Press Releases
Whitehouse Sounds Alarm about Ethics Gaps Exposed by Whitaker
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, renewed his request that the Department of Justice Inspector General investigate the Department's procedures for assessing conflicts of interest of senior political appointees like former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker. In a letter sent today, Whitehouse writes that the Department's ethics officials appear to have stopped well short of gathering the necessary information about Whitaker's co… Continue Reading
02.25.19
Democrats Call for Investigation of Top EPA Officials’ Role in Reversing Enforcement Position
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), along with Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE) and House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), have asked the Acting Inspector General of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate whether EPA officials William Wehrum and David Harlow helped reverse the agency's position in a major enforcement action to favor a client of their former law firm. Wehrum and Harlow, Assist… Continue Reading
02.19.19
Whitehouse Calls Out Major Gap between Inland and Coastal States on Key Water Resource Funding
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has submitted an official comment with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers condemning the major disparity between inland and coastal states when it comes to flood and coastal storm damage reduction funding. The Corps has spent between 19 and 120 times more on inland versus coastal funding over the past ten years, Whitehouse notes. Given that roughly 40 percent of the U.S. population lives in coastal counties, and those coastal counties suppo… Continue Reading
02.15.19
Reed, Whitehouse Reintroduce Public Health Care Option
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have reintroduced the State Public Option Act, bicameral legislation to create a Medicaid-based public health care option to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by providing Americans with a new high-quality, low-cost choice when purchasing health insurance. "I want Rhode Islanders to have affordable choices when it comes to health care and prescription drugs," said Senator Reed. "The State Public Option Act is … Continue Reading
02.15.19
Whitehouse Co-Chairs Bipartisan Delegation to 2019 Munich Security Conference
Providence, RI - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) this evening will set off for Munich, Germany to join more than 450 world leaders and international security decision-makers at the annual Munich Security Conference. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Whitehouse will co-chair a delegation that includes 17 members of Congress. Whitehouse has served as the Democratic lead for the Congressional delegation to the annual conference since 2013, originally at the invitation of the late Senator John … Continue Reading
02.15.19
Whitehouse Applauds Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Avoid Shutdown, Slams Trump’s Artificial ‘Emergency’
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today applauded Senate passage of a spending bill to avoid another funding lapse for the federal agencies affected by President Donald Trump's recent government shutdown and to secure important investments in bolstering coastal communities for climate change, treating addiction, and infrastructure upgrades. At the same time, Whitehouse slammed President Trump's intention to declare refugees legally seeking safety at the southern border a "natio… Continue Reading
02.14.19
Whitehouse, King Introduce Innovative Bill to Help Consumers Save on Natural Gas
Washington, DC - Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced a bill today to encourage natural gas utilities and companies to launch demand response programs, a well-established model that rewards consumers for reducing energy use. The legislation would leverage states' success in implementing demand response pilot programs that have proven highly effective. In addition to the potential cost savings, demand response programs can guard against price spikes and reduce the… Continue Reading
02.14.19
Whitehouse Statement on Barr Confirmation
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the Senate's confirmation today of William Barr to be U.S. Attorney General: "Vague assurances from a skilled lawyer like Mr. Barr that evaporate under close questioning just don't cut it. He had plenty of chances to commit to upholding the interests of the American people and the Justice Department over the political interests of the president. Instead, he dodge… Continue Reading
02.14.19
Whitehouse Statement on EPA PFAS Action Plan
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement today on the Environmental Protection Agency's Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan, which does not set a drinking water standard for dangerous PFOA and PFOS chemicals: "After a year of hemming and hawing, Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler's EPA is punting on action to tackle a serious public health risk lurking in Americans' … Continue Reading
02.12.19
U.S. Senate Passes Bill to Protect Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed
Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate today voted 92-8 to approve a bipartisan public lands package that includes U.S. Senator Jack Reed's language to designate river segments within the Wood-Pawcatuck watershed as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The legislation, cosponsored by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, would establish Rhode Island's first ever Wild and Scenic river system and provide access to federal funding to protect and maintain the rivers of this watershed for recrea… Continue Reading
02.11.19
Whitehouse, Markey, Welch, Levin Lead Call for Further Action on Key FERC Renewables Rule
Washington, DC - Eighteen Senators, led by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), are calling for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to finalize guidance on a rule to grow a more flexible and resilient grid by allowing Americans to connect their rooftop solar, wind, and energy storage devices to the electrical grid. Reducing energy market barriers for distributed energy resources (DERs) will increase the security and resiliency of the grid and potentially lower costs… Continue Reading
02.08.19
Whitehouse, Cicilline Renew Bipartisan Push for the IMAGINE Act to Develop Innovative Materials to Rebuild American Infrastructure
Washington, DC - Everyone from civil engineers to state and municipal officials to local communities are sounding the alarm about America's outdated infrastructure, and calling on Congress to invest in more resilient roads, bridges, water systems, and other public works. To lay the groundwork for that investment, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) are introducing the Innovative Materials for America's Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded (IMAGINE) Act t… Continue Reading
02.07.19
Whitehouse, Raskin Demand Answers from NRA on Alleged Campaign Finance Law Violations
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08) are seeking information from the National Rifle Association (NRA) regarding allegations that the NRA violated campaign finance laws by coordinating communications with the Trump Campaign and several campaigns for Republican Senate candidates. Multiple media reports have raised questions about the NRA's relationships with contractors and shell companies that purchased political ads. The NRA is named in four pending… Continue Reading
02.07.19
Whitehouse, Alexander, Collins Renew Push for the IMAGINE Act to Develop Innovative Materials to Rebuild American Infrastructure
Washington, DC - Everyone from civil engineers to state and municipal officials to local communities are sounding the alarm about America's outdated infrastructure, and calling on Congress to invest in more resilient roads, bridges, water systems, and other public works. To lay the groundwork for that investment, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Susan Collins (R-ME) are introducing the Innovative Materials for America's Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded (IM… Continue Reading
02.07.19
Whitehouse Continues Carbon Capture Push with Introduction of Bill to Promote Negative Emissions
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and long-time champion of climate action, joined EPW Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) to lead a bipartisan group of Senators today in introducing the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act, to support technological innovations that remove carbon pollution from the atmosphere. The bill continues Whitehouse's legislative work on carbon capt… Continue Reading
02.07.19
Whitehouse Statement on Barr Vote in Judiciary Committee
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has released the following statement on his decision not to support the nomination of William Barr to serve as Attorney General after today's party-line vote on the nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee: "Before the committee, Mr. Barr said plenty of things that sounded reassuring, but the devil is always in the details. I remain concerned that we still don't know if he will hide behind Office of Legal Counsel guidance that prohibits indicting… Continue Reading
02.07.19
Whitehouse Enters U.S. Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Contest
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) thinks he has what it takes to win the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's competition for the "best, most viable ideas for a long-term sustainable funding source for infrastructure": end fossil fuel subsidies and place a price on carbon pollution. Establishing this source of revenue, the senator writes in his submission, would provide a long-term source of revenue for infrastructure while addressing climate change, one of the major threats to the resi… Continue Reading
02.05.19
Whitehouse Statement on State of the Union
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the following statement on President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address tonight: "It's hard to listen to a man with such a demonstrated inability to tell the truth - or even keep his word with members of either party - try to sell us on the idea that he's now ready for bipartisanship and unity, that he's poised to bring us together. Trump's fantasies about his wall, his deafening silence on climate change, and his Nixonian atta… Continue Reading
02.05.19
Whitehouse Pans FedSoc Pick Rao for Former Kavanaugh Seat on DC Circuit
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement today on the confirmation hearing of Neomi Rao, nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: "Neomi Rao is another judicial nominee from the Donald Trump/Federalist Society special interest machine. Her ideology was birthed in the petri dish of the Republican corporate donor class that believes it is above government regulation and disdains accountabil… Continue Reading
02.05.19
Whitehouse Statement on Wheeler Committee Vote
Washington, DC - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW), released the following statement on today's party-line vote in the EPW Committee to advance the nomination of Andrew Wheeler to be Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator: "Andrew Wheeler is a fossil fuel lobbyist nominated to run the agency regulating the fossil fuel industry. It would be comical if it weren't so serious. If confirmed, Wheeler will take every o… Continue Reading
