing examined how Whitehouse's Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act would help restore the American public's sinking trust in the Supreme Court by fortifying regulations regar… Continue Reading
06.14.23
Whitehouse, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Shield Americans from Sky-High Credit Card Interest Rates
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) have introduced legislation to protect Americans from sky-high interest rates for credit cards and other consumer loans. The Empowering States' Rights to Protect Consumers Act would restore states' ability to limit consumer loan interest rates for their residents and help address the record $986 billion Americans hold in credit card debt. "Rhode Is… Continue Reading
06.12.23
Whitehouse Launches “Making the Case” Podcast to Shine Light on Far-Right Scheme to Capture Supreme Court
First episode now available on Spotify and Apple Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Federal Courts, today launched a new podcast series aimed at shining a light on the far-right scheme to remake the Supreme Court in service to shadowy billionaires and big special interests. The first episode of the podcast, Making the Case, is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. "Between the Roberts C… Continue Reading
06.12.23
Whitehouse, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Help Protect RI Shellfish Industry from Damaging Ocean Acidification
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and colleagues from both sides of the aisle to reintroduce the Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act, legislation that will strengthen coordination and collaboration between federal, state, local, and tribal entities on ocean acidification research and monitoring. "Ocean acidification caused by carbon pollution is a major threat to Rhode Island's aquaculture industry and to the overall he… Continue Reading
06.09.23
Whitehouse Statement on Former President Trump’s Indictment by the Justice Department
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging former President Donald Trump with 37 felony counts: "This is the most astonishing of moments, and the most mundane: a man has been charged by a grand jury with a crime. Due process and rule of law are essential American virtues, upon which politics must never … Continue Reading
06.09.23
Whitehouse, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Invest in Blue Economy, Spark Innovation in Coastal Communities
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined colleagues to introduce the Ocean Regional Opportunity and Innovation (Ocean ROI) Act. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a federal strategy for investing in the nation's ocean-based economy through the creation of Ocean Innovation Clusters, which would enhance collaboration, promote innovation, and contribute to the equitable and sustainable growth of the Blue Economy. "T… Continue Reading
06.08.23
On World Oceans Day, Whitehouse and Padilla Introduce Pair of Bills to Reduce Ocean Shipping Emissions
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) today introduced a pair of bills aimed at reducing air pollution created by the global shipping industry. Whitehouse introduced the International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act, new legislation aiming to decarbonize the emissions-heavy maritime shipping industry, prevent the release of criteria air pollutants in port communities, and curb climate change. Senators Padilla and Peter Welch (D-VT) are cosponsor… Continue Reading
06.06.23
Durbin, Whitehouse Statement on Harlan Crow’s Continued Refusal to Provide Key Information Regarding Gifts and Travel Given to Justice Thomas
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, released the following statement after receiving a letter from a law firm representing Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow refusing to share key information regarding gifts and travel given to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The letter… Continue Reading
06.05.23
Reed & Whitehouse Deliver $2 Million to Expand Block Island Health Services
NEW SHOREHAM, RI - In an effort to help expand health care services on Block Island and ensure residents have access to the high level of quality patient care they deserve, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse delivered $2 million in federal funding today to help the Block Island Medical Center advance its renovation and expansion plans. Since 1989, the Block Island Medical Center has served as a primary care facility for island residents and visitors, providing community health care,… Continue Reading
05.31.23
Reed, Whitehouse & Magaziner Announce $500,000 to Support Revitalization of Blighted Colonial Knife Factory into Budding What Cheer Flower Farm
PROVIDENCE, RI - What Cheer Flower Farm in Olneyville has $500,000 more reasons to cheer as it continues to remediate and redevelop a 2.7 acre site in Providence that used to be home to the Colonial Knife factory, but has sat vacant for years. Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Seth Magaziner announced a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant to help What Cheer Flower Farm with the revitalization efforts to cleanup the formerly vacant site and turn it from an eye … Continue Reading
05.24.23
Reed & Whitehouse Help Land Another $9M for Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) has been awarded over $9 million in federal funding for operational upgrades and planning at Rhode Island's T.F. Green International Airport. These two federal U.S. Department of Transportation grants, totaling $9,015,250, will be administered through the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Airport Improvement Program (AIP). This federal funding will be used for… Continue Reading
05.24.23
Reed, Whitehouse, Colleagues Reintroduce Affordability is Access Act
Washington, DC - As extremist Republican state legislatures and right-wing, GOP-appointed judges and justices step up their assault on a woman's right to reproductive freedom, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and 23 of their Senate colleagues to reintroduce the Affordability is Access Act. The bicameral legislation would ensure that women in Rhode Island and across the nat… Continue Reading
05.23.23
Sen. Whitehouse, MEP Aubry Lead Transatlantic Letter Calling for Climate Talks Free of Fossil Fuel Industry Interference
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Member of the European Parliament Manon Aubry today sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell urging the officials to rid COP28 and all future international climate talks of persistent interference from the fossil fuel ind… Continue Reading
05.17.23
Whitehouse Chairs Courts Subcommittee Hearing on Judicial Conference’s Management of 2011 Ethics Complaints Against Justice Thomas
Washington, DC - Today, Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) led the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights in a hearing entitled, "Review of Federal Judicial Ethics Processes at the Judicial Conference of the United States." The hearing examined the Judicial Conference's handling of previous ethics complaints against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas dating back to 2011. "One month ago, Congressman Hank Johnson and I wrote to the Judici… Continue Reading
05.11.23
Whitehouse, Colleagues Reintroduce Legislation to Protect Elections from Interference
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined colleagues to reintroduce legislation to expand protections against election interference during the ballot counting and certification processes. "Election workers are on the frontlines defending our democracy, and deserve to be protected while performing their jobs," said Whitehouse. "Our Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act expands prohibitions on threatening or intimidating election administrators and saf… Continue Reading
05.11.23
Whitehouse Applauds EPA’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today cheered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new regulations on greenhouse gas pollution from coal and gas-fired power plants. "Coal and gas-fired power plants have been given a free pass to pollute for too long, and I'm very pleased to see the EPA take this strong stand today. EPA's proposal will cut down on the emissions driving climate change and protect the public health, especially in downwind states like Rhode Island," s… Continue Reading
05.11.23
Whitehouse, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan College Transparency Act to Improve College Decision-making Process
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined colleagues to reintroduce the bipartisan College Transparency Act, which would provide students and families better information to compare higher education opportunities. The College Transparency Act would modernize the college reporting system for postsecondary data by providing accurate reporting on student outcomes such as enrollment, completion, and post-college earnings across colleges and majors, while protecting the priva… Continue Reading
05.09.23
Whitehouse Urges Judicial Conference to Make Processes More Transparent and Reveal Conference’s Handling of 2011 Justice Thomas Referrals
Washington, DC - Following bombshell reporting by ProPublica and the Washington Post detailing new ethics scandals around the Supreme Court, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to the Judicial Conference urging the body to be more transparent about its procedures for considering potential violations of the law by Supreme Court justices, and to inform the public of how the Judicial Conference resolved past complaints related to Justice Thomas's financial disclosures. In a new le… Continue Reading
05.04.23
Whitehouse Reups Calls for Chief Justice to Investigate and for Congress to Pass SCERT Act After Yet Another Serious Report About Justice Thomas’s Apparent Ethical Failures
Washington, DC - Following yet another ProPublica report on the extraordinary undisclosed financial relationship between Justice Clarence Thomas and Republican billionaire Harlan Crow, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today reiterated his previous calls for the Chief Justice of the United States to investigate ethical misconduct at the Supreme Court and for Congress to pass Whitehouse's legislation to clean up the ethics mess at the Court. ProPublica reported today that Crow covered priva… Continue Reading
05.04.23
Whitehouse, Grassley Press China to Crack Down on Flow of Precursor Chemicals Fueling Illicit Fentanyl Trade
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, today urged China to take strong and decisive action to better control the flow of precursor chemicals that Mexican cartels use to manufacture illicit fentanyl. In a letter to Xu Xueyuan, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington, D.C., Co-Chairmen Whitehouse and Grassley urged China to: Exp… Continue Reading
