Press Releases
Senators Reintroduce “Buffett Rule” Legislation
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led a group of 16 Senators in introducing legislation to require America's top earners to pay a fair share in taxes. The Paying a Fair Share Act would help ensure that multi-million-dollar earners pay at least a 30 percent effective federal tax rate, and would generate over $70 billion in revenue over ten years. The bill is one of three "tax fairness" measures Whitehouse is introducing today, which he hope… Continue Reading
01.12.15
Whitehouse Releases Tax Fairness Plan
Providence, RI - With President Obama and Republican leaders in Congress citing tax reform as a key area for bipartisan cooperation in the new year, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today announced that he will introduce three bills to make the federal tax system fairer for middle-class families and small businesses. The package would end tax breaks and loopholes that benefit multi-national corporations and the highest earners, and is projected to generate over $300 billion in revenue ove… Continue Reading
01.09.15
Sen. Whitehouse Urges State Department to Reject Keystone XL Pipeline
Washington, DC - Today, just hours after a Nebraska court decision upheld a state law allowing the Governor to approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route through the state, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to reject the overall project. The decision on the pipeline, which must ultimately be made by the State Department because it crosses an international border, had been delayed while the Nebraska court case played out. … Continue Reading
01.06.15
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on the Death of Jim Baron
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the following statement regarding the death of Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call reporter and columnist Jim Baron: "Jim was a unique figure watching Rhode Island politics. He brought to it a keen political mind and a gift for writing. I send my condolences to Jim's family and his colleagues at the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket Call." ###… Continue Reading
12.23.14
RI Health Care Leaders Send Reform Recommendations to Raimondo and General Assembly Leaders
Providence, RI - A broad coalition of Rhode Island health care leaders - from providers to insurers to academia - have developed recommendations on how the state can improve care and lower costs. The group, which was convened by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Rhode Island Foundation President Neil Steinberg, today sent a letter to Governor-elect Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Nick Mattiello, and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed laying out specific recommendations on payment reform, trac… Continue Reading
12.18.14
Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change Applauds Administration’s New NEPA Guidance
Washington, D.C. - Today the White House Council on Environmental Quality reissued its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Guidance on Consideration of the Effects of Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Under the proposed guidance, federal agencies would assess greenhouse gas emissions associated with proposed federal actions that are subject to NEPA review. Last year, the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change encouraged the Administration to finalize its NEPA guidance as part o… Continue Reading
12.17.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Changes in U.S.-Cuba Policy
Washington, DC - Today the Obama Administration announced a series of changes to our nation's policies regarding Cuba, including an effort to re-establish diplomatic relations and expanded travel between the two nations. The Administration also announced the humanitarian release of Alan Gross, an American who had been imprisoned in Cuba since 2009. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who traveled to Cuba with a congressional delegation in 2013 whose leaders met with Gross, issued the follo… Continue Reading
12.17.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Tax Extenders Vote
Washington, DC - Last night the U.S. Senate passed legislation to extend a number of expired tax provisions. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined eight Democrats and eight Republicans in opposing the package. "The so-called 'tax extenders' package includes the one-year extension of a hodgepodge of over four dozen tax provisions. This extension is not for the year ahead of us, as one might reasonably expect, but rather for the year that's mostly past us. In other words, we will be extendi… Continue Reading
12.16.14
Senate Oceans Caucus Co-Chairs Urge Fishing Community to Submit Comments on New Pirate Fishing Regulations
Washington, D.C. - Today, President Obama's Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud announced new recommendations to combat practices that harm American fishermen. The recommendations include strengthening enforcement tools to combat IUU fishing and seafood fraud, and creating a tracking program to ensure that illegal seafood products are kept out of the U.S. supply chain. With the Task Force now seeking public comments on its recommendatio… Continue Reading
12.14.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Government Funding Vote
Washington, DC - Last night the U.S. Senate passed legislation to continue funding the federal government through the end of the fiscal year. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding the vote: "This legislation accomplishes the bare minimum needed to avert a government shutdown, but it also includes provisions to further degrade our campaign finance laws, to allow government bailouts for banks engaged in risky trading, and to cut retirement benefits for ove… Continue Reading
12.12.14
Congress Passes Whitehouse Bill to Protect Servicemembers from Foreclosure
Washington, DC - The House and Senate have both unanimously approved legislation by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) to protect servicemembers from foreclosure. The measure will extend until January 2016 a provision that ensures troops who serve active duty are protected against losing their home for one year following the completion of their service in the field. The protection was set to expire at the end of this year. "After fighting for our country overseas, our troops shouldn't ha… Continue Reading
12.12.14
Whitehouse Statement on Passage of Defense Authorization
Washington, DC - Today the U.S. Senate passed the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill includes a provision authored by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse requiring the Department of Defense to plan for its cyber security education needs, which will help prepare our military for success in the cyber domain. It also contains several provisions that will directly benefit Rhode Island: it establishes a unit of the National Park System within the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Va… Continue Reading
12.12.14
Senate Approves Bipartisan Bill to Protect Consumers from Steroids
Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved legislation to end a loophole that allows designer anabolic steroids to easily be found online, in gyms, and even in retail stores. The Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act, sponsored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), will help protect consumers from these harmful products by properly classifying them as controlled substances and impose civil penalties for importing, manufacturing, or distributing them… Continue Reading
12.11.14
Sens. Grassley & Whitehouse Introduce Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act
Washington, D.C. - Today U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2014 (JJDPA), which updates and strengthens protections for young people in our criminal justice system and reauthorizes funding for key juvenile justice programs. The JJDPA has not been reauthorized since 2002 despite several attempts in recent Congresses. The Senators' bill maintains protections and programs established i… Continue Reading
12.09.14
Van Hollen to Serve as New Co-Chair of Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change
Washington, DC - Last year, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) founded the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, and have served as the group's lead co-chairs - organizing policy discussions, holding public events, and releasing white papers outlining policy options for the Executive Branch. Now, with Rep. Waxman retiring at the end of this Congress, he and Sen. Whitehouse today announced that Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) will be joining the Task Force as its new l… Continue Reading
12.09.14
Senate Panel Examines Role of Law Enforcement in Campus Sexual Assault Cases
Washington, DC - With some estimates indicating that nearly one in five women experience some form of sexual assault in college but that the vast majority go unreported, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism today held a hearing about the role of law enforcement in campus sexual assault cases. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) chaired the hearing, which examined whether victims of sexual assaults should be encouraged to report their experiences to the police; why victims feel… Continue Reading
12.09.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Declassified Torture Report
Washington, DC - Today the executive summary of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's study of the Bush-era CIA Detention and Interrogation Program was declassified and made available to the public. 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: "After years of effort and millions of documents reviewed, the Senate report at la… Continue Reading
12.04.14
Whitehouse, Blumenthal & Eshoo Renew Push Against Misleading Practices by Outlet Stores
Washington, D.C. - With the holiday shopping season upon us, three Members of Congress are renewing their call for action against misleading marketing practices by outlet stores across the United States. In a letter sent today to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) expressed their "continued concern regarding the use of deceptive reference pricing practices at both online and… Continue Reading
12.02.14
Senators Host Bipartisan Forum on “Collateral Consequences” of Addiction
Washington, DC - Today a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators co-hosted a forum in the U.S. Capitol entitled "Addiction: Understanding the Science and Addressing Collateral Consequences." U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Rob Portman (R-OH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) convened the forum, which featured panel discussions on the science of addiction and the ways in which current laws can create "collateral consequences" for individuals in recovery by establishing barriers t… Continue Reading
12.02.14
RI Arts & Humanities Groups Receive $176,000 in Federal Grants
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced over $176,000 in federal funding for Rhode Island organizations from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). $136,000 in NEA funding will go to five recipients in Rhode Island for theatre productions, research, and instruction and mentorships programming for young people. $40,322 in competitive grants from the… Continue Reading
