Press Releases
Whitehouse Urges Parents to Take Full Advantage of Expanded Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
Washington, D.C. - This tax filing season, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is encouraging Rhode Islanders to be sure to take advantage of the expanded Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which is bigger and will provide support for more families this year thanks to the American Rescue Plan. The American Rescue Plan increased the credit substantially for 2021 - up to $4,000 for one qualifying dependent and $8,000 for two or more qualifying dependents. The credit is also refundable, meaning a fil… Continue Reading
03.03.22
Joint Statement from Senators Menendez, Sullivan, Whitehouse on the UN Environment Assembly’s Establishment of Committee to Tackle Global Plastic Pollution
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the three lead sponsors of the enacted Save Our Seas (SOS) 2.0 Act, issued the following joint statement on the United Nations Environment Assembly's approval of formal negotiations on a new international agreement to combat plastic pollution: "The approval of negotiations for a new international treaty on plastic polluti… Continue Reading
03.03.22
Whitehouse Offers Amendment to Shift USPS to Zero-Emission Fleet
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Tom Carper (D-DE) today introduced an amendment to the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 that would prohibit the United States Postal Service (USPS) from purchasing non-zero-emission vehicles. The USPS fleet makes up about one third of all government vehicles. Last month, the EPA and the White House Council on Environmental Quality warned USPS that the agency's current plan to replace its mass… Continue Reading
03.02.22
Whitehouse Calls for American Leadership in the Global Fight against Kleptocracy and International Corruption
Washington, D.C. - As Vladimir Putin and his corrupt regime engineers an invasion of the sovereign and peaceful nation of Ukraine, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) delivered remarks on the Senate floor on the need for rule-of-law societies to crack down on the gaping loopholes that kleptocrats like Putin use to hide their ill-gotten gains in democratic countries and free-market financial systems. "America is engaged in a growing clash of civilizations against this brand of corrupt leadership; … Continue Reading
03.01.22
Whitehouse Issues Statement on State of the Union Address
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following statement on President Biden's State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress tonight: "Tonight, the President delivered a hopeful, clear-eyed report. I appreciated his salute to the bravery and grit of the Ukrainian people standing up against a brutal and corrupt dictator. I share the President's pride in the strength of the transatlantic alliance, and in America's global leadership in this moment of great c… Continue Reading
03.01.22
Bob Billington, Head of Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, to Join Whitehouse as Virtual Guest for State of the Union
Washington, DC - Bob Billington, President of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, will virtually join U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse for President Biden's State of the Union address this evening. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council received a $918,124 grant last year from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, which was created by Democrats' American Rescue Plan. The grant allowed the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council to safely reopen its popular Polar Express Train Ride in downtown … Continue Reading
02.28.22
Whitehouse Calls on SCOTUS to Reject Polluter “Project” to Tear Down Clean Air Act Authority
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on today's oral arguments in West Virginia v. EPA, the Supreme Court case challenging the EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. "This trumped-up challenge is one prong of a massive, anonymously-funded influence campaign by the fossil fuel industry. Those industry forces are pushing reverse-engineered legal doctrines to torpedo public health and environmen… Continue Reading
02.28.22
Whitehouse Renews Call for Major Emissions-Reducing Legislation After UN Details Dangers Climate Change Poses to Humanity
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today issued the following statement after the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a sweeping report on the dangerous effects of rising global temperatures and the disasters that lay ahead if nations fail to quickly slash emissions: "The United Nations is blasting out science's alarm to the world, making crystal clear that we have only a narrow window for action to lead the planet to safety. That narrow window requi… Continue Reading
02.28.22
Senators Urge FERC to Stop Utility Companies from Making Captive Ratepayers Foot the Bill for Polluter Lobbying
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to protect ratepayers from footing the bill for utility trade association's political influence activities. Under FERC's current regulatory accounting and financial reporting system, the Uniform System of Accounts (USofA), utility companies can bill ratepayers to cov… Continue Reading
02.25.22
Whitehouse Responds to Ruling Upholding the Harmful Texas Two-Step Bankruptcy Maneuver
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, responded to a New Jersey judge's ruling permitting Johnson & Johnson's talc claims subsidiary to continue a bankruptcy process known as the "Texas Two-Step"-a maneuver used by corporations to evade tort liabilities and make it more burdensome for tort plaintiffs to recover. "Today's ruling greenlights a maneuver to help bi… Continue Reading
02.25.22
Whitehouse Statement on Inhofe Retirement
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement upon the announcement of the retirement of Senator James Inhofe (R-OK): "In the strange ways of the Senate, Jim Inhofe was perhaps my worst foe on climate change issues, yet a key ally on my oceans and infrastructure measures. When he's decided to push for something, he's had an astounding ability to get it done. I wish him well in his retirement."… Continue Reading
02.25.22
Whitehouse Welcomes Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, released the following statement on the nomination of D.C. Circuit Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court upon the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer: "Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a thoroughly qualified nominee. She will bring to the Court a wealth of experience, a sharp legal mind, and a … Continue Reading
02.24.22
Whitehouse Statement on the Passing of Former General Treasurer Anthony Solomon
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today issued the following statement on the passing of former General Treasurer Anthony Solomon: "I'm sorry to hear of the passing of my friend, former General Treasurer Anthony Solomon. As a neighborhood pharmacist in Olneyville, and through his many years in state government, Anthony served his community with compassion and skill. He was also one of the great hands-on political campaigners of his time - no one could 'work a room' better than An… Continue Reading
02.24.22
Whitehouse Condemns Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on the unprovoked invasion by Russian military forces on the nation of Ukraine: "Dictator Putin has now launched a full-scale invasion of Russia's democratic sovereign neighbor. This unprovoked, bloody assault on a peaceful nation is an attack on the international order created after World War II to promote peace among nations. It is also an attack on democracy itself, and autocrats around the world are watching… Continue Reading
02.23.22
Biden signs Bill to Name Slatersville Post Office After Fallen Soldier Spc. Matthew Turcotte
WASHINGTON, DC - A fallen Rhode Island soldier who was killed in the line of duty is being honored with a U.S. Post Office being renamed after him. President Joe Biden has now signed a bill into law naming the U.S. postal facility located at 42 Main Street in Slatersville, Rhode Island, as the "Specialist Matthew R. Turcotte Post Office." Turcotte, of North Smithfield, was killed in August of 2017 during a live-ammunition training exercise at Fort Carson in Colorado while serving with the 2nd … Continue Reading
02.22.22
Whitehouse Condemns Unprovoked Russian Attack on Ukraine
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on the unprovoked attack by Russian military forces on the nation of Ukraine: "Without provocation, Putin has attacked a peaceful, democratic nation to expand his corrupt power. Russia's warrantless aggression demands a swift and forceful response from the NATO alliance, with each member doing their part to hold Putin accountable. It is an enormous test of our resolve - but one I expect we will pass. "I was ple… Continue Reading
02.22.22
Whitehouse Urges Stronger Transparency for Real Estate Transactions
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) submitted a comment to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) calling on the Department to safeguard America's rule-of-law financial system by codifying and strengthening the disclosure requirements in the current Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) for all-cash real estate transactions conducted through shell companies. "The United States is engaged in a 'clash of civilizations' between rule-of-law nations and t… Continue Reading
02.21.22
Joint Statement from Congressional Delegation to Munich Security Conference
Washington, DC - Members of the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives participating in the bipartisan Congressional Delegation to the Munich Security Conference (MSC) today released this statement. "It now appears increasingly likely that Russian forces will initiate hostilities against a free and peaceful Ukraine. We as a bipartisan delegation will bring home the same unity and resolve we have seen among our Atlantic allies against Russian aggression. We pledge to wor… Continue Reading
02.17.22
Whitehouse Co-Chairs Bipartisan Delegation to 2022 Munich Security Conference
Washington, D.C. - Against a backdrop of rising tensions in Eastern Europe, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) this evening set off for Munich, Germany to join hundreds of world leaders and international security decisionmakers at the annual Munich Security Conference. Whitehouse and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are leading a delegation of more than two dozen members of Congress to the world's major global forum for the discussion of security policy. Whitehouse has served as the Democr… Continue Reading
02.17.22
Whitehouse, Grassley, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen the U.S. Criminal Code against Money Laundering
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Combatting Money Laundering, Terrorist Finance and Counterfeiting Act of 2022. Their bipartisan legislation modernizes and strengthens criminal money laundering statutes by giving federal law enforcement the tools it needs to keep pace with emerging techniques that criminals use to conceal and transport dirty money. "Criminal e… Continue Reading
