Press Releases
Reed & Whitehouse Statement on District Court Judge William E. Smith Taking Senior Status
PROVIDENCE, RI - Today, after Judge William E. Smith, 63, announced his intention to take "senior status" on the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, starting January 1, 2025, upon the confirmation of his successor, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse congratulated him on his years of service on the federal bench. Senior status allows federal judges who have reached certain age and years of service requirements to voluntarily take a reduced number of cases. Judge Sm… Continue Reading
06.28.23
Whitehouse, Colleagues Continue Fight to Improve Mental Health Services for Students
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined colleagues to reintroduce the Mental Health Services for Students Act, which would strengthen school-based mental health services for students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The legislation would also help schools in Rhode Island and nationwide partner with local mental health providers to establish on-site mental health services for students. The bill would provide training for school personnel on how to recognize, ass… Continue Reading
06.27.23
Whitehouse Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Support Aquaculture Farmers and Harvesters
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to uplift and support aquaculture and aquaculture farmers and harvesters. The Sustaining Healthy Ecosystems, Livelihoods, and Local Seafood (SHELLS) Act will create a program office for aquaculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to bolster shellfish harvesters and seaweed farmers, protect food security, and promote blue carbon ecosystems. "Shellfish farming is a pillar of … Continue Reading
06.26.23
Marking Dobbs Anniversary, Whitehouse Releases Episode Three of “Making the Case” Podcast, Shining Light on Decades-Long Right-Wing Project to Overturn Roe
Episode three available now on Spotify and Apple Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, today released episode three of his new podcast, Making the Case, breaking down the long effort by right-wing activists and Republican-appointed justices to dismantle reproductive freedom in America. The third episode of Making the Case is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. "The Dobbs decision that shredd… Continue Reading
06.23.23
New $25M RAISE Grant for RIDOT to Pave Way for Third Phase of Route 37 Improvements
CRANSTON, RI -- New federal money is on the way to help accelerate improvements along Route 37, a heavily-trafficked corridor linking two cities and Interstates 95 and 295. Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Seth Magaziner announced a new $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant for the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) to fund multimodal improvements on Route 37. This new federal funding wil… Continue Reading
06.23.23
Reed, Whitehouse & Magaziner Deliver $13.5 M to Expand RIPTA Bus Service & Grow Its Hybrid Electric Bus Fleet
WASHINGTON, DC - The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) is charging ahead to a cleaner energy future and accelerating efforts to enhance its public transit network thanks to $13.5 million in new federal funding secured by U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Seth Magaziner. This week, Rhode Island's Congressional delegation helped secure $8,492,000 through a federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) grant to allow RI… Continue Reading
06.22.23
Whitehouse Releases Episode Two of His Podcast “Making the Case” to Expose Operators Behind Far-Right Scheme to Capture the Supreme Court
Episode two available now on Spotify and Apple Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, today dropped episode two of his new podcast, Making the Case, breaking down the right-wing operators and phony front groups behind the effort to capture the Supreme Court for Republican billionaires and big special interests. The second episode of Making the Case is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. "Whil… Continue Reading
06.22.23
Ahead of Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Being Overturned, Whitehouse Joins Colleagues to Protect the Right of Women to Cross State Lines to Seek Abortion Care
Washington, D.C. - Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Democratic colleagues to reintroduce the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act. As states across the country continue to attack women's freedoms, this legislation would block anti-choice states from penalizing travel for abortion services and empower the Attorney General and impacted individuals to … Continue Reading
06.21.23
Whitehouse, Risch, Wilson, and Phillips Lead Introduction of Bill to Improve Sanctions Enforcement
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and James Risch (R-ID) and Representatives Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Dean Phillips (D-MN) today introduced the Sanctions Evasion Whistleblower Rewards Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would protect national security by offering rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of sanctions evaders. "Our bipartisan bill will incentivize the sharing of information to help apprehend dangerous Russian oligarchs," said Whiteho… Continue Reading
06.21.23
Reed, Whitehouse & Magaziner Help Secure $2.6M for Block Island State Airport
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to enhance safety and aircraft operations at Block Island Airport, U.S. Senators Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Seth Magaziner today announced that the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) has been awarded nearly $2.6 million in federal funding for upgrades to Block Island State Airport (BID). The state-owned airport offers a 2,500-foot runway (known as Runway 10 for planes approaching from the west, or as Runway 28 if a plane is coming in for lan… Continue Reading
06.21.23
Whitehouse Statement on Explosive ProPublica Report on Justice Alito’s Free Alaskan Fishing Trip Planned by Leonard Leo and Paid for by Billionaires
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, today released the following statement after another bombshell report published by ProPublica exposed that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito accepted a free Alaskan fishing vacation and private jet travel from a right-wing billionaire with business before the Court. ProPublica also reported that Leonard Leo, the orchestrator of right-wing influence campaigns around the Supreme Court, atten… Continue Reading
06.21.23
Following ProPublica Report Regarding Justice Alito, Durbin & Whitehouse Announce Markup in Senate Judiciary Committee on Supreme Court Ethics Reform Legislation During Next Work Period
WASHINGTON - 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, today released the following statement regarding a ProPublica report that alleges that Justice Samuel Alito accepted and failed to disclose a luxury fishing vacation with GOP billionaire Paul Singer who later had cases before the Court: "The Supre… Continue Reading
06.15.23
Whitehouse Applauds UN Effort to Root Out Fossil Fuel Lobbying from Global Climate Summits
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement after the United Nations (UN) announced that it will require all delegates attending Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to disclose their affiliation with fossil fuel companies and other corporations: "The fossil fuel industry's fingerprints were everywhere at the last COP, the world's best shot … Continue Reading
06.15.23
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
