Sheldon Whitehouse

Legislation Includes $225 Million in Highway Funding for RI and Incentives to Create New Jobs

February 24, 2010 -- Washington, DC - As Rhode Islanders and people across the country continue struggling to find jobs in a recovering economy, the U.S. Senate today passed bipartisan legislation to put Americans back to work.    » read more »

February 1, 2010 -- Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today on President Obama's budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2011:

"Rhode Islanders and families across the country are hurting right now, and they need to know their leaders in Washington are doing everything possible to put the unemployed back to work. The budget proposed today by President Obama sends a clear message that his administration is focused on doing just that.    » read more »

January 29, 2010 -- Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse delivered a speech this morning on the floor of the U.S. Senate about the dangers of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which opens the door to unlimited corporate spending on political advertising. The full text of Whitehouse's speech is below:

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I rise this morning to join Chairman Leahy's eloquent and inspiring remarks of yesterday and express my strong disagreement with the Supreme Court's decision released last week in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission.    » read more »

January 27, 2010 -- Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) issued the following statement following President Obama's State of the Union address:

"Tonight, President Obama laid out a firm and positive agenda to address our nation's many serious challenges in the year ahead: a struggling economy, two wars, rising health insurance costs, and so much more.

"I've heard from so many Rhode Islanders who are still struggling to make ends meet. Tonight, I hope families in our Ocean State will take some comfort in knowing that our President's top priority for 2010 will be putting the American people back to work.    » read more »

January 21, 2010 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reacted today to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision opening the door to unlimited corporate spending on political campaigns:

"The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld reasonable limits on corporate campaign spending. Today, the Court, in a striking display of judicial activism, departed from that long tradition in the Citizens United case.

"Ruling broadly and ignoring settled precedent, five conservative justices have now rewritten the Constitution to permit corporate election spending to drown out the voices of individual Americans.

"Today's disastrous decision is a long step towards government of the CEOs, by the CEOs, and for the CEOs.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Senator Joe Lieberman, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse have introduced an amendment to strengthen the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (IMAB) in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

"We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that Medicare is in trouble. If we do not put Medicare on a path to financial sustainability, then this vital program and the benefits that seniors and the disabled receive from it will be in jeopardy," said Senator Rockefeller.    » read more »

December 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senate yesterday approved 57-35, a year-end appropriations bill that U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse said will provide critical federal support for a wide range of projects and programs throughout Rhode Island. The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives 221-202 on December 10 and will now go to the President’s desk to be signed into law.    » read more »

Whitehouse Amendment to Health Care Bill Would Help Families Struggling with Medical Debt

December 9, 2009 -- Washington, DC - As the Senate continues to debate landmark health care reform legislation, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has filed an amendment to the legislation to help the many American families burdened by the costs of illness and injury.

The amendment, which is modeled after Whitehouse's Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act introduced earlier this year, would make the bankruptcy process less costly and more accessible for people bankrupted by medical bills.    » read more »

December 8, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's official conclusion that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to human health:

"For eight years, the Bush Administration did everything in its power to avoid regulating greenhouse gas emissions as pollutants, even after the Supreme Court ordered EPA to determine whether greenhouse gases pose a danger to public health and the environment.

"The EPA under the Obama Administration has moved quickly to adhere to the law and the science with respect to the danger of unchecked greenhouse gas emissions by today finalizing its endangerment finding, empowering EPA to regulate these harmful emissions.    » read more »

Measure Would Benefit Bradley Hospital and Women & Infants Hospital

December 7, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has filed two amendments to the Senate's health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to help a pair of local hospitals get their fair share of federal funding designated for teaching hospitals.

"Teaching hospitals offer new doctors invaluable experience working with patients, and the federal government has long recognized that additional funding helps make these residency programs possible," said Whitehouse.    » read more »

December 4, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd released the following statement today after the Senate passed Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s (D-RI) amendment in support of the CLASS Act and defeated a Republican attempt to strip the CLASS Act from the Senate health care reform bill.

“The CLASS Act will offer hope to Americans with serious illnesses or injuries who can maintain their independence with the help of long-term care,” said Dodd. “And it will provide relief for their families, who too often are forced to set aside their own lives to care for their loved ones. It’s a common-sense, fiscally-responsible, and pragmatic solution that will help millions of American families.”    » read more »

November 21, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - As the Senate continues the debate on legislation to reform the nation's broken health care system, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) spoke today on the Senate floor in favor of making quality, affordable health care a reality for all Americans and noted the extreme similarities between Senate Republicans' and the health insurance industry's opposition to reform.

Full text of Whitehouse's remarks, as prepared for delivery, is below:

Madame President, I rise today to speak about the impact of our appallingly designed health care system on individuals - people with families and hopes for the future who have been ambushed by illness.    » read more »

Criminal Justice Reinvestment Act Would Help Localities Conduct Studies to Control Costs

November 16, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. - United States Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced today the Criminal Justice Reinvestment Act of 2009 to help states and localities better understand how to manage the growth in prison and jail populations and increase public safety.

The legislation would authorize grants to analyze criminal justice trends and to design and implement policies to better manage prison spending. Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Dan Lungren (R-CA) also introduced companion legislation today in the U.S. House of Representatives.    » read more »

November 13, 2009 -- Warwick, RI - As millions of American homeowners continue to struggle against the tide of home foreclosures, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) heard from Rhode Island homebuyers and realtors yesterday about the recession's impact on the local housing market. Whitehouse hosted a roundtable discussion at The Rhode Island Association of Realtors in Warwick.    » read more »

Bill Also Includes Measures to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credit and Help Businesses to Offset Losses Incurred During Recession

November 4, 2009 -- Washington, DC - With millions of Americans still struggling to find work in this difficult economy, the U.S. Senate today took action to assist those in need by extending unemployment insurance benefits for up to 20 weeks. The legislation, which passed the Senate by a vote of 98 to 0, will also expand and extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit passed earlier this year and allow businesses to offset losses incurred during the recession. Whitehouse, a cosponsor of the unemployment provision, released the following statement following today's vote:    » read more »