Press Releases
Whitehouse, Warren, & Schatz Call on Tech Giants to Follow Through on Pledges to Stop Facilitating Climate Denial
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) are calling on the leaders of two of the nation's largest tech companies to follow through on the public commitments they've made to rein in the widespread climate denial misleading users of their influential platforms. In a letter sent today to the CEOs of Facebook and Google, the Senators urge the platforms to stop profiting from the spread of climate disinformation that is worsening climate c… Continue Reading
12.17.21
New $1.5 Million Federal Grant Will Outfit Hundreds of RI Police with Body-Worn Cameras
WASHINGTON, DC - Rhode Island's Congressional delegation has teamed up with local law enforcement, communities, and the U.S. Department of Justice to help provide frontline patrol officers across the state with body-worn cameras. These cameras help enhance transparency and strengthen community trust and can be an effective tool for increasing police accountability, de-escalating confrontational situations, and improving evidence documentation. Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehou… Continue Reading
12.17.21
First Tranche of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill Funding Lands at RI Airports
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration has delivered the first tranche of funds from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to Rhode Island airports. The FY2022 funding from the infrastructure bill totals just over $9 million, which can be used to upgrade facilities and improve airport operations. The state's airports will receive an estimated $45 mill… Continue Reading
12.16.21
Whitehouse Applauds Biden Orders Tackling Transnational Organized Crime, Narcotics Trafficking, and Illicit Finance
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, applauded the Biden Administration's new executive orders strengthening U.S. efforts to attack transnational organized crime, narcotics traffickers, and those who facilitate related criminal actions, including corruption and money laundering. Whitehouse has urged the administration to integrate strategies to counter money laundering and corruption into America's efforts to counter globa… Continue Reading
12.16.21
Whitehouse, Grassley Call on Treasury to Deploy U.S. Officials with Expertise in Narcotics-Related Finance
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the Chairman and Co-Chairman respectively of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, have sent a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urging the Treasury Department to ensure that its new financial attachés and Foreign Financial Intelligence Unit Liaisons have expertise in narcotics-related finance, in addition to other money laundering issues. "Drug trafficking organizations (DTO… Continue Reading
12.16.21
Whitehouse-Sullivan Provision in Defense Bill Aimed at Cracking Down on Pirate Fishing
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) today announced passage of their maritime security proposal as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which has now cleared Congress and is expected to be signed into law by President Biden. The Senators' amendment requires the Secretary of the Navy to produce a report on maritime security measures related to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. "We need to protect Rhode Island's hard… Continue Reading
12.14.21
AMICUS Act Introduced to Ensure Transparency in Judicial Lobbying
Washington, D.C. - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Representatives Hank Johnson (D-GA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Mondaire Jones (D-NY) today introduced the Assessing Monetary Influence in the Courts of the United States (AMICUS) Act to bring transparency to the lobbying of federal judges by big special interests. The bill would re… Continue Reading
12.13.21
Whitehouse, Cassidy, Colleagues Welcome GAO Trade-Based Money Laundering Report
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report outlining the need for better information sharing and collaboration to combat Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML), the system criminal organizations use to hijack international trade markets to launder money through rule-of-law countries. The practice involves transferring funds through thousands… Continue Reading
12.08.21
Whitehouse Issues Statement on Supreme Court Commission Report
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Courts and a leading critic of special interest influence over the federal judiciary, released the following statement on the draft final report of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, which voted to adopt the draft report on Tuesday: "The final report includes discussion of the weaknesses in transparency and ethics requirements for the justices. I'm … Continue Reading
12.06.21
Whitehouse Cheers Biden Anti-Corruption Strategy with Emphasis on the Fight against Kleptocracy & Illicit Finance
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a leading voice in Washington in the fight against kleptocracy and foreign corruption, welcomed the Biden White House's first-ever United States Strategy on Countering Corruption, which was unveiled on Monday: "The United States is engaged in an escalating clash of civilizations between rule-of-law nations and those governed by kleptocrats and criminals. Corrupt adversaries pillage their own people to enrich themselves, and scheme to undermine… Continue Reading
12.06.21
ICYMI: Whitehouse Publishes Op-Ed Calling for U.S. & Global Partners to Mount a Common Defense against Kleptocracy & Corruption
Washington, DC - With President Biden's Summit for Democracy slated for this week, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) published an op-ed in The Boston Globe today on the need for rule-of-law nations like the United States to mount a common defense against the kleptocrats, autocrats, and criminal networks that threaten democracy. Senator Whitehouse is a recognized leader in the fight against kleptocracy and international corruption. He is the Chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics … Continue Reading
12.03.21
Whitehouse Calls on Financial Action Task Force to Strengthen Key Anti-Money Laundering Proposal
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a leading voice in Washington in the fight against kleptocracy and foreign corruption, urged the Financial Action Task Force to strengthen its proposal to gather important data in the fight against money laundering-a central tool for kleptocrats, autocrats, and criminals in stowing their ill-gotten gains. Whitehouse calls on the intergovernmental anti-money laundering organization to require countries to establish central registries for benefic… Continue Reading
12.01.21
Save Our Seas 2.0 Lead Sponsors Welcome New Academy of Sciences Report on Marine Debris Crisis
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) and Don Young (R-Alaska)-champions of the 2020 Save Our Seas (SOS) 2.0 Act, the most comprehensive marine debris legislation ever-today welcomed a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled "Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste." The report, mandated by the SOS 2.0 Act and sponsored by … Continue Reading
12.01.21
Whitehouse Issues Statement on Oral Arguments in Major Challenge to Abortion Rights
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, released the following statement on oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a direct challenge to women's right to decide whether to continue their pregnancy prior to viability: "Right-wing donors know there's no chance of stripping women's constitutional right to abortion through Congress or the executive branch. That's why… Continue Reading
11.22.21
RIPTA Gets $900,000 Federal Grant to Develop & Advance Transit Solutions for ‘Band of Demand’ Corridor from Central Falls to Warwick
PROVIDENCE, RI - In an effort to improve mass transit in Rhode Island, plan for the future, and support the development of the Metro Providence High-Capacity Transit Corridor, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline secured a new $900,000 federal grant to help the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) develop plans for a transit corridor to connect Central Falls to Warwick via Providence. This High-Capacity Transit Corridor initiat… Continue Reading
11.22.21
Whitehouse Statement on Federal Reserve Selections
Providence, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on President Biden's selection today of Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard to be the Federal Reserve's Chair and Vice Chair respectively. "The Federal Reserve faces the colossal task of guarding our financial system and economy from the systemic financial and economic risks posed by climate change. Myriad financial experts warn that the economic losses stemming from climate change could dwarf the losses of the hous… Continue Reading
11.22.21
Whitehouse and Murkowski Introduce Bill Focused on Blue Carbon Ecosystems
Washington, D.C. - Senate Oceans Caucus Co-Chairs U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have reintroduced the Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act, legislation focused on conserving, restoring, and understanding coastal blue carbon ecosystems. Blue carbon ecosystems-which include mangroves, tidal marshes, seagrasses, and kelp forests-provide a buffer from storm- or wave-driven coastal erosion, improve water quality, and serve as habitat for juvenile fish while also removin… Continue Reading
11.19.21
Whitehouse Cheers House Passage of Build Back Better Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today cheered passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Build Back Better Act. Democrats' signature legislation will make a historic investment in working American families and tackle the climate crisis. "Today's action by the House is an important milestone for Democrats' historic Build Back Better legislation. From here, the Senate will continue to fine tune the bill in consultation with the House so that we can swiftly arriv… Continue Reading
11.19.21
Whitehouse-Merkley Joint Statement Regarding Fed Nominee
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement today regarding the next nominee to chair the Federal Reserve: "Jerome Powell refuses to recognize climate change as an urgent and systemic economic threat. During his tenure, Chair Powell first ignored climate change and then resisted calls for the Fed to use its tools to fight it, arguing that climate change 'is really an issue that is assigned to lots of other government agencies, not… Continue Reading
11.18.21
ICYMI: Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control Holds Hearing on the Nexus between the Illicit Drug Trade and Corruption
Washington, DC - In case you missed it, the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control held a hearing on Wednesday entitled, "The Nexus between the Illicit Drug Trade and Corruption." The hearing, led by Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Co-Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), examined the role and effectiveness of U.S. drug control agencies in addressing corruption associated with the illicit drug trade. For video of the proceedings and prepared witness testimony, click here. Senator Whi… Continue Reading
