Press Releases
Whitehouse Leads Senators in Defending EPA Watchdog
Washington, DC - Ten Senators led by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are calling for Senate appropriators to protect funding for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) in-house watchdog, which helps to ensure the agency carries out its function of protecting public health and the environment. The Senators ask leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies in a letter to maintain current funding levels for the EPA Office of Inspector General. The… Continue Reading
12.07.17
Whitehouse Statement on Franken Resignation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on Senator Al Franken's (D-MN) decision to resign from the Senate: "Senator Franken made the right choice to step down. I applaud him and thank him. He is right that we are having an important conversation right now about the equal treatment of women in every part of our society. We have a long way to go in combatting these problems, but holding everyone to a high standard-including public servants-is an impo… Continue Reading
12.07.17
Whitehouse, Booker, Menendez Reintroduce Bill to Hold Polluters Responsible for Cleanup of Superfund Sites
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced a bill to hold polluters responsible for the cleanup of contaminated Superfund sites in New Jersey and across the country. The Superfund Polluter Pays Restoration Act of 2017 reinstates the excise tax on polluting industries to pay for the cleanup of Superfund sites, relieving taxpayers of the expense. It also … Continue Reading
12.06.17
EPA Responds to New England Members of Congress on Silencing of Scientists
Washington, DC - With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acknowledging fault, a group of federal lawmakers offered a forceful warning today never to repeat a troubling incident earlier this fall. In October, the EPA withdrew its scientists from an important workshop on the health of Narragansett Bay and the threats posed by climate change and other environmental factors. After a group of New England members of Congress demanded an explanation, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt responded wi… Continue Reading
12.06.17
Markey, Whitehouse and Harris Lead Call to Protect Strong Fuel Economy Standards
Washington (December 6, 2017) - Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), members of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today led a group of 24 Senators in calling on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to not weaken light-duty vehicle emissions standards for model 2022 through 2025 and strenuously object to revisiting emissions standards for model year 2021, which were never supposed to be part of the EP… Continue Reading
12.06.17
Whitehouse Statement on Senator Al Franken
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement calling for Senator Al Franken (D-MN) to resign: "Given what we have learned in recent weeks, I expect Senator Franken to step aside." ###… Continue Reading
12.05.17
Senators Press DOJ Leaders on Trump Tweets Aimed at Influencing Justice Department
Washington, DC - Following a pattern of President Donald Trump's tweets apparently intended to direct the work of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Senators are asking top Department leadership what they are doing to safeguard the Department's operations and prosecutions from Oval Office influence. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Al Franken (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) posed their questions in letters sent to Deputy Atto… Continue Reading
12.05.17
Senators Request GAO Study of Trump Changes to Key Measure of Carbon Pollution Cost
Washington, DC - Seven Senators have asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the governments' method for calculating the social cost of carbon-the measure of long-term damage done by carbon pollution-after the Trump administration dramatically reduced estimates of the costs of climate change in recent actions. Using a lower estimate for the social cost of carbon could allow the administration to undermine a range of environmental regulations by exaggerating the compliance co… Continue Reading
12.04.17
Whitehouse & Reed Urge FCC Chairman Pai to Delay Vote Rolling Back Net Neutrality Rules
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and 25 of their colleagues sent a letter today to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, expressing concern over reports that bots impersonating Americans filed hundreds of thousands of phony comments to the FCC during the net neutrality policymaking process. The Senators are strongly urging the Chairman to delay the planned December 14 vote to roll back net neutrality rules unti… Continue Reading
12.02.17
Whitehouse Statement on Senate Passage of TrumpTax
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on the passage of Republicans' tax proposal: "TrumpTax is a scam. Tonight, while most Americans were sleeping, Senate Republicans voted to hike taxes on millions of middle-class families to pay for tax cuts for President Trump and his billionaire friends. This so-called 'tax reform' moves our nation in the wrong direction by every measure: it will send more American jobs overseas, increase health insurance pre… Continue Reading
12.01.17
Whitehouse Statement on Flynn Guilty Plea, Cooperation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, released the following statement on former National Security Advisor General Michael Flynn's guilty plea for lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about his contacts with a top Russian official, as well as Flynn's cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller: "As we learned at our subcommittee hearing in May, General Flynn made a false statement to the … Continue Reading
11.30.17
Whitehouse, Baldwin Introduce Amendment to Prevent Tax Windfalls for Trump Administration Billionaires
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has introduced an amendment to Senate Republicans' tax proposal that would help to prevent President Donald Trump's enormously wealthy cabinet nominees from ducking millions of dollars in taxes. The amendment would limit a tax provision that allows executive branch and judicial appointees to defer paying taxes on profits from assets they sell to comply with ethics rules. The amendment is based on Whitehouse's No Windfalls for Government Servic… Continue Reading
11.30.17
Whitehouse Introduces Buffett Rule Amendment to Tax Proposal
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has introduced an amendment to Senate Republicans' tax proposal that would institute the Buffett Rule to prevent America's top earners from paying lower tax rates than middle-class families. The amendment, based on Whitehouse's Paying a Fair Share Act, would ensure that multi-million-dollar earners pay at least a 30 percent effective federal tax rate. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the legislation would provide nearly $50 billion in… Continue Reading
11.30.17
Whitehouse, Cartwright Introduce Bill to Protect Natural Resources from Climate Change
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA) introduced a bill today to protect the country's wildlife and natural resources from climate change. Building on existing federal, state, and local efforts, Whitehouse and Cartwright's Safeguarding America's Future and Environment (SAFE) Act would establish an integrated national approach to ongoing and expected effects of extreme weather and climate change. "Responsible management of natural resources… Continue Reading
11.28.17
Whitehouse to Budget Republicans: TrumpTax Would Devastate Economy, Explode National Debt to Benefit Big Donors
Washington, DC - This afternoon, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) delivered a forceful statement in opposition to the Senate Budget Committee's vote to advance a budget resolution that paves the way for major tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, while raising taxes on many middle-class families. "Instead of doing our job as the Budget Committee and recommending policies to address the $20 trillion national debt, today's exercise was to rubber-stamp partisan legislation that … Continue Reading
11.17.17
Whitehouse & Reed Warn Trump Tax Plan Sells Out Seniors & Redirects Tax Dollars to Corporate Interests & Ultra Wealthy
CRANSTON, RI -- Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse held a press conference in Cranston with senior advocates from LeadingAge RI to warn that the Republican tax plan will victimize seniors, retirees on fixed incomes, and people with high medical bills. And Senate Republicans' latest scheme to pay for corporate tax giveaways is to repeal the individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which will drive up health care costs, spike premiums, and increase the number of … Continue Reading
11.16.17
Whitehouse Bill to Protect Servicemembers and Veterans from Foreclosure Headed to President’s Desk
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's (D-RI) bill to extend vital foreclosure protection to servicemembers and their families cleared Congress today as part of the fiscal year 2018 defense authorization bill and now heads to the President's desk to be signed into law. Whitehouse's legislation extends through 2019 the one-year grace period protecting servicemembers leaving active duty from foreclosure. "When men and women of our armed forces return home, they ought to have a chance to … Continue Reading
11.16.17
Whitehouse, Kaine Introduce Bill to Help Forgive Student Loans for Public Service Workers
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced a bill today to fix a glitch in a federal loan forgiveness program that can leave teachers, soldiers, social workers, and other public servants with massive loan balances they thought would be forgiven after years of payments. Whitehouse and Kaine's legislation would relieve a significant financial burden for middle-class families who sought to use the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) program, whic… Continue Reading
11.16.17
Whitehouse Statement on Allegations Made Against Senator Franken
Washington, D.C. - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today issued the following statement in response to the recent allegations made against Senator Al Franken: "Allegations of sexual assault or harassment by any member of Congress, like those against Senator Franken, must be taken seriously and investigated fully by the Ethics Committee."… Continue Reading
11.16.17
Whitehouse, Collins, Carper Request GAO Review of Air Quality Monitoring Networks
Washington, DC - Today, a bipartisan trio of Senators from states that cope with cross-state air pollution requested a review of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) operation of the nation's air quality monitoring networks. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Tom Carper (D-DE) asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for a top-to-bottom review of the EPA's air quality monitoring work, including a look at whether the networks yield enough good-quality da… Continue Reading
