Press Releases
Whitehouse Statement on Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment
Washington, DC - The Social Security Administration announced today that monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will rise by 0.3 percent in 2017. The small increase follows no cost of living adjustment (COLA) at all in 2016. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse responded to the announcement with the following statement: "This is an insult to our seniors. For the fifth year in a row, Washington's outdated formula has resulted in zero or next to zero cost of living adjus… Continue Reading
10.17.16
Whitehouse, URI Business Engagement Center Convene RI Textile Innovation Network
Pawtucket, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the University of Rhode Island Business Engagement Center today convened the inaugural meeting of the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network, a trade group formed with support from Whitehouse and the University of Rhode Island Business Engagement Center to guide growth of the state's textile industry in the twenty-first century. "Drawing on Rhode Island's long history as a textile powerhouse, we already have many of the elements in place to lead t… Continue Reading
10.10.16
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Discusses Climate Change in Lone Star State with Leading Texas Scientists
Austin, TX - Today, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) led a panel discussion with leading scientists from Texas universities on their research into climate change and its effects in Texas, and the need for swift action to address the carbon pollution driving climate change. Held at the Capitol in Austin, the panel included researchers from Rice University, Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Texas Tech University. "Experts from Texas's top universities have a … Continue Reading
10.10.16
Senators Urge U.S. Climate Negotiators to Push for Significant Phase Down of Harmful Greenhouse Gas
WASHINGTON, D.C. [10/07/16]-Today, Sen. Whitehouse joined a group of U.S. Senators urged Secretary of State John Kerry and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy to take a strong position to rapidly phase down the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the upcoming negotiations at the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali, Rwanda. HFCs-which are chemicals commonly used for refrigeration, air conditioning, and aerosol propellants-are hundreds to t… Continue Reading
09.28.16
GAO Releases Reports Requested by Whitehouse, Merkley, Menendez on Climate Change & Oceans
Washington, D.C. - This afternoon, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued two reports requested by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) efforts to promote states' coastal resiliency work and to incorporate climate information into its fisheries management decisions. The reports' findings underscore the need for additional funding for projects that help safeguard coastal area… Continue Reading
09.27.16
Whitehouse, Warren, Durbin Introduce Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have introduced legislation to help Americans burdened by the costs of illness or injury. The Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2016 (S. 3385) would make the bankruptcy process more forgiving for those driven to insolvency by health care-related debt or loss of income. "With so many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, unexpected medical costs can quickly spiral into financial emergency. U… Continue Reading
09.27.16
Federal Delegation Applauds Grant to Purchase 250 Body Cameras for Providence Police
U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, today applauded the Department of Justice's $375,000 award to the Providence Police Department for the purchase of 250 body cameras. The cameras will be worn by Providence officers to augment the Police Department's community policing strategy. "This is a smart investment in providing our police officers an additional resource. I am proud of the work our police officers do and this new funding wi… Continue Reading
09.26.16
Whitehouse Joins Providence Police on Patrol in South Providence
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on Friday evening joined a Providence Police patrolman for part of the officer's neighborhood policing shift in South Providence. "I'm grateful to the Providence Police Department for helping to inform my work in Washington by allowing me to ride along," said Whitehouse. "I've done this before in other roles, and it's still important to me to understand the connection local police have with the neighborhoods they serve. I have a longstanding respect for the wo… Continue Reading
09.26.16
Senators Issue Report Revealing Special Interests Behind Challenge to Obama Climate Plan
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Harry Reid (D-NV), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Edward Markey (D-MA) released a report today entitled, "The Brief No One Filed," highlighting the real forces behind the legal challenge to President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report - which is structured as an amicus curiae or "friend of the court" brief but was not filed with the court - demonstrates that the state officials, trade associations… Continue Reading
09.23.16
Whitehouse Statement on the Passing of Henry Shelton
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today released the following statement on the passing of Henry Shelton, the founder of the George Wiley Center: "I am saddened to hear of the passing of Henry Shelton, whose unfailing kindness and commitment to lifting up others are legendary. Henry poured his whole heart into making sure no family returned to a home without heat or to a bare pantry. From his years spent as a Catholic priest, to establishing the George Wiley Center, Henry energetically served h… Continue Reading
09.21.16
Whitehouse Introduces Bill to Check Corporations’ Ability to Hide Public Health & Safety Risks
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced legislation to help protect public health and safety by limiting the use of confidentiality agreements in lawsuits involving health hazards. The Safety Over Secrecy Act would curtail the ability of big corporations to demand as a condition of settlements that plaintiffs never disclose their experiences. "While confidentiality agreements can serve perfectly legitimate purposes, they can also hide information needed to keep t… Continue Reading
09.16.16
RI Delegation Statement on President Obama’s Proposed Marine National Monument
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, with the Obama Administration expected to announce a plan to designate the nation's first marine national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, comprised of two areas encompassing three canyons and four seamounts around 150 miles off the New England coast, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representatives James Langevin (D-RI) and David Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement (embargoed until midnight tonight): "This decision will cr… Continue Reading
09.15.16
Senate Clears Water Resources Bill with Rhode Island Priorities
Washington, D.C. - By a vote of 95-3 today, the Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, which will promote improvements to our waterways, harbors, and drinking water infrastructure and support U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in Rhode Island championed by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, helped to draft the bill, which contains a provision he authored to expand the Army Corps' authority to clean up pil… Continue Reading
09.14.16
Whitehouse, Warren, Reed, Sanders & Merkley Introduce Bill to Protect Consumers from Abusive Lending
Washington, DC - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the Empowering States' Rights to Protect Consumers Act (S. 3321), which would protect consumers by restoring the ability of states to limit credit card and other consumer loan interest rates for their residents. "When Wall Street banks and their credit card subsidiaries take advantage of consumers through astronomically high interest r… Continue Reading
09.09.16
Reed & Whitehouse Press Speaker Ryan for Zika Funding
Washington, D.C. - In a letter sent today, Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse urged House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to bring the $1.1 billion Zika funding legislation passed by the Senate to the House floor for a vote. As of today, there are more than 18,000 cases of Zika reported in the United States and its territories. "Zika is now well established in the United States with cases of local transmission by mosquitoes being reported in multiple areas of Florida, as well as the U.S. terr… Continue Reading
09.08.16
Whitehouse Statement on the Retirement of RI State Police Commissioner Col. O’Donnell
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today released the following statement on the retirement of Rhode Island State Police Commissioner Colonel Steven O'Donnell: "I am grateful to Colonel O'Donnell for his decades of exemplary service protecting the people of Rhode Island. I have had the honor and pleasure to work with Colonel O'Donnell over many years, from running investigations in which he was an undercover operative, to joining Senator Reed in recommending that President Obama … Continue Reading
09.08.16
RI Delegation Calls on FERC to Account for Climate Policies in New England Energy Pricing
Washington, D.C. - Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline sent a letter today to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Norman C. Bay applauding regulators' openness to integrating New England states' climate policies into the region's energy markets and suggesting several ways to incorporate the benefits of carbon-free energy into New England's process for securing reliable, affordable electricity. FERC oversees ISO New England … Continue Reading
09.06.16
Whitehouse, Langevin, Cicilline, & Gorbea Call for Federal Campaign Finance Reform
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, and Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea today called for an end to unchecked corporate spending in elections at a roundtable discussion about federal campaign finance reform. The event, which was held at Save the Bay's headquarters in Providence, was hosted in partnership with Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Public Citizen and Common Cause Rhode Island. The discussion comes in advance of t… Continue Reading
09.02.16
RI Congressional Delegation Announces $160K for Fire Departments in East Greenwich & Portsmouth
EAST GREENWICH, RI - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced over $160,000 in federal funding to help fire departments in East Greenwich and Portsmouth purchase needed safety equipment and enhance training programs. The funding is made available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). The East Greenwich Fire Department will use $88,191 in federal funds to pu… Continue Reading
09.01.16
RI Delegation Announces $2,995,000 for URI Research Expedition to Arctic’s Northwest Passage
Washington, D.C. - Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that the University of Rhode Island (URI), in collaboration with its Inner Space Center, the Graduate School of Oceanography, the film company David Clark Inc., and several other partners, has been awarded funding to support an expedition into the Arctic's Northwest Passage as part of the Northwest Passage Project from the National Science Foundation. URI and its partner… Continue Reading
