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Articles by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse
What climate hushers get all wrong
Much ink has been spilled over the DNC’s autopsy of what went wrong in 2024. I can tell you what I’ve observed: voters, dogged by cost pressures and fuming about a perpetually out-of-reach American Dream and an increasingly billionaire-centric system, needed a fighter at the top of the ticket.
It’s no surprise what President Trump and the GOP are doing to Social Security Original
Every election season, we Democrats vow to protect Social Security and Medicare and point out how Republicans would endanger the programs if given the chance. Republicans reliably feign indignation at the charge, despite their repeated plans to make massive cuts to Social Security and drive up the deficit. Well, no one should ever again fall for Republicans’ faux indignation.
It’s no surprise what President Trump and the GOP are doing to Social Security
‘A movement taking shape’: Many US retirees are looking to move abroad. Here are the best countries for them Drawn by sunshine or a lower cost of living, a growing number of Americans are choosing to live their golden years outside the US, in the hope that it will better suit their financial or lifestyle needs and wants. While official numbers aren’t available, companies and organizations that specialize …
Sen. Whitehouse on Dems' new energy reality under Trump
Jan 24, 2025 4:13 am GMT 2 views Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, says President Donald Trump's blitz of executive orders to boost fossil fuels and stop the growth of renewable energy represent “payback” for the oil and gas industry for supporting Trump's campaign. Whitehouse sat down this week with the POLITICO Energy podcast , where the former attorney general of Rhode ...
Citizens United Overreach: New CAP Report Reveals Legal Risk in For-Profit Corporate Boards’ Political Spending
Citizens United gave corporations—but not for-profit corporate boards—the authority to spend in candidate elections. But those boards immediately started spending anyway, improperly handing U.S. citizens’ constitutional rights over to large shareholders and foreign nationals. A new Center for American Progress report shows how it could cost them. Join CAP for a virtual discussion with The Hon. Shana M.
BREAKING: Sen. Whitehouse Files Ethics Complaint Against Justice Alito
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., wrote to Supreme Court Justice John Roberts on Monday to file an ethics complaint against Justice Samuel Alito for alleged violations of "several canons of judicial ethics,... Want to continue reading?
S.359 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023
There is one summary for S.359. Bill summaries are authored by CRS. Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 This bill makes various changes related to the ethical standards, financial disclosure requirements, and recusal requirements that apply to Supreme Court Justices.
Will Bunch: When will Americans flood the streets to protest our broken, corrupt Supreme Court?
So it turns out that a huge number of voters actually do understand that it’s essential for a functioning democracy to have a fair and uncompromised judiciary, even when the rules needed to make that happen tends to be arcane and unsexy. They finally get it ... in Israel.
PA Sen. Pat Toomey Bravely Stands Up For Money Launderers
On his way out the door, Pat Toomey helped block sweeping anti-money laundering legislation that was created to choke off dirty money pouring into the U.S. from drug traffickers, oligarchs and corrupt foreign leaders. It's about what I'd expect from one of Wall Street's pet senators! Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Sure, Pat, that's what it was. Not you lining up your think-tank and/or Wall Street lobbying gig for your next act.
A Conversation with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse « Global Financial Integrity
Except where otherwise stated, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative License. Global Financial Integrity® and the Global Financial Integrity Logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Global Financial Integrity is a 501(c)3 organization Our Federal Employer Identification number is 45-3359420 Our Legal Entity Identifier Number is 549300MPDLK0B4X28896
How dark money fueled the Jan. 6 insurrection - and why we can't find it Original
In September 2020, a dark-money group called the Rule of Law Defense Fund convened a meeting in Atlanta of staffers from the fund's corporate sibling, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA). Their purpose was to run "war games," to be ready in the event Donald Trump lost reelection in November. A little over three months later, the same group would help to assemble the mob before the White House on Jan. 6, 2021. This wasn't an isolated incident.
Alabama AG, Anti-KBJ Witness, Refuses To Say Biden ‘Duly Elected’
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall had his “law and order” cred knocked down several notches by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.
At the tipping point on climate change
By Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Americans can celebrate and applaud the fact that the country's corporate leaders have taken so many important steps on climate change. Companies like Walmart and Coca-Cola, to pick just two, see the problem clearly and have done great things. Walmart, for instance, has taken exemplary responsibility for its carbon footprint, not only within its facilities, but beyond the corporate walls out to its international supply chain.
Sheldon Whitehouse: Don't believe Justice Alito -- it's clear this Supreme Court was built by dark money
Justice Samuel Alito wants desperately for us to believe that everything is just fine at the Supreme Court. Indeed, in his view the court is a victim. Before an audience at Notre Dame on Sept.
Fighting climate change means putting coasts on par with mountains
It’s hard to find states more different than New Mexico and Rhode Island. One is big, the other small; one is landlocked mountain ranges and high desert, the other seaside coast. But both count on a healthy, clean environment, and each presents wondrous natural beauty. So we both fight tirelessly to defend that environment as climate dangers mount.
USA - OPINION: Fighting climate change means putting coasts on par with mountains
It’s hard to find states more different than New Mexico and Rhode Island. One is big, the other small; one is landlocked mountain ranges and high desert, the other seaside coast. But both count on a healthy, clean environment, and each presents wondrous natural beauty. So we both fight tirelessly to defend that environment as climate dangers mount.
A World Without Fossil Fuels Funding Our Enemies Would Be A Safer World for America
06.17.21 We are a conservative Republican and a progressive Democrat who disagree on a great many things. We write today, however, to highlight an area of strong agreement: a global transition to renewable energy would greatly assist in our nation’s fight against the world’s most corrupt and illicit regimes. If you could wave a magic wand, and transition the world away from fossil fuels, Americans would instantly be safer.
Biden Rebukes Trump's Climate Denial
Biden Rebukes Trump's Climate Denial | RealClearPolitics
President Biden's Earth Day climate summit is a rebuke to Trump's denialism. But it's only a start.
America abandoned its position of leadership on climate change under Donald Trump, and it cost us. It cost us the very international standing he swore he so valued, and, more importantly, it cost us precious time to battle the climate crisis. President Joe Biden and the entire U.S. government now have a pivotal opportunity to reclaim our leadership role on climate change and to do our part in reducing emissions. We must act now — and we must act big.
The Dark-Money Tipping Point
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse & Rep. Hank Johnson, Project Syndicate April 19, 2021 For years, an orchestrated campaign by powerful corporate interests has sought to rig the US judiciary in its favor. Having largely succeeded, it is now on the verge of securing constitutional protection for its signature method of corruption: dark-money influence operations. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
Why we can't just "move on": We need accountability for Donald Trump's misdeeds Original
We can't repeat President Obama's mistakes: There's no way to move forward without addressing the damage done Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Donald Trump (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) Barack Obama's administration made the policy decision to look forward, not back, and to leave the misdeeds of George W. Bush's administration to history's judgment. That would be a mistake for the incoming Biden administration.
America's Captured Courts
Decades ago, a group of powerful US corporate interests recognized that the unpopular policies they sought faced steady headwinds in the elected branches of government. But courts, stocked with amenable judges and presented with the right cases, could reliably deliver political wins without answering to voters. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
Opinion | Sen. Whitehouse: Amy Coney Barrett delights corporate interests. You should worry. Original
There’s a scheme being run on the American people, and, as we embark on this rushed and bitter fight over whether to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, the American people ought to understand what’s really going on. It almost doesn’t matter who President Donald Trump picked to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; it never really did.
Opinion | Since this White House ignores science, Congress needs its own scientific agency
With an administration in power that mocks and disparages science — at the bidding of big special interests and for its own perceived political gain — it falls to Congress to ensure that our government is listening to science. But right now, Congress itself often doesn’t act on the best available scientific knowledge — in no small part because of a fateful decision by Congress two and a half decades ago that cut off the flow of high quality, nonpartisan science to inform its decisions.
Save Our Seas 2.0 tackles global marine debris crisis
The Save Our Seas 2.0 Act aims to combat the global marine debris crisis. (Courtesy iStock) OPINION — We may have plenty of political differences, but we come from coastal states. That means we have a front-row seat to the peril of plastic waste and marine debris flowing into our oceans at the rate of around 8 million metric tons per year.
Save Our Seas 2.0 tackles global marine debris crisis
Viewpoints: Letters / Opinions Save Our Seas 2.0 tackles global marine debris crisis By Sen. Dan Sullivan, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Bob Menendez November 19, 2019 Tuesday PM We may have plenty of political differences, but we come from coastal states. That means we have a front-row seat to the peril of plastic waste and marine debris flowing into our oceans at the rate of around 8 million metric tons per year.
Senators: America’s current federal budgeting process is broken
By SEN. MIKE ENZI & SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE Friday Nov 8, 2019 at 3:01 AM It is no secret that a vast majority of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Too often, our political debates are characterized by hyperpartisanship rather than achieving meaningful outcomes for the American people. Nowhere is this problem more acute than when it comes to our inability to address our country’s unsustainable fiscal course.
Senators: America’s current federal budgeting process is broken
By SEN. MIKE ENZI & SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE Friday Nov 8, 2019 at 3:01 AM It is no secret that a vast majority of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Too often, our political debates are characterized by hyperpartisanship rather than achieving meaningful outcomes for the American people. Nowhere is this problem more acute than when it comes to our inability to address our country’s unsustainable fiscal course.
The unglamorous job of federal budgeting
OPINION — It is no secret that a vast majority of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Too often our political debates are characterized by hyperpartisanship, rather than achieving meaningful outcomes for the American people. Nowhere is this problem more acute than when it comes to our inability to address our country’s unsustainable fiscal course.
Our oceans are in crisis, we must act to prevent catastrophic change to them
Today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases its Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, the result of nearly two years of work by over 100 scientists. It chronicles our best understanding of the changes sweeping through our oceans and the ice-covered parts of the globe. The IPCC report will show two bitter truths: our oceans are in crisis; and we are nearly out of time to prevent catastrophic changes to them.
Why We Must Investigate Kavanaugh Cover-Up
Why We Must Investigate Kavanaugh Cover-Up Why didn't the FBI pursue tip-line leads and interview witnesses? As a US attorney, I wouldn't have made charging decisions on such cursory work. Read Full Article »
If the US doesn't lead on nuclear energy, others will
As partisan gridlock on a few high-profile issues dominates headlines, it is easy to lose sight of goals members of both parties share. For us, one bipartisan goal is protecting America’s longstanding leadership on nuclear energy. U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo Our bipartisan work comes as American nuclear energy leadership faces stiff headwinds. Nuclear plants are shuttering nationwide due to competition from cheap natural gas.
Barr's Crooked Answers to Straight Questions
Barr's Crooked Answers to Straight Questions | RealClearPolitics
The Green New Deal vote shows Republicans would rather mock climate change than challenge big lobbying groups
We are from opposite coasts, serve on opposite sides of the Capitol and one of us is in the majority party while the other is in the minority, but we share one thing as members of Congress: The political experience of having a relentless adversary, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to any and all meaningful legislative solutions on climate change.
Why I am supporting the Medicare for All Act
By Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse PROVIDENCE – Our health care system has come a long way under the Affordable Care Act. Rhode Island’s health insurance exchange is a national model and our uninsured rate is among the lowest in the country. Nonetheless, many Rhode Island families and small business owners spend far too much on health care. This challenge isn’t unique to Rhode Island. America’s health care system is dizzyingly complex and inefficient.
Stop Losing: A Battle Plan for Beating the Right
Stop Losing: A Battle Plan for Beating the Right
Kavanaugh and Senate Republicans have worked together to deny Christine Blasey Ford a fair investigation
One of the hardest things a prosecutor has to do is to tell an assault victim who has come forward that there is not enough evidence to support proceeding to trial. It is not unusual for victims to come forward years, even decades, after an assault — and it takes real courage. But evidence can be hard to find. The most basic thing that a victim is owed is a thorough effort to investigate the recollections and seek evidence.
The Supreme Court must step in: Both major parties are testing American democracy by gerrymandering
In his final months in office, President Ronald Reagan spoke out about the dangers to American democracy of partisan gerrymandering, calling it on one occasion “a great conflict of interest to ask men holding office, elected from districts, to change the lines of that district to fit the new population changes.” Today, nearly 30 years later, it’s looking increasingly like this is the year the Supreme Court will finally rein in a gerrymandering practice that undermines a fundamental principle...
The Far Right's Smear Campaign Against FBI, DOJ | RealClearPolitics
The Far Right's Smear Campaign Against FBI, DOJ That campaign has turned to a shady practice: selective declassification. It is possible to create a false narrative from a trove of classified information, either by selectively declassifying misleading tidbits of material or by suggesting misdeeds that can’t be disproved without revealing classified information. The shield of classification becomes a sword of deception.Read Full Article »
The EPA tries to turn a blind eye to carbon emissions
In the recent Frontline documentary, "War on the EPA," the CEO of the Murray Energy Corporation — the largest coal mining company in the United States — brags that he had given the Trump administration a three-page action plan on rolling back environmental regulations. Less than a year into his term, the president and his officials had already completed the first page, Murray Energy Corporation’s Bob Murray says in the film.
The EPA tries to turn a blind eye to carbon emissions. The courts can stop it.
In the recent Frontline documentary, War on the EPA, the CEO of the Murray Energy Corporation — the largest coal mining company in the United States — brags that he had given the Trump administration a three-page action plan on rolling back environmental regulations. Less than a year into his term, the president and his officials had already completed the first page, Murray Energy Corporation’s Bob Murray says in the film.
Opinion | The IRS needs to crack down on super PACs' unlawful political spending
Good-governance groups have long pointed out that the 2010 Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allows outside entities to spend an unlimited amount of anonymous money on our elections, corrupting the process. That's true in practice: In the wake of the decision, special interests, like conservative oil and gas magnates Charles and David Koch, began funneling money into dark money organizations created under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code to spend in elections.
DPCC Chair Cicilline, Democratic Leader Pelosi, Sen. Whitehouse, Rep. Langevin: Rhode Island Deserves ‘A Better Deal’ Than GOP Tax Cuts for the Rich
GOP proposal slashes $5.8 trillion from workforce training, college affordability, Medicare, Medicaid, health care for veterans and other critical services. PAWTUCKET – Following a tour of the Community College of Rhode Island’s (CCRI) advanced manufacturing training facility in Warwick, Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Co-Chair David N.
We must act to protect manned aircraft from irresponsible drones operators
There’s a buzz in the air. Farmers are learning how to use drones to better manage their crops. Businesses are exploring the potential of drones for delivery services. Unmanned aircraft are even being used to improve hurricane forecasting and assist with search and rescue missions. Of course, the number of recreational drones in the air is also growing every year. But drones, as with any technological innovation, bring new risks— especially to other aircraft with which they share the skies.
Business must lobby Congress in order to get action on climate change
President Trump has decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change — a decision that may be one of the worst foreign policy blunders in our nation’s history. There is no denying the mounting threat of climate change. We observe rising seas, warming global temperatures, and melting glaciers and ice sheets. Yet the president cast aside a historic global agreement forged through American leadership. Americans now ask what to do next.
Guest commentary: Foreseeing the R.I. Archipelago
Early explorers found Rhode Island’s coastline looking much like it is today. Before then, it looked much the same for centuries to the Narragansetts and Wampanoags who lived here. That’s going to change. While the Industrial Revolution that began in Rhode Island in the 18th century brought our nation great wealth, it also created manmade pollution that began changing our climate.
Unraveling Obama’s climate legacy may not be as easy as Trump thinks
President Trump recently fired off an executive order aiming to wipe out many Obama administration climate change measures, directing federal agencies to take or unwind various actions. Typical for this insider-friendly administration, it’s a polluter’s wish list. As recently as 2009, Donald Trump and his children signed onto a full-page New York Times advertisement urging climate action, because the science was “irrefutable” and the consequences “catastrophic and irreversible.” Now this. Sad.
Unraveling Obama’s climate legacy may not be as easy as Trump thinks
President Trump recently fired off an executive order aiming to wipe out many Obama administration climate change measures, directing federal agencies to take or unwind various actions. Typical for this insider-friendly administration, it’s a polluter’s wish list. As recently as 2009, Donald Trump and his children signed onto a full-page New York Times advertisement urging climate action, because the science was “irrefutable” and the consequences “catastrophic and irreversible.” Now this. Sad.
The Republican mission to quell the IRS
It looks like any other slick political ad on your TV. There’s ominous music, a dramatic voice-over, a grainy picture of President Obama. But this isn’t just another campaign commercial. The news broke recently that a Republican mega-donor plans to spend about $1 million a week on ads calling on Congress to impeach John Koskinen, the commissioner of the IRS. It seems like an odd way to spend your millions.
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on Climate Change: A Test of American Leadership
America has long stood before the world as an exceptional country. And deservedly: we proved the case for popular sovereignty with no need of kings or crowns; we rode our balanced market capitalism (and the safety of two oceans) to international economic dominance; we have long been the vanguard of civil and human rights for our people and around the globe; and when we use our military power we do not conquer and rule, we come home.
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