Press Releases
Whitehouse Statement on Trump Infrastructure Plan
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement on the roll-out of President Donald Trump's infrastructure plan in Ohio today: "Donald Trump's 'plan' amounts to doling out our roads, airports, ports, and bridges to corporations and private investors and leaving cities and towns to clean up the nation's infrastructure mess. That's not a real plan. There is clear bipartisan agreement in Congress … Continue Reading
06.07.17
In Letter to DeVos, Senators Call Out Phony Science Materials Sent to Teachers Nationwide
Washington, D.C. - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) wrote to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos today to highlight bogus materials sent by the Heartland Institute, a group with a long record of climate denial, to more than 300,000 public school science teachers across the country. Heartland's 11-minute DVD and 135-page book, which are made to look like typical curriculum materials for science teachers, are explicitly desi… Continue Reading
06.07.17
Senators Call on Pruitt to Explain Icahn’s Role in Shaping RFS
Washington, D.C. - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have written to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt requesting any information on investor Carl Icahn's role in crafting policy and regulations at the EPA, particularly with regard to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Senators have repeatedly asked top Trump administration officials to explain the billionaire invest… Continue Reading
06.07.17
Whitehouse Statement on Selection of Christopher Wray for FBI Director
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on President Donald Trump's selection of Christopher Wray to serve as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation: "Christopher Wray knows the Justice Department, is not a politician, and has a background in federal law enforcement. Those were my minimum qualifications for the next Director. Mr. Wray will need to demonstrate that he has the necessary respec… Continue Reading
06.07.17
Whitehouse Delivers Tenth Annual Speech on the Burning of the Gaspee
Washington, DC - As Rhode Island prepares for the annual Gaspee Days celebration this weekend, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse yesterday evening delivered his tenth annual speech on the floor of the Senate to recall the story of the bold Rhode Islanders who stood up to the British and burned the HMS Gaspee in 1772. Whitehouse takes to the Senate floor every year to recognize the Gaspee Affair for its role in sparking the American Revolution, as it took place more than eighteen months before the… Continue Reading
06.06.17
Whitehouse Applauds Rhode Islanders’ Commitment to Paris Accord
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today released the following statement applauding Rhode Island leaders and institutions that have recommitted to the Paris Agreement in the wake of President Trump exiting the accord: "While President Trump has abandoned the Paris accord, Rhode Islanders are stepping up to say 'we're still in.' Roger Williams University and Brown University, Governor Raimondo, Treasurer Magaziner, and Providence Mayor Elorza have committed to keeping up the figh… Continue Reading
06.05.17
Reed, Whitehouse Host Conversation on Future of College Affordability & Importance of Preserving Pell Grants
WARWICK, RI - In an effort to address the issue of college affordability and make the student financial aid process more efficient for working families, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today hosted a conversation at CCRI's Knight Campus on the future of federal financial aid. While a college education has become more important for many jobs, it is increasingly harder for families to afford tuition bills without incurring massive amounts of debt. Topics at the forum included maki… Continue Reading
06.02.17
Woonsocket Wins Over $377,000 in Federal Fire Safety Grants
WOONSOCKET, RI -- Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, along with Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, announced $377,055 in federal funding to help the Woonsocket Fire Department purchase needed safety equipment. The funding is made available by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG). The federal funds be used to replace 54 outdated self… Continue Reading
06.02.17
Whitehouse Statement on Return of C.I.A. Torture Report to Congress
Washington, DC - Today, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration is returning to Congress copies of the 2014 Senate report on the Bush-era Central Intelligence Agency's detention and interrogation program. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a former member of the Intelligence Committee who was involved in the preparation of the report and who has advocated for its declassification, released the statement below: "When I served on the Senate Intelligence Committee, my colle… Continue Reading
06.01.17
Whitehouse Statement on U.S. Withdrawal From Paris Climate Agreement
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Climate Action Task Force, released the following statement on President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change: "Donald Trump and his children said just a few years ago that climate change was 'irrefutable' and its consequences 'catastrophic and irreversible.' They were right. There is no denying the growing threa… Continue Reading
05.31.17
RI Delegation Announces $925k for Remediation & Development
PROVIDENCE, RI - Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced $925,000 in federal funding to help Central Falls, Providence, and Woonsocket clean and redevelop contaminated former industrial sites. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Brownfields Program provides states and local communities with funding to safely inspect and clean up contaminated sites so that they may be used in redevelopment projects. This round… Continue Reading
05.25.17
Whitehouse Brings Stories of RI’s Opioid Crisis to Senate Floor
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today took to the Senate floor to share the stories of Rhode Islanders whose lives have been turned upside down by the opioid crisis gripping states across the country, putting a national spotlight on the need for resources to curb addiction to save lives. Whitehouse is one of a bipartisan group of senators led by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) who shared stories of addiction in the their home states on the floor this afternoon. A video of Whitehous… Continue Reading
05.25.17
Money Laundering Bill Targets Terrorists, Tax Evaders, Cartels & Crooks
WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein, along with Senators John Cornyn and Sheldon Whitehouse, today introduced legislation that modernizes and strengthens criminal laws against money laundering - a critical source of funding for terrorist organizations, drug cartels and other organized crime syndicates. The Combating Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing, and Counterfeiting Act of 2017 updates criminal money laundering and counterfe… Continue Reading
05.25.17
Whitehouse, Senators Reintroduce Legislation to Help Students Burdened by Debt
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Al Franken (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) reintroduced legislation to help address America's student debt crisis. The Fairness for Struggling Students Act would once again allow privately issued student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy, giving them the same treatment as nearly all other f… Continue Reading
05.24.17
Whitehouse Statement on CBO Trumpcare Score
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) score of Republicans' American Health Care Act, which CBO reports would "increase the number of people who are uninsured by 23 million in 2026 relative to current law": "It's no surprise the Republicans' health care bill would cause millions of Americans to lose their health coverage. House Republicans … Continue Reading
05.23.17
Senators Demand Explanation of White House Attempt to Block Ethics Waiver Disclosure
Washington, DC - If the White House succeeds in blocking the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) from discovering who has received waivers of President Donald Trump's ethics pledge, we will get it ourselves, said a group of Senators in a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney today. Their letter comes in response to Mulvaney's request to "stay" OGE's collection of information on executive branch ethics waivers, which previous presidents made public as a matter of c… Continue Reading
05.23.17
Whitehouse Statement on Trump Budget
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement on President Donald Trump's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2018: "This budget is reckless, plain and simple. The President proposes massive cuts to Medicaid, breaking yet another campaign promise. He seeks to decimate the federal government's central command in the battle against the opioid crisis affecting communities from Burrillville to Westerly. He pursues tens of … Continue Reading
05.22.17
Whitehouse Statement on Trump Request That Coats and Rogers Push Back on Russia Investigation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on news from the Washington Post that President Donald Trump asked Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Admiral Michael Rogers to push back on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election: "This is yet another data point in a more and more intricate pattern of attempts to dis… Continue Reading
05.19.17
Whitehouse Marks 25th Anniversary of RI Workers’ Compensation Reform
Providence, RI - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse this morning joined representatives of the Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court for a breakfast marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of Rhode Island's successful 1992 workers' compensation reforms. Whitehouse had a key role in crafting the sweeping reforms as director of the Department of Business Regulation under the late Governor Bruce Sundlun. A transcript of Whitehouse's remarks at the event is below. In January of 1991, readers… Continue Reading
05.18.17
Whitehouse Statement on Rosenstein Briefing
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's briefing of the Senate on matters related to the firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey today: "Congress has a constitutional oversight role separate from the Department of Justice's role prosecuting crimes. Special counsels don't change that. "Today the Deputy Attorney General acknowledged that con… Continue Reading
