Press Releases
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on President’s Address to the Nation
Washington, DC - Tonight President Barack Obama laid out a strategy for combatting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) during a live address to the nation. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding the President's plan: "After a decade of war, I share the concerns of many Rhode Islanders about further military engagement, but I also share their alarm over the rising influence of ISIL and their horror over the brutal tactics used by these extremis… Continue Reading
09.04.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds the Million Comments Calling on SEC to Require Corporations to Disclose Political Spending
Washington, DC - Today it was announced that one million comments have been sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urging the Commissioners to require publicly-traded corporations to disclose their political spending to shareholders. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the lead sponsor of the DISCLOSE Act, released the statement below regarding this strong call for campaign finance transparency: "Secret money has no place in elections, period. I'll continue fighting to pass t… Continue Reading
09.04.14
Reed and Whitehouse Hear from Rhode Islanders about Student Debt Crisis
Newport, RI - With the U.S. Senate expected to consider legislation next week which would lower student loan payments for millions of Americans, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse today held a discussion with students, financial aid experts, and community leaders at the Community College of Rhode Island's (CCRI) Newport campus to hear from Rhode Islanders who are concerned about the growing student debt crisis. The Senators heard from working Rhode Islanders who are struggling to pa… Continue Reading
09.03.14
Reed, Whitehouse & Cicilline Announce $250,000 in ACA Support for Community Health Center in East Providence
Providence, RI - Today U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman David Cicilline announced a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration to support improvements to facilities at the East Bay Community Action Program's (EBCAP) Family Health Center in East Providence. The grant comes as part of nationwide Affordable Care Act (ACA) funds to help health centers that have achieved the patient-centered medica… Continue Reading
08.27.14
Whitehouse Presents Medals to WWII Veteran in Providence
Providence, RI - Today U.S. Senator Sheldon presented medals and awards to World War II Navy veteran Raymond J. Mahon at Saint Elizabeth Court assisted living residence in Providence before Mahon's family and friends. Mahon, a long-time Cranston resident, served aboard the USS Ancon during World War II, earning a number of military honors that he never received. Whitehouse helped Mahon and his family to navigate the process of procuring the medals. "World War II veterans answered their count… Continue Reading
08.20.14
Whitehouse Hosts Conversation on RI’s Real Estate Market
Pawtucket, RI - On Wednesday morning in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Pawtucket, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse toured recently sold properties, and led a conversation with Rhode Island realtors, homebuyers, and housing advocates on conditions in the real estate market and how to give Rhode Islanders a fair shot at owning an affordable home. During the tour, Whitehouse visited properties that Pawtucket nonprofit Blackstone Valley Community Action and local realtors have marketed and sold to fir… Continue Reading
08.14.14
Reed, Whitehouse & Langevin Announce $772,000 in Funding for Firefighters in Warwick & Johnston
Providence, RI - Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Langevin today announced over $772,000 in federal grant funding for fire departments in Warwick and Johnston to upgrade fire safety, training, and communications equipment. The Members of Congress supported the towns' successful grant applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funding comes from FEMA's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG), which is designed to help fire departments and… Continue Reading
08.07.14
Whitehouse and McCain Visiting Vietnam
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam for the first leg of a trip to Southeast Asia with Senator John McCain. They will continue traveling in the region in the days ahead. "Vietnam is a key strategic partner for United States in Asia, and I look forward to meeting with top officials here to discuss issues of shared concern," said Whitehouse. "I'm also honored to travel again with Senator McCain. His time as a prisoner in Vietnam and his subsequent eff… Continue Reading
08.01.14
Sens. Whitehouse & Reed Host Conversation With Minority Business Owners About Job Growth
Providence, RI - Today, during a luncheon at El Macuto Restaurant on Broad Street, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed led a conversation with Rhode Island minority business owners about what they need to grow their businesses and create jobs in their communities. Senator Whitehouse organized the luncheon and invited Rhode Island Senator Juan Pichardo, Rhode Island Representative Grace Diaz, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Rhode Island Director Mark Hayward, Rhode Island Dep… Continue Reading
07.31.14
Sen. Whitehouse Brings Rhode Island Guest to Criminal Justice Event at White House
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Teny Oded Gross, Executive Director of the Providence-based Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, were among the participants today at a roundtable discussion about criminal justice reform hosted by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder at the White House. The discussion, which was held in the White House's Roosevelt room, focused on how to best reform the nation's criminal justice system in ways that both lower costs and … Continue Reading
07.30.14
Senate Republicans Filibuster Bill to Bring Jobs Home to America
Washington, DC - Today Senate Republicans filibustered the Bring Jobs Home Act, killing the legislation on a procedural vote. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a cosponsor of the bill, released the statement below regarding the failed vote: "Today Senate Republicans voted to preserve a tax loophole that rewards companies for sending jobs overseas, and declined to support companies that bring jobs back to America. That might make their big business allies in the Chamber of Commerce happy… Continue Reading
07.30.14
Judiciary Committee Examines the Effect of Gun Violence on Women in America
Washington, DC - Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled "VAWA Next Steps: Protecting Women from Gun Violence." With American women more than ten times more likely to be murdered with a gun than women in other industrialized countries, the hearing examined whether changes to federal law could help to better protect women from gun violence. U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) chaired the hearing, and started things off by sharing the story of Rhode Islander Carmen Cruz,… Continue Reading
07.29.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Senate Approval of Highway Bill
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the statement below today regarding the Senate's vote to approve a short-term extension of federal highway funding: "Rhode Island needs a long-term highway bill to create jobs and make our roads and bridges safer. This bill comes up short, but I voted for it to avoid a highway funding shutdown that would cripple our economy and cost jobs. Today we've missed an important opportunity to make a real investment in our nation's infrastructu… Continue Reading
07.29.14
EPW Subcommittee Hearing Highlights Effects of Climate Change on American Communities
Washington, DC - Today, as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began a series of public hearings on its proposed Clean Power Plan and the White House released a new report on the economic costs of climate change, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse chaired a Senate hearing to examine the costs of failing to act on climate change. While opponents of EPA's Clean Power Plan argue that it constitutes a "war on coal," Whitehouse's hearing demonstrated the harm that fossil fuels are already inflicting on c… Continue Reading
07.29.14
Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Council of Economic Advisers’ Report on the Cost of Failing to Act on Climate Change
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding today's report on "The Cost of Delaying Action to Stem Climate Change" from the President's Council of Economic Advisers: "The Council's report reminds us that the American people will pay a price if we fail to act on climate change-pay in storm-damaged homes, lost crops, failing fisheries, and other costs. Many of us in Congress are committed to getting our Republican colleagues to wake up and stop… Continue Reading
07.22.14
Bipartisan Forum in U.S. Capitol Highlights Issues Facing Women Struggling with Addiction
Washington, DC - Today a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators co-hosted a forum in the U.S. Capitol to examine the unique challenges posed to women suffering from addiction. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) convened the forum, which featured input and analysis from advocates, doctors, researchers, and women in recovery. Studies have shown that women with histories of trauma are at a much higher risk for mental health problems and s… Continue Reading
07.22.14
Whitehouse Fighting for Legislation to Bring Jobs Home from Overseas
Washington, DC - Today U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mark Pryor (D-AK), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for a press conference in the U.S. Capitol to call for the passage of the Bring Jobs Home Act. The bill, which Whitehouse has cosponsored, would end tax giveaways for companies that send jobs overseas and provide a new tax cut for companies that bring jobs back to America. The bill is scheduled for a procedural vo… Continue Reading
07.21.14
Whitehouse Presents Medals to WWII Veteran in Coventry
Coventry, RI - Today U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Rhode Island Representative Lisa Tomasso presented medals and awards to World War II veteran Anthony D'Abrosca at Coventry Town Hall before D'Abrosca's family and friends. D'Abrosca, a Coventry resident, served in the Army's 38th Infantry Division in the Philippines and Japan during World War II, earning a number of military honors that he never received. Whitehouse and Tomasso helped to secure delivery of the actual awards. "It was a… Continue Reading
07.18.14
Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Administration’s Approval of Seismic Testing on Eastern Seaboard
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below today regarding the announcement by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that it will allow seismic testing for oil and gas along the eastern seaboard: "I'm disappointed that the Administration is allowing seismic testing on the eastern seaboard. Our coastal economies rely on clean and safe beaches and vibrant ocean habitats. Not only will the use of sonic cannons stress whales, turtles, and fish already unde… Continue Reading
07.18.14
Whitehouse, Chafee, Langevin & Cicilline Highlight Threat to Jobs & Safety Posed by Potential Highway Shutdown
Narragansett, RI - Today, as Congress considers extending funding for critical road and bridge projects across the country, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Governor Lincoln Chafee, and U.S. Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline joined Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Michael Lewis to tour Narragansett's Great Island Bridge, which RIDOT has rated "functionally obsolete" and in immediate need of replacement. If Congress fails to act, the Highway Trust Fund could … Continue Reading
