Press Releases
Senators Demand Answers from Dourson Ahead of Committee Vote
Washington, DC - Today, 10 Senators demanded to know how a still-unconfirmed nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) toxics office is already at work at the EPA. Last week, the EPA admitted that the nominee, chemical industry consultant Michael Dourson, has been serving as an "adviser to the administrator." The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has yet to even vote on Dourson; his nomination for Assistant Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Polluti… Continue Reading
10.19.17
Whitehouse, Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan Prison Reform Bill
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced the Corrections Oversight, Recidivism Reduction, and Eliminating Costs for Taxpayers In Our National System (CORRECTIONS) Act, which is based on successful criminal justice reforms from states like Rhode Island and Texas that have lowered recidivism rates, reduced crime, and saved taxpayer dollars. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is an original cosponsor of the legislation. "Rhode Island succeeded in helping mo… Continue Reading
10.19.17
Senators Perdue, Whitehouse Force Senate To Acknowledge Broken Budget Process
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators David Perdue (R-GA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), both members of the Senate Budget Committee, made the following statement on their bipartisan amendment to the FY2018 budget: "Only four times in the past 43 years has this budget process actually funded the federal government. Finding common ground to develop a real budget should be a bipartisan effort, and that's why we're fighting to fix it." ###… Continue Reading
10.19.17
Whitehouse Condemns Passage of Republican Budget
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement on the fiscal year 2018 budget that cleared the Senate this morning by a vote of 51-49: "This sham budget tees up massive tax cuts for big corporations and the ultra-rich, like President Trump and his cabinet. For eight years under President Obama, Republicans carried on about the national debt, but now they're using a partisan shortcut to run up enormous debt fo… Continue Reading
10.17.17
Judiciary Democrats Call on DOJ to Produce Documents That May Show Coordination with Trump Voter Fraud Commission
Washington, DC - Recently revealed court records suggest the Department of Justice coordinated with President Donald Trump's Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which has sought sensitive voter roll data on the majority of the voting public and conducted highly partisan hearings based on discredited allegations of voter fraud. Today, all Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee signed a letter, led by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), pushing the Justice Department to produc… Continue Reading
10.17.17
Ahead of Vote in EPW Committee, Trump Picks for Top EPA Posts Claim Total Ignorance on Critical Issues
Washington, DC - With votes on their nominations slated in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday, two of President Donald Trump's nominees to fill top leadership positions at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are claiming no knowledge of some of the most pressing issues they would confront if confirmed. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) remarked on the apparent ignorance reflected in written responses from Michael Dourson, nominee to run the Office of Chemical S… Continue Reading
10.15.17
Reed and Whitehouse Announce Nearly $2.4 Million for Community Development and Affordable Housing in Rhode Island
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to revitalize local neighborhoods and increase affordable housing throughout the state, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today announced that Rhode Island will receive a total of $2,365,802 in federal aid from several programs, including $1,928,805 from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, $330,974 from the Home Investment Partnership (HOME) program, and $106,023 from the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program. Each program is admini… Continue Reading
10.13.17
Whitehouse Statement on Trump ACA Sabotage
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the recent string of executive orders and other actions by the Trump Administration to undermine the Affordable Care Act, including terminating cost-sharing reduction payments that help to lower out-of-pocket health care costs for Americans: "This isn't a reality TV show; this is Americans' health care. It's clear the President … Continue Reading
10.13.17
Whitehouse Statement on Decertification of Iran Deal
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following statement regarding President Donald Trump's decision not to re-certify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program, entered into by Iran, the United States, and five other world powers in 2016: "Decertifying our deal to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a step toward a more dangerous world. If the President continues down this path, he will undermine the credibility and good faith we… Continue Reading
10.11.17
Whitehouse, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Curb Sales of High-Capacity Gun Magazines
Washington, D.C. - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has joined Democratic Senate colleagues in introducing the Keep Americans Safe Act, commonsense public safety legislation banning the importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of gun magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition and are designed for shooting en masse. In what is now the deadliest mass shooting in American history, 59 people were killed and 527 injured after a gunman opened fire on Las Vegas concert-go… Continue Reading
10.11.17
Senators Expect Sessions to Answer Questions on Conversations with Trump
Washington, DC - When Attorney General Jeff Sessions comes before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week, members expect him to answer the questions he dodged earlier this year regarding his conversations with President Donald Trump. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Al Franken (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) wrote to Sessions today regarding his non-res… Continue Reading
10.10.17
Whitehouse Statement on Clean Power Plan Repeal
Washington, DC - Today, 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 the Trump Administration's opening of a process to replace the Clean Power Plan: "Not long ago, Donald Trump and his children called climate change 'scientifically irrefutable' and its consequences 'catastrophic' and 'irreversible'. Yet today, Donald Trump's fossil fuel industry lackey,… Continue Reading
10.06.17
Whitehouse Statement on President Trump’s Birth Control Rollback
Providence, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today issued the following statement regarding President Trump's new rule allowing employers to opt out of providing birth control coverage to women as part of their health insurance plan: "Women should be able to make their own health care decisions regardless of where they work. The Affordable Care Act advanced women's rights by recognizing that birth control ought to be fully covered by insurance. President Trump's new rule is a step backwards, p… Continue Reading
10.06.17
Whitehouse Speaks Out on Kobach Plan to Narrow Important Voter Protections
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reacted today to newly unsealed documents related to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, led by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Among the documents is a memo by Kobach, the Commission's Vice Chairman, which advocates for weakening vital voter protections under the National Voter Registration Act, including allowing states to seek new "proof of citizenship requirements" for voters. "… Continue Reading
10.05.17
Rhode Island College Wins $1.1 Million U.S. Department of Education Grant
WARWICK, R.I. - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced a $1.1 million U.S. Department of Education grant for Rhode Island College (RIC) to provide opportunities for disadvantaged students to pursue doctoral studies. The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement grant will be distributed over a five-year period to help low-income, first-generation college students prepare for graduate school. The McNair program is one … Continue Reading
10.05.17
Whitehouse Introduces Bills to Close Gun Loopholes, Prevent Mass Shootings
Washington, D.C. - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) this week joined his Democratic colleagues to introduce two measures that would close loopholes in firearms laws and protect Americans from gun violence in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in the nation's history. "Protecting the American people from another horrific event like what happened in Las Vegas should be a top priority of every member of Congress," said Whitehouse, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. "And yet, crim… Continue Reading
10.05.17
Whitehouse, Senators Reintroduce Bipartisan Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform Package
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has joined a bipartisan group of senators to reintroduce the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 to recalibrate prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, target violent and career criminals, and save taxpayer dollars. The legislation permits more judicial discretion at sentencing for offenders with minimal criminal histories and helps inmates successfully reenter society, while tightening penalties for violent criminals and pr… Continue Reading
10.04.17
Whitehouse Slams “Sham” Budget, Calls for Overhaul of Budget Process
Washington, DC - As the Senate Budget Committee begins consideration of Republicans' fiscal year 2018 budget today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) condemned the proposal as a means to force through trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy using a partisan fast-track process. He also urged his colleagues to reform the budget rules to facilitate bipartisan debate and real solutions to address the $20 trillion national debt. If the budget coming before the panel passes, Whitehouse said… Continue Reading
10.03.17
Whitehouse Leads Helsinki Commission Hearing on Shell Corporations & Authoritarian Regimes
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) chaired a hearing of the Helsinki Commission to examine the European Union's (EU) beneficial ownership transparency provisions and its success in limiting the use of shell corporations as a vector for authoritarian regimes' influence in Europe. "Starting a shell corporation in this country can be easier than getting a library card," said Whitehouse. "The United Kingdom has already implemented its own transparency law. The light of tra… Continue Reading
10.03.17
McCain, Whitehouse Issue Joint Statement Calling on SCOTUS to End Hyper-Partisan Gerrymandering
Washington, DC - With the Supreme Court hearing oral arguments in Whitford v. Gill today, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, issued the following statement urging the Court to help end hyper-partisan gerrymandering: The American people do not like gerrymandering. It leaves them feeling powerless and discouraged; that their votes are wasted and voices silenced. They see it rigging our political system to favor speci… Continue Reading
