Press Releases
RI Receives $2.1 Million in Federal Funds to Stem Opioid Crisis
Providence, RI - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced $2,167,000 in federal funding for Rhode Island's Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) to stem the opioid epidemic claiming the lives of dozens of Rhode Islanders every month. The federal funding is the result of $485 million in grants nationwide that was authorized by Congress last year in the 21st Century Cures Act and… Continue Reading
04.21.17
Members of Congress Raise Ethics Concerns about Deputy White House Counsel
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Conn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today sent a letter to Stefan Passantino, Deputy White House Counsel and Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO), questioning his previous financial connections to Carl Icahn, as well as other Trump Administration officials, and the resulting … Continue Reading
04.20.17
Senators Question Steve Bannon, White House Ethics Official on Violations of Trump Ethics Pledge
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), today raised questions about reported communications between Steve Bannon, Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to President Trump, and his former employer, Breitbart News. In letters addressed to Mr. Bannon and Stefan Passantino, the designated agency ethics official for the White House, the senators asked for clarification on recent reports det… Continue Reading
04.20.17
Senators Call on Trump to Disclose Ethics Waivers and White House Visitor Logs
Washington, D.C. - Amidst reports of lobbyists, lawyers, and consultants from a range of industries shaping federal policy and coming and going from the Trump administration with ease, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Tom Carper (D-DE), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are calling on President Donald Trump to reveal who has been allowed to side step his administration's ethics pledge and why, and who is visi… Continue Reading
04.14.17
Senators Question Timing of EPA Action Following Industry Meeting
Washington, D.C. - Senators are calling on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt to reveal what he discussed with members of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA)-an oil and gas industry-funded group that Pruitt once led-just days before Pruitt unilaterally withdrew an EPA information request that oil and gas companies have called burdensome. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Edward Markey (D-MA) wrote to Pru… Continue Reading
04.14.17
Whitehouse, Murray, Wyden Call on GAO to Study State Tax Credit Vouchers for Private Schools
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review tax credit vouchers that states use to subsidize private school tuition. The request comes as the Trump Administration, led by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, is championing a $20 billion federal school privatization program potentially modeled on state tax credit voucher programs. Recent reports have called into question the ef… Continue Reading
04.10.17
Whitehouse, Reed, Langevin, Avedisian Highlight Coastal Infrastructure Needs
Warwick, RI - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed, Congressman Jim Langevin, and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian today joined statewide planning and public safety officials at Conimicut Point Park in Warwick to call for increased federal investment in Rhode Island's coastal infrastructure. In the event of a 100-year storm, projections by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council show the sole access road to Warwick Neck would be underwater, effectively turning the neighborh… Continue Reading
04.07.17
Reed, Whitehouse & Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Allow Commonsense Regulation of Fracking
WASHINGTON, DC - This week, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse joined nine of their Democratic colleagues in reintroducing the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act in an effort to increase environmental protections for communities located near where natural gas drilling takes place. "Fracking" is shorthand for high-pressure, high-volume horizontal fracturing, and involves a process that injects a mixture of large quantities of pressurized fluid, gas, sand,… Continue Reading
04.07.17
Whitehouse Statement on Military Strikes in Syria
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on President Trump's authorization of military strikes in Syria Thursday night: "We have witnessed yet another atrocious act by the Assad regime against its own people, and we are called to conscience. Last night's military action in Syria met my standards for responding to atrocity: a limited action; with a clear objective; that is not the beginning of American 'boots on the ground' military operations." … Continue Reading
04.06.17
Whitehouse and Cicilline Introduce Bill to End Tax Incentive for Offshoring Jobs
Washington, DC - Today Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced a bill to keep jobs in America. Their Offshoring Prevention Act would eliminate a tax break for companies that send jobs overseas, level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers, and reduce the budget deficit by billions of dollars. "Companies shouldn't receive a tax benefit for sending jobs overseas and putting Rhode Island manufacturers at a disadvantage," said Whitehouse, who first int… Continue Reading
04.06.17
Whitehouse Statement on Republicans’ Use of ‘Nuclear Option’
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on Senate Republicans' decision to change longstanding Senate rules to pave the way for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch: "The President set the Senate on this unfortunate path when he selected a Supreme Court nominee off a list put together by conservative special-interest front groups, instead of a bipartisan nominee in line with the beliefs o… Continue Reading
04.06.17
Whitehouse Bill Would Deliver $170 Million to Repair Bridges, Create Jobs in RI
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Angus King (I-ME) in introducing legislation that would deliver up to $170 million to repair Rhode Island's crumbling bridges and create construction jobs. The Strengthen and Fortify Existing Bridges Act (SAFE Bridges) would establish a program to provide funding specifically dedicated to repairing and replacing the more than 56,000 bridges across the country… Continue Reading
04.05.17
Bipartisan Save Our Seas Act Advances from Commerce Committee
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) thanked the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee today for unanimously passing their bipartisan Save Our Seas Act, which would help address the global marine debris crisis affecting coastal ecosystems and communities in Rhode Island and across the country. Upon approval of the bill in the Commerce Committee, Senators Sullivan and Whitehouse sat down to discuss the ramifications of ocean debris for Rhod… Continue Reading
04.05.17
Whitehouse, Doggett Introduce Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, introduced legislation to limit the ways corporations can game our tax system by moving jobs and assets abroad. The bill would close a number of tax loopholes, eliminate incentives for U.S. companies to move assets and operations offshore, and make it harder for companies to shirk their tax bill… Continue Reading
04.04.17
On Equal Pay Day, Murray, Reed, & Whitehouse Introduce Paycheck Fairness Act of 2017
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to protect Americans from wage discrimination and eliminate the gender gap in U.S. workers' pay, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today joined with U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) in reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act. This legislation would help strengthen federal pay equity laws and ensure equal pay for equal work. Today is the national observance of Equal Pay Day - the point in the year when an average American woman would have… Continue Reading
04.03.17
Whitehouse Votes ‘No’ on Gorsuch, Urges Consensus Supreme Court Nominee
Washington, DC - Today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) voted against reporting to the full Senate the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and called on the President and Senate Republicans to find a nominee who can win broad, bipartisan support. The Committee voted 11-9, along party lines, to advance Gorsuch's nomination. Whitehouse also implored the Majority to avoid changing long-standing Senate rules to confirm such a controversial nomi… Continue Reading
03.31.17
Senator Whitehouse Delivers Weekly Democratic Address
Washington, DC - As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to vote on President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch on Monday, Judiciary Committee member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) delivers the Weekly Democratic Address on what we have learned about Gorsuch - and what we have not. Whitehouse discusses the effect of unlimited, secret political spending-or "dark money"-on our political system since the 2010 Citizens United decision, and how this dark money has propped up Gorsu… Continue Reading
03.31.17
Reed, Whitehouse Seek to Rescind President Trump’s Anti-Climate Executive Order
WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to mitigate potentially devastating effects of climate change, preserve clean energy jobs, reduce pollution, and decrease dependence on foreign energy sources, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have joined with Michael Bennet (D-CO) and more than 30 of their Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to rescind President Trump's executive order to dismantle the Clean Power Plan (CPP) and reverse several landmark U.S. initiatives to reduc… Continue Reading
03.31.17
As Health Care Debate Shifts, Senators Reed and Whitehouse Join New Effort to Bring Down Prescription Drug Prices
Washington, DC - In the wake of Congressional Republicans' failed attempt to rip health coverage away from millions of Americans, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have joined Al Franken (D-Minn.) and a key group of Senate Democrats to launch a major push to improve the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by bringing down the skyrocketing price of prescription drugs. "Prescription drug costs are out of control," said Senator Reed. "Too many Rhode Islanders tell me they can't a… Continue Reading
03.30.17
Whitehouse, Feinstein, Durbin, Franken, Blumenthal, Hirono Call on Gorsuch and Dark Money Group to Disclose Secretive Backers
Washington, DC - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) wrote to Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and the dark money group backing his nomination, the Judicial Crisis Network, calling on them to reveal who has spent $17 million on Gorsuch's nomination fight. The Senators want answers before Gorsuch's confirmation vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. "Because t… Continue Reading
