WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement on July 20, 2023: * * * Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 to the full Senate. U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, r  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following news release: Reneging on the bipartisan budget agreement that was signed into law to avoid a catastrophic default, House Republicans are proposing cuts to Fiscal Year 2024 spending bills that would cost a half a million jobs and reduce GDP growth by $138 billion next year, according to analysis published today by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The analysis  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, July 14 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Jack Reed welcomed Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to Rhode Island to meet with community leaders, non-profit organizations, and local artists. Senator Reed and Chair Jackson began their day-long tour of the Ocean State by participating in a summit at Rhode Island College with arts community leaders to discuss creative opportunities  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, July 19 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on July 18, 2023: Rhode Island will soon have more local contractors making renewable energy upgrades to power, heating, and cooling systems in older structures, thanks to a new federal grant. As part of a sustained effort to make homes more energy efficient and help families lower energy bills, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today announced $1,154,250 in State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor  more

WASHINGTON, July 13 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: In an effort to protect public safety in Rhode Island and nationwide and spur economic development and innovation, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, today helped advance the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill with a total of $71.734 billion in discretionary funding. The measure was approved by the full committee on a v  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: Approximately 2,580 federal student loan borrowers in Rhode Island are eligible for student loan debt relief under the Biden Administration's initiative to correct past servicing errors and correct the number of payments that count towards loan forgiveness under income-driven repayment (IDR) for student loans. Rhode Islanders could receive $109 million in IDR forgiveness. The White House estimates these a  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) spoke on the House Floor to celebrate the life of former Providence Journal Columnist Bill Reynolds, an institution of Rhode Island sports and journalism. "Families across the state, including mine, started their Saturday by reading his column 'For What It's Worth,' which included his latest not only on sports, but also pop culture, politics, movies and more," sa  more

WASHINGTON, July 18 -- Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement on July 17, 2023: * * * Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R.2670, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), including three amendments authored by Rep. Magaziner. "The National Defense Authorization Act is key to strengthening our national security and I am especially pleased that three amendm  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: The U.S. House of Representatives passed Representative Seth Magaziner's (RI-02) amendment to strengthen airport security standards and keep American travelers safe. This amendment passed in the House version of H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, which reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). "Protecting airports from criminals, rogue states   more

WASHINGTON, July 20 -- Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, R-New Jersey, issued the following news release on July 19, 2023: Today, Congressman Van Drew applauded Rhode Island for rejecting an expensive and aggressive proposal for an expansive offshore wind project in the state that did not include enough economic benefits relative to the cost. "Unlike the state of New Jersey, where Governor Murphy and state Democrats have opened their arms to the idea of foreign-owned companies industrializing the coast  more

WASHINGTON, July 20 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on July 19, 2023: In an effort to prevent money laundering and stop crypto-facilitated crime and sanctions violations, a leading group of U.S. Senators is introducing new, bipartisan legislation requiring decentralized finance (DeFi) services to meet the same anti-money laundering (AML) and economic sanctions compliance obligations as other financial companies, including centralized crypto trading platforms  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on July 20, 2023: The Senate Appropriations Committee today voted unanimously to advance the fiscal year 2024 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill. This measure would provide a total of $107.8 billion in total budgetary resources for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and $70.1 billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Hous  more

WASHINGTON, July 19 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following opening statement at a hearing on July 12, 2023, entitled "Protecting Social Security for All: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share": * * * Since the start of this Congress, my distinguished ranking member and many of the Republican members of this Committee have insisted we should focus only on rising debt and deficits. Because of what they portend for debt and def  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following opening remarks on July 20, 2023: * * * Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Courts Subcommittee, delivered opening remarks during a Senate Judiciary Committee markup of his comprehensive Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act. Whitehouse's SCERT Act would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate all  more

WASHINGTON, July 19 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on July 18, 2023: Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), together with Representatives Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and Joe Wilson (R-SC), today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Foreign Extortion Prevention Act to combat kleptocracy and corruption by criminalizing bribery demands by foreign officials. "America is in a clash of civilizations with international kleptocrats and c  more