url,title,date,year,month,party,chamber,state,member_name,bioguide_id,domain,scraper,source,date_source,text,has_text,collected_at,updated_at http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-statement-expiration-unemployment-insurance,Cicilline Announces Bill to Extend Federal Unemployment Insurance and Calls on Speaker to Act Immediately,2013-12-28,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"PAWTUCKET –  Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) stressing the urgency of extending federal emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) at a press conference in his Pawtucket office this afternoon, announced that he will introduce a bill to extend EUC and called upon the Speaker to Act immediately. Cicilline was joined by several First District residents who discussed the impact this loss will have on them and their families.  As of today, 1.3 million Americans including 4,900 Rhode Islanders will no longer received federal emergency unemployment benefits.   “The day the Republican-led Congress skipped town for the holidays it left behind 1.3 million Americans who rely upon this assistance to survive as they continue to look for work. Nearly 5,000 Rhode Islanders who have already exhausted their state benefits are now without their last safety net,"" said Cicilline.  ""I'm not giving up this fight until we renew emergency unemployment benefits for people struggling to find work.  We can't turn our back on more than a million Americans, especially in Rhode Island where our unemployment rate is the highest in the nation."" Until today Rhode Islanders who had exhausted their 26 weeks of unemployment benefits from the state were eligible to receive an additional 47 weeks of federal benefits.   If Congress fails to extend federal EUC, 4.9 million Americans, including 21,700 Rhode Islanders over the course of 2014 will be affected according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Analysis of Budget Deal.   The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that failure to extend Unemployment Insurance could cost the national economy 310,000 jobs over the course of the coming year. ""I voted against the budget, which was the last vote Congress took before adjourning for the year because it failed to include an extension of these critical benefits.   The minute Congress is back in session on January 7th I will introduce a bill to retro-actively extend these benefits and make sure it is paid for by eliminating unnecessary subsidies and closing corporate tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas. I have written a letter to Speaker Boehner asking that he take up this bill immediately upon our return."" Rhode Islanders in the First District can contact Cicilline’s Pawtucket Office at 729-5600 to receive more information regarding the expiration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation and to find other ways to receive state and federal aid.  Below is a copy of the remarks Cicilline delivered at his press conference this afternoon: Today I am standing with my constituents to talk about the importance of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation that expires today and that lawmakers in Washington left town without addressing or renewing. The day the Republican-led Congress skipped town for the holidays it left behind 1.3 million Americans who depend on this assistance to survive as they continue to look for work. Nearly 5,000 Rhode Islanders who have already exhausted all of their state benefits are now without any income to meet their basic needs, no safety net at all. These are individuals who have worked hard, played by the rules, but have been hard hit by the Great Recession. There are just not enough jobs for those looking for work I am here today to make it clear that I'm not giving up this fight until we renew emergency unemployment benefits for people struggling to find work.  We can't turn our back on more than a million Americans, especially in Rhode Island where our unemployment rate is the highest in the nation. Until today Rhode Islanders who had exhausted their 26 weeks of unemployment benefits from the state were eligible to receive an additional 47 weeks of federal benefits.   Constituents like Rhonda from Rumford who has worked all her life, sometimes with more than one job, to make ends meet. She needs our help and she needs it today. Constituents like Rhonda don’t need a fix from Congress in a few weeks, they need help to buy groceries and keep a roof over their children’s heads. If Congress fails to extend federal EUC, 4.9 million Americans, including 21,700 Rhode Islanders over the course of 2014 will be affected according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Analysis of Budget Deal.   Failure to extend Unemployment Insurance is not only devastating for individuals, but will hurt our economic recovery. The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that failure to extend Unemployment Insurance could cost the national economy 310,00 jobs over the course of the coming year. These people have written to me and called my office with stories of hard work and dedication and their efforts to support themselves and their families. Erica of North Providence wrote saying: “One month of help can be the difference between someone getting a job and getting back on their feet or falling further into debt and hopelessness. I know this from repeated personal experience. I have hope that someday I will be able to help others instead of needing that help. But right now, I need help. I am genuinely terrified.” I voted against the budget, which was the last vote Congress took before adjourning for the year because it failed to include an extension of these critical benefits.   The minute Congress is back in session on January 7th I will introduce a bill to retro-actively extend these benefits and make sure it is paid for by eliminating unnecessary subsidies and closing corporate tax loopholes for companies that ship jobs overseas. I have written to Speaker Boehner today, asking that he take this bill up immediately upon our return to Congress. I want to thank my constituents gathered here today for taking the time to tell their stories and I want you to hear what I have heard over the past months. Lawmakers in Washington need to understand the urgency and essential nature of these benefits and act now to help the more than one million Americans who are fighting for their lives.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-says-target-hack-serves-reminder-importance-cybersecurity,Langevin Says Target Hack Serves as Reminder of the Importance of Cybersecurity,2013-12-21,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), co-founder of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the hacking of Target customers’ credit and debit card information: “I have been calling for greater urgency on cybersecurity for years, and this is yet another illustration of how hackers can disrupt commerce and the lives of everyday Americans. It is easy to imagine even more dire impacts if such hacks begin to focus on critical infrastructure. What if a power plant had been compromised and entire communities left with no electricity for weeks in the cold of winter?” Target announced this week that 40 million of its shoppers had their credit and debit card data breached. “We are talking about a Fortune 500 company. If Target is susceptible to these types of breaches, we can be sure that similar attacks are possible among other retailers, or worse, our transportation networks, financial systems, power grid and other elements of our critical infrastructure. We know that there are a number of actors who seek to do harm to our networks, from domestic criminals to foreign nation states, and as threats and capabilities grow, so do the risks of a cyberattack. We cannot wait any longer, and I hope this event serves as a reminder to my colleagues in Congress that we must act now and prioritize investments in cyber defense.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221055103/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/congress-approves-defense-bill,Congress Approves Defense Bill,2013-12-20,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Friday, December 20, 2013 Congress Approves Defense Bill Reed: Key RI Defense Projects Included in Bipartisan Defense Bill WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Senate voted 84-15 late last night to approve the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and sent it to the President to be signed into law.  U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the comprehensive, bipartisan defense authorization bill will help provide combat pay, a 1 percent pay raise to military personnel, as well as funding for ships, submarines, aircraft, and military equipment.  Reed also supported key reforms in the bill to help crack down on sexual assault in the military and strengthen  protections for victims. “Sexual abuse not only is a violation of an individual, but it is a corrosive force that can undermine the trust that is essential for the functioning of any military unit.  Solving this epidemic will help strengthen our military.  This legislation includes important reforms to address this crisis and I will continue working with the Administration and my colleagues in Congress to ensure these reforms are carefully and thoroughly implemented to better protect our men and women in uniform,” said Reed, who noted that President Obama has already instructed Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin E. Dempsey to continue ongoing efforts to improve sexual assault prevention and response efforts, and directed them to report back with a detailed, comprehensive progress report in the coming year. Reed also noted that the $632.8 billion defense authorization recognizes the increasing strategic importance Rhode Island plays in our national defense and authorizes funds for key initiatives Reed supported. “This legislation authorizes full funding for the continuation of the Virginia-class submarine, which is a critical component of our national defense capabilities, and Rhode Island plays an important role in its construction.  It also helps restore military readiness and provides our servicemen and women with the resources, training, technology, equipment, and authorities they need to successfully carry out their mission,” said Reed, the Chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, who helped ensure the NDAA fully authorizes the Virginia-class submarine program and the DDG-1000 program.  The bill authorizes $5.8 billion for the Virginia-class submarine program, including two submarines in 2014, and advance procurement funding for two ships planned in 2015.  The bill supports the upcoming ten boat, five year multi-year contract currently being negotiated by the Navy and Electric Boat.  It also authorizes $1 billion to continue development of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine replacement. Reed noted the bill authorizes $12.4 million in military construction funds for renovations to Hewitt Hall at the Naval War College in Newport, as well as $6 million to build a C-130J Flight Simulator Training Facility at Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown.  This project will construct a flight simulator facility to train aircrews to fly the eight C-130J aircraft assigned to this installation. “The Naval War College in Newport shapes the way the Navy thinks.  We need to ensure it has the facilities and technology to carry out its mission of training intellectually innovative leaders,” said Reed.  “I am also pleased that we are investing in a new C-130J Flight Simulator Training Facility at Quonset to ensure our pilots, aircrews, support, and maintenance teams get state-of-the-art training they need to be ready for duty.” Reed also supported other key provisions in the NDAA to: •           Raise pay for service members: Authorizes a 1 percent across-the-board pay raise for all members of the uniformed services, consistent with the President’s request. •           Reform sexual assault prevention and response: Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to help prevent sexual assaults and more strongly punish offenders.  The bill requires mandatory reviews of cases that commanders do not choose to prosecute and enhances whistleblower protections to help increase the ability of servicemembers to report unwanted sexual contact without fear of retribution. •           Restore readiness to operations and maintenance accounts cut by sequester:  The bill authorizes $1.8 billion in critical funding to restore cuts from sequester to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.  These funds are critical for restoring readiness, funding training, and other critical resources to prepare for overseas operations. •           Improve the ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to counter emerging and nontraditional threats, focusing on terrorism, cyber warfare, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery (including ballistic missiles). •           Authorize $200 million for the Rapid Innovation Program for competitive, merit-based projects. •           Restore DOD funding for the STARBASE program, a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program •           Authorize $25 million in impact aid assistance to schools. •           Authorize nearly $1 billion for DOD counter improvised explosive device (IED) efforts to defeat the device, attack the network, and train the force. •           Direct the Secretary of Defense to develop a regional strategic framework for U.S. counterterrorism assistance and cooperation in North Africa. •           Address the threats from nuclear weapons and materials by strengthening nonproliferation programs, maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent, reducing the size of the nuclear weapons stockpile, and ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of the stockpile, the delivery systems, and the nuclear infrastructure. •           Terminate troubled or unnecessary programs and activities, identify efficiencies, and reduces defense expenditures in light of the nation’s budget deficit problems and to ensure proper stewardship of taxpayer’s dollars.  Ensures the future capability, viability, and fiscal sustainability of the all-volunteer force. •           Emphasize the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels and seeks greater energy security and independence, pursues technological advances in traditional and alternative energy storage, power systems, operational energy tactical advantages, renewable energy production, and more energy efficient ground, air, and naval systems. Now that the bill has been passed by both the House and the Senate it heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221060721/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-collins-lead-bipartisan-coalition-of-39-senators-seeking-to-boost-liheap-fuel-assistance,"Reed, Collins Lead Bipartisan Coalition of 39 Senators Seeking to Boost LIHEAP Fuel Assistance",2013-12-20,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Friday, December 20, 2013 Reed, Collins Lead Bipartisan Coalition of 39 Senators Seeking to Boost LIHEAP Fuel Assistance WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to help people stay safe and provide fuel assistance to households struggling with rising winter heating bills, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are once again leading the effort to restore and increase federal heating assistance to low-income families and fixed income seniors to past years’ levels. Today, Reed and Collins led a bipartisan coalition of 39 U.S. Senators in urging the President to restore Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to no less than $4.7 billion.  Last year, the President’s budget proposed reducing LIHEAP funding from $3.47 billion down to $3.02 billion.  Reed, Collins, and their colleagues were able to restore funding to $3.47 million, but after the automatic across the board cuts known as sequestration, the final level of LIHEAP funding for FY 13 was $3.29 billion. Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released $2.93 billion in LIHEAP funding as part of the continuing resolution (CR), which is keeping the federal government running through January 15, 2014.  Appropriators must now work out a plan to allocate funding for the remainder of the fiscal year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects heating costs will go up in the Northeast this winter when compared with last winter. “Funding for LIHEAP is not keeping up with demand.  We are doing everything we can to stretch these federal dollars, but more families are in need, heating costs are up, and we need to protect them during the cold winter months.  We need to keep the pressure on this Administration to robustly fund this critical program so that thousands of families can keep their heat on in the winter.  We must also continue making smart investments in weatherizing more homes to try to reduce both energy bills and fuel consumption,” said Reed, who noted that last year, Rhode Island received over $23.9 million in LIHEAP funding, assisting over 34,000 households.  This year Rhode Island is expected to receive approximately $20.7 million of LIHEAP funding across the state. “The LIHEAP program is one of our most effective tools to help senior citizens and less-fortunate households keep warm during the winter,” said Senator Collins.  “Energy costs remain high and LIHEAP funding has is a vital lifeline that helps prevent people from having to choose between heating their home, paying their bills, or going without food or medicine.” Text of the letter is provided below (PDF attached): December 20, 2013 Dear Mr. President, We are writing to request that you prioritize the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in your Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 budget proposal by including no less than $4.7 billion for this program that provides critical support to our most vulnerable citizens. LIHEAP is the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, providing vital assistance during both the cold winter and hot summer months. LIHEAP households are among the most vulnerable in the country. According to the National Energy Assistance Director’s Association (NEADA), more than 90 percent of LIHEAP recipients have at least one household member who is a child, elderly, or disabled, and 20 percent of households contain at least one veteran. For these households, LIHEAP funding has been a lifeline during challenging economic times. Access to affordable home energy is not a luxury -- it is a matter of health and safety. We understand the ongoing discretionary budget challenges. However, we are deeply concerned that funding for LIHEAP has declined more than 30 percent in recent years. Moreover, the number of households eligible for assistance continues to exceed available funding. Sequestration has further exacerbated these funding challenges. According to NEADA, the total number of households receiving LIHEAP assistance has declined by 17 percent between FY 2010 and FY 2013, from about 8.1 million to 6.7 million. Nearly 1.5 million vulnerable households have lost access to critical LIHEAP assistance and struggle to pay for the basic necessity of home energy in addition to other essentials like food and medicine. Funding has declined, yet energy costs have remained high, reducing the purchasing power of LIHEAP assistance. Recipients have seen their average LIHEAP grant reduced by more than $100 since 2010, from $520 in FY 2010 to $406 in FY 2013. Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that average winter home heating costs will rise six percent to $977 per household this winter. The average LIHEAP grant is estimated to cover less than half of the average home heating costs for a household this winter, meaning that many low-income families and seniors will have fewer resources available to meet other basic needs. As you finalize your FY 2015 budget request, we ask that you take into account the great need for LIHEAP. We urge you to reprioritize this program within your FY 2015 budget and restore funding to this program to a level no less than $4.7 billion. Thank you for your attention to and consideration of this important request. Sincerely, Reed (D-RI) Collins (R-ME) Ayotte (R-NH) Baldwin (D-WI) Blumenthal (D-CT) Brown (D-OH) Cardin (D-MD) Casey (D-PA) Coons (D-DE) Durbin (D-IL) Franken (D-MN) Gillibrand (D-NY) Hagan (D-NC) Hirono (D-HI) Johnson, Tim (D-SD) Kaine (D-VA) King (I-ME) Klobuchar (D-MN) Landrieu (D-LA) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Manchin (D-WV) Markey (D-MA) Menendez (D-NJ) Merkley (D-OR) Murkowski (R-AK) Murphy (D-CT) Murray (D-WA) Pryor (D-AR) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schatz (D-HI) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Warren (D-MA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/waxman-and-whitehouse-question-us-trade-representatives-position-on-tar-sands,Waxman & Whitehouse Question U.S. Trade Representative’s Position on Tar Sands,2013-12-20,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.20.13 Waxman & Whitehouse Question U.S. Trade Representative’s Position on Tar Sands Washington, D.C. – As the Obama Administration continues its process of determining whether to approve the development of the Keystone XL pipeline, a group of 21 U.S. Senators and Representatives are raising concerns about reports that U.S. trade negotiators are advocating for weaker international regulations on the tar sands crude oil that the pipeline would transport.  In a letter led by Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the lawmakers ask whether the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has been pressing the European Commission to alter its proposed treatment of tar sands oil in the European Union’s (EU) Fuel Quality Directive (FQD).  The EU has proposed a FQD that would discourage the use of high-emission fuels like tar sands oil.  According to reports, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has lobbied against the directive. “If these reports are accurate, USTR’s actions could undercut the EU’s commendable goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its transportation sectors,” the lawmakers wrote.  “This would be contrary to the principles of the Obama Administration’s Climate Action Plan and would reflect a short-sighted view of the United States’ economic interests.  Given the importance of the issues at stake, we believe clarification of USTR’s position is necessary.” The tar sands oil that would be unleashed by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the southern United States produces 17% more carbon pollution, on a lifecycle basis, compared with the average crude refined in the United States, and up to 22% more carbon pollution when the estimate accounts for the full range of products produced from a barrel of tar sands crude.  Against this backdrop, the lawmakers are calling the U.S. Trade Representative’s reported actions “troubling,” and at odds with the goal outlined in the President’s Climate Action Plan of “galvanizing international action to significantly reduce emissions.” In addition to Waxman and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by Senators Barbara Boxer, Ed Markey, Dick Durbin, Jeff Merkley, and Elizabeth Warren; and Representatives John Conyers, Jr., Barbara Lee, Raúl M. Grijalva, Rush Holt, Louise M. Slaughter, Jerrold Nadler, Judy Chu, Peter DeFazio, Anna G. Eshoo, Sam Farr, Peter Welch, Alan Lowenthal, Mark Pocan, and Steve Cohen. The full text of the letter is below. ---------------------------------------------------- December 20, 2013   Ambassador Michael Froman Office of the United States Trade Representative 600 17th Street, NW Washington, DC  20508 Dear Ambassador Froman: We write to you today to raise our concerns about the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s position on the European Union’s Fuel Quality Directive (FQD).  Recent reports suggest that USTR has pressed the European Commission to alter its proposed treatment of tar sands crude oil in the FQD.  If these reports are accurate, USTR’s actions could undercut the EU’s commendable goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in its transportation sectors.  This would be contrary to the principles of the Obama Administration’s Climate Action Plan and would reflect a short-sighted view of the United States’ economic interests.  Given the importance of the issues at stake, we believe clarification of USTR’s position is necessary. Tar sands products have a significantly worse carbon footprint than other petroleum products.  The State Department’s Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL pipeline northern route acknowledges, for example, that Canadian tar sands bitumen produces 17% more carbon pollution, on a lifecycle basis, compared with the average crude refined in the United States, and 22% more carbon pollution when the estimate accounts for the full range of products produced from a barrel of tar sands crude.[1]  Just shifting from the average crude to tar sands crude in the amount that would be carried by the Keystone XL pipeline would raise U.S. carbon pollution by 1215 million metric tons over the next 50 years.[2]  According to the Administration’s estimate, the social cost of carbon rises from $37 per MTCO2e in 2015 to $71 per MTCO2e in 2050.[3]  This single source of tar sands products, therefore, could produce more than $70 billion in additional damages associated with climate change over 50 years, the costs of which will be partially borne by U.S. businesses and investments worldwide. According to the World Trade Organization, the United States raised the FQD at the October 2013 meeting of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.  The U.S., along with Canada, “argued that all globally-traded petroleum products should be treated without discrimination, in line with Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement, and urged the EU to consider less trade-restrictive approaches to achieve its goals.”[4] In response to questions regarding the treatment of tar sands oil in the FQD from a House Ways & Means Committee hearing, you expressed concern with the level of transparency and public participation in the FQD’s development.  You further stated that you “raised these issues with senior Commission officials on several occasions, including in the context of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T?TIP) [and] continue to press the Commission to take the views of stakeholders, including U.S. refiners, under consideration as they finalize these amendments.”[5] These reports are troubling.  A policy of pressuring the EU to alter its FQD would be inconsistent with the goals of the Administration’s Climate Action Plan.  As the Plan outlines, one of its three “key pillars” is “for the United States to couple action at home with leadership internationally.  America must help forge a truly global solution to this global challenge by galvanizing international action to significantly reduce emissions (particularly among the major emitting countries), prepare for climate impacts, and drive progress through the international negotiations.”[6]  We strongly agree with the carbon reduction goals of the President’s Plan, both at home and abroad. Given the substantial harm that tar sands crude oil poses to the climate and the United States’ long-term economic well-being, as well as the potential conflict with President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, we request that you provide us a statement of USTR’s position on the EU’s Fuel Quality Directive. Sincerely, ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/langevin-and-cicilline-urge-extension-federal-unemployment-insurance,Langevin and Cicilline Urge Extension of Federal Unemployment Insurance,2013-12-19,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and David Cicilline (D-RI) today urged an immediate extension of federal unemployment benefits. Without action, 1.3 million Americans will soon lose these benefits, including 4,900 unemployed Rhode Islanders. An additional 8,900 Rhode Islanders would lose their benefits in the first six months of 2014. “In a state with an unemployment rate at 9 percent, this benefit cut is unacceptable,” said Langevin. “Our state is starting to show the signs of economic recovery, but that process has been a slow one, and cutting unemployment insurance would be a step in the wrong direction. I urge Speaker Boehner and my colleagues in Congress to bring this issue to a vote so we can extend this relief on which so many families rely.” “In just 9 days, 1.3 million Americans and 4,900 Rhode Island families, who have exhausted nearly all of their resources to stay afloat, will lose the only safety net they have left. We cannot allow these benefits to expire and I strongly urge Speaker Boehner to call the House back into session and pass an extension before it is too late,” said Cicilline. “With so many Rhode Islanders still struggling to find work, it is absolutely critical that we extend this emergency assistance to protect these families and our fragile economic recovery.” The Congressmen applauded the work of their Senate colleagues Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse for their leadership on extending benefits. Reed introduced legislation Wednesday to allow those affected to continue receiving benefits for three months while Congress determines a long-term plan. “Senator Reed has truly been a leader on this issue, and I am hopeful that his efforts to extend benefits immediately will be successful in the Senate,” Langevin continued. The federal unemployment insurance program, formerly called Emergency Unemployment Compensation, took effect in 2008 and has been reauthorized several times since, as the economy continues its recovery. Despite the progress made since near economic collapse, there are still 1.3 million fewer jobs than there were before the recession began, and long-term unemployment as a percentage of the unemployed is 37 percent. On average, nationwide, the program provides about $300 per week to recipients. Failure to extend federal unemployment insurance would also hurt job growth locally and throughout the nation, costing the economy 240,000 jobs, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-and-cicilline-urge-extension-federal-unemployment-insurance,Langevin and Cicilline Urge Extension of Federal Unemployment Insurance,2013-12-19,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and David Cicilline (D-RI) today urged an immediate extension of federal unemployment benefits. Without action, 1.3 million Americans will soon lose these benefits, including 4,900 unemployed Rhode Islanders. An additional 8,900 Rhode Islanders would lose their benefits in the first six months of 2014. “In a state with an unemployment rate at 9 percent, this benefit cut is unacceptable,” said Langevin. “Our state is starting to show the signs of economic recovery, but that process has been a slow one, and cutting unemployment insurance would be a step in the wrong direction. I urge Speaker Boehner and my colleagues in Congress to bring this issue to a vote so we can extend this relief on which so many families rely.” “In just 9 days, 1.3 million Americans and 4,900 Rhode Island families, who have exhausted nearly all of their resources to stay afloat, will lose the only safety net they have left. We cannot allow these benefits to expire and I strongly urge Speaker Boehner to call the House back into session and pass an extension before it is too late,” said Cicilline. “With so many Rhode Islanders still struggling to find work, it is absolutely critical that we extend this emergency assistance to protect these families and our fragile economic recovery.” The Congressmen applauded the work of their Senate colleagues Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse for their leadership on extending benefits. Reed introduced legislation Wednesday to allow those affected to continue receiving benefits for three months while Congress determines a long-term plan. “Senator Reed has truly been a leader on this issue, and I am hopeful that his efforts to extend benefits immediately will be successful in the Senate,” Langevin continued. The federal unemployment insurance program, formerly called Emergency Unemployment Compensation, took effect in 2008 and has been reauthorized several times since, as the economy continues its recovery. Despite the progress made since near economic collapse, there are still 1.3 million fewer jobs than there were before the recession began, and long-term unemployment as a percentage of the unemployed is 37 percent. On average, nationwide, the program provides about $300 per week to recipients. Failure to extend federal unemployment insurance would also hurt job growth locally and throughout the nation, costing the economy 240,000 jobs, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/bicameral-task-force-on-climate-change-releases-recommendations-for-department-of-the-interior,Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change Releases Recommendations for Department of the Interior,2013-12-19,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.19.13 Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change Releases Recommendations for Department of the Interior Washington, DC – Following recent reports that John Podesta may be primed to push for “aggressive executive action on climate change” in his new role as White House counselor, the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change today released a white paper recommending concrete steps the Department of the Interior (DOI) should take in carrying out the President’s Climate Action Plan.  DOI manages roughly one-fifth of the land in the U.S. and plays a key role in policies regarding energy production and conservation.  The agency is poised to assume a leadership role in achieving several goals of the President’s Climate Action Plan regarding emission reduction and resiliency.  Some of the recommendations from the report include limiting methane emissions from fossil fuel production on federal land and the outer continental shelf; revising policies that effectively subsidize fossil fuel development on public land; advancing government-wide adaptation planning; and encouraging the Administration to expedite the timely release of guidance and regulations that help DOI advance its climate agenda. These recommendations are based on suggestions submitted to the Bicameral Task Force by over 200 groups ranging from environmental organizations and efficiency advocates to electric utilities and Fortune 500 companies.  They also reflect input from academics and policy think tanks. “The Department of Interior has a crucial role in addressing climate change,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman.  “We hope the ideas in this report will help in this effort.” “The Interior Department is already working to fight climate change by advancing clean-energy technologies, and by protecting wildlife and habitat that support our tourism and recreation-based economies.  These recommendations would expand on the Department’s ongoing efforts and ensure that the goals set out in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan are achieved as quickly and effectively as possible,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who strongly supported the Interior Department’s first-ever competitive lease sale for offshore wind in the waters off of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  “The Safe Climate Caucus members made the commitment to talk every day about the urgent need to address climate change.  The Interior Department is moving in  the direction of addressing climate change and as they further their goal the caucus supports them in their efforts,” said Rep. Bobby L. Rush. “It is time that we get serious about enhancing our communities’ infrastructure and systems in order to adapt to the effects of global climate change. In Maryland, coastal communities including Smith Island are already experiencing the affects of sea-level rise. Science predicts that changes in the Earth’s climate will increase the severity of meteorological events like droughts and storms and the federal government has a role in helping communities to not just respond better to these effects of these events, but also help reinforce our transportation and water infrastructure and major systems so that communities are better prepared before disaster strikes occur. We have a responsibility to act now to protect our communities from the consequences of climate change. Long-term safety must be our focus if we are to protect our natural environment and the health and safety of our citizens and their livelihood,” said Sen. Ben Cardin. “Every moment we hesitate brings us close to the point of no return,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer.  “Our white paper outlines some actual steps that DOI can take to combat and mitigate climate change’s disastrous effects.  I sincerely hope that the administration sees that the time for action is now, and that Mr. Podesta is ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work.” “Everyone has a role to play in fighting climate change, but with the Interior Department’s vast land and ocean resources, they can be an outsized actor in cutting the pollution that is changing our planet,” said Sen. Ed Markey.  “They’ve already started by approving the first offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts, and pushing for clean energy development on public lands. We need every single agency, and every single American, engaged in this fight against dangerous climate change.” The Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, founded in January 2013, focuses on drawing congressional and public attention to climate change and developing effective policy responses to this urgent challenge.  The current co-chairs are Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. Bobby L. Rush, Sen. Ben Cardin, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, and Sen. Ed Markey.  Additional information on the Task Force is available online here. The report is available online here. ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221053847/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-heller-offer-bipartisan-short-term-unemployment-insurance-fix,"Reed, Heller Offer Bipartisan Short-Term Unemployment Insurance Fix",2013-12-18,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Reed, Heller Offer Bipartisan Short-Term Unemployment Insurance Fix WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to prevent more than 1.3 million long-term unemployed workers from losing their unemployment insurance after the holidays, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dean Heller (R-NV) today introduced bipartisan legislation to preserve federal unemployment insurance (UI) for three months while Congress works out a comprehensive plan. With just 10 days before federal UI benefits are set to expire, the Senators are seeking to provide some much needed certainty to our economy and ensure vulnerable families will continue to have access to this vital lifeline.  “I hope this sensible and bipartisan approach will provide a path forward to preserving the program through the entire 2014 calendar year, which will give families and our economy time to recover.  Because, frankly, this is a program designed to be there for every worker should the unfortunate happen and they find themselves without a job through no fault of their own,” stated Senator Jack Reed.  “This program has been, and continues to be, a crucial benefit to millions of American households all over the country and of nearly every conceivable demographic.  That is why it’s such a significant part of keeping this economic recovery going forward.  Its expiration will hurt families and set back our recovery and cost the economy 200,000 jobs in 2014.  So I look forward to working with Senator Heller and urging my colleagues to extend this program because this is not only the right thing to do in terms of the families of America, it is the smart and right thing to do for our economy.” “Providing a safety net for those in need is one of the most important functions of the federal government. As Nevada’s unemployment rate continues to top the charts nationwide, many families and individuals back home do not know how they are going to meet their basic needs. I am pleased to join Senator Reed on this legislation, which aims to help people across the nation who have fallen on hard times,” said Senator Dean Heller. Earlier this morning at Politico’s Morning Money breakfast in Washington, DC, senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said the Obama Administration strongly supports the Reed-Heller bipartisan UI plan. The unemployment insurance system is a partnership between the federal government and state governments that provides a temporary weekly benefit to qualified workers who lose their job and are seeking work.  The amount of that benefit is based in part on a worker’s past earnings.  Rhode Island and Nevada are among 43 states that offer 26 weeks of UI coverage, while 7 states offer fewer weeks. The extended federal UI program was signed into law in June 2008 by President George W. Bush, when the national unemployment rate was 5.6% and the average duration of jobless insurance was 17.1 weeks.  It has been reauthorized by Congress a number of times since as America seeks to emerge from the greatest economic recession since the Great Depression.  Today, the national unemployment rate is 7% and the average duration of UI benefits is 36.1 weeks, which is much longer than the 26 weeks of unemployment coverage that most states provide. According to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the long-term unemployment rate is falling, but it's still at 2.6%, which is twice as high as in any prior month when extended UI benefits were allowed to expire.  CBPP economists note that in each of the previous three recessions, federal unemployment assistance didn't end until the long-term unemployment rate had dropped to around 1.3%. A new study by the Council of Economic Advisers and the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the failure to renew UI  could cost our economy 240,000 jobs in 2014, including 1,284 in Rhode Island and 2,953 in Nevada. Over the years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that preserving UI benefits during periods of historically high unemployment is among the most cost-effective programs for reducing joblessness and stimulating the economy.  Recently the CBO reported: “Extending emergency unemployment benefits would raise gross domestic product (GDP) and employment in 2014 relative to what would occur under current law.  Recipients of the additional benefits would increase their spending on consumer goods and services. That increase in aggregate demand would encourage businesses to boost production and hire more workers than they otherwise would, particularly given the expected slack in the capital and labor markets.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221064821/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-whitehouse-join-bipartisan-coalition-to-address-flood-insurance-rate-increases,"Reed, Whitehouse Join Bipartisan Coalition to Address Flood Insurance Rate Increases",2013-12-18,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Reed, Whitehouse Join Bipartisan Coalition to Address Flood Insurance Rate Increases Lawmakers seek to advance flood insurance bill that would delay rate hikes WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to help Rhode Islanders avoid abrupt increases in flood insurance premiums, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse last night joined with a bipartisan coalition of 26 of their Senate colleagues in introducing an updated version of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (S.1846).  This legislation seeks to help protect property owners from sharp increases in their flood insurance premiums for up to four years in order to allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) time to develop a plan to assist property owners who cannot afford their premiums.  FEMA’s proposal would require Congressional approval before it could be implemented.  If Congress rejects the proposal, the Biggert-Waters reforms Congress passed last year would come back into force.  The bill would also require FEMA to certify that its flood mapping strategy is based on sound science and engineering methodologies. Last year, to prevent the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from lapsing and leaving thousands of property owners without access to flood insurance protection, Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.  The law sought to phase out or eliminate federal subsidies for certain flood-prone properties in order to address the program’s growing debt.  To date the program owes $24 billion to the U.S. Treasury for funds it borrowed to pay claims from past disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Sandy.  By law, the program may only borrow $31 billion from taxpayers in order to pay claims.  Since 1978, the program has paid $117 million claims in Rhode Island, including approximately $70 million in the last four years as result of Superstorm Sandy and the floods of 2010. “The National Flood Insurance Program is vital to protecting Rhode Island homeowners as well as our housing market in general.  Homeowners deserve to know their flood risks and the cost associated them so they can take actions to mitigate those risks and reduce their costs.  For too long, the program failed to provide that kind of information and appropriate incentives.  The sudden change in some rates under the Biggert-Waters, however, has been too dramatic and surprising for many policyholders, particularly those who were required to begin paying unsubsidized premiums immediately.  The uneven implementation of the law by FEMA has exacerbated the effect of these changes.  This legislation will give FEMA extra time to strike the appropriate balance between risk and affordability,” said Reed. “This bill will provide temporary relief to Rhode Islanders facing sharp rate increases in their flood insurance policies,” said Whitehouse.  “This is a sensible step to protect Rhode Island homeowners from unaffordable cost increases, but we must continue working to find a long-term solution that puts the federally supported flood insurance program on solid financial footing without shouldering homeowners with an unreasonable burden.” According to a report by the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA), there are currently more than 16,000 NFIP issued policies in Rhode Island (county-by-county breakdown: Bristol: 2,141; Kent: 2,439; Newport: 3,016; Providence: 2,668; Washington: 5,859) and the average premium in Rhode Island is $1,343 annually.  About 6,800 of those policies are subsidized, according to FEMA.  In general, FEMA and GAO have reported subsidized premiums represent only about 40-45 percent of the full flood risk. The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act is authored by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and currently has the support of 27 cosponsors.  In addition to Senators Reed and Whitehouse, cosponsors of the bill include Senators: Mark Begich (D-AK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Robert Casey (D-PA), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), John Hoeven (R-ND), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tim Scott (R-SC), David Vitter (R-LA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Roger Wicker (R-MS). A similar version introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives currently has 168 cosponsors, including U.S. Representatives Jim Langevin (D-RI) and David Cicilline (D-RI). Congress may take up the bill when both the House and Senate reconvene in January of 2014.  The matter is also pending in federal district court in Gulfport, Mississippi where the Mississippi Insurance Commissioner filed a law suit in October seeking an injunction against the rate increases until FEMA completes the affordability study.  That case may be resolved as soon as December 31.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-statement-on-passage-of-budget,Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Passage of Budget,2013-12-18,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.18.13 Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Passage of Budget Washington, DC – Today the U.S. Senate voted 64 to 36 to pass a bipartisan budget agreement.  U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Budget Committee, released the following statement: “I supported the agreement because it provides budget certainty for two years, protects Social Security and Medicare benefits, and will help to prevent another government shutdown.  While it doesn’t go as far as I would have liked, the budget also provides for significant relief from the senseless sequester cuts.  I’m disappointed the deal didn’t include an extension of emergency unemployment benefits and will strongly support Senator Jack Reed’s efforts to pass one when Congress reconvenes in January.”  ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/senator-manchin-and-congressman-cicilline-introduce-bicameral-legislation-focus-job,Senator Manchin and Congressman Cicilline Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Focus on Job Growth,2013-12-17,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) today introduced commonsense legislation that would help Washington stay focused on what matters most to hardworking Americans: creating and protecting American jobs. Under current law, the government must “score” pieces of legislation to estimate the cost. Manchin and Cicilline’s legislation would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to also determine the number of jobs that would be created, protected, or lost should a specific piece of legislation become law. This bill will make debates about jobs more transparent and concrete, giving lawmakers a solid basis of information for decision-making.  “Although America’s unemployment numbers have slowly declined from the beginning of the worst recession since the Great Depression, there are still too many hardworking Americans out of work. There should not be a higher priority in Congress than creating jobs right here at home, and it’s time that lawmakers start thinking about one simple question before they cast their votes: how will this bill impact jobs and job growth in America?” Senator Manchin said. “The Jobs Score Act is a piece of commonsense legislation that will ensure our elected representatives know exactly how many jobs would be created, protected or lost with each bill.”  “My top priority in Congress is to strengthen our economy through job creation, and it is critical that we know the likely impact our decisions in Congress will have on employment across our nation,” said Cicilline. “I am proud to have worked with Senator Manchin in leading bipartisan efforts in both chambers, and look forward to continuing working for passage of this law and doing everything I can to get our economy back on track and get Rhode Islanders back to work.""",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221043701/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/republicans-outside-of-congress-support-action-on-climate-change,Republicans Outside of Congress Support Action on Climate Change,2013-12-17,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As delivered on the Senate floor Tuesday, December 17, 2013 Thank you very much, Madam President, this is my fifty-third time for consecutive weeks that we’re in session that I’ve come to the floor to speak about climate change, and to urge my colleagues that it is time to wake up.  These speeches aren’t easy and a great deal of effort goes into assisting me with research and crafting of them, and I am particularly grateful for the hard work of Dr. Todd Bianco in helping me to prepare them.  He’s the fellow sitting on the other side of the sign, looking embarrassed that I’ve just called him out. Todd joined my office in September 2012 as a Geological Society of America-U.S. Geological Survey Congressional Science Fellow, and he has contributed considerable scientific understanding and analytical rigor to our work.  His ability to interpret the latest climate research has helped me to convey complex scientific concepts both accurately and in a way that is accessible and meaningful to policymakers and the public.  You may be used to seeing him with me here on the floor for each week’s speech, but he has also been effective in researching legislation and preparing for hearings in the Environment and Public Works Committee. I say this because this week marks the end of Todd’s fellowship, and he will soon return home to Rhode Island with his wife Allison.  Allison Bianco, by the way, is a very talented artist whose work reflects our deep human connection to the natural world.  So, in addition to lending us Todd, Allison has also lent us some of her artwork, which is hung on display in my front office. So, in addition to thanking Todd for his efforts I also want to thank Allison.  Todd, like me, is an over-married human being. I wish them both the best of luck back home, and I thank Todd for his work in the United States Senate to advance responsible public policy grounded firmly in the best science. And, Madam President, it is time at last for Congress to heed that best science and act responsibly.  It is time to wake up.  Denying and delaying is irresponsible, in the judgment of history it will ultimately, I believe, be shameful. Carbon pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is altering the climate; the consensus around this fact within the scientific community is overwhelming.  And public awareness of this crisis is growing stronger—and interestingly, it’s growing stronger across party lines.  Republicans might want to listen to this. A survey conducted for the League of Conservation Voters found that more than half of young Republican voters—53 percent of Republicans under the age of thirty-five—53 percent would describe a politician who denies climate change is happening as, and I quote, “ignorant,” “out-of-touch,” or “crazy.” Fifty-three percent of Republicans under thirty-five view that kind of climate denial as “ignorant,” “out-of-touch,” or “crazy.” Well, even though a majority of young Republicans understand that denying climate change is out of touch with reality, Republicans in Congress refuse to get serious.   Why?  Well, another national survey, this one by the Pew Research Center, found that most—61 percent of non-Tea Party Republicans actually agree, actually agree there is “solid evidence the earth is warming,” with a plurality saying it is “mostly because of humans.”  But the Tea Partiers are different. Seventy percent of Tea Partiers, contrarily, say there is “no solid evidence” the earth is warming.  And 41 percent of Tea Partiers assert that warming is “just not happening.”  Not that we don’t have enough information yet—but it’s “just not happening.” [Show NASA Historical Temperature Record Chart] “Just not happening?”  Regardless of what you think the cause of this is, there are legion independent measurements that the earth is warming.  This isn’t a theory.  We measure that the temperature of the atmosphere and oceans is rising.  We measure that snow, ice caps, and glaciers are melting.  We measure that seas are rising.  We measure that the very seasons are shifting. I mean, it’s one thing to be the party that’s against science; the Tea Partiers would make it the party against measurement. Just as the Tea Partiers led the Republicans off the government shutdown cliff; just as the Tea Partiers tried to defeat the budget deal most Republicans supported; so the Tea Party wants to lead the Republican Party off the climate cliff.    Outside these walls, it is different.  Responsible Republican voices more and more acknowledge the threat of climate change and call for responsible solutions.  Many want to correct the market failure that aids and abets the polluters’ irresponsible practices. My colleagues Representative Henry Waxman, Representative Earl Blumenauer, Senator Brian Schatz, and I have put forward just such a market-based proposal:  a revenue-neutral fee on carbon emissions—the revenues of which would be returned back to the American people.  Here within Congress, where the polluters’ money flows so abundantly, no Republican colleague has come forward to join us.  But outside of Congress, here are some of the responsible voices in the Republican Party. Former South Carolina Representative Bob Inglis has long urged his party to get serious on climate change.  In an article in the Duke Environmental Law & and Policy Forum this year, Mr.  Inglis invoked the tenets of conservative economics.  He wrote: ""If you’re a conservative, it is time to step forward and engage in the climate and energy debate because we have the answer—free enterprise. . . . Conservatives understand that we must set the correct incentives, and this should include internalizing pollution and other environmental costs in our market system.  We tax income but we don’t tax emissions.  It makes sense to conservatives to take the tax off something you want more of, income, and shift the tax to something you want less of, emissions."" That was Bob Inglis.  And that’s exactly how you’d use, his words “internalize pollution and other environmental costs in our market system”, you’d do it with a carbon fee.  Sherwood Boehlert [pronounced Bo-lert] and Wayne Gilchrest, former Republican representatives from New York and Maryland, in a joint February 2012 Washington Post op-ed with Representative Waxman and Senator Markey, made the fiscal case for a carbon fee.  Here’s what they said: ""The debate over how to reduce our nation’s debt has been presented as a dilemma between cutting spending on programs Americans cherish or raising taxes on American job creators.  But there is a better way: We could slash our debt by making power plants and oil refineries pay for the carbon emissions that endanger our health and environment.  This policy would strengthen our economy, lessen our dependence on foreign oil, keep our skies clean—and raise a lot of revenue.  The best approach, they continue, would be to use a market mechanism such as the sale of carbon allowances or a fee on carbon pollution to lower emissions and increase revenue."" For one former Republican member of this body, the threat of climate change has serious professional implications.  As Secretary of Defense, it’s Chuck Hagel’s job to account for all hazards to our national security and our interests in the world.  He gave this clear-eyed assessment at the Halifax International Security Forum just last month.  Here’s what he wrote: ""Climate change does not directly cause conflict, but it can significantly add to the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict.  Food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and resources, more severe natural disasters – all place additional burdens on economies, societies, and institutions around the world… .  The effects of climate change and new energy resources are far-reaching and unpredictable . . . demanding our attention and strategic thinking."" Top advisors to former Republican presidents have joined this chorus of Republicans speaking out on climate and urging a carbon fee.  Republican presidents listened to these men and women.  Who knows, maybe Republican members of Congress will listen to them also. William D.  Ruckelshaus, Lee M.  Thomas, William K.  Reilly, and Christine Todd Whitman all headed the Environmental Protection Agency during Republican administrations.  They spoke with one voice in an August New York Times op-ed.  They wrote: ""As administrators of the E.P.A under Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and George W. Bush, we held fast to common-sense conservative principles — protecting the health of the American people, working with the best technology available and trusting in the innovation of American business and in the market to find the best solutions for the least cost."" These former Republican officials recognize both the wisdom of properly pricing carbon, and as well as the obstinate opposition that stands in the way of progress in Congress.  They continued in their article, I quote: ""A market-based approach, like a carbon tax would be the best path to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, but that is unachievable in the current political gridlock in Washington. . . . But we must continue efforts to reduce the climate-altering pollutants that threaten our planet.  The only uncertainty, they say, about our warming world is how bad the changes will get, and how soon.  What is most clear is that there is no time to waste."" They could even have said that it’s time to wake up.  George Schultz, another prominent Republican, served as Secretary of both Labor and Treasury under President Nixon, and Secretary of State under President Reagan.  He too is calling for an end to the polluters’ free ride.  In an April op-ed with Nobel economist Gary Becker that appeared in Real Clear Politics, George Schultz appealed to our American sense of fariness, writing: ""Americans like to compete on a level playing field.  All the players should have an equal opportunity to win based on their competitive merits, not on some artificial imbalance that gives someone or some group a special advantage.  We think this idea should be applied to energy producers.  They all should bear the full costs of the use of the energy they provide. . . . Let me repeat that: they all should bear the full costs of the use of the energy they provide. . . . Clearly, Schultz continued, a revenue-neutral carbon tax would benefit all Americans by eliminating the need for costly energy subsidies while promoting a level playing field for energy producers."" Veterans of a much more recent Republican administration are likewise acknowledging the appeal of a carbon fee proposal.  David Frum, speechwriter to George W. Bush, wrote in a December 2012 CNN.com op-ed, that a carbon fee could help address a number of pressing national issues.  Here’s what he wrote: ""Take three worrying long-term challenges: climate change, the weak economic recovery, and America's chronic budget deficits.  Combine them into one.  And suddenly three tough problems become one attractive solution.  Tax carbon. . . . The revenues from a carbon tax could be used to reduce the deficit while also extending new forms of payroll tax relief to middle-class families, thus supporting middle-class family incomes."" Gregory Mankiw [pronounced Man-cue], economic advisor to George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, specifically highlighted our carbon fee proposal in an August op-ed in the New York Times.  Our bill, he wrote, “is more effective and less invasive than the regulatory approach that the federal government has traditionally pursued.”   Speaking of us, he said “If the Democratic sponsors conceded to using the new revenue to reduce personal and corporate income tax rates, a bipartisan compromise is possible to imagine.  “Among economists,” he concluded, “the issue is largely a no-brainer.” Well, I say to Mr. Mankiw, as one of the Democratic sponsors, we are very interested in a bipartisan compromise, we just need a Republican to  come to the negotiating table, and we can begin. That is what the American people want.  It’s what voters want.  And it’s what responsible state and local leaders want as well.   Take for example Jim Brainard, a five-term Republican mayor of Carmel, Indiana.  In an Indianapolis Star op-ed this month, Mayor Brainard implored Democrats and Republicans alike to face up to the reality of climate change.  Here’s what Mayor Brainard said: “[T]his issue isn’t just about saving polar bears…. it’s about saving our cities. . . . No matter your politics, there is overwhelming evidence of climate change and we as a nation have a moral obligation to address these issues.”  A moral obligation to address these issues. For himself, he says he plans “to urge the federal government to take a stronger leadership role in helping our cities prepare for what is certainly coming our way.” Madam President, there are a lot of Republicans out there who are awake to the threat of climate change, and to the win-win benefits of pricing carbon and using the revenues to invest in tax reductions, and adaptation, and other ways to protect ourselves and advance our economy.  Unfortunately here in Congress, the dark, heavy hand of the polluters is helping the Tea Party drive the Republican Party off the cliff.  One day, the Republican Party will pay a heavy price for this, and that day may be soon.  They need to make the change. It is the responsibility of Congress to heed the warnings of environmental calamity; to stamp out market distortions that favor polluters; and to steer this country on a prudent, reasonable path toward a proud future that is both sustainable and equitable. It is time, Madam President, for Congress to wake up.  I yield the floor.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221053937/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/speech/reed-speaks-on-the-need-to-renew-unemployment-insurance,Reed Speaks on the Need to Renew Unemployment Insurance,2013-12-17,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Monday, December 16, 2013 Reed Speaks on the Need to Renew Unemployment Insurance Mr. REED. Mr. President, in 12 days, unemployment insurance will expire for 1.3 million Americans. This will impact virtually every State. Over the course of the next year, it will set back millions of hard-working families, slow down job growth, and slow our economic recovery. Today I filed three amendments to the Bipartisan Budget Agreement Act. The amendments would extend UI for 1 month, 3 months, or a year respectively. While I believe the best policy is to extend unemployment insurance for 1 year in order to keep our economic recovery moving forward, I am willing to work with my colleagues who object to extending it for the full year to find a path forward. What we must, I think, provide is at least a message to those people that they will not see their benefits eliminated on December 28, and that we will, in fact, be working to make sure that this protection is in place for families all cross this country. Over the next several days I will be coming to the floor seeking consent and urging my colleagues to extend unemployment insurance. The expiration of unemployment insurance will be devastating to families across the entire Nation who rely on this as the last remaining source of support, in many cases for people who have worked hard for many years and because of this economy have lost their jobs. This is a stressful time. My home State of Rhode Island has an unemployment rate of 9.2 percent. We have been struggling since 2008 and 2009. This is very difficult for people. This difficulty will be particularly hard to bear as we celebrate the holidays--at a time when people should be able to consider and count their blessings--they will instead be looking ahead a few days afterward to the loss of valuable, irreplaceable income. It is also a devastating blow to our local businesses and economy. Extending UI is not only doing the right thing for American families, this is doing the right and smart thing for the American economy. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that if we fail to extend unemployment insurance, we will lose 200,000 jobs--at a time when our major priority should be getting as many jobs as we can--and will slow economic growth by about .2 percent GDP. This is not only the right thing to do in terms of the families of America, it is the smart and right thing to do for our economy. There is a compelling, economic rationale to provide these extended unemployment insurance benefits. Mark Zandi, a noted economist, estimates that for every $1 we put into the UI Program we get $1.55 in return of economic activity. It makes sense. People who are living without their income from employment, when they take this money, they go to the store, they put food on the table, they pay rent. They pay for heat in the Northeast where the President pro tempore resides. They are not stashing it away. In some cases, they are putting it right back into the economy. So this is a wise, economic policy, as well as a humane and decent policy. Now is not the time to let this program expire for the individuals or for the economy. We have to extend UI immediately. December 28 is the day it stops; it is a cliff. People are off the program. Then, throughout the year, as people exhaust their State benefits at 26 weeks, they fall off because there is no Unemployment Insurance Program. This is an economy where we are just beginning to see some recovery. Last month's numbers suggested about a 200,000-job gain. That was good, but hidden in those statistics was increasing evidence that long-term unemployment is increasing. Those people who haven't found jobs quickly are not finding jobs very well at all. That trend is continuing and that is another reason we need the long-term benefits that are provided by the Federal program. I am going to do my best to try to bring people together to recognize that this is an issue that is about American workers. People don't get unemployment insurance unless they have worked. It is about American families, because it is so necessary to support these families, and it is about States all across this country. Rhode Island has a 9.2-percent unemployment record. Nevada is the highest with 9.3 percent. We can look at States--North, South, East, West--scattered across this country that have unemployment rates over 8 percent that need this program for their residents. I hope we can come together, work together, and get this done. I urge, again, in the next few days that we all stop and think about our obligations, not only to the families of America but to keeping the momentum of economic growth moving forward. I would particularly ask those colleagues who are representing States with unemployment rates that are above the national average--and the national average is 7 percent--to think very hard about what they are going to tell many of their constituents on December 28 when they have lost their benefits. I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/defense-authorization-bill-includes-bipartisan-asset-tracking-provision,Defense Authorization Bill Includes Bipartisan Asset Tracking Provision,2013-12-17,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.17.13 Defense Authorization Bill Includes Bipartisan Asset Tracking Provision Washington, D.C. – This week the U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that will authorize funding for defense programs in the year ahead.  The final bill, which was unveiled last week, includes a bipartisan provision authored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to strengthen the military’s “asset tracking” efforts.  These efforts can save taxpayer dollars and help prevent counterfeit military items from entering the supply chain. “This provision will help encourage the use of state of the art barcode tracking technology for military assets,” said Whitehouse.  “This technology can help improve inventory management for military equipment and parts, while also cutting costs.  It can also help to identify counterfeit items that pose serious risks to our troops.” “The Defense Department is wasting billions of dollars a year due to ineffective financial and supply management practices,” said Portman.  “We need to solve these problems as we seek to find savings in the Defense budget while maintaining the superiority of our force.  This initiative will force the Pentagon to accelerate solutions and get much-need input from industry partners that are at the cutting edge of supply chain management.” The Whitehouse-Portman legislation would: Require the Department of Defense (DOD) to include in its report to Congress a description of how improved asset tracking and in-transit visibility could enhance audit readiness, reduce counterfeit risk, enhance logistical processes and benefit the Department of Defense.  Require a detailed description of asset marking requirements and how automated information and data capture technologies could improve readiness, cost effectiveness, and performance. Require a defined list of all categories of items that program managers shall identify for the purposes of asset marking. Require a description of steps to improve asset tracking for classified programs. Require steps to be undertaken to facilitate collaboration with industry designed to capture best practices, lessons learned, and any relevant technical matters. These provisions are strongly supported by industry stakeholders, including A2B Tracking, a Rhode Island company that manufactures unique identification technology for the military. ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/rhode-island-seniors-continue-benefitting-from-health-care-law,Rhode Island Seniors Continue Benefitting from Health Care Law,2013-12-17,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.17.13 Rhode Island Seniors Continue Benefitting from Health Care Law Medicare Beneficiaries Saving on Prescription Drugs and Preventive Services Washington, DC – As the holiday season nears, thousands of Rhode Island seniors will have a little extra money thanks to prescription drug savings made possible by the Affordable Care Act.  Through October of this year 10,600 Medicare recipients in Rhode Island saved over $7 million on prescription drugs, for an average savings of $677 per person. Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, thousands of Rhode Island seniors fell into the so-called Medicare “doughnut hole” and were forced to pay the full cost of their prescription drugs.  In 2010, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse successfully fought to eliminate the doughnut hole as part of the Affordable Care Act, enabling the savings they are seeing today. Additionally, new data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services today shows that, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, in the first 11 months of 2013 alone, an estimated 25.4 million people with traditional Medicare – including 87,099 in Rhode Island – received at least one free preventive service at no out-of-pocket cost, such as an annual wellness visit or mammogram. “Seniors who were hurt by the doughnut hole for years are now saving hundreds of dollars on their prescription drugs while also gaining access to free preventive services,” said Senator Whitehouse.  “These examples are further proof that the Affordable Care Act is making a real difference for Rhode Islanders.” The doughnut hole used to expose seniors to the full cost of prescription drugs after they and their plan spent a certain amount of money ($2,970) for covered drugs in a year, but before they hit catastrophic coverage ($4,750).  The Affordable Care Act has been closing the doughnut hole in phases since it was enacted in 2010. Click here to see how many people benefitted from these savings in your zip code last year. Because of the Affordable Care Act, in 2011 and 2012 seniors in the doughnut hole received a 50% discount from the drug manufacturers on all brand name drugs.  Starting this year, the federal government is subsidizing an additional 2.5% of brand-name drug costs for seniors in the doughnut hole. These subsidies will increase each year until the coverage gap is closed in 2020. ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221054418/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-grassley-want-answers-on-finra-expungement-rate,"Reed, Grassley Want Answers on FINRA Expungement Rate",2013-12-16,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Monday, December 16, 2013 Reed, Grassley Want Answers on FINRA Expungement Rate WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to protect investors and the integrity of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) BrokerCheck program, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today sent a bipartisan letter asking FINRA to clarify and strengthen standards for expungement of investor complaints against brokers. Citing a recent Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) study, which found that FINRA arbitrators granted expungement relief in 96.9% of cases from May 2009 through December 2011, the U.S. Senators said they are concerned about the number of times investor complaints may be expunged, or removed, from publicly available broker records maintained by FINRA via BrokerCheck. The Senators wrote: “We share FINRA’s view that “expungement is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted only under appropriate circumstances,” and that it should be permitted “only when it has no meaningful investor protection or regulatory value.”  However, we believe that meaningful investor protection includes the disclosure of whether a customer dispute was settled.   Not just for transparency sake, but also to help prospective investors make informed decisions about which individuals or firms with whom to do business.” In an effort to determine if the high percentage of expungements are warranted, the Senators asked FINRA to publicly detail the number of instances in which FINRA has questioned or challenged the provision of expungement relief and provide a detailed description of the circumstances of each case.  The Senators also asked FINRA to respond to the recommended changes cited in the PIABA study and explain whether FINRA intends to adopt each recommendation.  Full text of the letter follows (PDF attached): Dear Mr. Ketchum: Given our interest in improving transparency of our financial markets, we are writing in response to a recent Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) study, which raises concerns about the number of times investor complaints may be expunged, or removed, from publicly available broker records maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).  FINRA provides information to investors through BrokerCheck, which FINRA believes, “should be the first resource investors turn to when choosing whether to do business or continue to do business with a particular firm or individual.”  However, as the PIABA study indicates, this system may not enable investors to easily obtain all the information necessary to determine whether to hire a particular FINRA registered broker.  According to the PIABA study, expungement relief was granted in 96.9% of cases from May 2009 through December 2011. We share FINRA’s view that “expungement is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted only under appropriate circumstances,” and that it should be permitted “only when it has no meaningful investor protection or regulatory value.”  However, we believe that meaningful investor protection includes the disclosure of whether a customer dispute was settled.   Not just for transparency sake, but also to help prospective investors make informed decisions about which individuals or firms with whom to do business. Given our interest in fair financial markets and transparency, we request that you provide a response to each of the five recommendations cited in the PIABA study and explain whether and why or why not FINRA intends to adopt each recommendation.  Additionally, please provide: 1.         The number of instances in which FINRA has questioned or challenged the provision of expungement relief and a detailed description of the circumstances of each case. 2.         Any draft legislative language that would be necessary to provide FINRA with the authority to ensure that expungment relief is provided “only when it has no meaningful investor protection or regulatory value,” if you do not believe such authority already exists. Please provide a response by January 6, 2014.  Thank you for your attention to this important matter.  Sincerely, Jack Reed                                                        Charles E. Grassley",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-hosts-meeting-with-national-coalition-to-highlight-rhode-island-leadership-on-advanced-illness-care,Whitehouse Hosts Meeting with National Coalition to Highlight Rhode Island Leadership on Advanced Illness Care,2013-12-16,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.16.13 Whitehouse Hosts Meeting with National Coalition to Highlight Rhode Island Leadership on Advanced Illness Care Providence, RI – This morning, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse hosted a panel discussion with Bill Novelli, co-chair of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC), to discuss the organization’s work to improve advanced illness care. Advanced illness occurs when chronic conditions, such as end-stage cancer and heart disease, progress to the point that general functioning declines and medical treatment begins to lose its effect. During the meeting, Senator Whitehouse and Rhode Island health care stakeholders highlighted initiatives already underway in the state to ensure that patients’ wishes are honored.  They also discussed possible areas for collaboration between Rhode Island and C-TAC. The meeting marks the first step in what Senator Whitehouse and state health leaders hope will be an ongoing discussion about how to make Rhode Island a national model for care planning and the delivery of patient-centered advanced illness care.  “Nearly all of us will, at some point in our lives, be forced to confront the difficult choices that come with advanced illness or end-of-life situations.  These are uncomfortable discussions to have, but we need to have them and I thank C-TAC for joining me today,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “There is so much we can do to improve care and empower patients to express their wishes and goals for treatment.  I hope today’s discussion is the beginning of a productive partnership between Rhode Island and C-TAC.” ""We must strive to support our neighbors, our friends and our families, when they make some of the most challenging decisions of their lives, by ensuring that our care system puts patients and their families first and at the center of advanced illness and end-of-life care,"" said Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts. “With Americans aging and older people needing more care, now is the time to transform our health system so that seriously ill people receive care that meets their needs and is consistent with their values,” said Bill Novelli, co-chair of C-TAC. A National Journal poll found that 93% of Americans say advance care planning should be a priority of the health care system.  Unfortunately, the majority of Americans do not have an advance directive or some form of legal document discussing their decision-making for medical treatment.  According to a 2008 report by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services, only 18 to 36 percent of Americans have completed an advance directive.  Addressing advanced care issues is increasingly important as the baby-boomer generation ages, and the percentage of the population age 65 and older grows to almost one fifth of the entire population by 2030. Care in the last year of life represents 30 percent of the total cost of Medicare in the United States, according to a 2011 Dartmouth Institute study.  In addition to Mr. Novelli, meeting speakers included Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts; Dr. Joan Teno, Professor of Health Services Policy and Practice at Brown University and member of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Transforming End of Life Care in America; Dr. Edward Martin, Chief Medical Officer at Home and Hospice Care of RI and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School; Gail Paltry, RN, Chief Program Officer from Healthcentric Advisors; Maureen Glynn, co-founder of the Improving the End of Life Care Coalition; Dr. Kate Lally, Medical Director of Palliative Care at Kent Hospital and the VNA of Care New England; and Reverend Don Anderson, Executive Minister of the RI Council of Churches. Panelists discussed a wide range of topics, including the need for transparency and accountability in advanced illness care delivery, the new fellowship program run by Brown University and Home and Hospice Care of RI to train medical students and residents in hospice and palliative care, and state initiatives to increase consumer participation in patient-directed advanced care planning. The meeting was hosted at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University. About C-TAC C-TAC is a diverse alliance of 80+ national patient and consumer advocacy groups, health care professionals and providers, private sector stakeholders, faith-based organizations, and health care payers. These stakeholders have a shared mission to provide all Americans, especially the sickest and most vulnerable, with comprehensive, high quality, person- and family- centered care that is consistent with patient goals and honors patient dignity.   ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/video/justice-jean-claude-roger-mbede,Commemorating Human Rights Day,2013-12-12,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Pawtucket 1070 Main Street, Suite 300, Pawtucket, RI 02860 Phone: 401-729-5600 Fax: 401-729-5608 Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:30PM",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-statement-bipartisan-budget-act,Langevin Statement on Bipartisan Budget Act,2013-12-12,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) issued the following statement today in response to House passage of H.J.Res. 59, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013: “This budget compromise represents a small, but important, step towards returning to a regular budget process. Our nation has suffered for far too long as the Republican leadership governs by crisis. I’m pleased we were able to roll back some of the most harmful cuts imposed by sequestration and temporarily avert a scheduled cut in Medicare physician reimbursements. “However, I am deeply disturbed that House Republican Leaders refused to allow a vote to extend unemployment insurance for 1.3 million Americans, including 4,900 Rhode Islanders, who will be cut off from federal emergency unemployment compensation in the middle of the holidays. Unemployment insurance provides vital assistance to those struggling to find jobs during a difficult economic recovery. That is why I joined 173 of my colleagues in calling on Speaker Boehner to prevent Congress from leaving for the year without addressing this critical issue. Democrats put forward a three-month, fully paid-for, extension of unemployment insurance, and it is unconscionable that Republicans did not allow a simple vote to include it in the budget with so many families facing financial uncertainty.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221044536/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/video-audio/time-to-wake-up-congress-is-being-irresponsible-on-climate,Time to Wake Up: Congress is Being Irresponsible on Climate,2013-12-12,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As Sheldon travels the ocean state, he’s been hearing from middle-class families, seniors, small business owners – taking that information back to Washington and standing up for Rhode Island. We invite you to use the resources in this section to learn more about Sheldon’s latest efforts for the Ocean State.  You’ll find video, press releases, speeches and more.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221043706/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/inaction-on-climate-change-is-irresponsible-,Inaction on Climate Change is Irresponsible,2013-12-11,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As delivered on the Senate floor Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Thank you, Mr. President. This is the 52nd consecutive week we're in session that I have come to the Floor to ask us, please, for Lord's sake, to wake up to the damage carbon pollution is already doing to our atmosphere, oceans, and climate; and to look ahead, to use our God-given sense, and to plan for what is so obviously coming.  In those weeks, I've talked about all different aspects of carbon pollution: its effect on sports and our economy, its effect on oceans and coasts, its effect on agriculture and wildfires, its effect on storms and insurance costs.  I've talked about the measurements -- measurements -- we can already make of the harm already happening: sea level rise, which you measure with a yardstick, basically; ocean temperature, which you measure with a thermometer; and ocean acidification -- the fastest in fifty million years, according to research published in Nature Geoscience -- which you can measure with litmus tests.  I have, I hope, to anyone listening with their logic turned on, thoroughly rebutted the deniers' phony arguments against solving carbon pollution, whether those arguments purported to be based in science, or religion, or economics, or our competitiveness.   I have listed the thoughtful and responsible groups -- from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, from WalMart to NASA, from Ford and GM to Coke and Pepsi, from America's Garden Clubs to just last month our major sports leagues -- who understand the truth about climate change and are saying so. I've done my best to expose the calculated campaign of lies that we're up against, and the vast scandalous apparatus of phony organizations and engineered messages that are designed to propagate those lies.  I've traced the connections back to -- of course -- the big carbon polluters and their billionaire owners.  And I've been obliged to point out that the money of those big polluters and billionaires floods this Chamber, that their lobbyists prowl the outer halls, and that to a sad and disappointing degree this Congress is bought and paid for by that polluter influence.  One factor we have yet to consider is whether, as an institution, Congress has just become completely irresponsible.  Maybe this Congress just can't operate as an institution at an intelligent level.  Some Congresses are going to be smarter and more responsible than others -- that's just the natural order of variation.  Some Congress is going to be the sorriest Congress ever.  Maybe we're it.   Some organizations, like NASA, for instance, are very smart.  That's why NASA is driving a rover around on the surface of Mars right now.  That is a seriously smart organization.  Some organizations take ordinary people and call them to be their very best, to play at a level above their natural talents, to heed a higher calling than their selfish inclinations.  At their best, our military and our churches tend to achieve that.  Some organizations, however, take even the most talented people, and drag them down to the lowest common denominator, and stifle the best and bring out the worst in even those very talented people.  Well, I ask people watching: which type of organization do you think Congress is right now?  Which type do you think we are?  As an organization, it is hard to say anything kinder of Congress than that it is now a really irresponsible organization.  We couldn't even keep the United States government running.  Standard and Poor’s estimated that our Tea Party shutdown foolishness cost Americans tens of billions of dollars, for no gain -- none.  We can't sort out the basics of building and maintaining our American infrastructure:  our own American Society of Civil Engineers gives our country a D+ for infrastructure.  And that's not complicated stuff, yet we flub it; like a football team that fumbles the ball at the snap. Get a little more complicated, and Congress seems to get even worse.  Let me show you just one health care chart.  [Show International Healthcare Outcomes Chart] This chart shows the average life expectancy in years of a country compared to the cost per capita of health care in that country.  Together, they make a pretty good proxy for how a country's health care system is doing.  This group here represents most of the OECD member and partner countries—our industrialized international competitors.  This is us -- way out here, all alone, spending the most by far, for results that are mediocre at best.   We would save nearly a trillion dollars a year if we could just get our per capita cost down to what Norway and Switzerland spend, they’re the next two most expensive countries on the planet.  And we are a trillion dollars a year more, laid out per capita.  Think of what we could do as a nation, what we could build and invent with a trillion dollars a year if we weren't wasting it on bad healthcare.  And bad it is.  We get worse results in longevity than virtually any modern economy.   Look who beats us: Japan, Great Britain, Switzerland,  Netherlands, Norway.  Germany does, Italy does, Greece does, Luxembourg does.   They all beat us.  Chile -- Chile and the Czech Republic are the two countries we beat for longevity.  Look at the size of that problem, those lives lost, those trillions of dollars wasted -- and then look at the quality of the health care discussion we are having in Congress and tell me that this is not a completely irresponsible organization.  And that brings us to climate change.  Yeah, it's complicated, when you're trying to predict and model something as complex as what our climate is going to do in the years ahead.  But, it is also simple, when you look at the stuff that everyone agrees on, on the stuff that you can measure, the stuff that you'd have to be a nut or a crank or an eccentric to dispute.  Nobody responsible -- nobody responsible disputes the principle that adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere raises the temperature of the Earth, and that it does so through the so-called ""greenhouse effect.""  A scientist named John Tyndall figured that out at the time of the American Civil War.  I brought his musty old paper in here several speeches ago.  Its old leather binding was flaking and peeling.  When that report was first published, Abraham Lincoln had just been elected President.  In all the years since then, this principle of science has always been confirmed and validated.  It is not some questionable theory.  The greenhouse effect is real.  It would not just be wrong, it would be irresponsible to deny that. Nobody responsible disputes that for over a century our modern economy has run on fossil fuels, and that burning those fossil fuels has released gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  The Global Carbon Project estimates that mankind has pumped about 2000 gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere since 1870.  That's a pretty solid estimate, and I've never even heard anyone dispute it.  So we know those two things:  adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere traps more heat; and we have released an estimated 2000 gigatons -- 2000 billion tons -- of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Let's go on from there.   It is a known principle of science that a significant portion of that multi-gigaton carbon load is absorbed by the oceans, and that the chemical reaction when that absorption happens into the oceans makes the oceans more acidic.  No responsible person disputes either proposition.  It’s not some theory, it's something that you can actually do and measure in a lab.  Again, it wouldn't just be wrong, it would be really irresponsible to deny that. We also know that the oceans do more than absorb carbon -- they absorb heat.  Indeed they have absorbed most of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases– over 90% of the heat between 1971 and 2010 according to the recent IPCC report.  And what happens when the oceans absorb heat?  They expand.  Thermal expansion is a basic physical property of liquids.  It can also be shown in a very simple lab.  It is not a theory.  Again, it would be not just wrong but irresponsible to deny that, too.   It would not just be wrong, it would be irresponsible to deny what those simple measurements and clear principles tell us. But we do.  We do.  We deny it.  Congress won't wake up and address this problem:  like those monkeys: see no carbon, hear no carbon, speak no carbon. Because we are so irresponsible, because we deny this reality, we are failing to take precautions, and as a result many people will suffer. For those of us who love this country and are proud of it, and are proud of our government, and want this country and its government to be a beacon of hope and promise and rectitude, it hurts a little extra for the United States Congress to be such a failure.  It hurts a little extra that we, in our generation, have driven Congress, the hub of our noble American experiment in democracy, the beating heart of this great republic, down to that low level.  It is a harsh judgment that this body is an irresponsible failure.  But on climate, this Congress got it the old-fashioned way -- it earned it. I will close with a final observation.  Compare the irresponsibility of this ""see no carbon, hear no carbon, speak no carbon"" Congress with the recent exhortation from Pope Francis.  Here is what the Pope said – I’ll quote him at some length: ""There are other weak and defenceless beings who are frequently at the mercy of economic interests or indiscriminate exploitation. I am speaking of creation as a whole. We human beings are not only the beneficiaries but also the stewards of other creatures. Thanks to our bodies, God has joined us so closely to the world around us that we can feel the desertification of the soil almost as a physical ailment, and the extinction of a species as a painful disfigurement. Let us not leave in our wake a swath of destruction and death which will affect our own lives and those of future generations.  Here I would make my own,” the Pope continued, “the touching and prophetic lament voiced some years ago by the bishops of the Philippines.”  And he quotes them:  'An incredible variety of insects lived in the forest and were busy with all kinds of tasks… Birds flew through the air, their bright plumes and varying calls adding color and song to the green of the forests… God intended this land for us, his special creatures, but not so that we might destroy it and turn it into a wasteland… After a single night’s rain, look at the chocolate brown rivers in your locality and remember that they are carrying the life blood of the land into the sea… How can fish swim in sewers like the . . . rivers which we have polluted?  Who has turned the wonderworld of the seas into underwater cemeteries bereft of color and life?'   Small, yet strong in the love of God, like Saint Francis of Assisi, all of us, as Christians, are called to watch over and protect the fragile world in which we live, and all its peoples."" What is our answer to the Pope, to this great Christian leader?  In Congress, it's the monkey answer:  hear no carbon, see no carbon, speak no carbon. We still have time to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.  We can actually do it in painless ways.  We can even do it in advantageous ways, in ways that will boost our economy.  But we have got to do it.   We have got to wake up.  We simply have got to wake up.  I yield the floor.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221055241/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-key-ri-defense-projects-included-in-bipartisan-defense-bill,Reed: Key RI Defense Projects Included in Bipartisan Defense Bill,2013-12-11,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Reed: Key RI Defense Projects Included in Bipartisan Defense Bill WASHINGTON, DC – After Armed Services Committee negotiators reached an agreement to move a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2014, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today said that the bipartisan agreement recognizes the increasing strategic importance Rhode Island plays in our national defense.  The $632.8 billion bill, which authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy, includes a pay raise for troops, as well as funding for ships, submarines, aircraft, and military equipment.  The bill also contains strong reforms to help strengthen DOD’s response to the problem of sexual assault in our military.  “This bipartisan agreement makes smart investments in our national security and recognizes the increasing strategic importance Rhode Island plays in our national defense,” said Reed, the Chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, who helped ensure the NDAA fully authorizes the Virginia-class submarine program and the DDG-1000 program.  “This legislation authorizes full funding for the continuation of the Virginia-class submarine, which is a critical component of our national defense capabilities, and Rhode Island plays an important role in its construction.  It also helps restore military readiness and provides our servicemen and women with the resources, training, technology, equipment, and authorities they need to successfully carry out their mission.” The bill authorizes $5.8 billion for the Virginia-class submarine program, including two submarines in 2014, and advance procurement funding for two ships planned in 2015.  The bill supports the upcoming ten boat, five year multi-year contract currently being negotiated by the Navy and Electric Boat.  It also authorizes $1 billion to continue development of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine replacement. Reed noted the bill authorizes $12.4 million in military construction funds for renovations to Hewitt Hall at the Naval War College in Newport, as well as $6 million to build a C-130J Flight Simulator Training Facility at Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown.  This project will construct a flight simulator facility to train aircrews to fly the eight C-130J aircraft assigned to this installation. “The Naval War College in Newport shapes the way the Navy thinks.  We need to ensure it has the facilities and technology to carry out its mission of training intellectually innovative leaders,” said Reed.  “I am also pleased that we are investing in a new C-130J Flight Simulator Training Facility at Quonset to ensure our pilots, aircrews, support, and maintenance teams get state-of-the-art training they need to be ready for duty.” Reed also supported other key provisions in the NDAA to: •           Raise pay for service members: Authorizes a 1 percent across-the-board pay raise for all members of the uniformed services, consistent with the President’s request. •           Reform sexual assault prevention and response: Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to help prevent sexual assaults and more strongly punish offenders.  The bill requires mandatory reviews of cases that commanders do not choose to prosecute and enhances whistleblower protections to help increase the ability of servicemembers to report unwanted sexual contact without fear of retribution. •           Restore readiness to operations and maintenance accounts cut by sequester:  The bill authorizes $1.8 billion in critical funding to restore cuts from sequester to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.  These funds are critical for restoring readiness, funding training, and other critical resources to prepare for overseas operations.  •           Improve the ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to counter emerging and nontraditional threats, focusing on terrorism, cyber warfare, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery (including ballistic missiles). •           Authorize $200 million for the Rapid Innovation Program for competitive, merit-based projects. •           Restore DOD funding for the STARBASE program, a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) program •           Authorize $25 million in impact aid assistance to schools. •           Authorize nearly $1 billion for DOD counter improvised explosive device (IED) efforts to defeat the device, attack the network, and train the force. •           Direct the Secretary of Defense to develop a regional strategic framework for U.S. counterterrorism assistance and cooperation in North Africa. •           Address the threats from nuclear weapons and materials by strengthening nonproliferation programs, maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent, reducing the size of the nuclear weapons stockpile, and ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of the stockpile, the delivery systems, and the nuclear infrastructure. •           Terminate troubled or unnecessary programs and activities, identify efficiencies, and reduces defense expenditures in light of the nation’s budget deficit problems.  Ensures the future capability, viability, and fiscal sustainability of the all-volunteer force. •           Emphasize the reduction of dependency on fossil fuels and seeks greater energy security and independence, pursues technological advances in traditional and alternative energy storage, power systems, operational energy tactical advantages, renewable energy production, and more energy efficient ground, air, and naval systems. •           Promote aggressive and thorough oversight of DOD’s programs and activities to ensure proper stewardship of taxpayer’s dollars and compliance with relevant laws and regulations. The bill is expected to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives this week, followed by the full U.S. Senate.  It faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where some Senators have criticized the compromise to move the bill without further amendments.  The legislation must be passed by both chambers before it can be signed into law.  A separate appropriations law must also be enacted to finalize the authorization bill’s priorities.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221060120/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/senators-introduce-student-loan-borrowers-bill-of-rights,Senators Introduce Student Loan Borrowers Bill of Rights,2013-12-11,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Senators Introduce Student Loan Borrowers Bill of Rights Legislation will reform disclosure and servicing standards for both federal and private student loans WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to strengthen borrower protections and student loan servicing standards for both federal and private student loans, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today introduced new legislation to ensure struggling student loan borrowers are treated fairly and understand the full range of repayment options and resources available to them. “Student loan debt has tripled over the last decade,” Durbin said. “With student loan debt far outpacing the rise in starting salaries, many borrowers find that despite their best efforts, they are unable to make their monthly payments. And when lenders refuse to work with them on a repayment plan, they begin a downward spiral that is difficult to turn around. These borrowers and their families should not have to face the burden of additional costs because they cannot resolve errors quickly or gain access to programs meant to help them. The Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights will ensure that all borrowers will have access to basic rights and protections.”   “If we're going to make a dent in making college affordable, we have to hold servicers accountable, increase transparency, and ensure students and their families get a fair deal.  The Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights will help establish clear, measurable expectations for servicers and ensure borrowers have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about repaying their student loans,” said Reed.   “Our students now face more than $1 trillion in student loan debt, but many young people are asked to pay even more in costs because of unfair treatment by loan servicers. We should be supporting students who have worked hard to get an education, not making it more difficult for them. I’m pleased to join Senators Durbin, Boxer, and Reed to introduce the Student Loan Bill of Rights, which will help make sure student borrowers are treated fairly and have access to the information and resources they need,” Warren said.   “Student borrowers must be treated fairly,” Boxer said. “The Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights would ensure that students are provided clear and honest information about how much they owe and what their repayment options are.”   The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released two reports over the last two years that have revealed that servicing standards are in need of reform to ensure borrowers are informed and can access basic information about their loans. The CFPB’s 20103 report is available here and the 2012 report is available here. Though many students hold federal student loans with strong consumer protections, a growing number take out private loans that carry no limits on interest rates and offer few, if any, alternative repayment plans. In some cases, even federal student loan borrowers are unaware of options like income-based repayment and public service loan forgiveness. Payments are sometimes misallocated to loans with lower interest rates, preventing borrowers from paying loans off quickly, and borrowers report significant challenges in resolving errors on their accounts in a timely manner.   The Student Loan Borrowers Bill of Rights provides six basic rights for all federal and private student loan borrowers: The right to have options such as alternative payment plans to avoid default. The right to be informed about key terms and conditions of the loan and any repayment options to ensure changing plans won’t cost more. The right to know your loan’s servicer and who to reach out to when there is a problem. The right to consistency when it comes to how monthly payments are applied. Lenders and servicers should also honor promotions and promises that are advertised or offered.  The right to fairness, like grace periods when loans are transferred or debt cancellation when the borrower dies or becomes disabled. The right to accountability, including timely resolution of errors and certification of private loans. The bill places a special focus on servicemember and veteran borrowers by requiring loan servicers to provide each borrower with a liaison specifically trained in the benefits available to military borrowers.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/ri-congressional-delegation-announces-123000-federal-funding-rhode-island-art,"RI Congressional Delegation Announces $123,000 in Federal Funding for Rhode Island Art Organizations",2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation today announced $123,000 in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant funding for Rhode Island arts organizations and programs. These competitive grants were awarded to organizations that contribute to the cultural and economic development of the state through the arts. This is NEA’s first round of FY2014 competitive grant awards. “This federal funding will help support local artists and bolster economic development and education through the arts,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, the Chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NEA’s budget. “By combining federal grants with state and local funds and private donations, we are expanding opportunities for young people and supporting artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation in communities across the state.” “Rhode Island’s arts community plays an important role in the revitalization of our economy,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the NEA. “I’m proud to announce these grants, which will help some of our most talented arts organizations continue to enrich our state’s robust arts scene and provide important arts education programs for our youth.” “I am so proud of Rhode Island’s vibrant arts community, and I know these grants will be put to good use,” said Congressman Jim Langevin. “Not only are the arts a major draw for tourism, and therefore a significant part of our economy, but they are also critical to education. The arts keep our students engaged and energized, and I am glad to see the list of recipients  include agencies that provide arts education opportunities.” ""I am delighted to join with the delegation to announce this competitive grant award to the organizations in Rhode Island that do so much to help our young people get involved in the arts and build upon the great programs that are already at work,"" said Congressman Cicilline. ""The Alliance of Artists Communities in Providence, RI, Everett Dance Theatre in  Providence, RI, and RiverzEdge Arts Project Inc. in Woonsocket, RI are providing essential avenues to build a robust artistic community in Rhode Island and I am delighted to help them continue to do this important work."" This first round of NEA FY2014 competitive grants were  awarded to organizations across the country that support the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work, both new and established. Projects include commissions, residencies, rehearsals, workshops, performances, exhibitions, publications, festivals, training programs and literature fellowships.  Over $23 million was awarded during the first round, which included over $1.6 million to arts education projects. Grants from the NEA generate, on average, $9 from non-federal sources for each $1 awarded. The following Rhode Island organizations received NEA funding: Alliance of Artists Communities; Providence, RI – $40,000 to support the research and publication of “Artist Residencies and Social Practice Everett Dance Theatre; Providence, RI – $15,000 to support “The Freedom Project,” a new multidisciplinary performance about the American prison system RiverzEdge Arts Project Inc.; Woonsocket, RI – $23,000 to support the Studio Arts & Enterprise Projects FirstWorks; Providence, RI - $20,000 to support the multidisciplinary Cross-Wired series New Urban Arts; Providence, RI - $15,000 to support the Youth Mentorship in the Arts program and the Summer Art Inquiry program for  teens Trinity Repertory Company; Providence, RI - $10,000 to  support a new production of “Oliver!,” Lionel Bart’s classical musical inspired by Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist with direction by Sharon and Richard Jenkins.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/ri-congressional-delegation-announces-funding-rhode-island-art-organizations,RI Congressional Delegation Announces Funding for Rhode Island Art Organizations,2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation today announced $123,000 in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant funding for Rhode Island arts organizations and programs. These competitive grants were awarded to organizations that contribute to the cultural and economic development of the state through the arts. This is NEA’s first round of FY2014 competitive grant awards. “This federal funding will help support local artists and bolster economic development and education through the arts,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, the Chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NEA’s budget. “By combining federal grants with state and local funds and private donations, we are expanding opportunities for young people and supporting artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation in communities across the state.” “Rhode Island’s arts community plays an important role in the revitalization of our economy,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the NEA. “I’m proud to announce these grants, which will help some of our most talented arts organizations continue to enrich our state’s robust arts scene and provide important arts education programs for our youth.” “I am so proud of Rhode Island’s vibrant arts community, and I know these grants will be put to good use,” said Congressman Jim Langevin. “Not only are the arts a major draw for tourism, and therefore a significant part of our economy, but they are also critical to education. The arts keep our students engaged and energized, and I am glad to see the list of recipients  include agencies that provide arts education opportunities.” “I am delighted to join with the delegation to announce this competitive grant award to the organizations in Rhode Island that do so much to help our young people get involved in the arts and build upon the great programs that are already at work,” said Congressman Cicilline. “The Alliance of Artists Communities in Providence, RI, Everett Dance Theatre in Providence, RI, and RiverzEdge Arts Project Inc. in Woonsocket, RI are providing essential avenues to build a robust artistic community in Rhode Island and I am delighted to help them continue to do this important work.” This first round of NEA FY2014 competitive grants were  awarded to organizations across the country that support the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work, both new and established. Projects include commissions, residencies, rehearsals, workshops, performances, exhibitions, publications, festivals, training programs and literature fellowships. Over $23 million was awarded during the first round, which included over $1.6 million to arts education projects. Grants from the NEA generate, on average, $9 from non-federal sources for each $1 awarded. The following Rhode Island organizations received NEA funding: Alliance of Artists Communities; Providence, RI – $40,000 to support the research and publication of “Artist Residencies and Social Practice Everett Dance Theatre; Providence, RI – $15,000 to support “The Freedom Project,” a new multidisciplinary performance about the American prison system RiverzEdge Arts Project Inc.; Woonsocket, RI – $23,000 to support the Studio Arts & Enterprise Projects FirstWorks; Providence, RI - $20,000 to support the multidisciplinary Cross-Wired series New Urban Arts; Providence, RI - $15,000 to support the Youth Mentorship in the Arts program and the Summer Art Inquiry program for  teens Trinity Repertory Company; Providence, RI - $10,000 to support a new production of “Oliver!,” Lionel Bart’s classical musical inspired by Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist with direction by Sharon and Richard Jenkins.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221054102/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/speech/reed-speaks-on-the-need-to-preserve-unemployment-insurance,Reed Speaks on the Need to Preserve Unemployment Insurance,2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, December 10, 2013 Reed Speaks on the Need to Preserve Unemployment Insurance Mr. REED. Mr. President, first of all, I think it is appropriate to make some comments. I appreciate the Senator from North Dakota being here and making his point. But we are at a juncture that within 2 weeks 1.3 million Americans will lose their Federal unemployment compensation insurance. It will be a shock to them economically and particularly since it will be just a few days after the Christmas holiday. My legislation is very simple. I am seeking to extend for an additional year the unemployment compensation program that has been in place for several years. That will allow 1.3 million Americans to have some support as they face a very difficult economy. We have asked, as Democrats, that this UI proposal be part of the budget negotiation. Our colleagues in the House of Representatives have made the same request. It appears that will not be the case. So we have to seek a stand-alone legislative vehicle. That is why I proposed the legislation as I have done today. What we were trying to do, with the request that was just objected to, and what we have to do within 2 weeks is pass this legislation--so the upcoming expiration does not allow us the time for the procedural process of committee deliberation and markup, et cetera. What we have to do is try to avoid a huge economic shock to 1.3 million Americans immediately. There will be more after that. But as of December 28, if you are on unemployment insurance, Federal unemployment insurance, you lose it. In my State, that is 4,900 people celebrating New Year's Day by losing their Federal unemployment insurance benefits; for families who are struggling just to keep their heads above water in a very difficult economy--who have seen their jobs disappear, who after years of dedicated work find themselves now looking at very difficult circumstances for employment, in my home State particularly, but not my home State alone--this is a very difficult burden to bear. So we have to act. That is why we are here this evening, to ask for immediate consideration of my legislation to extend unemployment insurance, not further review, but immediate consideration. I think it is important to point out that the average weekly benefit is about $300 per week. This is not a program that people are using to enrich themselves by any means. This is basically keeping the heat on, keeping some food on the table, maybe keeping the rent paid. Also, this is a program that people only qualify for after working and establishing a work history. So for all of these reasons, we are not talking about some lavish benefit that is a windfall to Americans. This is something that can keep families together. That is why I think we have to be willing, beginning this evening, to get this program extended through next year at least. There is another aspect to this too. Unemployment insurance is one of the best countercyclical economic programs we have when it comes to Federal fiscal policy. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that with the expiration of UI, if we do not act, it will cost our economy next year 200,000 jobs. It will cost us jobs if we do not act. It will slow economic growth by about .2 percent is their estimate. So not only is this sensible, in fact the decent thing to do for millions of families, it is the smart thing to do for our economy. Because if we do not do it, we are literally seeing, under very rational estimates, 200,000 jobs disappear. What is the one thing everybody claims we need to do in this country right now? Put more people back to work. This extension has been scored at about $26 billion for the year. Traditionally, we have treated unemployment insurance as an emergency expenditure. We have not offset it. That tradition has been abandoned recently and we have had to come up with offsets. But there are offsets. There are tax loopholes that should be closed. There are provisions that encourage companies to move jobs overseas that we can close and pay for this. There are other provisions that would stop subsidizing significant multimillion dollar corporate benefits so American families can have a chance. These loopholes we have talked about--and many of my colleagues talked about--they should be closed anyway. But if it helps pay for unemployment insurance, that is not only good, that is something that would be a very positive step forward. We need to extend these benefits not only for the individual families but for the overall economy. We have to start immediately. We are running out of time. We have just 2 weeks. Nothing is more important than getting people back to work. As I said, if we do not do this, we are going to see 200,000 jobs that are going to be forgone in the next year. So this is about jobs, as well as it is about keeping families together and keeping them able to provide for their basic needs. It is progrowth. It is smart. I hope we can come together and do it. I hope again--I appreciate certainly the objection of the Senator from North Dakota. But I hope we can find a way to not object but to move forward together. The benefits cut across party lines. If you look at the States that are suffering the most--as we all know, the unemployment compensation program is a tiered program. It depends upon the level of unemployment in our States. But if you look at the States that are suffering the most, and unfortunately I am going to have to say Rhode Island is one of them. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate, 9.3. We are right behind them, 9.2 percent. It has been 5 long years of unacceptable and elevated unemployment. It has come down from above 10 percent, but it is still much too high. But this is not a regional phenomenon. Illinois, 8.9 percent unemployment; Mississippi, 8.5 percent unemployment; Kentucky, 8.4 percent unemployment; North Carolina, 8 percent unemployment; Georgia, 8.1 percent unemployment; Arizona, 8.2 percent unemployment. These are tough numbers. It is not concentrated in one place; it is across this entire country. This is not a red issue or a blue issue. This is an American issue for workers who have worked and now cannot find jobs and need support. There is something else that is important to mention; that is, we have seen some progress on the jobs front. The last report showed we actually grew last month, 203,000 jobs. That is the good news. The bad news is despite this improvement, long-term unemployment remains high. More than 4 million workers, 37 percent of those unemployed, were jobless for 27 weeks or longer in November. So what we are seeing is some short-term movement, but the longer term unemployment, the ones who qualify for the Federal benefits, they are still finding it virtually--very difficult, if not impossible, to find work. That is exactly what this Federal program is designed to fix. Those long-term unemployed who are in an environment, in a State where the economy is not working as well as some other States. There are some States that are doing exceptionally well. I am glad for them. But there are more, as I said before, who are experiencing unacceptably high unemployment rates. This program started to take shape in its most recent incarnation in June 2008, when President George W. Bush signed the program into law. When he did it, the unemployment rate was 5.6 percent and the average duration of unemployment was 17.1 weeks. So we are looking now at a situation that nationally and in many States is much higher than when we initiated this program back in 2008. Now is not the time to stop, and in order to get this done, we have to move expeditiously. There is not time for elaborate hearings. There is not time for conferences with the House. The House is proposing to leave this Friday. We have to move immediately. Today, our national unemployment rate is 7 percent. The duration of unemployment is 37.2 weeks. That is 7 percent compared to 5.6 and 37.2 weeks compared to 17.1 weeks. We still need this program to help the families of this Nation. We can't end it now. We have to move forward, particularly during this holiday season. The reality--and finally to make this point--is that people will be looking at a new year coming with the knowledge that what little benefit they are getting as they search for work--an average of $300 a week--is gone. That is a tough reality, to look at your family on New Year's Day and understand that you don't have those resources. So we have to act, and I hope we can. With that, I yield the floor for my colleague and his comments.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221054125/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-statement-on-budget-conference-agreement,Reed Statement on Budget Conference Agreement,2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, December 10, 2013 Reed Statement on Budget Conference Agreement WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Jack Reed today issued the following statement: ""I hoped for a more comprehensive agreement but this is an important step forward.  Commendably, this budget blueprint reduces economic uncertainty and blunts the impact of the sequester.  It will help save jobs, reduce unnecessary furloughs, protect vital programs like education from deep cuts, and should prevent another costly and wasteful government shutdown. ""However, I would have preferred closing corporate tax loopholes to restore investments in defense and education.  And I am most disturbed that negotiators refused to include help for the unemployed as part of their package. ""Congress needs to act fast to preserve unemployment insurance or 1.3 million American job seekers will suddenly be without a financial safety net in the new year.  Budgets are about priorities, and helping vulnerable families should be a bipartisan priority. ""Even as the nation's economy continues to recover, Congress must do more to help create new jobs and sustain economic revitalization.  I recently introduced the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2013 to stabilize the economy and provide relief for both states and struggling families by extending federal UI benefits through 2014.  Unemployment insurance is a critical lifeline for vulnerable families and our economy.  Preserving this program will help bolster consumer demand and provide some much needed economic certainty for businesses and families in need. ""While this agreement doesn’t solve every issue facing the country and it could certainly do more for the unemployed and the middle class, it’s at least a reversal of the governing by crisis method that some on the other side of the aisle have embraced in the past few years.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221113428/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/obamacare-will-help-172000-rhode-islanders-gain-access-to-mental-health-and-substance-use-disorder-benefits,"Obamacare Will Help 172,000 Rhode Islanders Gain Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits",2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, December 10, 2013 Washington, DC – According to data released today by the White House, 172,000 Rhode Islanders will gain access to expanded mental health and substance use disorder benefits and federal parity protections thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a strong advocate for mental health parity, applauded the announcement as the latest example of the ACA improving care for Rhode Islanders.   “For too long, Americans suffering from mental health conditions have been stigmatized, misdiagnosed, and poorly treated,” said Whitehouse.  “The new benefits provided through the health care law will complement the landmark mental health parity law championed by Congressman Patrick Kennedy in 2008, and are an important step toward improving care for mental health patients.  It’s long past time to recognize that mental health is just as important as physical health by providing equal access to care, and the Affordable Care Act is helping us do so.”   Because of the health care law, for the first time insurance companies in the individual and small group market are required to cover mental health and substance use disorder services as one of ten categories of essential health benefits.  Additionally, insurance companies must cover these services at parity with medical and surgical benefits, which means, for example, out-of-pocket costs for behavioral health services must be comparable to coverage for medical and surgical care.   An estimated one in five adults experiences a mental health problem in any given year.  While most mental health problems are treatable, mental health patients too often cannot access needed treatment if they do not have health insurance that covers mental health services.  The Affordable Care Act requires most health plans to cover recommended preventive services like depression screenings for adults and behavioral assessments for children at no cost to consumers.  And, because of the law, starting in 2014 insurers will not be able to deny coverage or charge individuals more due to pre-existing conditions, including mental health problems.   Over the past several years, Senator Whitehouse has emerged as one of the leaders in Congress on mental health issues.  He strongly supported Congressman Kennedy’s Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008, and in 2010 Whitehouse and Kennedy teamed up to introduce the Health Information Technology (HIT) Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act.  That bill would have made federal HIT incentives available to behavioral health, mental health, and substance abuse treatment providers who are currently ineligible to receive incentives available to a majority of medical professionals and facilities.  Whitehouse has continued working on that legislation since Kennedy’s retirement, reintroducing it earlier this year.                                                                      ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221113440/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/ri-congressional-delegation-announces-123000-in-federal-funding-for-rhode-island-art-organizations,"RI Congressional Delegation Announces $123,000 in Federal Funding for Rhode Island Art Organizations",2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, December 10, 2013 Washington, DC – Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation today announced $123,000 in National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant funding for Rhode Island arts organizations and programs. These competitive grants were awarded to organizations that contribute to the cultural and economic development of the state through the arts. This is NEA’s first round of FY2014 competitive grant awards.   “This federal funding will help support local artists and bolster economic development and education through the arts,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, the Chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NEA’s budget. “By combining federal grants with state and local funds and private donations, we are expanding opportunities for young people and supporting artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation in communities across the state.”   “Rhode Island’s arts community plays an important role in the revitalization of our economy,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body of the NEA. “I’m proud to announce these grants, which will help some of our most talented arts organizations continue to enrich our state’s robust arts scene and provide important arts education programs for our youth.”   “I am so proud of Rhode Island’s vibrant arts community, and I know these grants will be put to good use,” said Congressman Jim Langevin. “Not only are the arts a major draw for tourism, and therefore a significant part of our economy, but they are also critical to education. The arts keep our students engaged and energized, and I am glad to see the list of recipients include agencies that provide arts education opportunities.”   ""I am delighted to join with the delegation to announce this competitive grant award to the organizations in Rhode Island that do so much to help our young people get involved in the arts and build upon the great programs that are already at work,"" said Congressman Cicilline. ""The Alliance of Artists Communities in Providence, RI, Everett Dance Theatre in Providence, RI, and RiverzEdge Arts Project Inc. in Woonsocket, RI are providing essential avenues to build a robust artistic community in Rhode Island and I am delighted to help them continue to do this important work.""   This first round of NEA FY2014 competitive grants were awarded to organizations across the country that support the creation and presentation of artistically excellent work, both new and established. Projects include commissions, residencies, rehearsals, workshops, performances, exhibitions, publications, festivals, training programs and literature fellowships.  Over $23 million was awarded during the first round, which included over $1.6 million to arts education projects. Grants from the NEA generate, on average, $9 from non-federal sources for each $1 awarded.   The following Rhode Island organizations received NEA funding:   Alliance of Artists Communities; Providence, RI – $40,000 to support the research and publication of “Artist Residencies and Social Practice   Everett Dance Theatre; Providence, RI – $15,000 to support “The Freedom Project,” a new multidisciplinary performance about the American prison system   RiverzEdge Arts Project Inc.; Woonsocket, RI – $23,000 to support the Studio Arts & Enterprise Projects   FirstWorks; Providence, RI - $20,000 to support the multidisciplinary Cross-Wired series   New Urban Arts; Providence, RI - $15,000 to support the Youth Mentorship in the Arts program and the Summer Art Inquiry program for teens   Trinity Repertory Company; Providence, RI - $10,000 to support a new production of “Oliver!,” Lionel Bart’s classical musical inspired by Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist with direction by Sharon and Richard Jenkins.                                                                       ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-scotus-should-uphold-cross-state-air-pollution-rule,Sen. Whitehouse: SCOTUS Should Uphold Cross-State Air Pollution Rule,2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.10.13 Sen. Whitehouse: SCOTUS Should Uphold Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding the oral argument at the Supreme Court today on whether to uphold the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR):   “For too long, virtually uncontrolled coal-fired power plants have used tall smoke stacks to export dirty air to downwind states like Rhode Island – polluting our skies and endangering our health.  In 2011, EPA established the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which would finally protect people from out-of-state pollution.  Sadly, the big polluters have fought this rule all the way to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the case today.  The Court has an important choice: allow the EPA to do its job and protect the American people from dirty air, or allow the big polluters to have their way and continue dumping their pollution on downwind states.  I hope the Court will rule in favor of the people.”   Each year, according to EPA, the air quality improvements from CSAPR are estimated to prevent between 13,000 and 34,000 premature deaths; provide $120 to $280 billion in health and environmental benefits; and to avoid 1.8 million missed work or school days.   Senator Whitehouse has had long-standing concerns about tall smoke stacks and how they diminish air quality in downwind states.  During his time as Rhode Island’s Attorney General, Whitehouse joined EPA's lawsuit against American Electric Power for its illegal modification of 16 plants.  He has also spoken on this issue many times in the Senate, and in 2010 requested that the Government Accountability Office complete a report about the contribution of tall smoke stacks to east coast air pollution.  The report determined that “tall stacks [those taller than 500 feet] can increase the distance these pollutants travel in the atmosphere and harm air quality and the environment in downwind communities.”                                                                                     ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-statement-on-budget-deal,Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Budget Deal,2013-12-10,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"12.10.13 Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Budget Deal Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a member of the Budget conference committee, released the statement below regarding the budget agreement announced today by Chairmen Patty Murray (D-WA) and Paul Ryan (R-WI): “I commend Chairman Murray for completing the difficult task of coming to a budget agreement with House Republicans. To be sure, this is not the deal any of us had hoped for.  Republicans refused to end a single special tax deal or to maintain extended unemployment benefits, and allowed only partial relief from the devastating sequester cuts.  That said, this deal will allow Congress to return to regular order and away from Tea Party brinksmanship, and allow appropriators like Jack Reed to pursue sensible priorities within this budget.” ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-statement-death-president-nelson-mandela,Cicilline Statement on Death of President Nelson Mandela,2013-12-06,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Pawtucket – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement in reaction to the death of former South African President and world leader Nelson Mandela: “Nelson Mandela was an inspirational and transformational leader who changed the world by standing up against institutional racism.  Despite being in prison for 27 years, Mandela's determination and resolve to end apartheid remained unshaken.  His strength and courage to stand up against social injustice, racism, oppression, and poverty will forever be remembered.  Mandela also helped heal a broken nation after apartheid through racial reconciliation and forgiveness.  While today is a sad day for the entire world, his legacy and fight to end racial inequality and injustice will live on forever.” -30-",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20131215191717/http://www.reed.senate.gov:80/news/release/32-us-senators-urge-reauthorization-of-key-unemployment-insurance-program,32 U.S. Senators Urge Reauthorization of Key Unemployment Insurance Program,2013-12-06,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Friday, December 6, 2013 32 U.S. Senators Urge Reauthorization of Key Unemployment Insurance Program WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to prevent more than 1.3 million long-term unemployed workers from losing their unemployment insurance at the end of December -- and millions more from having no benefits after their initial 26 weeks of unemployment insurance (UI) are exhausted during the course of 2014 – a group of 32 U.S. Senators, led by Jack Reed (D-RI), today sent a letter urging Congress to preserve federal unemployment insurance for another year. With just 23 days before federal UI benefits are set to expire, the Senators wrote: “We are writing to urge the continuation of federal support for unemployment insurance, a critical component of our ongoing recovery and a lifeline to millions of Americans as they search for work in this challenging economy.  As it stands now, a few days after the holiday season ends, unemployment insurance will abruptly terminate, cutting off support for 1.3 million Americans.” The unemployment insurance system is a partnership between the federal government and state governments that provides a temporary weekly benefit to qualified workers who lose their job and are seeking work. The amount of that benefit is based in part on a worker’s past earnings.  In Rhode Island, the average weekly UI benefit amount is $354 and the Ocean State is among 43 states that offer 26 weeks of UI coverage, while 7 states offer fewer weeks. The extended federal UI program was signed into law in June 2008 by President George W. Bush, when the national unemployment rate was 5.6% and the average duration of jobless insurance was 17.1 weeks.  It has been reauthorized by Congress a number of times since as America seeks to emerge from the greatest economic recession since the Great Depression.  Today, the national unemployment rate is 7% and the average duration of UI benefits is 36.1 weeks, which is much longer than the 26 weeks of unemployment coverage that most states provide.  According to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the long-term unemployment rate is falling, but it's still at 2.6%, which is twice as high as in any prior month when extended UI benefits were allowed to expire.  CBPP economists note that in each of the previous three recessions, federal unemployment assistance didn't end until the long-term unemployment rate had dropped to around 1.3%. “Even as the nation's economy continues to recover, Congress must do more to help create new jobs and sustain economic revitalization,” said Reed, who recently introduced the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Extension Act of 2013 to stabilize the economy and provide relief for both states and struggling families by extending federal UI benefits through 2014.  “Unemployment insurance is a critical lifeline for vulnerable families and our economy.  Preserving this program will help bolster consumer demand and provide some much needed economic certainty for businesses and families in need.  We need to make sure that reauthorizing the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program is part of any budget or end of the year legislation that comes before the Senate.” A new study by the Council of Economic Advisers and the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the failure to renew UI  could cost our economy 240,000 jobs in 2014, including 1,284 in Rhode Island. Over the years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that preserving UI benefits during periods of historically high unemployment is among the most cost-effective programs for reducing joblessness and stimulating the economy.  Earlier this week CBO reported: “Extending emergency unemployment benefits would raise gross domestic product (GDP) and employment in 2014 relative to what would occur under current law.  Recipients of the additional benefits would increase their spending on consumer goods and services. That increase in aggregate demand would encourage businesses to boost production and hire more workers than they otherwise would, particularly given the expected slack in the capital and labor markets.” Text of the letter follows: Dear Majority Leader Reid, Republican Leader McConnell, Chairman Baucus, and Ranking Member Hatch: We are writing to urge the continuation of federal support for unemployment insurance, a critical component of our ongoing recovery and a lifeline to millions of Americans as they search for work in this challenging economy.  As it stands now, a few days after the holiday season ends, unemployment insurance will abruptly terminate, cutting off support for 1.3 million Americans. Despite the tremendous uncertainty caused by the brinksmanship over funding the government and near-default, the economy has had 45 straight months of private sector job growth and created a total of 8.1 million jobs over that period.  However, we are still far from regaining the ground lost during the Great Recession.  The national unemployment rate has hovered around and over 7 percent and 10.9 million Americans are out of work and looking for a job.  Unemployed workers continue to face a daunting labor market, where for every one job opening, there are approximately 3 unemployed workers.  That’s why it’s imperative that we pass legislation that will get Americans back to work and that we don’t let unemployment insurance terminate at the end of the year.  Federal support for unemployment insurance has been a major boon to millions of Americans that have been laid off through no fault of their own.  Since July 2008 unemployment insurance has provided over $255 billion in direct support.  Over that period of time, we have made significant reforms, like those that avert layoffs and help people find work faster.  Our constituents and the economy still need the support; the Economic Policy Institute estimates that the expiration of unemployment insurance will cost the economy 310,000 jobs and slow growth by 0.2 percent over the course of next year. Continuation of unemployment insurance has traditionally passed on a bipartisan basis because of the tremendous support it provides to the unemployed, their families, and the economy.  We urge you to ensure that unemployment insurance is continued before its expiration at the end of the year. Sincerely, Jack Reed (D-RI) Tom Harkin (D-IA) Tim Kaine (D-VA) Ed Markey (D-MA) Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)         Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Carl Levin (D-MI) Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Chris Coons (D-DE) Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Bob Casey (D-PA) Al Franken (D-MN) Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Ron Wyden (D-OR) Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) Brian Schatz (D-HI) Patty Murray (D-WA) Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Christopher Murphy (D-CT) Tom Udall (D-NM) Bill Nelson (D-FL) Cory Booker (D-NJ)",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-statement-emergency-unemployment-compensation-legislation,Cicilline Statement on Emergency Unemployment Compensation Legislation,2013-12-05,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement today in favor of legislation that would extend the current Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program, which expires on December 28, 2013: “The facts are clear, if Congress fails to extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) by the end of this year, three million American families are expected to suffer.” “This will be particularly harmful in my home state of Rhode Island, where approximately 13,800 claimants would lose assistance should EUC expire –  at a time where we are still struggling with the nation’s second highest unemployment rate at 9.2%.” “And the negative impact extends beyond the difficulties struggling families will face while trying to pay for rent and groceries without the critical assistance EUC provides in a time of need. According to the Economic Policy Institute, allowing EUC to expire would immediately harm first quarter 2014 economic growth, and could cost our economy over 300,000 jobs.” “So it is clear that allowing EUC to expire would hurt families in need as well as thwart an already fragile economic recovery.”   “That is why I have joined many of my colleagues here today in cosponsoring legislation to extend the current EUC program and related provisions for one year, as well as joined colleagues in writing to Budget Conference Co-Chairs Paul Ryan and Patty Murray, urging they address the looming expiration of EUC as part of any budget agreement.” “Time is running out. We stand ready to work together on this and so many other pressing matters. I urge all my colleagues to join together and avoid another self-inflicted wound that would harm American families and our economy.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221113359/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-statement-on-the-death-of-nelson-mandela,Reed Statement on the Death of Nelson Mandela,2013-12-05,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Thursday, December 5, 2013 Reed Statement on the Death of Nelson Mandela WASHINGTON, DC – Today, following the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela, U.S. Senator Jack Reed issued the following statement: “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Nelson Mandela, an extraordinary human being and friend to all humankind.  He transformed South Africa and helped liberate people of all walks of life from inequality and injustice.  As a world leader, Nelson Mandela emanated wisdom, peace, healing, joy, and brotherhood.  President Mandela was a uniquely gifted individual who taught us that we all have the capacity to make our communities, and the world, a better place.  He continues to be an inspiration.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-statement-departure-risd-president-john-maeda,Cicilline Statement on Departure of RISD President John Maeda,2013-12-04,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement in reaction to the announcement that John Maeda will be leaving his position as President of the Rhode Island School of Design to take a job in the private sector: “For the past five years, President John Maeda has been a visionary, innovative, and imaginative leader of the Rhode Island School of Design and under his leadership, RISD earned recognition as America’s top design school.  In both my work as Mayor of Providence and in Congress, John has been a dedicated and effective  partner particularly in helping to promote, manufacturing, design, technology, and entrepreneurship in our state and he has been a passionate advocate for  Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics education (STEAM). While John’s  departure from the school is a great loss for Rhode Island, his work for RISD, for the City of Providence, and for our state has helped transform the way we think about both academics and economic development.  I congratulate John on his new position, wish him well as he begins the next chapter of his life, thank him for his leadership at RISD, and, of course, look forward to continuing our work together at the national level.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-honored-hero-main-street-award,Langevin Honored with Hero of Main Street Award,2013-12-04,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) will be presented with the Hero of Main Street Award by Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Janet Raymond this Friday. Distributed by the National Retail Federation (NRF), the Hero of Main Street Award recognizes Members of Congress that support the American retail industry, the nation’s largest private sector employer. “In our technologically advanced society, online shopping is a wonderful option. It is fast, easy and convenient, and has helped many businesses expand their operations and reach customers far outside their geographic area,” Langevin said. “However, convenience should not come at the cost of sustainability of small businesses that lack the resources to compete online. We need to level the playing field and support small businesses, which are the backbone of our economy.” This year’s inaugural award recipients were recognized by NRF for their support and sponsorship of the Marketplace Fairness Act, which seeks to level the playing field between online and local retailers so sellers and merchants compete fairly in the marketplace. “We salute a dedicated group of public servants and advocates for their outstanding support of the retail industry,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “These ‘heroes’ have all demonstrated a unique understanding and commitment to policies that will ensure a growing and thriving Main Street.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/langevin-cicilline-call-stronger-background-checks,"Langevin, Cicilline Call for Stronger Background Checks",2013-12-03,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, DC - Rhode Island Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and David Cicilline (D-RI), who both serve on the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, described a Federal Bureau of Investigation report, released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, as a call to action. The report illustrated Rhode Island’s failure to submit health records of individuals barred from purchasing handguns to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Rhode Island ranked among the lowest-performing states in the country, submitting fewer than 100 mental health records since the inception of the database under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act twenty years ago. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 requires an individual to pass a background check through the NICS database before purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed dealer, a process that typically takes 90 seconds. Data released last month by the FBI, reflecting record submissions as of May 2013, shows that the NICS remains incomplete, with hundreds of thousands of state and federal records missing. According to the report, the omission of mental health records in the NICS has created dangerous information deficiencies. “This is an opportunity to educate ourselves on the deficiencies that exist within the NICS and strengthen gun violence prevention efforts in our state.  It is critical that we take meaningful action to fill these information gaps and create a more effective background check process,” said Langevin. “I strongly believe that Rhode Island can strengthen its reporting requirements in a manner that respects the balance of privacy and public safety.” Rhode Island law currently prohibits the disclosure of mental health records without the express permission of the patient or guardian.  State lawmakers created a 20-member task force to examine Rhode Island’s participation in the NICS and make recommendations to the General Assembly by January 31. “As a founding member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, I strongly believe that commonsense measures, like improving the NICS database, are the best methods to strengthen gun violence prevention in Rhode Island and around the country,” said Cicilline. “Congress needs to work with states to increase measures, like background checks, that protect the public from violence, and I am committed to continue working with the delegation to bring federal resources to improve reporting and bridging the information gaps in these requirements here in our state.” Earlier this year, Langevin and Cicilline announced the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force’s comprehensive policy principles designed to reduce gun violence while respecting Second Amendment Rights of law-abiding Americans. The Congressmen cosponsored the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act (HR 1565), a bipartisan bill that brings all commercial firearm sales under the background check system to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from slipping through loopholes that endanger public safety. Langevin and Cicilline have urged their colleagues in Congress to support this legislation, and other efforts to strengthen funding for mental health and addiction treatment, recognizing the important role these factors play in the conversation on gun violence prevention.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-cicilline-call-stronger-background-checks,"Langevin, Cicilline Call for Stronger Background Checks",2013-12-03,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Rhode Island Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and David Cicilline (D-RI), who both serve on the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, described a Federal Bureau of Investigation report, released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, as a call to action. The report illustrated Rhode Island’s failure to submit health records of individuals barred from purchasing handguns to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Rhode Island ranked among the lowest-performing states in the country, submitting fewer than 100 mental health records since the inception of the database under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act twenty years ago. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 requires an individual to pass a background check through the NICS database before purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed dealer, a process that typically takes 90 seconds. Data released last month by the FBI, reflecting record submissions as of May 2013, shows that the NICS remains incomplete, with hundreds of thousands of state and federal records missing. According to the report, the omission of mental health records in the NICS has created dangerous information deficiencies. “This is an opportunity to educate ourselves on the deficiencies that exist within the NICS and strengthen gun violence prevention efforts in our state. It is critical that we take meaningful action to fill these information gaps and create a more effective background check process,” said Langevin. “I strongly believe that Rhode Island can strengthen its reporting requirements in a manner that respects the balance of privacy and public safety.” Rhode Island law currently prohibits the disclosure of mental health records without the express permission of the patient or guardian. State lawmakers created a 20-member task force to examine Rhode Island’s participation in the NICS and make recommendations to the General Assembly by January 31. “As a founding member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, I strongly believe that commonsense measures, like improving the NICS database, are the best methods to strengthen gun violence prevention in Rhode Island and around the country,” said Cicilline. “Congress needs to work with states to increase measures, like background checks, that protect the public from violence, and I am committed to continue working with the delegation to bring federal resources to improve reporting and bridging the information gaps in these requirements here in our state.” Earlier this year, Langevin and Cicilline announced the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force’s comprehensive policy principles designed to reduce gun violence while respecting Second Amendment Rights of law-abiding Americans. The Congressmen cosponsored the Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act (HR 1565), a bipartisan bill that brings all commercial firearm sales under the background check system to prevent criminals and the mentally ill from slipping through loopholes that endanger public safety. Langevin and Cicilline have urged their colleagues in Congress to support this legislation, and other efforts to strengthen funding for mental health and addiction treatment, recognizing the important role these factors play in the conversation on gun violence prevention.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-observes-world-aids-day,Cicilline Observes World AIDS Day,2013-12-02,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"PAWTUCKET - U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement in recognition of World AIDS Day: “Although we have made great progress against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, we still have a tremendous amount of work to do to achieve an AIDS free generation. On World AIDS Day, we celebrate the progress that has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and renew our commitment to stemming the tide of this public health pandemic here in the United States and around the world.” “Today, nearly 35 million people around the world have died from HIV/AIDS, including an estimated 1,593 Rhode Islanders. With nearly 2,200 people in Rhode Island currently living with the disease and up to 100 people infected each year, this disease continues to impact Rhode Islanders and people all over the world.” “Last month, with tremendous bipartisan support, Congress reauthorized the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and I was proud to be a vocal proponent of this action. As we mark the 10 year anniversary of PEPFAR, it is critical that the United States continues to play a leadership role in the fight against this disease.” “Over the past decade, PEPFAR has enabled expanded access to antiretroviral therapy for those suffering from HIV/AIDS, which has led to a decrease in deaths from this devastating disease all around the world. I will continue to work in Congress to advance our ability to eradicate this disease and to support our country in continuing its leadership role in an increasingly international effort against HIV/AIDS.” “World AIDS Day gives us a chance to join in solemn recognition of the lives lost and to recommit ourselves to the goal of ending HIV/AIDS in Rhode Island, across the country, and across the world.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-visits-small-businesses-promote-small-business-saturday,Cicilline Visits Small Businesses to Promote Small Business Saturday,2013-12-02,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"U.S. Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) visited small businesses in Smithfield, Providence, Tiverton, Warren, Newport, and Jamestown on Saturday, November 30 to emphasize the importance of supporting entrepreneurs as part of “Small Business Saturday.” “I am proud to emphasize the importance of the local economy by working with Rhode Island’s small business owners to promote Small Business Saturday around the First District,” said Cicilline. “These small businesses are the core of our economy here in Rhode Island and I encourage my constituents to support them on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year.” Throughout his two terms in Congress, Cicilline has focused heavily on revitalizing small manufacturers and providing new ways for small businesses to expand. As a member of the House Committee on Small Business during his first term in Congress, Cicilline fought hard to ensure that Rhode Island small businesses have the financial resources and technical assistance they need to compete in a global economy. In his second term, he continues to introduce and support legislation aimed at strengthening Rhode Island’s economy. Earlier this year, Cicilline introduced the Make It in America Manufacturing Act – legislation to help small manufacturers retool their facilities and retrain workers with the skills they need to compete for 21st century manufacturing jobs. ""As a small business owner in the state of Rhode Island for 34 years, I have always stressed the need for superior customer service and interesting product selection,"" said Ephraim Doumato of Doumato Jewelers in Smithfield. ""However, far more important to a small business's success is its willingness to support the  community. By giving back to the local area through civic groups and donations to the churches and schools our business is a member of the community.  Our 15 employees live, work, and shop in our area.  With the support of the community, we hope to keep our business growing in the future."" Cicilline worked across the aisle to help introduce H.Res. 410, urging the House of Representatives to formally designate “Small Business Saturday” across the nation. This is the second year Cicilline has visited entrepreneurs around the state as part of the effort first organized in 2010 by American Express and small business owners and public officials around the country including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. ""Our store C & E Consignment supports small business Saturday by giving back to our community a chance to recycle unwanted gently used high quality items at prices far below retail that people might otherwise not be able to afford,"" said Erin Wordell of C&E Consignment in Tiverton. ""We are pleased to announce we already have over 260 local consigners. We have designated consigner charity numbers for people who want to donate back to the community.""",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/newsletters/investing-education,Investing in Education,2013-12-02,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Error message Image resize threshold of 5 per minute reached. Some images have not been resized. Resave the content to resize remaining images. Investing in Education Dec 2, 2013            Dear Friends, With the holidays upon us, my nieces and nephew are already counting down the days until school is out for winter break. But while they look forward to getting out of school, I had the pleasure recently of going back. My Back to School tour started at Stony Lane Elementary School in North Kingstown and ended at Davies Career-Tech High School in Lincoln, where I congratulated students and teachers on their achievement as Blue Ribbon schools for excellence. I read to pre-school students enrolled in HeadStart. I toured alternative education programs like YearUp Providence and the New England Laborers Academy. I saw young people like Nick Lowinger of Gotta Have Sole making a difference in his community. I met Rhode Island Teacher of the Year Patricia Page. I spoke with college students at URI and Salve who are ready to step into leadership roles in our state. At every level of education, I was impressed by the talent and drive that Rhode Island students possess. Whenever I visit schools or meet with young people, I am reminded of my own experiences. If not for the encouragement of passionate teachers, I would not be where I am today. Of course, that passion must be paired with adequate support and resources. If we as a society truly believe in strengthening our education system – and we must – then we need to put our money where our mouth is. An investment in education is an investment in our economy, and I believe that supporting our schools, educators and, most of all, students, is essential to Rhode Island’s long-term economic growth. What do you think our students and educators need in order to be successful? Share your thoughts via email, Facebook and Twitter, and check out my YouTube and Flickr pages.             Sincerely,             Once Upon a Blog When I’m not in Washington, I am blessed with the opportunity to travel the Second District, interacting one-on-one with constituents. The challenges they face helps to shape my work in Congress. Their success stories inspire positive change so that others may be successful. It is an exciting evolution to watch and be a part of, and I enjoy sharing those stories with others. On my website, you can now find a blog, “Langevin Hits the Rhode,” that allows me to share stories and photographs with all of you. Check it out!   Home Sweet Home The transition from military to civilian life is a challenging time for our veterans, but we must make that transition as smooth as possible. These men and women have done so much to protect our country and our freedom, and it is our responsibility to return the favor. That is why I introduced the Veterans Homebuyer Accessibility Act to make it easier for veterans to purchase or modify homes.   Join the Conversation:",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221113448/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-and-ri-health-care-stakeholders-highlight-how-health-reforms-are-improving-quality-of-care-and-lowering-spending-,Whitehouse & RI Health Care Stakeholders Highlight how Health Reforms are Improving Quality of Care and Lowering Spending,2013-12-02,2013,2013-12,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Monday, December 2, 2013 Providence, RI – This morning, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts met with leaders of Rhode Island’s health care industry to discuss how key reforms, some of which are part of the Affordable Care Act, are improving health care quality and lowering health spending in the state. During the roundtable, Representatives from Coastal Medical, Blue Cross Blue Shield Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Quality Institute, Care New England, and the Chronic Care Sustainability Initiative–RI discussed how each of their organizations is working to reform our unsustainable delivery system and payment models. ""While Washington is transfixed by a botched website launch, Rhode Island health care leaders are steadily implementing reforms that improve the quality of care and can lower the cost for Rhode Island patients,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “Our state’s leadership on health care reform will help make health care more efficient and affordable. And we built a pretty good website, too!”   ""This roundtable discussion is a tremendous opportunity for innovators in our state's healthcare industry to discuss how to move our state closer to a sustainable healthcare model,"" said Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts, Chair of the RI Healthcare Reform Commission. ""I'm grateful that Senator Whitehouse embraces meaningful health reform, and supports our efforts to achieve measurable improvement in the health and productivity of all Rhode Islanders, while decreasing the overall cost of care.” ""As the national debate over healthcare reform becomes louder and more politicized, here at Coastal Medical we are doing the daily work of transforming our healthcare delivery system. Our patients now have access to an urgent primary care visit 365 days a year.  They can use the internet to look at their test results, request an appointment, and ask a question of their healthcare team.  Clinical pharmacists, nurse care managers, diabetes educators, and behavioral health providers are working side by side with physicians and nurse practitioners as part of the teams providing care to Coastal patients.  Patients love this new model of care,” said Dr. G. Alan Kurose, President of Coastal Medical. ""There is an unprecedented level of collaboration between providers, insurers and the state as we work to provide more affordable care and to make Rhode Island the healthiest state in the US,” said Peter Andruszkiewicz, President and CEO, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island.   “Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island is committed to this work. There is more to be done, but Rhode Island can stake a claim as a national leader in this movement."" “Through strong partnerships in the community, including everyone around this table, CurrentCare, RI’s statewide Health Information Exchange has been built and is already reducing avoidable, expensive duplication of tests and procedures.  This technology infrastructure is supporting delivery system transformation and transparency, improving care coordination, reducing medical error and waste, and through services such as Hospital Alerts to community providers, contributing to a 15% reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions for those patients,” said Laura Adams, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Quality Institute. “Care New England is grateful to have a voice in the discussion around the transformation of the health care system and we applaud Senator Whitehouse’s efforts to ensure health care reform remains a priority.  There are numerous initiatives underway at Care New England to illustrate our commitment to reshaping the health care delivery system, such as: CNE’s partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) to develop  innovative delivery and payment models; CNE’s role as a pioneer sponsor of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) work in palliative and end of life care, including the nationally recognized Conversation Project; and CNE’s ongoing efforts towards becoming a certified Medicare accountable care organization (ACO) in support of the “triple aim” of improving the health of the population, enhancing the patient experience and reducing the cost of care,” said Dennis Keefe, President and CEO of Care New England. “CSI-RI is pleased to have a seat at the table to discuss health care delivery system reform, the ultimate goal of our efforts,” said Debra Hurwitz, MBA, BSN, RN, co-director of CSI-RI. “Our Initiative – which includes 36 primary care practices that serve nearly 20-percent of the state population – has demonstrated that Rhode Islanders are realizing the immediate personal benefits of patient-centered medical homes; the improved access to care; improved quality and health outcomes; and improved patient experience. Patients are becoming partners in their care working with their care team.” ""The Rhode Island multi-payer patient-centered medical home project (CSI-RI) has been the product of a remarkable partnership between the primary care community, the business community, government and medical insurance providers including both Medicaid and the federal Medicare program,” said Thomas A. Bledsoe, MD, FACP co-chair of the CSI-RI Executive Committee. “CSI-RI is a learning collaborative that has spread innovation and best practices within our network and across the greater primary care community. We’re thrilled to share what we've learned with leaders invested in delivery system reform."" A variety of studies have estimated that it is possible to save anywhere from $700 billion to $1 trillion per year in the U.S. health care system, without harming the quality of care.  The Affordable Care Act contains more than 40 provisions aimed at achieving those savings by improving the delivery of care. Rhode Island has also long been laying the groundwork to be a leader in these reforms, including efforts to expand the use of health information technology and patient-centered medical homes. ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221091025/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-calls-for-more-robust-funding-to-support-food-banks,Reed Calls for More Robust Funding to Support Food Banks,2013-11-26,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Reed Calls for More Robust Funding to Support Food Banks PROVIDENCE, RI -- In an effort to ensure food banks in Rhode Island and across the country are able to help vulnerable families, U.S. Senator Jack Reed is calling on Congress to listen to the needs of the hungry.  Reed is seeking to strengthen the federal nutrition safety net in the Farm Bill.  Today, Reed and 25 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to key Farm Bill negotiators urging them to support a level of funding for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) that will keep pace with the demand for emergency food relief. “Congress needs to do more to help thousands of hungry Rhode Islanders meet basic nutritional needs and alleviate hunger,” said Reed.  “Our food banks are working overtime to feed hungry people in the communities they serve, but they’re already stretched thin.  I urge bipartisan support for our nation’s emergency food assistance network in the Farm Bill.  Instead of just shifting the burden to local food banks, Congress needs to work together to improve the economy and provide cost-effective resources to support programs like TEFAP.” TEFAP is a means-tested federal program that provides food commodities through organizations like food banks, soup kitchens, and emergency shelters.  TEFAP helps feed children, seniors, and families at risk of hunger and poor nutrition by enabling the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase surplus foods from American farmers and ship it to states with high rates of unemployment and low-income families.  State agencies administer the program and leverage the funding by partnering with local organizations to distribute the TEFAP commodities and storage and distribution funding with private donations of food, infrastructure, and manpower. Last year, Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, helped secure $311 million overall for TEFAP, and Rhode Island received approximately $1.4 million.  This year, Reed is seeking to increase mandatory funding for TEFAP resources under the Farm Bill by $330 million per year for over the next ten years. According to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank’s newly released 2013 Status Report on Hunger, 68,000 people visit food banks around Rhode Island each month, an increase of 1,000 people over last year.  Overall, the Senate version of the Farm Bill would cut $4.1 billion in nutrition assistance over the next 10 years from programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), while the House version would cut nearly $40 billion over the same period. “The severe SNAP cuts recommended by the House can’t be easily made up by food banks and other charitable organizations.  In fact, it will put even more of a strain on these programs,” said Reed, who earlier this year signed a letter to Farm Bill negotiators urging them to protect SNAP from funding cuts and harmful policy changes.  “Instead of reducing hunger assistance for vulnerable Americans we should be reducing wasteful subsidies for big agribusinesses.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221091852/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-tours-providence-career-and-technical-academy,Reed Tours Providence Career and Technical Academy,2013-11-26,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Reed Tours Providence Career and Technical Academy Senator Encourages RI to Apply for a Share of New, $100 million Youth CareerConnect Grant Program PROVIDENCE, RI -- In an effort to support Rhode Island schools and ensure more students have access to hands-on training that is relevant to today’s employers, U.S. Senator Jack Reed today visited the Providence Career and Technical Academy to meet with students and faculty and discuss his latest efforts to bolster career and technical education opportunities for all students.  Reed is encouraging Rhode Island schools and workforce partners to apply for a new Youth CareerConnect grant program, which will provide $100 million in competitive grants to better integrate academic and career-focused learning, work-based learning opportunities, robust employer engagement, and apprenticeships.  Providence Career and Technical Academy is one of New England’s premier technical high schools, providing students with both a high-quality academic education and state-of-the-art technical training.  Students get training in any one of the school’s nine available technical training programs and graduate with both a traditional high school diploma and industry-recognized certification in their chosen field. “Career and technical education programs are a key element of ensuring Rhode Island has a highly-skilled workforce that can meet labor market needs and that young people can find in-demand jobs that pay good wages and benefits and offer opportunities for career advancement,” said Reed.  “Business leaders and manufacturers across Rhode Island report that one of their greatest challenges is finding qualified workers with technical skills, and I want to improve collaboration between our schools and business so these programs are aligned with the job market.  We want to better prepare students for college and the workplace.  Schools like Providence Career and Technical Academy that teach hands-on skills in several career fields can help show us the way.  They strive to teach kids about the jobs and opportunities that are out there, and how to go get them.” “Providence Schools is keenly aware that career and technical education enhances the traditional education of our students and prepares them for tomorrow’s economy,” said Providence Schools Superintendent Dr. Susan Lusi. “We thank Senator Reed for highlighting this important aspect of education, and especially for helping to bring much-needed funding to these efforts.” Last year, Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, helped secure $5.2 million in federal funding to help Rhode Island career and technical schools throughout the state prepare students to compete for in-demand jobs.  But Reed says federal funding could decline because of the federal across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration.  During today’s tour, Reed sought input from Rhode Island’s education and labor leaders on ways to strengthen career and technical education programs as part of the upcoming reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Senator Reed also encouraged Rhode Island schools and workforce partners to apply for a new Youth CareerConnect grant program, which will provide $100 million in competitive grants to better integrate academic and career-focused learning, work-based learning opportunities, robust employer engagement, and apprenticeships.  The $100 million fund has been created from the revenues the government gets from processing H-1B visas.  It's expected to fund 25 to 40 grants nationwide for individual or multisite projects that will be carried out by local education agencies, public or non-profit local workforce entities, or nonprofits with education reform experience.  The partnerships must include a local education agency, workforce investment system entity, an employer, and an institution of higher learning.  The awards will be made in early 2014, so collaborations can get under way during the 2014-15 school year. “We need everyone pulling together to lift our economy and build a brighter future.  High-quality career and technical education programs are part of that effort and, by definition, this needs to be a collaborative effort: students, teachers, schools, businesses, and community partners all working together.  And I am committed to doing everything I can to help Rhode Island compete and succeed,” concluded Reed.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140223063542/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-applauds-administrations-effort-to-crack-down-on-dark-money-activities-,Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Administration’s Effort to Crack Down on “Dark Money” Activities,2013-11-26,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, November 26, 2013 Providence, RI – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below today regarding the Obama Administration’s newly proposed guidance to limit political activity by 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations: “Since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to big money in elections in its disgraceful Citizens United decision, political groups posing as ‘social welfare’ organizations have abused their nonprofit status.  They run ads targeting candidates for office and raise millions of dollars in secret donations that evade campaign finance disclosure laws.  Some groups appear plainly to have lied to the IRS about their activities – which are supposed to be primarily geared toward ‘social welfare’ – and then hidden behind vague rules to avoid prosecution.  Today’s proposed guidance is badly needed, and could ultimately help crack down on the unlimited, secret spending plaguing our elections and corrupting our democracy.” Senator Whitehouse has long been a leading voice for campaign finance reform in the Senate.  Last year he led the fight to pass the DISCLOSE Act, which would have put an end to secretive campaign spending by strengthening disclosure laws for nonprofit 501(c)(4) groups and others.  ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221092823/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-encourages-riers-to-shop-local-on-small-business-saturday-nov-30,Reed Encourages RIers to Shop Local on Small Business Saturday: Nov 30,2013-11-25,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Monday, November 25, 2013 Reed Encourages RIers to Shop Local on Small Business Saturday: Nov 30 CRANSTON, RI – U.S. Senator Jack Reed is once again encouraging Rhode Islanders to support their neighborhood small businesses on Small Business Saturday, set for this Saturday, November 30.  Small Business Saturday is a national movement that marks a day to support the local businesses that help create jobs, boost local economic activity, and preserve neighborhoods around the country.  While “Black Friday” (the day after Thanksgiving) and “Cyber Monday” (when online retailers typically offer deals) are some of the biggest shopping day of the year for national retailers, “Small Business Saturday” is providing an economic spark for local, independently owned stores in Rhode Island and nationwide. “Small businesses are vital to our communities and our economy and the goal of this event is to get more people shopping at locally owned businesses,” said Reed, who earlier this month helped pass a resolution designating November 30, 2013 as “Small Business Saturday.”  “Shopping at small businesses and supporting local companies can have a big impact on Rhode Island’s economy.”  The inaugural Small Business Saturday, held in 2010, galvanized support across the country and today the movement has grown.  Shops, stores, and restaurants throughout Rhode Island will be participating in a number of ways, including a “Holiday Stroll” in East Greenwich and a gift card giveaway in Westerly, where some lucky local shoppers will receive free $10 gift cards courtesy of the Westerly Chamber of Commerce. “When you shop local, it has a ripple effect through our economy,” said Reed, noting that a Chicago study of Retail Economics found that spending $100 at a locally owned store produces $68 in additional local economic impact, while doing the same at a chain store produces $43 in local impact. The Rhode Island Department of Labor & Training (RIDLT) reports that smaller employers in Rhode Island – businesses with less than 20 employees -- represent about 90 percent of all employers in the state and 25 percent of the workforce.  And according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy (SBA), small businesses generated 64 percent of net new jobs between 1993 and 2011 and employ nearly half of all private sector employees.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-responds-announcement-iran,Cicilline Responds to Announcement with Iran,2013-11-24,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"PAWTUCKET - U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement in response to President Obama's remarks on a deal with Iran to end Tehran's nuclear program. The deal, which puts a freeze on Iran's nuclear program for the next six months, allows for a continuation of talks toward a permanent agreement between Iran and the international community and is intended to provide an opportunity to continue negotiations without the risk that Iran will proceed further with the development of nuclear capabilities. ""This tentative agreement with Iran, reached in Geneva, is a positive step towards halting Iran's nuclear program,"" said Cicilline, who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. ""This interim agreement allows the international community to continue to work to ensure that no further progress is made toward Iran's nuclear capability and that Iran reverses  some past actions that have enhanced this capability. After years of tension between our two countries, this appears to be a step in the right direction and I am hopeful and even cautiously optimistic that Iran will fully comply with the requirements of this interim agreement. It is critical that we ensure that any final deal in this matter fully protects the national security interests of the United States and our allies around the world.""",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-statement-on-nuclear-deal-with-iran,Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Nuclear Deal with Iran,2013-11-24,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.24.13 Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Nuclear Deal with Iran Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse released the statement below regarding the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program announced last night by President Obama:   “This agreement has the potential to change the trajectory of events in the Middle East.  It is only an opening step, as two sides begin to emerge from decades of enmity.  Ultimately the Iranian nuclear weapons program must be fully shut down, and blind trust on our part would not be wise.  With proper follow-up, however, this could mark an historic turning point toward a more peaceful world.  I commend Secretary Kerry and the President.”                                                                      ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-honors-legacy-president-john-f-kennedy,Cicilline Honors Legacy of President John F. Kennedy,2013-11-22,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"PAWTUCKET - U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement to commemorate the life of President John F. Kennedy, who died 50 years ago today: “Although he served fewer than three years in office, President John F. Kennedy left behind a legacy of leadership and accomplishment that continues to inspire generations. During his time in office, President Kennedy renewed our commitment to science and technology and gave our great nation a sense of optimism and pride with his promise to put a man on the moon. At the height of the Cold War, he skillfully negotiated a diplomatic solution to the Cuban Missile Crisis and brought the world back from the brink of nuclear annihilation. And at a time when many cities and states accepted the inevitability of dehumanizing segregation, President Kennedy committed himself to advancing the cause of civil rights and racial equality by calling upon Americans to respect and value the dignity of each other.” “It has now been 50 years since his voice was silenced in Dallas, but President Kennedy's lifelong devotion to service and his visionary leadership continue to inspire Americans of all ages to give back to their country and work towards a cause that is greater than themselves. As our nation commemorates his life today, I hope all of us will continue to honor President Kennedy's memory by following his example, embracing new challenges, and working together to build a better world than the one we were given.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-statement-on-50th-anniversary-of-president-kennedys-assassination,Sen. Whitehouse Statement on 50th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s Assassination,2013-11-22,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.22.13 Sen. Whitehouse Statement on 50th Anniversary of President Kennedy’s Assassination Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy: “50 years ago today, I remember coming home and watching the news on a small black and white TV, and days later sitting on my father’s shoulders to see President Kennedy's caisson roll by – a black horse with boots backwards in the stirrups frisking behind it.  President Kennedy’s sudden and senseless death was a dark moment in our nation’s history – particularly here in Rhode Island, which he loved dearly and visited frequently.  But his legacy of calling young Americans into the service of this great country shines on through the decades, and his ideals of optimism, courage and equality can guide us still.” ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/bicameral-climate-task-force-co-chairs-meet-with-nba-wnba-nhl-nfl-mlb-and-usoc,"Bicameral Climate Task Force Co-Chairs Meet With NBA, WNBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and USOC",2013-11-21,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.21.13 Bicameral Climate Task Force Co-Chairs Meet With NBA, WNBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and USOC Lawmakers Release Climate Change Letters from the Major Sports Organizations WASHINGTON, DC— Today the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change met with representatives from the NBA, WNBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) to discuss the effects of climate change on these leagues and the work the organizations are doing to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  The members also released written responses from the leagues to the Task Force’s request for views on actions the federal government could take to address climate change.   “Congress can learn a lot about climate change from the leagues,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman.  “They recognize the problem is real, they recognize the threat it poses to their sports, and they are acting to protect the environment.”   “Our major sports organizations are taking climate change seriously and doing their part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, because they know that few things define American society like the teams we cheer and the games we play,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.  “Now it is time for Congress to set aside the polluter-fueled fantasies, and join these leagues in addressing climate change.”   “Whether it’s the slow death of pond hockey or increasing heat for football practices, global warming is negatively affecting the games we play and the sports we love,” said Sen. Ed Markey.  “And just like steroids have distorted some of our sports records, carbon pollution is distorting our climate, breaking records and leading to more extreme weather. So whether you root for the Miami Heat, the Oklahoma Thunder, the Carolina Hurricanes, or any team in any sport, you should be concerned about global warming’s effect on sports and the role teams and leagues have in taking action to cut pollution.”   Highlights from the letters from the leagues released by the Task Force include:       •    NBA:  The National Basketball Association supports EPA “standards to reduce the carbon pollution from electric power plants.”  The NBA also supports current action taken by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to set more stringent fuel standards and additional clean energy research and development investment.  See letter.       •    NFL:  The National Football League is engaged in a number of projects that help mitigate climate change and was “the first professional sports organization formally to assess the environmental impact of [its] marquee events.”  The NFL measures the greenhouse gas impact of the Super Bowl and uses renewable energy offsets to green its power usage and mitigate team travel emissions.  At last year’s Super Bowl, the NFL conducted solid waste management and recycling at all major Super Bowl facilities.  See letter.       •    NHL:  The National Hockey League notes, “Hockey’s relationship with the environment is unique.  Our sport was born on frozen ponds, where – to this day – players of all ages and skill levels learn to skate.  For this magnificent tradition to continue, it is imperative that we recognize the importance of maintaining the environment.”  The NHL’s member clubs have pursued a range of energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally friendly initiatives, including the installation of HVAC systems and on-site renewable energy.  See letter.       •    MLB:  Major League Baseball “[recognizes its] responsibility to be part of the national effort to preserve our environment.”  Multiple MLB stadiums have adopted solar panel systems (AT&T Park in San Francisco, Chase Field in Phoenix, Fenway Park in Boston) or wind turbines (Progressive Field in Cleveland) to generate energy with a lower carbon footprint.  Since 2008, the purchase of certified renewable energy credits also helps offset the energy use of MLB All-Star Game events.  See letter.   The Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change is co-chaired by Reps. Henry A. Waxman, Bobby L. Rush, and Earl Blumenauer and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, Ed Markey, and Ben Cardin.  The purpose of the task force is to focus congressional and public attention on climate change and to develop effective policy responses to this urgent challenge.   ###     Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-applauds-filibuster-change,Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Filibuster Change,2013-11-21,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.21.13 Sen. Whitehouse Applauds Filibuster Change Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below today regarding the Senate’s decision to modify its rules to break through repeated Republican filibusters of qualified nominees: “The Constitution gives President Obama the responsibility to fill executive and judicial vacancies, and the Senate the responsibility to advise and consent.  Senate Republicans recently have used filibusters to seize the Senate’s advice and consent function and give it to the minority party.  Nothing in the Constitution provides for filibuster, and nothing in the Constitution gives the Senate minority party the right to obstruct nominees.  This pattern of obstruction had to stop. I support Majority Leader Reid's decision today to end the obstruction and put the Senate back to work for the American people.” ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-and-whitehouse-support-good-corporate-governance,Langevin and Whitehouse Support Good Corporate Governance,2013-11-20,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced legislation today that would allow federal employees to make socially responsible investments (SRI) in their retirement plans. The Federal Employees Responsible Investment Act would direct the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to select a “Corporate Responsibility Index” as an option for Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions by federal employees – allowing them to direct their retirement investments toward socially responsible corporations, and away from ones with poor environmental and human rights practices. The TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services that offers similar benefits as 401(k) plans. Langevin has been a strong advocate for socially responsible investment, championing legislation in the House over the past five sessions of Congress. “I strongly believe that federal workers should be able to invest in companies that demonstrate a commitment to sound environmental, social and governance practices,” said Langevin. “This legislation would allow federal employees to feel good about their investments, and would encourage companies to implement socially responsible and environmentally sustainable policies and practices. Investors are increasingly turning to socially responsible investment options because good corporate practices are often an indicator of good management, financial success and long-term stability.” Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced companion legislation in the Senate. “Across America, more and more people are calling on institutions to use their investments to send the message that they do not support big polluters, and that they care about issues like climate change,” said Whitehouse. “This legislation will allow millions of federal government employees and retirees to send that same message – to use the power of their individual purse to tell big polluters they can’t keep poisoning our air and water without consequences.” The Corporate Responsibility Index would include a broad index of stocks of companies that maintain strong corporate governance, sustainable environmental policies and practices, solid workplace relations, positive community involvement, safe products and respect for human rights around the world. Original cosponsors for the House bill are Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and David Cicilline (D-RI). Cosponsors for the Senate bill include Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI).",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-highlights-success-healthsource-ri,Langevin Highlights success of HealthSource RI,2013-11-20,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) went to the House floor to highlight the success of the Rhode Island health insurance exchange, HealthSource RI, and delivered the following remarks: “Mister Speaker, many of my colleagues have highlighted the challenges of implementing the Affordable Care Act at the federal level. And while these must be addressed, I’d like to take a minute to highlight the success we’ve seen in Rhode Island. Although a majority of states opted not to operate an exchange of their own, Rhode Island chose to be a leader in creating a state-driven, integrated marketplace to provide quality, affordable health insurance for its citizens. “On October 1, HealthSource RI, the Ocean State’s online portal and health insurance marketplace, opened for business. It has successfully enrolled over 5,000 residents without many of the issues plaguing the federal website. Of course, we are still at the beginning stages of this process, and efforts are under way to improve and expand the successful rollout with many of our state partners. This has been a highly collaborative effort, and I look forward to continuing our work together so individuals, families and small businesses can shop for insurance that meets their needs based on transparent, competitive pricing and robust coverage.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221043742/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/climate-change-threatens-sports,Climate Change Threatens Sports,2013-11-20,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As Prepared for Delivery on the Senate Floor Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Mr./Madam President, I rise today, for the fifty-first time, to urge Congress to wake up to the effects of carbon pollution on the Earth.  Climate change is taking its toll on our way of life—on long-cherished American pastimes we do in the great outdoors.  New Englanders, for example, have memories of ski trips in Vermont, ice hockey on frozen ponds in New Hampshire, or fishing trips off the coast of Rhode Island.  All of these activities are fun and fulfilling, and leave us with indelible memories of the wonders of our natural world, but climate change is putting many of them at risk.  The New York Times reported that declining snowfall and unseasonably warm weather were a drag on winter sports and recreational tourism during the 2011-2012 winter.  Before the end of the century, the number of economically viable ski locations in New Hampshire and Maine will be cut in half; skiing in New York will be cut by three-quarters; and there will be no ski area in Connecticut or Massachusetts.  Rhode Islanders have been skiing our beloved Yawgoo Ski Valley since the 1960s, and we don’t want it threatened by climate change. As drought and increasing temperatures reduce the snowpack in the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, the future of ski and snowboarding there is at risk.  The Park City Foundation in Utah predicted an annual local temperature increase of 6.8 degrees Fahrenheit by 2075, which could cause a total loss of snowpack in the lower Park City resort area.  Beyond the loss to the skiing tradition in Park City, the report estimates that this will result in thousands of lost jobs, tens of millions in lost earnings, and hundreds of millions in lost economic output.  No part of the country will be immune from these changes our carbon pollution is driving.  Studies have found that extremely warm days in the Southeast are on the rise; ice on the Great Lakes is forming later and disappearing earlier; rain will continue to decrease on the Great Plains; wildfire seasons are getting worse in the West, where the snowpack is melting earlier; sea-level rise threatens Hawaii’s famed beaches, and warming in Alaska is degrading the permafrost that entire communities are built on.  Climate change has already changed rainfall patterns and can load the dice for bad weather conditions like heat waves.  This past summer, a heat wave prompted the Kenosha public schools in Wisconsin to cancel all outdoor student practices and sporting events.  The district stated on its website: “Keeping the best interest of our athletes in mind, we are canceling/rescheduling all contests today.” According to the Denver Post, this past spring, a prolonged drought forced the Denver Parks and Recreation to postpone opening of the grass sports fields for soccer and lacrosse, which kept thousands of children and adults from starting their athletic seasons.  For some, warmer temperatures mean more time inside because the air is just not fit to breathe.  Ground level ozone, commonly known as smog, forms more quickly during hot, sunny days, causing asthma attacks, emergency room visits, and even hospitalizations.  In August, I met with two Rhode Island children, Nick Friend, a fifteen-year-old from East Providence, and Kenyatta Richards, an eight-year-old from Warwick, who have asthma.  They have to stay indoors and avoid being too active on bad air days.  We had six bad air days from ozone in Rhode Island this year.  That is six days when Rhode Islanders like Nick and Kenyatta can’t enjoy the outdoor activities that are so much a part of our American childhoods.  The effects of climate change aren’t limited to hotter days and smog.  [Show SI Cover Page Chart] Oceans are warming, ice is melting, and sea levels are rising.  This puts coastal infrastructure like dams, bridges, and power plants at risk, but it also threatens many of our most beloved—and expensive—palaces of sport.  As far back as 2007, Sports Illustrated ran a special issue on Sports and Global Warming.  “Scientists project up to a one-meter increase in sea level by 2100,” warned one article, “which will alter the shape of the land in low-lying regions of the U.S.—including San Francisco Bay and South Florida—and swamp well-known sports venues.” Places like the American Airlines Arena and Sun Life Stadium in Miami, and AT&T Park in San Francisco are at risk.  [Show Sports Logo Chart] As Congress sleepwalks through history, blind to the harmful effects of carbon pollution, responsible groups are acting—including our major professional sports leagues. NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL.  Letters that almost every American knows.  These leagues and their teams are cultural institutions.  They’re also big business, with annual revenues in billions of dollars.  They take the threat of postponed games and washed-out stadiums seriously.  Earlier this year, the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change, which I started with Representative Henry Waxman to keep attention focused on climate change and what we can do to address it, asked the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, and National Football League, as well as the United States Olympic Committee, to tell us what climate change means for their sports.  Each of these organizations is awake to the dangers of carbon pollution, and they are acting. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig wrote to the Task Force: ""I have often said that Baseball is a social institution, and to that end we recognize our responsibility to be part of the national effort to preserve our environment.  And that is why MLB and many of our Major League Clubs have adopted practices that have resulted in clean, energy-efficient ballparks and environmentally friendly baseball events."" One of those practices is the partial offset of the energy used at all the All-Star Game events, including FanFest, the Home Run Derby, and the All-Star Game, by Green E-Certified renewable energy credits, including wind and solar energy. NHL Deputy Commissioner William Daly wrote: ""Hockey’s relationship with the environment is unique.  Our sport was born on frozen ponds, where to this day—players of all ages and skill levels learn to skate.  For this magnificent tradition to continue, it is imperative that we recognize the importance of maintaining the environment."" The NHL has partnered with ENERGY STAR and the Natural Resources Defense Council to make its own facilities more energy efficient, and it has called on the U.S. government to develop a nation-wide retrofit strategy to help upgrade buildings such as ice rinks and to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.  Kathy Behrens, Executive Vice President of Social Responsibility and Player Programs at the NBA, told us: ""While Professional NBA games are played inside climate controlled arenas, most basketball around the world is played outdoors.  If air pollution, extreme heat, and other forms of climate disruption make it difficult to enjoy or attend our game and, of much concern, actually threatens the health and safety of basketball players, fans, and business partners, that matters greatly to the [NBA]."" Pro basketball is working to reduce carbon emissions through improved energy efficiency at its arenas.  A number of NBA arenas have achieved LEED certifications and some have installed on-site solar panels.  The NBA has also come out in support of standards to reduce carbon pollution from electric power plants, a cornerstone of President Obama’s recently announced Climate Action Plan. Adolpho Birch III, Senior Vice President of Labor Policy and Government Affairs for the NFL, wrote us that: ""Twenty years ago, the NFL became the first professional sports organization formally to address the environmental impact of our marquee events—Super Bowl and Pro Bowl."" The program to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions during every Super Bowl has resulted in the planting of more than 50,000 trees in the Super Bowl host communities.   The league estimates that the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans achieved a reduction of nearly 24,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, for the equivalent of 8,000 American homes’ energy use for an entire year. The U.S. Olympic Committee has also joined in the fight to reduce harmful carbon pollution.  According to USOC CEO Scott Blackmun: ""The Green Ring program aims to mitigate the USOC and our athletes’ impact on the environment through a number of sustainability efforts, an area that is a passion for many of our athletes.  Through Green Ring, we hope to contribute to sustainability while using our platform to educate and inspire our constituents to do the same.  Our focus is more action, less carbon."" Other international bodies have also launched aggressive plans to fight climate change.  The 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil is aiming to be carbon-neutral by offsetting 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide estimated to be generated by this year’s Confederations Cup tournament and the World Cup next year.  Our major sports leagues join a great army amassing on the side of climate action:  virtually every major scientific body; the insurers and reinsurers; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the National Academies; NASA, and the Government Accountability Office; the U.S.  Conference of Catholic Bishops; leading American and international corporations; and the American Public Health Association.  To them, and many others, we can add our friends in the world of sports, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and National Football Association, and United States Olympic Committee.  There is a growing chorus of voices from every sector of American society calling for action. But there is work to be done.  The major sports organizations are doing their part because they know that few things define American society like the teams we cheer and the games we play.  But we here in Congress need to join the fight. Mr./Madam President, it is time to wake up.  It is time to set aside the partisan nonsense and polluter-fueled fantasy and at last take real steps to preserve our American way of life. I yield the floor.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221055635/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/speech/reed-speaks-about-2014-national-defense-authorization-bill,Reed Speaks about 2014 National Defense Authorization Bill,2013-11-20,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Reed Speaks about 2014 National Defense Authorization Bill Mr. REED. When sexual abuse occurs in a military unit or when a servicemember is a victim or a perpetrator of sexual abuse, we have failed. Certainly the military has failed, but Congress with its constitutional mandate to ``make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces'' and to ``provide for ..... disciplining the militia'' shares in that failure. This is why the efforts of Senator McCaskill, Senator Gillibrand, and indeed all of my colleagues are so important and so commendable. They have elevated this debate and challenged this Congress and our military to act. They have recognized, through their passionate advocacy, that sexual abuse not only is a violation of an individual, but it is a corrosive force that can undermine the trust that is essential for the functioning of any military unit. The essence of military service is selfless service in which every soldier, sailor, marine, and airman must be prepared to give his or her life for a comrade. Sexual abuse is the antithesis of that ethic. It represents predatory behavior and exploitation, not selfless sacrifice and protection of those you serve with. It has no place in the military, and if not eliminated, it will insidiously destroy our military. No technology, no amount of military resources can assure military success if courage and character fail. Sexual abuse is a cowardly act that betrays the ethic and character of the military. I believe we are united on this point. This debate is about preventing sexual abuse, a shared goal of every Member of the Senate, of Congress, of the military, and of this Nation. The question is how best to achieve this essential goal. I believe it requires leadership at every stage: recruitment, training, evaluation, promotion, retention, and punishment. I believe commanders must be involved in every step. They must be responsible and their subordinates must recognize this responsibility and their authority. To remove the commander from any of these responsibilities will, in my view, weaken his or her effectiveness in every one of these dimensions. I had the privilege of commanding a company of paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division. I was responsible directly for nonjudicial company-grade punishment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. But it was clear to me and to my troops that the battalion and brigade commanders and the division commander had court-martial authority and would necessarily confer with their subordinate commanders in the execution of this authority. This reality, this authority, permeated everything we did and reinforced the policy orders of every commander, including myself. I will admit that my experience is decades old, and it preceded the integration of women into combat units such as an airborne infantry battalion, but the central role of the commander has not diminished. Moreover, the experiences of the sixties and the seventies also reveal a military struggling with serious and corrosive problems, principally racial integration and drug use. Congress ultimately dealt with these problems, not by bypassing commanders but by holding them, and through them every member of the Armed Forces, to a higher standard. Today the American military is the first institution anyone points to when noting the progress we have made in racial equality and opportunity. This was not always the case. Incidents with racial overtones plagued the Vietnam period [and the post-Vietnam era.] Among the most widely publicized were a race riot among prisoners in a stockade in Vietnam in 1968 and several incidents aboard naval vessels in the early 1970s. In one of these incidents in 1972 on the carrier Kitty Hawk, there was a 15-hour melee between Black and White sailors. Effectively, that carrier, that ship--a capital ship of the Navy--was absolutely ineffectual. They weren't prepared to fight the enemy, they were fighting each other. In May of 1971, there were 4 days of rioting at Travis Air Force Base in California ignited by racial incidents on the base; over 100 individuals were arrested and more than 30 Air Force personnel were treated for riot-related injuries. The Marine Corps saw serious racial clashes at Camp Lejeune, NC, and Kaneohe Naval Air Station in Honolulu. In the Army, especially in Germany, there were frequent racial clashes. In December of 1970, a special investigating team reported to President Nixon on the situation in Europe and declared that black troops were experiencing ``acute frustration'' and ``volatile anger'' because of their treatment. Interestingly, this report cited as a major cause of this frustration ``the failure in too many instances of command leadership to exercise the authority and responsibility in monitoring the equal opportunity provisions that were already a part of military regulations. ..... '' The military has made significant progress on racial opportunity. I am sure more can and should be done, but the progress to date has been driven principally by command leadership at every stage, including the enforcement of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The point was made by Charles Moskos and John Sibley Butler, two of the utmost authorities on race relations in the military. In 1996 they wrote: Perhaps surprisingly, no Army regulation deals solely with race relations or equal opportunity. Instead, these issues fall under Army Regulation (AR) 600-20, whose broad concern is ``Army Command Policy.'' This title is more than symbolic. The Army treats good race relations as a means to readiness and combat effectiveness--not as an end in itself. This is the foundation for the Army's way of overcoming race. Racial concerns are broadened into a general leadership responsibility, and commanders are held accountable for race relations on their watch. Once again, the emphasis is on commanders, not specialized legal procedures that bypass commanders. My best judgment is we will make the most progress addressing the issue of sexual abuse by holding commanders accountable, not by excluding them from a critical aspect of military life. Under the leadership of Senator Levin and Senator Inhofe, the Armed Services Committee made significant changes to provisions regarding sexual abuse in the military. Moreover Senators MCCASKILL, AYOTTE, and FISCHER will make additional changes in their proposed amendment that will further strengthen our commitment and ability to respond to the crisis of sexual abuse in the military. But it is also important to describe the ongoing efforts by the Department of Defense to deal with sexual abuse in the military. I am drawing on testimony of LTG Flora D. Darpino, the Judge Advocate General of the Army, and she described policies effective in the Army, but generally there are equivalent procedures in the other services. The Army began a major effort to combat sexual abuse beginning in 2004 with the creation of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, the SAPR Program, and the implementation of restricted reporting. This allows victims of sexual assault to confidentially disclose a crime to specifically identified individuals and receive medical treatment and counseling without triggering the official investigative process. This program has evolved into a comprehensive effort ``fielding a capability of over 11,000 personnel, deployable and available 24 hours a day,'' to respond to the victims' needs. Included in the procedures available under the SAPR Program are new reporting options for the victim, expedited transfers, access to victim advocates and, most recently, access to victim counsel. In addition, this program has a significant educational component that ``saturates Soldier training from the first days of initial entry training to senior leader forums.'' The training focuses on bystander intervention and is linked to ``Army values that bond Soldiers as a team.'' It reinforces the military ethic of selfless service over predation and self-gratification. ``In 2009, the Army recognized the need for improved training and resources for the prosecution of these crimes.'' Special Victim Prosecutors were created in the Judge Advocate General's Corps and sexual assault investigators were created in the Criminal Investigative Division, CID. Together, these specially trained and experienced professionals work only special victim cases. They are able to apply unprecedented expertise. In addition, all JAG prosecutors and defense counsels have received enhanced training regarding cases of sexual abuse. With all of these changes, Lieutenant General Darpino still identifies the commander as the ``critical'' element. In her words: ``The most critical element of this institutional effort, however, is the focus of commanders.'' As such, she points out: The Army, like the other services, has moved aggressively to hold commanders accountable for setting a command climate that encourages reporting, deplores conduct that degrades or harasses individuals, and provides a safe environment, free of retaliation, for victims after they come forward. To support this effort, officers and commanders are receiving enhanced training at every level. Specifically, ``the officers entrusted with the disposition of sexual assaults, withheld to the 0-6 (Colonel) Special Court Martial Convening Authority, are required to attend Senior Legal Orientation Courses at the Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School with a focus on the proper handling of sexual assault allegations. General officers, who will serve as convening authorities, are offered one-on-one instruction in legal responsibilities, again with a focus on sexual assault.'' Most significantly, in my view, and most recently, the Secretary of the Army, on September 27, 2013, directed that every officer and noncommissioned officer will be rated on how well he or she ``fostered a climate of dignity and respect and adhered to the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response (SHARP) Program.'' Secretary McHugh and General Odierno have made it clear that commanders and senior leaders are responsible. Their advancement, their retention, their standing in the Army will rest with an annual, explicit, written review of their efforts to combat sexual abuse. I wish to return for a moment to my discussion of the racial challenges facing the Army while I served. Let me also return to the comments of Charlie Moskos, the most respected academic authority and also an Army veteran. In 1986 he wrote: More important for blacks than the new race relations curriculum was the revision of the efficiency report, a performance evaluation that carries a lot of weight in all promotions. Starting in the early 1970s, a new category appeared in the official report for officers and NCOs: race relation skills. Filling out this section was mandatory and the requirement was rigorously enforced. More blacks received promotions. Some officers with a poor record on race were relieved of command. All of this set a tone. If for only self-interest, Army officers and NCOs became highly sensitive to the issue of race. Today-- He is talking about 1986. one is more likely to hear racial jokes in a faculty club than in an officers' club. And in an officers' club one will surely see more blacks. I think we have made great progress, finally, by focusing on the evaluation and efficiency reports that every officer and NCO must receive each year. Now in the context of what the military is doing to combat sexual assault and in the context of glaring examples of what it is not doing and what it is failing to do, the Armed Services Committee adopted provisions that should rapidly and dramatically combat sexual abuse within the military. The Secretary of Defense has already taken administrative steps to implement some of these provisions. Senator McCaskill will offer additional provisions with her amendment that I wholeheartedly support. It is important to recognize the comprehensive and critical nature of these provisions that are already in the National Defense Authorization Act--from improving measures to prevent sexual assault, to protecting victims when it does happen, and strengthening the judicial process to discipline those who commit such heinous crimes. The bill makes important changes that will improve the prevention of sexual assaults. First, the bill prohibits the commissioning or enlistment of individuals convicted of rape, sexual assault, forcible sodomy, or incest, or attempting to commit these offenses. Second, the bill requires the Secretary of Defense to report on whether legislative action is required to modify the UCMJ to prohibit sexual acts and contacts between military instructors and their trainees. The next step is to ensure that all servicemembers understand how they can and must prevent and respond to incidents of sexual assault. Each of the services is conducting a variety of training programs on sexual assault prevention and response. This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a comprehensive review of the adequacy of this training and to then prescribe in regulations such modifications to address any inadequacies identified by this review. The bill also requires the Secretary of Defense to review the adequacy of the training, qualifications, and experience of individuals assigned to positions responsible for sexual assault prevention and response, to retrain or reassign any individual who does not have adequate training or qualifications, and to improve the requirements for selection and assignment to sexual assault prevention and response billets. Servicemembers who have been sexually assaulted or raped should have every resource available to report the incident, to receive care, and to see that justice is done. In crafting this bill, the committee acknowledged that many victims do not report such incidents because of a fear of retaliation from their peers and leaders. So this legislation includes a provision that makes retaliation against servicemembers for reporting criminal offenses a punishable offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This will ensure that both victims and witnesses to such crimes are able to report the occurrence without facing retaliatory action or threat of such action. This bill also requires the DOD inspector general to review and investigate allegations of retaliatory personnel actions for reporting a rape, sexual assault, or sexual misconduct. Next, the bill expands certain existing protections to victims who are members of the National Guard and Reserves, and members of the Coast Guard. First, it requires the service secretaries to ensure that members of the National Guard and Reserves have access to a sexual assault response coordinator not later than 2 business days following the request for such assistance. These coordinators explain the reporting process, address the victim's safety and security needs, and offer expertise and available services, including medical care, counseling, and legal support. Second, it clarifies that an existing requirement for the expedited change of station or unit transfer requested by a victim of sexual assault also applies to members of the Coast Guard. The bill requires the service secretaries to provide a special victims' counsel to provide legal advice and assistance to servicemembers who are victims of a sexual assault committed by a member of the Armed Forces. This resource was initially created by the Air Force, in a program that began in January of this year. Since the committee's markup of this bill, Secretary of Defense Hagel has directed each of the services to implement such a program. This provision will codify administrative action that has already been taken. The bill also authorizes the service secretaries to provide guidelines to commanders regarding their authority to temporarily reassign or remove from an assignment a servicemember on active duty who is accused of committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault offense, not as a punitive measure but solely for the purpose of maintaining good order and discipline within the member's unit. In addition, the bill directs the Secretary of Defense to provide information and discussion of this authority as part of the required training for new and prospective commanders at all levels of command. The bill also makes several changes to further strengthen the judicial process. First, the bill eliminates the element of the character and military service of the accused--the so-called good soldier defense--from the factors a commander should consider in deciding how to dispose of an offense. I should add that Senator McCaskill's amendment further limits the defendant's use of good military character as evidence. Second, the bill requires the defense counsel in courts martial to make requests to interview complaining witnesses through the trial counsel, and, if requested by the witness, requires that defense counsel interviews take place in the presence of the trial counsel, counsel for the witness, or outside counsel. This is to protect against the abuse of this process. Next, the bill changes Article 60 of the UCMJ to limit the ability of a convening authority to modify the findings of a court-martial to specified sexual offenses. In other words, this provision eliminates a commander's ability to overturn a jury's conviction for sexual assault, rape, and other crimes. Additionally, the bill requires a mandatory minimum sentence of dismissal or dishonorable discharge of a servicemember convicted of a sexual assault offense. The bill also eliminates the 5-year statute of limitations on trial by court-martial for certain sexually related offenses, and requires that substantiated complaints of a sexually related offense resulting in a court-martial conviction, nonjudicial punishment, or administrative action be noted in the service record of the servicemember, regardless of the member's grade. Importantly, the bill maintains and strengthens the role of commanders in the judicial process. During the markup of this bill, the committee adopted an amendment on a bipartisan basis that preserves the ability of commanders to initiate court-martial proceedings. Removing this authority, which some of our colleagues advocate, would weaken accountability and undermine efforts to combat sexual assault. Commanders have the responsibility to train their subordinates, they are charged with maintaining good order and discipline within their units, and they are responsible for the safety of the men and women they lead. The commander is essential to instilling among the members of his or her unit that sexual assault and related behaviors will not be tolerated and will be adjudicated. The bill includes several provisions that address the role of the commanding officer. First, it requires commanding officers to immediately refer to the appropriate military criminal investigation organization reports of sexually related offenses involving servicemembers in the commander's chain of command. Next, the bill requires automatic higher level review of any decision by a commander not to prosecute a sexual assault allegation, with the review going all the way to the service secretary in any case in which the commander disagrees with the military lawyer's recommendation to prosecute. If a legal counsel advises prosecution, and the commander does not do it, ultimately it will be resolved by the service secretary. Most commanders do not want their decisions reviewed by the service secretary. I think this will add more sense and more purpose to their efforts to combat sexual abuse. All of these changes take significant steps forward in addressing these horrible crimes. However, we must remain committed to further improving both prevention and response. That is why the bill includes several provisions related to the review that is currently under way by the independent panel created by last year's Defense authorization bill--the Response Systems to Adult Sexual Assault Crimes Panel. This committee is assessing the systems used to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate crimes involving sexual assault. The bill we are considering today assigns additional issues to be considered by this panel and requires the panel to produce its report no later than 1 year from its first meeting, which occurred in July, rather than 18 months, as originally laid out in last year's law. As I mentioned before, Senators MCCASKILL, AYOTTE, and FISCHER are proposing an amendment that further strengthens all of these provisions that are already in the committee's bill. First, their amendment requires the special victims' counsels to advise victims of the advantages and disadvantages of their cases being prosecuted in a civilian court with jurisdiction or through the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The victim may express his or her preference, and this preference must be afforded great weight in the determination to prosecute the offense by court-martial or by a civilian court. The amendment codifies the decision by the Department of the Army to evaluate the performance of soldiers in adhering to the standards regarding sexual assault prevention and response. It extends this provision to every service in the Department of Defense. As previously noted in the context of race relations, this provision is likely to make a profound and lasting contribution to the prevention of sexual abuse. That is what we are about here--preventing sexual abuse. This could be one of the key drivers in that effort. The amendment also improves accountability of commanders by requiring that a command climate assessment be performed after an incident involving a covered sexual offense, as defined in the legislation, for both the command of the victim and the command of the accused, if they are in separate commands, or a single assessment if they are in the same command. These assessments will be completed promptly and provided to the military criminal investigation organization conducting the investigation of the offense concerned and to the next higher commander in the chain of command of the affected unit. You will know, if you are a commander, if there is an incident in your unit that all the details will be known by your battalion commander, your brigade commander, your division commander, and all the way up. That will be another strong incentive to make sure that nothing happens in your unit. That is part of the amendment proposed by my colleagues. This provision, particularly in conjunction with the requirement to evaluate servicemembers' compliance under the official report, will go a long way to provide the accountability and the emphasis on commanders to do their jobs. GEN Bruce Clarke, a distinguished officer wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and who was awarded the Silver Star--one of the great heroes of the U.S. Army--famously instructed his units that, in his words, ``an organization does well only those things the boss checks.'' Well, we are checking each individual to make sure commander and noncommissioned officer--they are doing their best. We are checking each unit, if there is an incident in that unit, and we are living up to the advice of General Clarke. It will get done because, finally, it will be checked consistently, thoroughly and appropriately. The amendment also establishes a confidential process that will enable a victim of a sexual assault who is subsequently discharged to challenge the terms or characterization of his or her discharge in order to correct possible instances of retaliation. This provision will help ensure that a discharge accurately reflects the service of the individual, taking into consideration the effects of sexual assault and also helping to remove the concern that reporting sexual abuse could influence the character of a military discharge. Reporting such a crime should never influence the character of a military discharge. The amendment strengthens the role of the prosecutor in advising commanders on courts martial. The committee language requires the civilian service secretary review all cases where a commander does not choose to prosecute when his or her legal counsel/judge advocate recommends prosecution. The amendment extends that mandatory review if the prosecutor recommends prosecution and the commander demurs. In effect, if either the prosecutor or the legal counsel/judge advocate recommends prosecution and the commander demurs, the case will automatically be referred to the civilian service secretary. You will have the highest ranking civilian in the uniform service making the final call. Every commander will know that. The amendment modifies the Military Rules of Evidence to prevent defendants from introducing evidence of good military character as a general defense of a charge. Such evidence may only be admitted if that trait is relevant to an element of the offense for which the accused has been charged. Too often, the good soldier defense has been seen as overcoming specific evidence directly related to a crime. This appearance undermines the essential perception that a verdict is determined by direct evidence supporting the elements of the crime, not the previous reputation of the defendant. This provision builds upon a section of the underlying bill that eliminates the character and the military service of the accused from the factors a commander should consider in deciding how to dispose of an offense. Finally, the amendment ensures that all of the protections of this legislation are extended to the cadets and midshipmen of our service academies. The McCaskill-Ayotte-Fischer amendment strengthens the committee bill. Through enhanced accountability of commanders and additional changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, we will strengthen prevention and prosecution of sexual abuse. Those who argue for the exclusion of the commander from the judicial process point to the policies of our allies, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Israel. These countries have removed commanders as convening authorities and use independent military or civilian prosecutors to make charging decisions. While it can be useful at times to draw comparisons between our Armed Forces and those we serve alongside, there are several points to be made with respect to our military justice system that do not align. First, none of these countries changed their system in response to a sexual assault crisis among their ranks or to protect rights of victims more generally. In most cases the system was changed to protect the rights of the accused. Second, none of the allies can draw a correlation between their system and any change in reporting by victims of sexual abuse. Many argue that removing the commander as the decisionmaker will remove a significant hurdle that victims face in deciding whether to report sexual assaults. There is no statistical or anecdotal evidence that removing commanders from the charging decision has had any effect on victims' willingness to report crimes in these judicial systems among our allies. In materials provided to the Response Systems Panel, the deputy military advocate general for the Israeli Defense Force noted an increase in sexual assault complaints between 2007-2011, attributing no specific reason for the increase but noting that it could represent an increase in the number of offenses or it could be a result of campaigns by service authorities to raise awareness on the issue. Similarly, the commodore of Naval Legal Services for Britain's Royal Navy has assessed that recent structural changes to their military judicial system had no discernible effect on the reporting of sexual assault offenses. Third, the scope and scale of our allies' caseloads are vastly different, primarily because of the much greater size of the U.S. Armed Forces. For example, the Canadian military only tried 75 to 80 courts-martial last year, which is roughly comparable to one U.S. Army division's annual caseload. But several of our allies who have changed their military justice system have indicated that the changes have resulted in the process slowing down and taking longer. Frankly, that is one of the issues victims have raised in terms of why they aren't reporting and why they are so terribly frustrated--because of the length and duration of the process. Furthermore, most allies cannot conduct courts-martial in a deployed environment. BG Richard Gross, the legal counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, stated in a letter: One critical feature of our justice system is its expeditionary nature--the ability to administer justice anywhere in the world our forces deploy. Notably, the Army alone tried over 950 cases in deployed areas over the past 10 years. In one case in Iraq, four soldiers committed multiple crimes in a single night. The commander referred all four soldiers to court-martial, and they were charged with consuming alcohol, breaking into local Iraqi homes, and stealing property and money from the locals. Because the commander in Iraq had authority to refer these cases to trial, the first trial was underway within 2 months of the incident. All of the co-accused and many defense witnesses were in the same unit, and local Iraqis were available as fact witnesses. Because the commander had a fully deployable military justice system at his disposal, he was able to send a strong message to the unit that such conduct would be dealt with swiftly and decisively. Simultaneously, he was able to restore positive relations with the local community. The Army has also cited instances of allied soldiers committing sexual assault crimes against U.S. soldiers, and because of the allied nation's system removing the authority of the chain of command and removing the process from the battlefield, our commanders would demand but not receive timely information on the status of any prosecution. We had a soldier victim, and they could not find anything about the process that was going on. Tragically, sexual assault is a crime that historically is underreported, and this is not only with respect to the military. The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network cites Department of Justice crime surveys that show that an average of 60 percent of assaults in the last 5 years were not reported to police. However, in numbers released earlier this month, DOD showed that more servicemembers are coming forward to report sexual assaults. From October 2012 to June 2013, 3,553 sexual assault complaints were reported to DOD. That is a 46-percent increase over the same period a year ago. These cases include sexual assaults by civilians on servicemembers and by servicemembers on civilians. A significant number of the reported incidents occurred before the victim had even entered military service. Another argument for removing the commander's authority is that independent JAGs or even civilian authorities will prosecute more cases. However, statistics show that commanders from all services have exercised jurisdiction and pursued courts-martial for sexual assault cases over the determination of civilian authorities. Over the last 2 years, Army commanders have exercised jurisdiction in 49 sexual assault cases the local civilian authorities declined to pursue, and 32 of those cases were tried by court-martial, resulting in 26 convictions. The U.S. Marine Corps exercised jurisdiction in 28 sexual assault cases, all of which were tried by court-martial, and 16 cases resulted in conviction. This goes on throughout every service. Commanders also have an interest in pursuing a court-martial as a way to demonstrate the seriousness of the crime and its impact on unit discipline, not merely because of the quantity or quality of evidence that a crime occurred. On June 4 the Armed Services Committee held a hearing on the legislative proposals to address sexual assault in the military. We heard from four colonels from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. They all spoke about the importance of seeking legal advice from their command judge advocate and having the responsibility to adjudicate crimes within their command. COL Donna Martin, commander of the Army's 202nd Military Police Group Criminal Investigation Division, stated: It is of paramount importance that commanders are allowed to continue to be the center of every formation, setting and enforcing standards, and disciplining those who do not. The commander is responsible for all that happens or fails to happen in his or her unit. She went on to say: The Uniform Code of Military Justice provides me with all the tools I need to deal with misconduct in my unit from low-level offenses to the most serious, including murder and rape. I cannot and should not relegate my responsibility to maintain discipline to a staff officer or someone else outside the chain of command. When asked about whether a commander might be more likely to pursue a court-martial than even an outside independent officer because of the desire to send a message to his or her unit, Marine Colonel King replied that he considers ``achieving justice for whatever crime was committed and also the message that I send to the thousands of Marines that are actively watching what's going on. So I can, even if I fail to achieve a conviction at whatever level, still send a powerful message to them that this kind of conduct, even alleged, even not proven, is completely unacceptable.'' Col. Jeannie Leavitt, commander of the 4th Fighter Wing, stated: I could absolutely see the scenario where a prosecutor may not choose to prosecute a case or recommend prosecuting a case because of the likelihood of conviction. However, as the commander, I absolutely want to prosecute the case because of the message it sends so that my airmen understand that they will be held accountable. And then we'll let the jury decide what happened in the case and whether or not it will be convicted. But that message is so important, whereas an independent prosecutor may not see the need to take it to trial if the proof is not necessarily going to lead to conviction.'' Additionally, our service JAGs have expressed several concerns about the proposed amendment my colleague from New York is introducing. I will take a moment and talk about the amendment. I thank and commend Senator Gillibrand because without her persistence and passion, we would not be here today. She perhaps has done more than anyone else to focus our attention on this incredibly heinous crime done to individuals and the threat to good order, discipline, and efficiency of the military. Her objective--the elimination of sexual abuse in the ranks of our military--must be our objective, and it must be realized. She and her cosponsors have determined, in their view, that the removal of the commander from the application of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for a wide variety of offenses is the best approach to achieve the goal of ending sexual abuse in the military, but, as my previous comments clearly indicate, I disagree. Indeed, given the nature of military service, which is significantly different from civilian life, I believe that without the active involvement of commanders in every phase of military life, this goal cannot be effectively and rapidly achieved. The approach in the amendment proposed by my colleague from New York poses significant problems in practice that could unwittingly complicate rather than accelerate efforts to end sexual abuse. The amendment attempts to divide crimes designated by specific articles of the UCMJ into two broad categories: traditional military offenses subject to command adjudication, such as AWOL and insubordination, and a broad category of serious offenses that would typically constitute civilian criminal offenses, such as murder, robbery, and rape and sexual crimes. In fact, here is a chart depicting the division of the articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. This second category of offenses would be removed from command adjudication and would be referred to an independent prosecutor. This independent prosecutor must be at least a full colonel with ``significant experience in trials by general or specific court martial'' and be ``outside the chain of command of the member subject to such charges.'' This bifurcated system--especially considering the scope of crimes excluded from the chain of command--will have profound effects on the ability of commanders and units to function effectively. Let's take the case, which is not uncommon, of a soldier who writes five checks on five separate occasions for $30 each to the PX knowing he doesn't have the funds to cover his purchases. The Criminal Investigations Division investigates and informs the commander. Under the Gillibrand amendment, the CID must refer this case to the independent prosecutor because it falls under article 123a. These are referred to special prosecutors if they fall under the category. The five separate incidents, although they individually have a maximum punishment of 6 months, would be charged together, leading to 30 months, which exceeds the 1-year threshold for the Gillibrand amendment. As a result, this would be sent forward to the special prosecutor. I hardly think that charging this soldier for writing bad checks is the intent of the Gillibrand amendment, but it will be the effect. It also raises the very practical questions of how the independent prosecutor will deal with an onslaught of cases like this when the expectation is that he or she will be focused on sexual abuse and other serious crimes, such as murder. There is a practical issue: Are you going to take a bad check case when you have 15 pending attempted murders, assaults, rapes, et cetera? That is a practical issue, and I think the answer is probably no. Under the amendment, the independent prosecutor has the choice of convening a special court-martial or a general court-martial. A special court-martial consists of a panel of at least three members or, at the servicemember’s election, a military judge sitting alone. There is a prosecutor, referred to as the trial counsel, and a defense counsel. In comparison, a general court-martial is the military's highest level court where servicemembers are tried for the most serious crimes--roughly analogous to a civilian felony court--and the maximum punishments are increased. Before any charge can be sent to a general court-martial, an Article 32 investigation must be conducted, which is a hybrid of a civilian grand jury proceeding and a preliminary comprehensive discovery proceeding. The Article 32 investigation is intended to be more than a mere formality; it is a valuable right for the accused and a source of information for the commander. The general court-martial may consist of a military judge and not fewer than five members or a military judge alone if the defendant chooses. Capital cases require 12 members. As we can see, these proceedings are intensive in terms of time, in terms of commitment of military personnel, and in terms of investigatory efforts. In fact, the average length of special court-martial proceedings ranges from 3 to 5 months. General courts-martial can take anywhere from 5 to 8 months. In cases involving sexual assault, both special and general courts-martial take longer--an average of 9 months. Again, this is probably going to delay the process, not accelerate the process. Given the time and resources involved in a general or special court-martial, in the case of a young soldier writing bad checks and the longstanding practice of reserving general and special courts-martial for the most serious offenses, I seriously doubt that an independent prosecutor would take this case. At some point, the independent prosecutor will inform the commander, which raises another issue. If this notification is delayed extensively, there is a related problem of what to do with the soldier under suspicion. Do you deploy him or her subject to recall? Do you leave him behind? So all of these issues are important. The independent prosecutor's decision is binding on any applicable convening authority for a trial by court-martial on such charges. It is binding on every commander. The amendment, however, does attempt to preserve authority to punish these types of offenses by declaring that the independent prosecutor's decision ``shall not operate to terminate or otherwise alter the authority of commanding officers'' to employ a summary court-martial or to impose nonjudicial punishment under Article 15 of the UCMJ. But this authority is absolutely an illusion. Under the UCMJ, every soldier has the right to turn down a summary court-martial or an Article 15. Once he is informed by counsel that he will not be subject to a general court-martial or a special court-martial, and he can turn down a summary court-martial and article 15, the soldier will invariably refuse the summary court-martial or article 15. Ironically, in doing so he will demand a court-martial. But the commander cannot comply, as he can now, because he has already been preempted by the independent prosecutor. This scenario will play out over and over again. A unit is plagued by a series of barracks thefts which, if unchecked, erodes good order and discipline. The commander has information that one soldier is boasting about ripping off people but he has no other evidence. During a routine health and welfare inspection, an iPhone valued at over $500 and reported missing is found in the boasting soldier's room. Under the Gillibrand amendment, the commander must refer the case to the independent prosecutor and again you will have the issues of whether the independent prosecutor takes such a case, and if not, the likelihood that the accused will refuse a summary court-martial or an Article 15 and walk free. Incidents like this--and this is not the intent of the legislation, but this is what will happen--will erode unit cohesion and raise questions at least implicitly: Who is really running the unit? The commander? An unseen and unknown JAG, hundreds of miles away? Or individual soldiers who may appear to be violating the rules with impunity? This question is important here, but it is critical when a commander has to order soldiers to do dangerous things, and ultimately, that is what commanders have to do and soldiers have to have no doubt that the commander, he or she, is fully in charge. As I referenced earlier, the bifurcation of the articles of the UCMJ poses significant challenges. The problem with the drafting of this amendment complicates not just cases of common theft, not just issues that you say we could throw out, but the very issue of sexual assault we are trying to address. Let's take another example of a married couple, both of whom are Active Duty servicemembers, who get into a shouting match in their quarters on post. The husband stabs the wife with a kitchen knife and knocks her unconscious. She provides a statement to CID but later retracts it. They have another argument which results in his assaulting her with an attempt to commit rape. Under the Gillibrand amendment, the first offense of aggravated assault, Article 128, would have to be referred to the independent prosecutor to decide whether to send the case to a court-martial, while the offense of assault with intent to commit rape, which is specified under Article 134, is exempt from the Gillibrand proposal and would be referred to the chain of command. Assuming both the independent prosecutor and the independent commander seek a general court-martial, this particular victim will now have to have two separate Article 32 hearings, two subsequent courts-martial, at least doubling the number of times she must recount her nightmare and prolonging the administration of justice. The accused will demand and likely get two separate panels for each set of offenses, thus doubling the number of officers unavailable for their duties in the command and more than doubling the administrative, personnel, and witness costs associated with the general court-martial. This is a situation where, rather than streamlining, reinforcing, and clarifying the military's efforts to deal with sexual assault, we have confused them, we have delayed them, and we have put commanders in the position of competing with independent prosecutors. This is not going to add to the solution on a practical basis of how we deal with sexual assault. We know so many of the men and women in our Armed Forces serve our nation selflessly. Every day they are prepared to give their lives. Sexual assault is the antithesis of this ethic. It has no place in the Armed Forces, and if not eliminated, it will insidiously destroy our military. I believe preventing sexual abuse requires leadership at every stage and that commanders must be involved in every step. I believe that we will make the most progress in addressing this issue by involving and holding commanders accountable, not by excluding them from a critical area of militarily life. We have worked extensively to include provisions in this bill that will improve the prevention of sexual assault, the protection of victims, and the prosecution of perpetrators. We must pledge to do more, to continue our oversight of these programs and make further changes if needed. We owe it to all those who bravely and honorably wear the uniform of our Nation. Madam President, I yield the floor.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221060207/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-to-host-free-college-financial-aid-workshop-on-monday-nov-25th,"Reed to Host Free College Financial Aid Workshop on Monday, Nov. 25th",2013-11-20,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Reed to Host Free College Financial Aid Workshop on Monday, Nov. 25th PROVIDENCE, RI - U.S. Senator Jack Reed will host his annual College Financial Aid Workshop next Monday, November 25 at 7:00 p.m. at Johnston Senior High School to help ensure prospective college students know how to access available financial aid.  Reed’s free, informational College Financial Aid Workshop is designed to help high school students and their families get a better sense of the financial aid options available at the federal and state levels; the eligibility criteria for these different types of aid; and the application process. It is never too early for students and their families to begin focusing on how to pay for college, and Senator Reed encourages current high school seniors to begin the process now so they can take full advantage of all available resources. During the workshop, financial aid and education experts will offer tips and discuss the loan and grant application process; what to expect when applying for financial aid; the process of paying back student loans; and tax benefits to assist with college expenses.  This year’s panelists include representatives from the Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority, the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority, the College Planning Center of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants. “College is expensive and applying for financial aid can be complex and daunting,” said Reed.  “My goal is to ensure Rhode Islanders know all their options and have a chance to ask experts questions so they can learn the most effective way to pay for college and reduce their debt burden.  This workshop will help families and students find financial aid opportunities to make college more affordable.” RSVP HERE to register for the workshop.  WHO: U.S. Senator Jack Reed Charles Kelley, Executive Director at Rhode Island Student Loan Authority Gail E. Mance-Rios, Deputy Director at Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority Stacy Crooks, Associate Director at College Planning Center of Rhode Island               Anna Kelly, In-coming President at Rhode Island Association Student Financial Aid Administrators Kristy Hurtt, Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants Representative Dr. Bernard DiLullo, Jr., Superintendent of Schools Zachary Farrell, Principal at Johnston High School Karen Shewcov, Principal’s Administrative Assistant at Johnston High School WHEN: Monday, November 25th from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Johnston Senior High School Auditorium 345 Cherry Hill Road     Johnston",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221095258/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-unveils-plan-to-preserve-assistance-for-jobseekers,Reed Unveils Plan to Preserve Assistance for Jobseekers,2013-11-20,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Reed Unveils Plan to Preserve Assistance for Jobseekers Senators introduce Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2013 to preserve UI for one year WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to stabilize the economy and prevent 1.3 million Americans from having their federal jobless benefits cut off, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Tom Harkin (D-IA) today introduced the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Extension Act of 2013.  This bill will provide relief for both states and struggling families by extending federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits through 2014.  Similar legislation is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today by U.S. Representative Sander Levin (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee. The unemployment insurance system is a partnership between the federal government and state governments that provides a temporary weekly benefit to qualified workers who lose their job and are seeking work. The amount of that benefit is based in part on a worker’s past earnings. Failure to preserve UI will hurt 1.3 million American families who will be cut off at the end of the year, and nearly another 1.9 million Americans will be denied access to the emergency program during the first six months of next year.  If Congress does not renew the law, then people who file for unemployment next year will only qualify for state benefits, which last a maximum of 26 weeks. “Preserving unemployment insurance will help jobseekers, businesses, and states and provide a major economic boost to the national economy as well,” said Senator Reed, who noted that preserving UI would help prevent 13,800 Rhode Island families from losing their benefits next year.  “Maintaining UI is part of a broad range of pro-growth and pro-jobs policies that Congress should be enacting.  We need to bridge the partisan divide and do what is best for American families and our economy: bolster consumer demand, provide some economic certainty, and preserve UI.” “Both parties have extended emergency unemployment insurance in times of high unemployment and we need to continue that now,” said Senator Stabenow.  “The economy is getting better, but unemployment is still too high and there are still three people looking for work for every one job opening. Congress needs to focus on helping businesses create jobs, not pull the rug out from families unemployed through no fault of their own.” “For millions of families, unemployment benefits are a crucial lifeline that allows them to pay bills and put food on the table while they look for new work,” said Senator Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.  “Our economy is still continuing to recover, with 4 million Americans out of work and looking for a new job for at least 6 months. This aid not only helps these families, but it also helps the businesses and communities where those families live and shop.  It is absolutely essential that we extend federal unemployment insurance before it expires next month. I join my colleagues in the House and Senate in calling for an extension of this aid so that we can continue to strengthen our economy and the middle class.” Although the economy has been expanding for over four years, unemployment remains unacceptably high.  A new report by the National Employment Law Project shows long-term unemployment remains higher than during any other downturn since the Great Depression, with 4.1 million job-seekers, or 36.1 percent of all the unemployed, remaining out of work for six months or more. And the Economic Policy Institute estimates that the failure to renew UI  could cost our economy 310,000 jobs in 2014. Over the years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that extending UI is among the most cost-effective programs for reducing unemployment and stimulating the economy. Today, the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported: “the premature turn towards budget austerity since 2010 has been a drag on economic growth and job creation.  Extending EUC would help offset that drag as well as reduce hardship among jobless workers and their families.  In contrast, letting EUC expire would increase hardship and cost the economy jobs.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/langevin-and-whitehouse-support-good-corporate-governance,Langevin and Whitehouse Support Good Corporate Governance,2013-11-20,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.20.13 Langevin and Whitehouse Support Good Corporate Governance Introduce the Federal Employees Responsible Investment Act WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced legislation today that would allow federal employees to make socially responsible investments (SRI) in their retirement plans. The Federal Employees Responsible Investment Act would direct the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board to select a ""Corporate Responsibility Index"" as an option for Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions by federal employees – allowing them to direct their retirement investments toward socially responsible corporations, and away from ones with poor environmental and human rights practices.  The TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services that offers similar benefits as 401(k) plans. Langevin has been a strong advocate for socially responsible investment, championing legislation in the House over the past five sessions of Congress. ""I strongly believe that federal workers should be able to invest in companies that demonstrate a commitment to sound environmental, social and governance practices,"" said Langevin. ""This legislation would allow federal employees to feel good about their investments, and would encourage companies to implement socially responsible and environmentally sustainable policies and practices. Investors are increasingly turning to socially responsible investment options because good corporate practices are often an indicator of good management, financial success and long-term stability."" Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced companion legislation in the Senate. “Across America, more and more people are calling on institutions to use their investments to send the message that they do not support big polluters, and that they care about issues like climate change,” said Whitehouse. “This legislation will allow millions of federal government employees and retirees to send that same message – to use the power of their individual purse to tell big polluters they can’t keep poisoning our air and water without consequences.” The Corporate Responsibility Index would include a broad index of stocks of companies that maintain strong corporate governance, sustainable environmental policies and practices, solid workplace relations, positive community involvement, safe products and respect for human rights around the world. Original cosponsors for the House bill are Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and David Cicilline (D-RI). Cosponsors for the Senate bill include Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI).  ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-supports-strong-funding-career-and-technical-education,Langevin Supports Strong Funding for Career and Technical Education,2013-11-19,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), co-chair of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, submitted testimony today to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, as they consider reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The Perkins Act supports CTE programs in all 50 states and aligns secondary and post-secondary technical education. “High school diplomas are no longer sufficient training for the modern job market,” said Langevin, who was invited to testify based on his leadership on CTE issues. “More than 30 percent of the 46.8 million projected job openings by 2018 will require some post-secondary education. Meanwhile, eight of the top 20 fastest-growing industries in the coming decades will be in the health care sector. Many of these positions will require more than a high school education; some will necessitate a professional certification, others a two-year degree. Cuts to career and technical education would be a disservice to our young people pursuing these high-demand fields.” While the demand for CTE has increased in recent years, funding stagnated from FY07 to FY10 and was cut in FY11 and FY12. In the past year, sequestration took an additional toll. “I strongly urge the committee to set the reauthorization amount at no less than the FY07 appropriation level of $1.3 billion,” Langevin said. “Even reauthorizing Perkins at FY07 levels would represent a barely sustainable cut of $170 million in 2013 dollars and fail to keep pace with inflation. We can and must do better to ensure the success of our students and workers.” Langevin has made additional efforts to strengthen career and technical education, including introduction of the Counseling for Career Choice Act that helps school districts provide comprehensive counseling to students so they are aware of all of the available pathways to a career. “Money invested in career and technical education and career counseling is returned back to the economy many times over,” Langevin continued. “The Perkins Act has long been a bipartisan endeavor, and I hope we can come together again to best prepare our students for the future.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221095101/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reeds-layoff-prevention-law-helps-save-over-950-ri-jobs,Reed’s Layoff Prevention Law Helps Save over 950 RI Jobs,2013-11-19,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, November 19, 2013 Reed’s Layoff Prevention Law Helps Save over 950 RI Jobs Nationwide, Reed’s law has helped save more than 92,000 jobs WASHINGTON, DC – According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Labor, Rhode Island has saved over 950 jobs since February of 2012 thanks to Senator Jack Reed’s law providing federal support to state work sharing programs (also known as Short-Term Compensation (STC) programs).  Reed’s law provides an estimated $500 million nationwide for business-state partnerships to help prevent layoffs.  Since it was enacted in 2012, Rhode Island has received over $6 million in federal reimbursements and grants from Reed’s law and has used those funds to help save 968 jobs.   STC programs help people who are currently employed, but in danger of being laid off, keep their jobs. These programs keep workers on the job by giving struggling companies the flexibility to reduce hours instead of their workforce, helping them save on rehiring costs while employees keep their jobs and receive a portion of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to make up for lost wages.  Companies are able to remain competitive by lowering costs and keeping a skilled work force, employees keep their jobs and health benefits, and states only pay a fraction of the price it would cost if the workers went on unemployment. “This is a proven, cost-effective program that helps more workers earn a steady paycheck and allows companies to save when they’re forced to temporarily scale back,” said Reed.  “Giving states an incentive to expand their work sharing programs is a smart investment in preventing future layoffs and blunting economic downturns.” Rhode Island’s work sharing initiative has helped save over 15,000 jobs since 2008.  Under Reed’s law, the state will be relieved of all work sharing payments through 2015. Rhode Island is among 27 states and the District of Columbia that have implemented similar programs, saving over 552,000 jobs nationally since 2008.  However, not enough states have work-sharing programs, and it is often under-publicized and underutilized by businesses in states that do. The 27 states that currently have STC programs include: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a new online resource to help states interested in developing or improving STC programs: https://stc.workforce3one.org Jobs Saved by Work Sharing            2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2012 2 2013 2 3 Arizona 540 1,954 864 499 350 300 285 Arkansas 1 n/a n/a 995 321 162 155 236 California 18,391 48,595 30,363 25,083 21,052 18,080 15,034 Colorado 1 n/a n/a 13 58 71 68 275 Connecticut 399 4,514 2,217 1,051 1,320 1,209 564 Florida 325 1,535 1,016 628 354 299 182 Iowa 1 n/a 4,285 1,760 941 713 569 241 Kansas 7,012 9,373 4,738 1,584 2,051 1,470 1,274 Massachusetts 545 4,010 1,180 502 448 378 154 Maryland 513 1,079 821 455 344 270 267 Minnesota 1,460 4,888 1,379 1,026 620 463 474 Missouri 2,788 5,080 2,968 3,704 3,206 2,711 2,282 New Hampshire 1 n/a n/a 36 54 55 44 21 New York 2,689 13,926 6,186 4,259 4,344 3,588 3,253 Oregon 1,144 3,485 1,767 808 479 403 598 Rhode Island 2,896 6,632 2,941 988 623 506 462 Texas 12,536 26,749 13,008 12,212 9,856 8,604 7,012 Vermont 869 2,171 609 219 123 118 55 Washington 5,985 27,342 25,722 21,862 15,128 11,884 8,422 US Total 58,092 165,618 98,583 76,254 61,299 51,119 41,091 1 - Recently created programs no data for some years. 2 - Reflects claims filed after enactment of Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act 3 - Reflects claims filed through November 9, 2013 Note: This data represents work share equivalent initial claims (WSEIC), which makes the data comparable to regular unemployment insurance initial claims.  For example, 5 people applying for work share whose hours are reduced by 20 percent would be reported as 1 for WSEIC.   Source: Employment & Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/event/forum-congressman-cicilline-and-liberian-community-rhode-island,A Forum with Congressman Cicilline and the Liberian Community of Rhode Island,2013-11-18,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Please join U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline for a forum to discuss his recent trip to Liberia as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Sunday, November 24 at 3:00 p.m at the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex Cafetorium. The meeting will serve as a forum to discuss the state of affairs in Liberia, and engage the Liberian community of Rhode Island in a discussion about the Congressman’s experiences during his visit. For more information, please call 729-5600 or send an email to david.cicilline@mail.house.gov.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221065554/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/new-effort-to-boost-jobs-in-ri-through-foreign-investment-reed-taveras-pathway-capital-partners-announce-first-ri-based-eb-5-regional-center,"New Effort to Boost Jobs in RI through Foreign Investment: Reed, Taveras, Pathway Capital Partners announce first RI-based EB-5 Regional Center",2013-11-18,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Monday, November 18, 2013 New Effort to Boost Jobs in RI through Foreign Investment: Reed, Taveras, Pathway Capital Partners announce first RI-based EB-5 Regional Center PROVIDENCE, RI – In an effort to spur job creation and boost economic development in Rhode Island, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, and officials from Pathway Capital Partners, today gathered at Pathway’s Providence headquarters to announce a new EB-5 Regional Center aimed at attracting foreign investment to Rhode Island. Created by Congress in the 1990s, the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5,” is a visa program designed to attract new capital from foreign investors interested in making a substantial investment in the U.S. economy.  Under the EB-5 Regional Center Pilot Program, multiple foreign investors join together, each of them contributing at least $500,000 toward new U.S. business ventures that will result in a minimum of 10 full time jobs. There are currently over 320 EB-5 Regional Centers operating in the U.S., including a dozen in New England, but until now there haven’t been any based in Rhode Island.  This new center could help create jobs in the Ocean State and raise Rhode Island’s profile among international investors. Regional Centers identify investment opportunities that will create jobs in local communities, often in partnership with economic development agencies.  They also assist in marketing those investment opportunities to investors from around the world and ensure that the investment offering complies with federal and state securities laws and SEC regulations as well as specific EB-5 requirements. The centers are designated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency in charge of lawful immigration into the United States. “Our designation will give developers a unique opportunity to capitalize projects in Rhode Island with the participation of foreign investors. The access to capital requires a mandate for jobs creation in order for the investor to obtain a visa,” said company CEO Henry Diamond.  “It becomes a very effective tool for project developers within the State; we foresee this as an important step in revitalizing the state’s economy and have been in discussions with various projects within the Capital City with the continued support of Mayor Taveras and the director of Economic Development for the City of Providence, Jim Bennett.” “We need to be smart about bringing jobs and economic development to Rhode Island and this program can help the state become a magnet for foreign investment,” said Senator Reed, who supported Pathway’s application to be federally-designated as an EB-5 Regional Center.  “We need to work together to increase Rhode Island’s competitiveness and position the state as a destination for innovation, investment, and entrepreneurship.  This is an important program for Rhode Island with a great deal of potential to provide new entities, businesses, developments, and entrepreneurs with a new capital channel to access foreign investment and create jobs here in Rhode Island.” “I thank Senator Reed for his leadership on bringing needed projects to Rhode Island with this important investment. The location of an EB-5 Regional Center here in Providence will help us leverage foreign investment dollars in projects within our city and across Rhode Island. These investments will create much needed jobs for area workers, supporting the work we have begun with our 20-point economic plan, Putting Providence Back to Work.” Before an investor can participate in a Regional Center's EB-5 investment program, they must be approved by USCIS.  Successful foreign investors who prove that their investment generated at least 10 jobs in the U.S. are eligible to get a permanent visa. Spending associated with EB-5 investors contributed $2.65 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product during 2010-2011, according to a report by the Association to Invest in USA.  This report also found that spending by EB-5 investors also contributed $347 million to federal tax revenues and $218 million to state and local tax revenues.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-statement-turkish-prime-minister,Cicilline Statement on Turkish Prime Minister,2013-11-15,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON - U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) issued the following statement after Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan claimed ""there is no country named Cyprus:"" ""I am appalled by Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s insensitive comments this week regarding the sovereign nation of Cyprus. The Prime Minister’s refusal to acknowledge the illegal occupation of Cyprus, the religious freedom of Greek Cypriots, and the legitimacy of this great nation is an affront to anyone who respects the rule of law and Cyprus’s right to self-determination. I urge the Obama administration to immediately repudiate these comments in the strongest possible terms and reiterate the United States’ longstanding support and recognition of the Republic of Cyprus.""",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/senators-introduce-bipartisan-prison-reform-bill,Senators Introduce Bipartisan Prison Reform Bill,2013-11-15,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.15.13 Senators Introduce Bipartisan Prison Reform Bill Legislation Would Help Reduce Recidivism Washington, DC – As federal prison and detention costs continue to skyrocket, U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) are pushing legislation that would help lower costs and reduce recidivism.  The Senators recently introduced the Recidivism Reduction & Public Safety Act of 2013 (S. 1675), which would allow inmates to earn sentence-reduction credit for completing programming aimed at helping them re-enter society – potentially saving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal spending.  The legislation has already been listed on the Judiciary Committee’s markup agenda, in recognition of the important need to address the problem of ever-increasing prison costs. During the last fiscal year, the costs of detaining federal inmates represented more than 30% of the Justice Department’s budget.  Since 2000, costs associated with federal prisons and detention have doubled.  As a result, funding for other important federal law enforcement priorities – from stopping cyber threats to providing services for victims of crime – has suffered.  The legislation builds on successful reforms implemented by states across the country that cut prison spending while reducing recidivism and better protecting the public.  A recent report from the Urban Institute estimated that several of the provisions in the bill could save the federal government at least $275 million over ten years, which could be spent on other law enforcement priorities. “As a former state and federal prosecutor, I recognize that there are no easy solutions to overflowing prison populations and skyrocketing corrections spending,” said Whitehouse, a former U.S. Attorney and Attorney General for Rhode Island.  “But states like Rhode Island have shown that it is possible to cut prison costs while making the public safer.  Inmates better prepared to re-enter communities reduce the risk that they will commit more offenses when they are released.  This bipartisan bill would help us achieve those goals at the federal level, potentially saving hundreds of millions of dollars and reducing the prison population.” “This legislation builds on best practices from state and local governments developed through the Second Chance Act on how to reduce recidivism and provide drug treatment and mental health services to individuals in the federal corrections system,” said Portman.  “By reducing recidivism, we not only save taxpayer dollars, but also help people leave behind their past mistakes and become productive members of society.” Among other provisions, the Recidivism Reduction & Public Safety Act would: Require the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to offer evidence-based recidivism reduction programming based on each inmate’s assessed needs.  Under the bill, an inmate who successfully participates in a recidivism-reduction program could receive a credit toward his or her sentence of no more than 60 days per year of program participation, which could be awarded at the sole discretion of BOP. Require BOP, for the first time, to develop a methodology to assess the recidivism risk and programmatic needs of each inmate who will be released back into the community. Promote substance abuse treatment and recovery by requiring the collection of additional information about drug and alcohol abuse among federal inmates and ensuring that inmates who participate in BOP’s Residential Drug Abuse Program receive full credit for their participation. Require more detailed reporting on rates of recidivism among former federal inmates. Require a study on the impact of reentry on communities with a high number of ex-offenders. Authorize a pilot program, modeled after the successful HOPE Program in Hawaii and similar programs in Kentucky and elsewhere, which requires intensive supervision for ex-offenders with a heightened risk of recidivism. The Judiciary Committee is expected to take up the bill in December. ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/event/neighborhood-conversation-congressman-cicilline-3,A Neighborhood Conversation with Congressman Cicilline,2013-11-14,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Please join U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline for a neighborhood conversation Tuesday, November 26, at 5:30 PM at the Pawtucket Public Library. This forum will be an opportunity to discuss Congressman Cicilline's work in Washington, as well as an opportunity to ask questions, voice opinions, or express any concerns you have regarding issues like: A jobs and manufacturing agenda for Rhode Island Protecting the guarantee of Medicare and Social Security Honoring our responsibilities to our veterans Keeping student loan rates low Achieving comprehensive immigration reform For more information, please call 729-5600 or send an email to david.cicilline@mail.house.gov.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-recognizes-national-adoption-month,Langevin Recognizes National Adoption Month,2013-11-14,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) is partnering with the “Adoptive Family Portrait Project” to raise awareness about the needs of children living without permanent families and the importance of foster care adoption. There are an estimated 400,000 children in foster care in the United States, and more than 100,000 of those are waiting to be adopted. Today, Langevin presents Adoption RI with the Drenda Lakin Memorial Award for Continuing Services to Adoptive Families at a reception for the “Adoptive Family Portrait Project.” “I was fortunate to grow up in a family with many foster brothers and sisters over the years. My parents taught me the importance of helping others in need, and their dedication to children living in the foster care system has stayed with me and continues to shape my work in Congress,” Langevin said. “I have long advocated for better support systems for foster youth and the families who care for them, and I hope that individuals and communities across the country will honor National Adoption Month this November by helping to raise awareness of foster care adoption.” In addition to his work with the Adoptive Family Portrait Project, Langevin signed on as an original cosponsor of a House resolution to support the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month. Earlier this month, he also introduced H.R. 3423, the Protecting Adopted Children Act, which provides pre- and post-adoptive counseling and support services to ease the transition for children and families. Through “Voice for Adoption,” a national advocacy organization, Langevin was paired with the Rabieau family from Harrisville for the “Adoptive Family Portrait Project” in an effort to raise awareness and support during National Adoption Month. Lisa Rabieau is the proud single mother of four adopted children, all from state care. “Every one of my kids meets the definition of special needs, but I just see them as special,” Lisa said. “Through tears and smiles, heartache and love, the word adoption defines us as much as the word family.” The Rabieau family’s picture and inspirational story will be displayed outside the Congressman’s Washington office throughout the month of November in honor of National Adoption Month. “Each year, nearly 26,000 children age out of child welfare. We need more caring and generous people like Lisa to reach out and help these children find their forever families,” Langevin continued. “I am so proud to have Lisa, Tiffany, Patricia, Justin and Russell in my district. They are a reminder of what family is all about: unconditional love and support.” This year, Saturday, November 23rd marks the 14th anniversary of National Adoption Day. The goals of “National Adoption Day” include: Finalizing adoptions from foster care in all 50 states Celebrating and honoring families who adopt Raising awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting for permanent, loving homes Encouraging others to adopt children from foster care Building collaboration among local adoption agencies, courts and advocacy organizations To learn more about Voice for Adoption, visit www.voice-for-adoption.org and National Adoption Day. To find out more about adoption in Rhode Island call Adoption Rhode Island at 401-865-6000 or visit www.adoptionri.org.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/us-senate-passes-childrens-hospital-graduate-medical-education-bill,U.S. Senate Passes Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Bill,2013-11-14,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.14.13 U.S. Senate Passes Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Bill Bill includes Whitehouse fix to include RI children’s psychiatric hospital Washington, DC – This week, the United States Senate unanimously approved the Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013.  The legislation, which authorizes federal support for graduate medical education (GME) in freestanding children’s hospitals, includes a provision authored by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) that extends the program to children’s psychiatric hospitals like Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island. If this bill is signed into law, children’s psychiatric hospitals will be eligible for the same CHGME funding that general hospitals have benefitted from for years.     Senators Whitehouse and Jack Reed (D-RI), original cosponsors of the legislation, have long advocated for the inclusion of Bradley and other children’s psychiatric hospitals in the Children’s Hospitals GME payment program.  This would help address the shortfall in mental health professionals that specialize in treating children and adolescents. Senator Whitehouse's provision accomplishes this.   “We must support medical training programs that teach new health professionals how to treat children's mental and behavioral health conditions, not just physical ones,"" said Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. “My provision will include children’s psychiatric hospitals in the CHGME program, so these hospitals can build and sustain their residency programs.  I was pleased the Senate acted in a bipartisan manner to pass the CHGME bill with this provision included, and I urge the House to act quickly to do the same.”   “I have fought to address the omission of children's psychiatric teaching hospitals for years because I believe it is essential to end discriminatory funding policies against children with mental health issues.  I commend Senators Casey, Isakson, Whitehouse, and others who helped broker this bipartisan agreement to include children’s psychiatric teaching hospitals in the definition of a ‘children’s hospital.’  I remain committed to boosting mental health parity and ensuring that Bradley Hospital and other children’s psychiatric teaching hospitals have the resources and federal support they need to train doctors equipped to treat mental illness,” said Reed, a former member of the HELP Committee who has worked on this issue for over a decade.   “As the first children’s psychiatric hospital in the United States, Bradley Hospital’s mission has always been to provide family-centered mental health care to all children who need it,” said Daniel J. Wall, Bradley Hospital president. “This legislation is a significant step in ensuring that not only do we have the best, most-qualified staff to care for children, but also that we are providing the crucial training needed to prepare the next generation of providers in what is a complex and ever-changing medical environment.”   The Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013 will reauthorize the Children’s Hospitals GME (CHGME) Payment Program for five years at $300 million per year.  The bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use a portion of CHGME funds appropriated above $245 million for “qualified hospitals” that meet the requirements of the program but for technical reasons did not previously qualify.                                                                              ###   Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/bipartisan-coalition-38-members-congress-urge-federal-funding-fisheries-disaster,Bipartisan Coalition of 38 Members of Congress Urge Federal Funding for Fisheries Disaster,2013-11-13,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, DC – In a bipartisan, bicameral letter to House and Senate leadership, 38 members of Congress — including all four members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation — today urged funding for fisheries disaster relief in the final funding package for Fiscal Year 2014. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a federal fishery failure for the Northeast multispecies fishery for the 2013 season.  Led by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation to include $150 million to provide a variety of assistance to help fishermen cope with the effects of the disaster in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill.  Last year, the Senate included this funding as part of the disaster assistance supplemental appropriations bill but it was stripped out by the House.  As a result, many fishermen who have been impacted by the disasters have been waiting for assistance for more than a year. “Fishing is vital to local economies and provides a critical part of our domestic food supply.  Providing this assistance is a matter of fairness for those fishermen and fishing communities that have been hit hard by disasters,” said Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who led the effort to include this assistance in the Senate CJS Appropriations bill. “Rhode Island's fishing industry has been hit hard in recent years by depleted fish stocks, tighter regulations, and a tough economy,“ said Whitehouse. ”This funding could provide badly needed assistance to our fishermen.” “Fishing and marine trades industries are a major part of the Rhode Island economy,” said Langevin.  “In 2011 alone, Rhode Island fishermen brought in more than $76 million in revenue. We need to support their livelihood and protect a critical piece of our economy at the same time.  These funds will help counteract the negative impacts of the 2013 fishery failure and will allow for reinvestment in preserving and promoting the fishing industry.” “Rhode Island’s local fishing industry provides good-paying jobs for hardworking men and women across our state, and this critical federal assistance will help rebuild fisheries that have been impacted by disasters,” said Cicilline.  “I am proud to work with my colleagues in the delegation in helping to bring these funds back to Rhode Island.” Earlier this year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) made a low-interest loan program available to qualifying fishermen hit by the disaster, offering loans of up to $2 million, with an interest rate cap of 4 percent and a duration period of up to 30 years.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has also made $10 million in funding available through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act for competitive grants for fishermen and fishing communities using cooperative research to advance the fishing industry. In addition to all four members of the Rhode Island delegation, the bipartisan, bicameral letter was also signed by: U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Edward J. Markey (D-MA); Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Mark Begich (D-AK); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Bill Nelson (D-FL); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Marco Rubio (R-FL); Susan Collins (R-ME); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Angus King (I-ME); Roger F. Wicker (R-MS); Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT); Thad Cochran (R-MS); Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); and Charles E. Schumer (D-NY); and U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT); William R. Keating (D-MA); David N. Cicilline (D-RI); James P. McGovern (D-MA); Richard Neal (D-MA); John F. Tierney (D-MA); Steve Southerland (R-FL); Don Young (R-AK); James R. Langevin (D-RI); Niki Tsongas (D-MA); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA); Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH); Timothy H. Bishop (D-NY); Michael E. Capuano (D-MA); Kathy Castor (D-FL); Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-MA); Michael H. Michaud (D-ME); Chellie Pingree (D-ME); and Tom Rooney (R-FL). A 2011 study funded by a federal NOAA Fisheries grant to the Rhode Island-based Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, estimated that commercial fishing and related industries account for over 6,500 jobs in Rhode Island.  Across New England the industry remains an important part of the coastal economy and culture. Text of the letter follows: Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairwoman Mikulski, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey: We write to urge you to include fisheries disaster relief in any final funding package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. Since 2012, the Department of Commerce declared a number of fishery failures in the United States.  Regrettably funding has not been appropriated yet to deal with the effects of these disasters, which continue to affect communities in our states and districts. Indeed, while the Senate Appropriations Committee has included $150 million for fishery failures in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill, funds have not been enacted into law to address the full spectrum of disaster needs. As you know, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Acts, the Secretary of Commerce must determine that a commercial fishery failure has occurred before funding can be provided to assist the affected fishery. The Secretary, after careful review, declared the following disasters in the areas we represent:     Alaska Chinook – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Alaska Chinook salmon fisheries in the Yukon River, Kuskokwim River and Cook Inlet.  Thousands of Alaskans have been affected including commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishermen.  Beyond direct impacts, communities have experienced reduced work for processor employees, reduced tax revenues, and reduced income for fishery dependent businesses.     Mississippi Oyster and Blue Crab – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for commercial oyster and blue crab fisheries in Mississippi.  Historic flooding of the lower Mississippi River required opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway on May 9, 2011.  This action released substantial amounts of freshwater into the Mississippi Sound, impacting the entire ecosystem.  Mississippi’s oyster and blue crab fisheries were extensively damaged, resulting in severe economic hardship for commercial fishermen still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.     Northeast Multispecies Groundfish Fishery – On September 13, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.  Despite strict adherence to new and rigorous management practices by fishermen, key fish stocks have not responded as expected.  The resulting reductions in the total allowable catch for certain critical groundfish stocks are having a significant effect on coastal communities, fishing families, and local economies.     Superstorm Sandy fisheries impacts – On November 16, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for New Jersey and New York due to the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.  The effects of the storm have created severe economic losses for both commercial and recreational fishermen.     Florida Oysters – On August 12, 2013, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for the oyster fishery along the west coast of Florida. The fishery resource disaster resulted from excessive drought conditions in Apalachicola Bay and elsewhere in the Florida panhandle during the 2012 – 2013 winter fishing season. Over the course of the last year, federal assistance has rightly been provided to a number of states for other federally-declared disasters. The fishery failures affecting our constituents are no less an economic disaster. Therefore, we request your assistance in ensuring that the $150 million fisheries disaster mitigation funding included in the Senate-version of the CJS appropriations bill be included in any final FY 2014 funding package.  These funds could be used in a variety of ways to provide fishermen vital help including support for emergency financial assistance, operational costs where necessary, economic development programs, and science initiatives to manage the fishery in a timely way that gives confidence to all stakeholders. Thank you for your attention and your support for improving conditions for fishermen throughout the country. We remain committed to preserving and promoting our fishing industry. We look forward to continuing to work with you to effectively address the challenges facing this critical industry. Sincerely, Jack Reed Lisa Murkowski Edward J. Markey Elizabeth Warren Richard Blumenthal Mark Begich Kirsten Gillibrand Bill Nelson Jeanne Shaheen Robert Menendez Marco Rubio Susan Collins Sheldon Whitehouse Angus King Roger F. Wicker Christopher S. Murphy Thad Cochran Kelly Ayotte Charles E. Schumer Joe Courtney William R. Keating David N. Cicilline James P. McGovern Richard Neal John F. Tierney Steve Southerland Don Young James R. Langevin Niki Tsongas Stephen F. Lynch Carol Shea-Porter Timothy H. Bishop Michael E. Capuano Kathy Castor Joseph P. Kennedy III Michael H. Michaud Chellie Pingree Tom Rooney",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-joins-republican-small-business-committee-chair-bipartisan-effort-support,Cicilline Joins Republican Small Business Committee Chair in Bipartisan Effort to Support American Entrepreneurs,2013-11-13,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) today stood with Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and U.S. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) to introduce a resolution that would designate November 30, 2013, as Small Business Saturday. “I am proud to work across the aisle to introduce this resolution and stand with more than 93,000 small businesses that make up the backbone of Rhode Island’s economy,” said Cicilline. “Small Business Saturday is a commonsense, bipartisan effort to support the hardworking men and women who create jobs and bring life to our local communities, and I look forward to working with members of both parties to support this initiative.” As a member of the House Committee on Small Business during his first term in Congress, Cicilline fought hard to ensure that Rhode Island small businesses have the financial resources and technical assistance they need to compete in a global economy. In addition to bringing Administrator Karen Mills of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to Rhode Island, Cicilline has introduced the Make It in America Manufacturing Act – legislation to help small manufacturers retool their facilities and retrain workers with the skills they need to compete for 21st century manufacturing jobs. “Small Business Saturday is a great way to say ‘thank you’ to a small business near you, especially during the holiday shopping season,” Graves said. “America’s small businesses help define what communities are all about. Small firms create seven out of every ten new jobs, and employ nearly half of all private sector employees in the United States. Small businesses make a big difference in our nation’s economy and their growth is essential to a stronger recovery."" As in previous years, Cicilline plans to support Rhode Island small businesses this year with a tour through the First District for Small Business Saturday. Further details regarding these events will be released at a later date.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/bipartisan-coalition-urges-federal-funding-fisheries-disaster,Bipartisan Coalition Urges Federal Funding for Fisheries Disaster,2013-11-13,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"In a bipartisan, bicameral letter to House and Senate leadership, 38 members of Congress – including all four members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation – today urged funding for fisheries disaster relief in the final funding package for Fiscal Year 2014. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a federal fishery failure for the Northeast multispecies fishery for the 2013 season. Led by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation to include $150 million to provide a variety of assistance to help fishermen cope with the effects of the disaster in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill. Last year, the Senate included this funding as part of the disaster assistance supplemental appropriations bill but it was stripped out by the House. As a result, many fishermen who have been impacted by the disasters have been waiting for assistance for more than a year. “Fishing is vital to local economies and provides a critical part of our domestic food supply. Providing this assistance is a matter of fairness for those fishermen and fishing communities that have been hit hard by disasters,” said Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who led the effort to include this assistance in the Senate CJS Appropriations bill. “Rhode Island’s fishing industry has been hit hard in recent years by depleted fish stocks, tighter regulations, and a tough economy,” said Whitehouse. “This funding could provide badly needed assistance to our fishermen.” “Fishing and marine trades industries are a major part of the Rhode Island economy,” said Langevin. “In 2011 alone, Rhode Island fishermen brought in more than $76 million in revenue. We need to support their livelihood and protect a critical piece of our economy at the same time. These funds will help counteract the negative impacts of the 2013 fishery failure and will allow for reinvestment in preserving and promoting the fishing industry.” “Rhode Island’s local fishing industry provides good-paying jobs for hardworking men and women across our state, and this critical federal assistance will help rebuild fisheries that have been impacted by disasters,” said Cicilline. “I am proud to work with my colleagues in the delegation in helping to bring these funds back to Rhode Island.” Earlier this year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) made a low-interest loan program available to qualifying fishermen hit by the disaster, offering loans of up to $2 million, with an interest rate cap of 4 percent and a duration period of up to 30 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has also made $10 million in funding available through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act for competitive grants for fishermen and fishing communities using cooperative research to advance the fishing industry. In addition to all four members of the Rhode Island delegation, the bipartisan, bicameral letter was also signed by: U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Edward J. Markey (D-MA); Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Mark Begich (D-AK); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Bill Nelson (D-FL); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Marco Rubio (R-FL); Susan Collins (R-ME); Angus King (I-ME); Roger F. Wicker (R-MS); Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT); Thad Cochran (R-MS); Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); and Charles E. Schumer (D-NY); and U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT); William R. Keating (D-MA); James P. McGovern (D-MA); Richard Neal (D-MA); John F. Tierney (D-MA); Steve Southerland (R-FL); Don Young (R-AK); Niki Tsongas (D-MA); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA); Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH); Timothy H. Bishop (D-NY); Michael E. Capuano (D-MA); Kathy Castor (D-FL); Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-MA); Michael H. Michaud (D-ME); Chellie Pingree (D-ME); and Tom Rooney (R-FL). A 2011 study funded by a federal NOAA Fisheries grant to the Rhode Island-based Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, estimated that commercial fishing and related industries account for over 6,500 jobs in Rhode Island. Across New England the industry remains an important part of the coastal economy and culture. Text of the letter follows: Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairwoman Mikulski, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey: We write to urge you to include fisheries disaster relief in any final funding package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. Since 2012, the Department of Commerce declared a number of fishery failures in the United States. Regrettably funding has not been appropriated yet to deal with the effects of these disasters, which continue to affect communities in our states and districts. Indeed, while the Senate Appropriations Committee has included $150 million for fishery failures in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill, funds have not been enacted into law to address the full spectrum of disaster needs. As you know, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Acts, the Secretary of Commerce must determine that a commercial fishery failure has occurred before funding can be provided to assist the affected fishery. The Secretary, after careful review, declared the following disasters in the areas we represent: Alaska Chinook – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Alaska Chinook salmon fisheries in the Yukon River, Kuskokwim River and Cook Inlet. Thousands of Alaskans have been affected including commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishermen. Beyond direct impacts, communities have experienced reduced work for processor employees, reduced tax revenues, and reduced income for fishery dependent businesses. Mississippi Oyster and Blue Crab – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for commercial oyster and blue crab fisheries in Mississippi. Historic flooding of the lower Mississippi River required opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway on May 9, 2011. This action released substantial amounts of freshwater into the Mississippi Sound, impacting the entire ecosystem.  Mississippi’s oyster and blue crab fisheries were extensively damaged, resulting in severe economic hardship for commercial fishermen still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill. Northeast Multispecies Groundfish Fishery – On September 13, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. Despite strict adherence to new and rigorous management practices by fishermen, key fish stocks have not responded as expected. The resulting reductions in the total allowable catch for certain critical groundfish stocks are having a significant effect on coastal communities, fishing families, and local economies. Superstorm Sandy fisheries impacts – On November 16, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for New Jersey and New York due to the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy. The effects of the storm have created severe economic losses for both commercial and recreational fishermen. Florida Oysters – On August 12, 2013, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for the oyster fishery along the west coast of Florida. The fishery resource disaster resulted from excessive drought conditions in Apalachicola Bay and elsewhere in the Florida panhandle during the 2012 – 2013 winter fishing season. Over the course of the last year, federal assistance has rightly been provided to a number of states for other federally-declared disasters. The fishery failures affecting our constituents are no less an economic disaster. Therefore, we request your assistance in ensuring that the $150 million fisheries disaster mitigation funding included in the Senate-version of the CJS appropriations bill be included in any final FY 2014 funding package. These funds could be used in a variety of ways to provide fishermen vital help including support for emergency financial assistance, operational costs where necessary, economic development programs, and science initiatives to manage the fishery in a timely way that gives confidence to all stakeholders. Thank you for your attention and your support for improving conditions for fishermen throughout the country. We remain committed to preserving and promoting our fishing industry. We look forward to continuing to work with you to effectively address the challenges facing this critical industry. Sincerely,",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20131203183542/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov:80/news/speeches/sen-whitehouses-50th-weekly-climate-change-speech,Sen. Whitehouse's 50th Weekly Climate Change Speech,2013-11-13,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As delivered on the Senate floor Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Mr. President, I am here today, for now the fiftieth time, to urge my colleagues to wake up to what carbon pollution is doing to our atmosphere and our oceans.  Once a week.  Fifty weeks.  Every week.  Why?  Why do I do this?  Well, first, because it’s real.  It’s very real. It’s happening.  Here’s the change in average global surface temperature since 1970. [Show Global Surface Temperature Chart] It’s pretty hard to deny.  Of course, if you are a denier, you will look at it and you will see from the same data that it stopped.  Well, what the deniers who tell you that it stopped don’t tell you is that, yeah, and it stopped five times earlier on the way up.   [Show Temperature Steps Chart] In fact, you could say that climate change has stopped six times since the 1970s.  And even went down.  But it didn’t stay stopped long.  [Show Temperature Trend Chart] Look at the linear trend for the whole data set—from 1970 to 2013; no one can deny over this period that the earth is warming.  This decade was warmer than the last, which was warmer than the one before that, which was warmer than the one before that.  [Show Temperature Record 1880-2012 Chart] Let’s look at NASA’s entire historical surface temperature record, going back to the nineteenth century.  Listen to what University of California-Berkley physics professor Richard Muller has to say about the temperature record:  “The frequent rises and falls, virtually a stair-step pattern, are part of the historic record, and there is no expectation that they will stop, whatever their cause… [T]he land temperature record … is full of fits and starts that make the upward trend vanish for short periods.  Regardless of whether we understand them, there is no reason to expect them to stop.” And here you can see again these short steps in the upward march. One reason we can’t expect these upward steps to stop is that we know what’s driving them.  What’s driving climate change is something even contrarian scientists accept:  that is more carbon dioxide leads to more warming.  Simple as that; a 150-year-old, established, basic principle of physics.  [Read from 1861 Volume of Philosophical Magazine; large text will be inserted on the page.] This is the October 1861 edition of the London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science.  It includes a manuscript by physicist John Tyndall, entitled “Radiation of Heat by Gases and Vapours.”  He says: “[T]o account for different amounts of heat being preserved to the earth at different times,” Tyndall wrote, “a slight change in [the atmosphere’s] variable constituents would suffice for this.  Such changes in fact may have produced all the mutations of climate which the researches of geologists reveal.” The “variable constituents” to which Tyndall refers include carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor.  That’s from 1861.  President Lincoln took office that year, and here we are today, having to explain on the floor of the United States Senate the physics of what carbon dioxide does in the atmosphere.  It’s not just the principle that’s established.  There are lots of measurements.  The carbon dioxide in our atmosphere now exceeds 400 parts per million.  For the last 800,000 years at least, 800,000 years, and perhaps actually millions of years, we have been in a range of 170 to 300 parts per million.   That’s been the whole of human existence.  Homo sapiens has been around for about 200,000 of those 800,000 years.  And it’s only now, it’s only since the Industrial Revolution, that we’ve broken out of that safe window that has protected us through that entire history of our species and now we’ve broken to 400.  And that’s a measurement. [Show “Where is Global Warming” chart] Look at the oceans.  Oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gases over the last fifty years.  Absorbing all that heat makes the oceans rise.  Oceans have absorbed about 30 percent of our carbon emissions, which would otherwise be in the atmosphere causing more warming.  Absorbing that carbon makes the oceans more acidic.  And that’s all stuff we measure.  At the Newport tide gauge, sea level is up almost ten inches since the 1930s, when we had our catastrophic ‘38 hurricane in Rhode Island.  You measure that.  It takes basically a ruler.  We’re about three to four degrees warmer in the winter in Narragansett Bay than we were fifty years ago when my wife’s URI mentor was doing his doctoral thesis.  Three to four degrees.  You measure that.  It takes a thermometer.  And the ocean is acidifying at the fastest rate recorded in 50 million years.  You measure that with a litmus test, which anybody with an aquarium does.  It’s one thing to be against science; it’s another to be the party against measurement.   So the polluters and front groups don’t talk much about the oceans.  But that doesn’t change the fact: this is real, and it is past denying. So that takes me to the second reason I do this.  And that it that it is plain, old-fashioned wrong when people lie and trick other people, particularly when people are going to be hurt by the lies.  And it’s worse when there’s money behind the trickery—when it’s purposeful.  Lies cannot go unanswered.  And that is another reason that I speak. And there isn’t just lying going on, there’s a whole carefully built apparatus:  phony-baloney organizations designed to look and sound like they’re real; messages honed by public relations experts to sound like they’re true; payroll scientists whom polluters can trot out when they need them; and the whole thing big and complicated enough you could be fooled into thinking it’s not all the same beast.  But it’s like mythical Hydra:  many heads, same beast.  One day, folks are going to look back at this and those behind it are going to be disgraced for what they did, and it’s going to be a scandal.  And that’s the third reason I speak.  We are all going to be judged very harshly, with all the dread power that history has to inflict on wrong.  The polluters and their collaborators will be judged harshly.  The Republican Party will be judged harshly for letting itself be led astray by them.  But—and here’s where it really hurts—the failure of American democracy this is causing will also be judged harshly, and that will stain the reputation of our great American experiment.  We in this generation have been passed this precious experiment by generations before us that fought, and bled, and died to put it safely in our hands.  And we do this.  We foul it, by lying and denying, for a bunch of polluters.  Some generation we’re going to be.  If you believe this world needs America, this matters.  Because a world fouled and changed by carbon pollution, in ways we could foresee but denied, will not believe it has much of a need for what a lying and denying America has to offer.  This episode will darken the lamp that America holds up to the world. We are a great country, but not when we’re lying and denying what’s real.   The atmosphere is warming; ice is melting; seas are warming, rising, and acidifying.  And it’s time for the misleading fantasies to end.  Mr. President, here’s how we go forward.  First, price carbon right.  Make the big carbon polluters pay a fee to the American people, as I have proposed with Representatives Waxman and Blumenauer and Senator Schatz; a pollution fee to cover the cost of dumping their waste into our atmosphere and oceans—a cost which they now happily push off onto the rest of us.  I know:  at present, political conditions do not allow us to price carbon.  So we must change those political conditions.  And we can. Recently, President Obama changed the calculus for polluters:  carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants; no more unchecked carbon dumping.  Fifty power plants emit one out of every eight tons of America’s carbon dioxide emissions.  These fifty dirtiest U.S. power plants emit more than Canada, emit more than Korea.  When the big polluters see the costs of complying with those new standards coming down at them, they may take a second look at an economy-wide carbon fee.  And here’s a news flash—when the polluters’ calculus begins to change, the political calculus here in Congress will change too. Nothing says we have to wait for the polluters to figure this out on their schedule.  There are armies on our side.  It’s not just the environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, or National Wildlife Federation.  It’s not just virtually every major scientific organization, like the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Meteorological Society.  We have faith-based groups like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Council of the Churches of Christ, Interfaith Power and Light, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.  We have fishing, wildlife, and outdoor groups, like Trout Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and Ducks Unlimited.  They’re joined by major sports leagues, like the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League, as well as the American Lung Association, who prefer to see kids playing outside in clean, healthy air.  We have the Joint Chiefs of Staff on our side, joined by NASA, the National Academies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, even the Government Accountability Office—“The Congressional Watchdog.”  And by the way, about NASA:  let’s not forget, NASA scientists sent an SUV-sized rover to Mars, they landed it safely on Mars, and they’re driving it around on Mars right now.  I’ll put NASA scientists up against the polluters’ payroll scientists all day long. We’ve got insurers and reinsurers whose business depends on understanding the mounting risk of natural disasters—folks like Munich Re, Swiss Re, Allianz, and the Reinsurance Association of America.  We’ve got state and local governments who are already acting.  Nine northeastern states, for instance, including my own Rhode Island, engage in cap-and-trade through RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.  Four Florida counties share resources and strategies for adapting to climate change through a bipartisan Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact. And those are just two examples of many from around the country. A coalition of investors worth nearly $3 trillion just wrote to forty-five fossil fuel companies seeking explanations about risks facing their fossil fuel investments.  Divestment campaigns are popping up at college campuses across the nation.  Major utilities accept the science, and are investing in renewables and improving efficiency.  Energy companies PG&E, the Public Service Company of New Mexico, and Exelon all quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after a Chamber official called for putting climate science on trial like the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925.  America’s flagship companies, like General Motors, Ford, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nike, Apple, Walmart, and Alcoa, all recognize the serious implications of climate change. This support is latent, though, and it’s unorganized.  It is time to wake up and to gather our armies.  We’ve got to create “allied command.”  Assemble our divisions.  Agree on a strategy.  Go into action.   That will affect the calculus in Congress.  And most importantly, Mr. President, we have the American people.  Sixty-five percent of voters support the President “taking significant steps to address climate change now.”  Sixty-five percent.  Another poll found that 82 percent of Americans believe we should start preparing now for rising sea levels and severe storms from climate change. Those in Congress who would deny science to protect the polluting interests increasingly look ridiculous, even to their own side.   Misleading statements in the media, like the stuff purveyed by the opinion page of the Wall Street Journal, are losing their battle and losing their audience. It’s not just time to wake up.  People are waking up.  And inevitably, the truth will be fully known. But the polls show clearly that climate denial is a losing tactic:  Four out of five voters under thirty-five support the President taking action to address climate change.  Fifty-two percent of young Republican voters would be less likely to vote for someone who opposed the President’s climate action plan.  Even a majority of Texans say more should be done about global warming by all levels of government, with 62 percent of Texans saying more should be done in Congress.  And for those last holdout deniers comes this:  Fifty-three percent of young Republican voters-- Republican voters under age 35—said they would describe a climate denier as “ignorant,” “out-of-touch,” or “crazy.” Republicans outside of Congress are trying to lead their party back to reality, and away from what even young Republicans are calling ignorant, out of touch, and crazy extremist views.  They support a revenue-neutral carbon fee.  Republicans like our former colleagues in Congress Sherwood Boelhert, Wayne Gilchrest, and Robert Inglis.  Republicans like former Environmental Protection Agency Administrators William Ruckelshaus, Lee Thomas, William Reilly, and Christine Todd Whitman, who served under Presidents Nixon, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush, respectively.  Advisors to former Republican presidents like President Reagan’s Secretary of State George Schultz, Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisor Art Laffer—known as “Reagan’s Economist”—and David Frum, speechwriter for George W. Bush.  And here’s what the Republican presidential nominee had to say five years ago: And I quote: “[I]n the end, we’re all left with the same set of facts.  The facts of global warming demand our urgent attention, especially in Washington.  Good stewardship, prudence, and simple common sense demand that we [act to] meet the challenge, and act quickly. . . .  We have many advantages in the fight against global warming, but time is not one of them. . . .  [T]he fundamental incentives of the market are still on the side of carbon-based energy.  This has to change before we can make the decisive shift away from fossil fuels. . . .  [T]here were costs we weren’t counting, . . . [a]nd these terrible costs have added up now, in the atmosphere, in the oceans, and all across the natural world. . . .  We Americans like to say that there is no problem we can’t solve, however complicated, and no obstacle we cannot overcome if we meet it together.  I believe this about our country.  I know this about our country.  And now it is time for us to show those qualities once again.” End quote. It is indeed time for us to show those qualities once again.  It is time to wake up.  It is time to turn back from the misleading propaganda of the polluters, the misguided extremism of the Tea Party, and the mistaken belief that we can ignore without consequence the harm that our carbon pollution is causing.  It is time to face facts, be adults, and meet our responsibilities. Mr. President, I give these speeches because climate change is real, because the campaign of denial is as poisonous to our democracy as carbon pollution is to our atmosphere and oceans, and because I am confident.  I am confident that we can do this.  We can strengthen our economy, we can redirect our future, we can protect our democracy, and we can do our duty, our duty to the generations that will follow us, and that will look back in shame unless we change our program.   But we have to pay attention, Mr. President.  We have to wake up. I yield the floor.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221062442/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/bipartisan-coalition-of-38-members-of-congress-urge-federal-funding-for-fisheries-disaster,Bipartisan Coalition of 38 Members of Congress Urge Federal Funding for Fisheries Disaster,2013-11-13,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Bipartisan Coalition of 38 Members of Congress Urge Federal Funding for Fisheries Disaster WASHINGTON, DC – In a bipartisan, bicameral letter to House and Senate leadership, 38 members of Congress - including all four members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation - today urged funding for fisheries disaster relief in the final funding package for Fiscal Year 2014. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a federal fishery failure for the Northeast multispecies fishery for the 2013 season.  Led by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation to include $150 million to provide a variety of assistance to help fishermen cope with the effects of the disaster in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill.  Last year, the Senate included this funding as part of the disaster assistance supplemental appropriations bill but it was stripped out by the House.  As a result, many fishermen who have been impacted by the disasters have been waiting for assistance for more than a year.  “Fishing is vital to local economies and provides a critical part of our domestic food supply.  Providing this assistance is a matter of fairness for those fishermen and fishing communities that have been hit hard by disasters,” said Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who led the effort to include this assistance in the Senate CJS Appropriations bill.  “Rhode Island's fishing industry has been hit hard in recent years by depleted fish stocks, tighter regulations, and a tough economy,"" said Whitehouse. ""This funding could provide badly needed assistance to our fishermen.” “Fishing and marine trades industries are a major part of the Rhode Island economy,” said Langevin.  “In 2011 alone, Rhode Island fishermen brought in more than $76 million in revenue. We need to support their livelihood and protect a critical piece of our economy at the same time.  These funds will help counteract the negative impacts of the 2013 fishery failure and will allow for reinvestment in preserving and promoting the fishing industry.” “Rhode Island’s local fishing industry provides good-paying jobs for hardworking men and women across our state, and this critical federal assistance will help rebuild fisheries that have been impacted by disasters,” said Cicilline.  “I am proud to work with my colleagues in the delegation in helping to bring these funds back to Rhode Island.” Earlier this year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) made a low-interest loan program available to qualifying fishermen hit by the disaster, offering loans of up to $2 million, with an interest rate cap of 4 percent and a duration period of up to 30 years.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has also made $10 million in funding available through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act for competitive grants for fishermen and fishing communities using cooperative research to advance the fishing industry. In addition to all four members of the Rhode Island delegation, the bipartisan, bicameral letter was also signed by: U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Edward J. Markey (D-MA); Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Mark Begich (D-AK); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Bill Nelson (D-FL); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Marco Rubio (R-FL); Susan Collins (R-ME); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Angus King (I-ME); Roger F. Wicker (R-MS); Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT); Thad Cochran (R-MS); Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); and Charles E. Schumer (D-NY); and U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT); William R. Keating (D-MA); David N. Cicilline (D-RI); James P. McGovern (D-MA); Richard Neal (D-MA); John F. Tierney (D-MA); Steve Southerland (R-FL); Don Young (R-AK); James R. Langevin (D-RI); Niki Tsongas (D-MA); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA); Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH); Timothy H. Bishop (D-NY); Michael E. Capuano (D-MA); Kathy Castor (D-FL); Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-MA); Michael H. Michaud (D-ME); Chellie Pingree (D-ME); and Tom Rooney (R-FL). A 2011 study funded by a federal NOAA Fisheries grant to the Rhode Island-based Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, estimated that commercial fishing and related industries account for over 6,500 jobs in Rhode Island.  Across New England the industry remains an important part of the coastal economy and culture. Text of the letter follows: Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairwoman Mikulski, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey:   We write to urge you to include fisheries disaster relief in any final funding package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014.   Since 2012, the Department of Commerce declared a number of fishery failures in the United States.  Regrettably funding has not been appropriated yet to deal with the effects of these disasters, which continue to affect communities in our states and districts. Indeed, while the Senate Appropriations Committee has included $150 million for fishery failures in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill, funds have not been enacted into law to address the full spectrum of disaster needs.   As you know, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Acts, the Secretary of Commerce must determine that a commercial fishery failure has occurred before funding can be provided to assist the affected fishery. The Secretary, after careful review, declared the following disasters in the areas we represent:   Alaska Chinook – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Alaska Chinook salmon fisheries in the Yukon River, Kuskokwim River and Cook Inlet.  Thousands of Alaskans have been affected including commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishermen.  Beyond direct impacts, communities have experienced reduced work for processor employees, reduced tax revenues, and reduced income for fishery dependent businesses.   Mississippi Oyster and Blue Crab – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for commercial oyster and blue crab fisheries in Mississippi.  Historic flooding of the lower Mississippi River required opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway on May 9, 2011.  This action released substantial amounts of freshwater into the Mississippi Sound, impacting the entire ecosystem.  Mississippi’s oyster and blue crab fisheries were extensively damaged, resulting in severe economic hardship for commercial fishermen still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.   Northeast Multispecies Groundfish Fishery – On September 13, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.  Despite strict adherence to new and rigorous management practices by fishermen, key fish stocks have not responded as expected.  The resulting reductions in the total allowable catch for certain critical groundfish stocks are having a significant effect on coastal communities, fishing families, and local economies.   Superstorm Sandy fisheries impacts – On November 16, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for New Jersey and New York due to the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.  The effects of the storm have created severe economic losses for both commercial and recreational fishermen.   Florida Oysters – On August 12, 2013, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for the oyster fishery along the west coast of Florida. The fishery resource disaster resulted from excessive drought conditions in Apalachicola Bay and elsewhere in the Florida panhandle during the 2012 – 2013 winter fishing season.   Over the course of the last year, federal assistance has rightly been provided to a number of states for other federally-declared disasters. The fishery failures affecting our constituents are no less an economic disaster. Therefore, we request your assistance in ensuring that the $150 million fisheries disaster mitigation funding included in the Senate-version of the CJS appropriations bill be included in any final FY 2014 funding package.  These funds could be used in a variety of ways to provide fishermen vital help including support for emergency financial assistance, operational costs where necessary, economic development programs, and science initiatives to manage the fishery in a timely way that gives confidence to all stakeholders.    Thank you for your attention and your support for improving conditions for fishermen throughout the country. We remain committed to preserving and promoting our fishing industry. We look forward to continuing to work with you to effectively address the challenges facing this critical industry.    Sincerely,   Jack Reed Lisa Murkowski Edward J. Markey Elizabeth Warren Richard Blumenthal Mark Begich Kirsten Gillibrand Bill Nelson Jeanne Shaheen Robert Menendez Marco Rubio Susan Collins Sheldon Whitehouse Angus King Roger F. Wicker Christopher S. Murphy Thad Cochran Kelly Ayotte Charles E. Schumer Joe Courtney William R. Keating David N. Cicilline James P. McGovern Richard Neal John F. Tierney Steve Southerland Don Young James R. Langevin Niki Tsongas Stephen F. Lynch Carol Shea-Porter Timothy H. Bishop Michael E. Capuano Kathy Castor Joseph P. Kennedy III Michael H. Michaud Chellie Pingree Tom Rooney",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140223063745/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/bipartisan-coalition-of-38-members-of-congress-urges-federal-funding-for-fisheries-disaster-,Bipartisan Coalition of 38 Members of Congress Urges Federal Funding for Fisheries Disaster,2013-11-13,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, November 13, 2013 WASHINGTON, DC – In a bipartisan, bicameral letter to House and Senate leadership, 38 members of Congress - including all four members of Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation - today urged funding for fisheries disaster relief in the final funding package for Fiscal Year 2014. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a federal fishery failure for the Northeast multispecies fishery for the 2013 season.  Led by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the Senate Appropriations Committee approved legislation to include $150 million to provide a variety of assistance to help fishermen cope with the effects of the disaster in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill.  Last year, the Senate included this funding as part of the disaster assistance supplemental appropriations bill but it was stripped out by the House.  As a result, many fishermen who have been impacted by the disasters have been waiting for assistance for more than a year. “Fishing is vital to local economies and provides a critical part of our domestic food supply.  Providing this assistance is a matter of fairness for those fishermen and fishing communities that have been hit hard by disasters,” said Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who led the effort to include this assistance in the Senate CJS Appropriations bill. “Rhode Island's fishing industry has been hit hard in recent years by depleted fish stocks, tighter regulations, and a tough economy,"" said Whitehouse. ""This funding could provide badly needed assistance to our fishermen.” “Fishing and marine trades industries are a major part of the Rhode Island economy,” said Langevin.  “In 2011 alone, Rhode Island fishermen brought in more than $76 million in revenue. We need to support their livelihood and protect a critical piece of our economy at the same time.  These funds will help counteract the negative impacts of the 2013 fishery failure and will allow for reinvestment in preserving and promoting the fishing industry.” “Rhode Island’s local fishing industry provides good-paying jobs for hardworking men and women across our state, and this critical federal assistance will help rebuild fisheries that have been impacted by disasters,” said Cicilline.  “I am proud to work with my colleagues in the delegation in helping to bring these funds back to Rhode Island.” Earlier this year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) made a low-interest loan program available to qualifying fishermen hit by the disaster, offering loans of up to $2 million, with an interest rate cap of 4 percent and a duration period of up to 30 years.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has also made $10 million in funding available through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act for competitive grants for fishermen and fishing communities using cooperative research to advance the fishing industry. In addition to all four members of the Rhode Island delegation, the bipartisan, bicameral letter was also signed by: U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Edward J. Markey (D-MA); Elizabeth Warren (D-MA); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Mark Begich (D-AK); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Bill Nelson (D-FL); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Marco Rubio (R-FL); Susan Collins (R-ME); Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI); Angus King (I-ME); Roger F. Wicker (R-MS); Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT); Thad Cochran (R-MS); Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); and Charles E. Schumer (D-NY); and U.S. Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT); William R. Keating (D-MA); David N. Cicilline (D-RI); James P. McGovern (D-MA); Richard Neal (D-MA); John F. Tierney (D-MA); Steve Southerland (R-FL); Don Young (R-AK); James R. Langevin (D-RI); Niki Tsongas (D-MA); Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA); Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH); Timothy H. Bishop (D-NY); Michael E. Capuano (D-MA); Kathy Castor (D-FL); Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-MA); Michael H. Michaud (D-ME); Chellie Pingree (D-ME); and Tom Rooney (R-FL). A 2011 study funded by a federal NOAA Fisheries grant to the Rhode Island-based Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, estimated that commercial fishing and related industries account for over 6,500 jobs in Rhode Island.  Across New England the industry remains an important part of the coastal economy and culture. Text of the letter follows: Dear Majority Leader Reid, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairwoman Mikulski, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey:   We write to urge you to include fisheries disaster relief in any final funding package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014.   Since 2012, the Department of Commerce declared a number of fishery failures in the United States.  Regrettably funding has not been appropriated yet to deal with the effects of these disasters, which continue to affect communities in our states and districts. Indeed, while the Senate Appropriations Committee has included $150 million for fishery failures in the FY 2014 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill, funds have not been enacted into law to address the full spectrum of disaster needs.   As you know, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management and Interjurisdictional Fisheries Acts, the Secretary of Commerce must determine that a commercial fishery failure has occurred before funding can be provided to assist the affected fishery. The Secretary, after careful review, declared the following disasters in the areas we represent:   Alaska Chinook – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Alaska Chinook salmon fisheries in the Yukon River, Kuskokwim River and Cook Inlet.  Thousands of Alaskans have been affected including commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishermen.  Beyond direct impacts, communities have experienced reduced work for processor employees, reduced tax revenues, and reduced income for fishery dependent businesses.   Mississippi Oyster and Blue Crab – On September 12, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for commercial oyster and blue crab fisheries in Mississippi.  Historic flooding of the lower Mississippi River required opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway on May 9, 2011.  This action released substantial amounts of freshwater into the Mississippi Sound, impacting the entire ecosystem.  Mississippi’s oyster and blue crab fisheries were extensively damaged, resulting in severe economic hardship for commercial fishermen still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill.   Northeast Multispecies Groundfish Fishery – On September 13, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York.  Despite strict adherence to new and rigorous management practices by fishermen, key fish stocks have not responded as expected.  The resulting reductions in the total allowable catch for certain critical groundfish stocks are having a significant effect on coastal communities, fishing families, and local economies.   Superstorm Sandy fisheries impacts – On November 16, 2012, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for New Jersey and New York due to the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.  The effects of the storm have created severe economic losses for both commercial and recreational fishermen.   Florida Oysters – On August 12, 2013, a federal fisheries disaster was declared for the oyster fishery along the west coast of Florida. The fishery resource disaster resulted from excessive drought conditions in Apalachicola Bay and elsewhere in the Florida panhandle during the 2012 – 2013 winter fishing season.   Over the course of the last year, federal assistance has rightly been provided to a number of states for other federally-declared disasters. The fishery failures affecting our constituents are no less an economic disaster. Therefore, we request your assistance in ensuring that the $150 million fisheries disaster mitigation funding included in the Senate-version of the CJS appropriations bill be included in any final FY 2014 funding package.  These funds could be used in a variety of ways to provide fishermen vital help including support for emergency financial assistance, operational costs where necessary, economic development programs, and science initiatives to manage the fishery in a timely way that gives confidence to all stakeholders.   Thank you for your attention and your support for improving conditions for fishermen throughout the country. We remain committed to preserving and promoting our fishing industry. We look forward to continuing to work with you to effectively address the challenges facing this critical industry.   Sincerely,   Jack Reed Lisa Murkowski Edward J. Markey Elizabeth Warren Richard Blumenthal Mark Begich Kirsten Gillibrand Bill Nelson Jeanne Shaheen Robert Menendez Marco Rubio Susan Collins Sheldon Whitehouse Angus King Roger F. Wicker Christopher S. Murphy Thad Cochran Kelly Ayotte Charles E. Schumer Joe Courtney William R. Keating David N. Cicilline James P. McGovern Richard Neal John F. Tierney Steve Southerland Don Young James R. Langevin Niki Tsongas Stephen F. Lynch Carol Shea-Porter Timothy H. Bishop Michael E. Capuano Kathy Castor Joseph P. Kennedy III Michael H. Michaud Chellie Pingree Tom Rooney",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-honors-veterans-day-new-legislation,Langevin Honors Veterans Day with New Legislation,2013-11-11,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) honored veterans as he announced the introduction of the Veterans Homebuyer Accessibility Act, legislation that would make it easier for veterans to purchase homes and for disabled veterans to make adaptive modifications to their homes. “The transition from military life overseas back to the United States is a challenging time for our veterans. We should be doing everything in our power to make that assimilation easier, including supporting veterans as they set roots in their communities,” said Langevin. “They have done so much for our country, protecting our lives and our freedoms, and we must return the favor. All veterans deserve safe, affordable and accessible housing.” The Veterans Homebuyer Accessibility Act would provide a tax credit of up to $8,000 for specially adaptive housing improvements and a first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000 to eligible veterans through 2016. The bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by Congressman Paul Cook (R-CA) and Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL), and is endorsed by the American Legion, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Association of the United States Navy. Erik B. Wallin, executive director of Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, a non-profit that focuses on ending homelessness for local veterans, commented, “our warfighters face many challenges in transitioning back to civilian life. Those challenges are even more profound when these heroes have suffered a disabling injury. Our grateful nation should do all it can to assist these brave men and women in purchasing safe and adapted housing.” “I am so proud to introduce this legislation, which represents one piece of the puzzle in our nation’s ongoing commitment to those in the armed services,” Langevin continued. “It is especially exciting to announce this effort on Veterans Day, a time when all Rhode Islanders and Americans can come together to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-delauro-co-host-forum-highlighting-%E2%80%9Cwhen-women-succeed-america-succeeds%E2%80%9D,"Cicilline, DeLauro Co-Host Forum Highlighting “When Women Succeed, America Succeeds” Economic Agenda",2013-11-08,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"PAWTUCKET – Dozens of Rhode Islanders joined U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) and U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce this afternoon for a forum discussion on women’s economic issues. “I want to thank David for hosting this important forum and having me in Providence to discuss the women’s economic agenda,” DeLauro said. “Women are really struggling financially. They are looking for an increase in the minimum wage, equal pay, educational opportunities to raise their income – to support their families and have a chance for a better life. For women and families to succeed, for Rhode Island to succeed, for America to succeed, we need to ensure women are getting equal and rising pay, that they can take paid time off from work when they need it, and that they have access to quality, affordable child care. Taken together, this agenda can make a profoundly positive difference for women and our entire economy. Both David and I will not rest until it has become the law of the land.” Cicilline and DeLauro discussed their work to promote women’s economic concerns in the United States House of Representatives. Other speakers included Rhode Island State Senator Gayle Goldin, who also serves as the strategic initiatives officer for the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, and Deb Masland, a Rhode Island resident who discussed her personal experience balancing work and family responsibilities. ""Policies that ensure equality for women are good for families and our economy, in Rhode Island and across the country,” said Goldin. “I applaud Congressman Cicilline and Congresswoman DeLauro for their ongoing work to stand up and fight on behalf of working women.” Despite the progress made to promote gender equality over the years, Rhode Island women still earn an average of only 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, only about one out of every ten American employees receive paid family leave through their job, and less than 40% receive personal medical leave through employer-provided, short-term disability insurance. “Rosa DeLauro is leading the fight for America’s working women, and I am delighted that she was able to join us to underscore the importance of these issues in Providence today,” said Cicilline. “As we work to get our economy back on the right track, it is critical to ensure that all women are guaranteed pay equity, resources to maintain work and family balance, and quality child care services.” Since his election in 2010, Cicilline has been a strong advocate for Rhode Island women in the United States Congress, most notably through his original co-sponsorship of Congresswoman DeLauro’s Paycheck Fairness Act and the Equal Rights Amendment – proposals that would ensure women receive equal pay and ensure that equal rights cannot be denied on the basis of gender, respectively. In addition, Cicilline has consistently supported strong appropriations funding for Title X family planning programs that provide breast cancer screenings, HIV tests, and contraception, among other services. Cicilline also joined President Barack Obama at the White House earlier this year for the signing of a strong, bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-delauro-co-host-forum-highlighting-%E2%80%9Cwhen-women-succeed-america-succeeds%E2%80%9D-0,"Cicilline, DeLauro Co-Host Forum Highlighting “When Women Succeed, America Succeeds” Economic Agenda",2013-11-08,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"PAWTUCKET – Dozens of Rhode Islanders joined U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) and U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce this afternoon for a forum discussion on women’s economic issues. “I want to thank David for hosting this important forum and having me in Providence to discuss the women’s economic agenda,” DeLauro said. “Women are really struggling financially. They are looking for an increase in the minimum wage, equal pay, educational opportunities to raise their income – to support their families and have a chance for a better life. For women and families to succeed, for Rhode Island to succeed, for America to succeed, we need to ensure women are getting equal and rising pay, that they can take paid time off from work when they need it, and that they have access to quality, affordable child care. Taken together, this agenda can make a profoundly positive difference for women and our entire economy. Both David and I will not rest until it has become the law of the land.” Cicilline and DeLauro discussed their work to promote women’s economic concerns in the United States House of Representatives. Other speakers included Rhode Island State Senator Gayle Goldin, who also serves as the strategic initiatives officer for the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, and Deb Masland, a Rhode Island resident who discussed her personal experience balancing work and family responsibilities. ""Policies that ensure equality for women are good for families and our economy, in Rhode Island and across the country,” said Goldin. “I applaud Congressman Cicilline and Congresswoman DeLauro for their ongoing work to stand up and fight on behalf of working women.” Despite the progress made to promote gender equality over the years, Rhode Island women still earn an average of only 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, only about one out of every ten American employees receive paid family leave through their job, and less than 40% receive personal medical leave through employer-provided, short-term disability insurance. “Rosa DeLauro is leading the fight for America’s working women, and I am delighted that she was able to join us to underscore the importance of these issues in Providence today,” said Cicilline. “As we work to get our economy back on the right track, it is critical to ensure that all women are guaranteed pay equity, resources to maintain work and family balance, and quality child care services.” Since his election in 2010, Cicilline has been a strong advocate for Rhode Island women in the United States Congress, most notably through his original co-sponsorship of Congresswoman DeLauro’s Paycheck Fairness Act and the Equal Rights Amendment – proposals that would ensure women receive equal pay and ensure that equal rights cannot be denied on the basis of gender, respectively. In addition, Cicilline has consistently supported strong appropriations funding for Title X family planning programs that provide breast cancer screenings, HIV tests, and contraception, among other services. Cicilline also joined President Barack Obama at the White House earlier this year for the signing of a strong, bipartisan Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-praises-senate-passage-enda,Cicilline Praises Senate Passage of ENDA,2013-11-07,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"PAWTUCKET - U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI), who serves as a co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted 64-32 to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which is co-sponsored by a bipartisan coalition of 196 legislators in the U.S. House: “Earlier today, Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate took a historic step on behalf of equal rights and worked together to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act – a commonsense bill that ensures no American can lose their job because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Now that the Senate has acted in a bipartisan fashion to prevent workplace discrimination, it is time for the House to do the same. The House Republican leadership should acknowledge the overwhelming support that exists for ENDA and allow a vote on extending these basic protections to hardworking Americans in every state. I look forward to continuing to work alongside members who are willing to set aside our partisan differences and do the right thing for LGBT Americans.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-statement-on-passage-of-enda,Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Passage of ENDA,2013-11-07,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.07.13 Sen. Whitehouse Statement on Passage of ENDA Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding the Senate’s vote to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which will protect LGBT workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientation: “No one should fear persecution at work because of who they love. I was proud to join my colleagues in supporting this legislation to provide important workplace protections for LGBT Americans, and I hope the House of Representatives will soon pass it as well.” ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20131125033817/http://www.reed.senate.gov:80/news/release/reed-grassley-fines-and-penalties-for-wrongdoing-should-not-be-tax-deductible,Reed-Grassley: Fines and Penalties For Wrongdoing Should Not be Tax Deductible,2013-11-06,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Reed-Grassley: Fines and Penalties For Wrongdoing Should Not be Tax Deductible WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to protect taxpayers, hold corporate wrongdoers accountable, and deter future fraud and abuse, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are introducing legislation to rescind tax write-offs for illegal corporate behavior.  The bipartisan Government Settlement Transparency & Reform Act would close a loophole that has allowed some corporations to reap tax benefits from payments made at government direction stemming from settling misdeeds. Corporations accused of illegal activity routinely settle legal disputes with the government out of court because it allows both the company and the government to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of going to trial. Federal law prohibits companies from deducting public fines and penalties from their taxable income.  But under current law, offending companies may often write off any portion of a settlement that is not paid directly to the government as a penalty or fine for violation of the law.  This allows some companies to lower their tax bill by claiming settlement payments to non-federal entities as tax deductible business expenses. The Reed-Grassley bill would require the government and the settling party to reach pre-filing agreements on how the settlement payments should be treated for tax purposes.  The bill clarifies the rules about what settlement payments are punitive and therefore non-deductible and increases transparency by requiring the government to file a return at the time of settlement to accurately reflect the tax treatment of the amounts  that will be paid by the offending party. “A penalty is supposed to deter others because it causes pain to a company’s bottom line.  If a company is paying thousands, millions, or even billions in fines, it shouldn’t save money for those same misdeeds, it should be held accountable.  The law needs to change to ensure the punishment fits the crime.  Congress needs to close this settlement loophole,” said Reed. “A penalty should be meaningful or it won’t have the deterrent effect it’s supposed to have,” Grassley said.  “This issue comes up regularly, and this bill would make deductibility clear going forward.” Summary: The Government Settlement Transparency & Reform Act (S. 1654) Closes tax loophole that allows tax write-offs for corporate violations. The bill would amend the tax code to deny tax deductions for certain fines, penalties, and other amounts related to a violation or investigation or inquiry into the potential violation of any law. It amends subsection (f) of Section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code.  Amounts paid by corporations, which constitute restitution for damage caused by the violation of any law are exempted and remain deductible.  This section requires that nongovernmental entities which exercise self-regulatory powers be treated as government entities for purposes of disallowing deductions under this section. The bill requires the government to stipulate the tax treatment of the settlement agreement.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221043723/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/time-to-wake-up-the-deniers-playbook-,Time to Wake Up: The Denier's Playbook,2013-11-06,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As delivered on the Senate floor Wednesday, November 6, 2013 I’m here today, for what is now the forty-ninth straight week in which the Senate has been in session, to urge that we wake up to the effects of carbon pollution on the Earth’s oceans and climate; to sweep away the manufactured doubt that so often surrounds this issue, and to get serious about the threat that we face from climate change. When I come to the floor I often have a specialized subject.  I talk about the oceans and how they’re affected by carbon pollution.  Or I talk about the economics around carbon pollution.  Or I talk about the faith community’s interest in carbon pollution.  Today I want to talk about the role of the media in all of this. We count in America on the press to report faithfully and accurately on our changing world, and to awaken the public to apparent mounting threats. Our Constitution gives the press special, vital rights, so that they can perform this special, vital role.   But what happens when the press fails in this role?  What happens when the press stops being independent, when it becomes the bedfellow of special interests?  The Latin phrase, “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”, who will watch the watchmen themselves, becomes then the question.  The press are supposed to scrutinize all of us. Who watches them when they fail at their independent role? I want to speak about a very specific example: the editorial page of one of our nation’s leading publications, the Wall Street Journal.  The Wall Street Journal is one of America’s great newspapers, and there is probably none better when it comes to news coverage and to reporting.  It is a paragon in journalism…until you turn to the editorial page, and then you step into a chasm of polluter sludge when the issue is harmful industrial pollutants.  When that is the issue, harmful industrial pollutants, this editorial page will mislead its readers, will deny the scientific consensus, it will ignore its excellent news pages’ actual reporting, all to help the industry; to help the campaign to manufacture doubt and delay action. [Show Denier’s Playbook Chart] As I’ve said before, there is a deniers playbook around these issues.  We’ve seen the pattern repeat itself in the pages of the Wall Street Journal’s on acid rain, on the ozone layer, and now—most pronouncedly—on climate change.  And the pattern is a simple one: deny the science; question the motives; exaggerate the costs.  Call it the Polluting Industry 1-2-3. Let’s start in the 1970s, when scientists first warned that chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, which were commonly used as refrigerants and aerosol propellants, could break down the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, which would increase human exposure to ultraviolet rays and cause cancer.  As outlined in a report by Media Matters, this is the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page embarked upon what would become a persistent and familiar pattern.  For more than twenty-five years, the Wall Street Journal's editorial page doggedly printed editorials devaluing science and attacking any regulation of CFCs: January 1976: an editorial proclaimed the connection between CFCs and ozone depletion “is only a theory and will remain only that until further efforts are made to test its validity in the atmosphere itself.” May 1979: an editorial said that scientists “still don’t know to what extent, if any, mankind’s activities have altered the ozone barrier or whether the possibly harmful effects of these activities aren’t offset by natural processes. . . . Thus, it now appears--the editorial page continued—all the excitement over the threat to the ozone layer was founded on scanty scientific evidence.” March 1984: we read on the editorial page that concerns about ozone depletion were based on “premature scientific evidence.” Rather, they said, “new evidence shows that the ozone layer isn’t vanishing after all; it may even be increasing.” March 1989: an editorial called for more research on the “questionable theory that CFCs cause depletion of the ozone layer,” and implored scientists to “continue to study the sky until we know enough to make a sound decision regarding the phasing out of our best refrigerants.” Again, deny the science. Predictably, they also attacked the motives of reformers:  A February 1992 editorial stated: “It is simply not clear to us that real science drives policy in this area.” And, playbook 3, they warned that action to slow ozone depletion would be costly: A March 1984 editorial claimed that banning CFCs would “cost the economy some $1.52 billion in forgone profits and product-change expenses” as well as 8,700 jobs. An August 1990 editorial warned that banning CFCs would lead to “a dramatic increase in air-conditioning and refrigeration costs.” It added: “The likely substitute for the most popular banned refrigerant costs 30 times as much and will itself be banned by the year 2015. The economy will have to shoulder at least $10 billion to $15 billion a year in added refrigeration costs by the year 2000.” A February 1992 editorial warned that accelerating the phase-out of CFCs “almost surely will translate into big price increases on many consumer products.” Well, despite the protests of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, we actually listened in America to the science.  And we took action.  We protected the ozone layer and we protected the public’s health, and the economy prospered.  What about all those costs that they claimed?  Looking back, we can see that action to slow ozone depletion in fact saved money.  According to the EPA’s 1999 progress report on the Clean Air Act, “Every dollar invested in ozone protection provides $20 of societal health benefits in the United States.” One dollar spent, twenty dollars saved. The Journal’s response?  Silence.  They just stopped talking about it. So, on to acid rain.  In the late 1970s, scientists began reporting that acid rain was falling on most of our Northeastern United States.  Guess what?  Again, at the Wall Street Journal editorial page, out came the Playbook: First, they questioned the science behind the problem: A May 1980 editorial questioned the link between increased burning of coal and acid rain, concluding that existing “data are not conclusive and more studies are needed.”  In September 1982 the editors told us that “Scientific study, as opposed to political rhetoric, points more and more toward the theory that nature, not industry, is the primary source of acid rain.” Nature is the primary source of acid rain. A September 1985 Journal editorial claimed, “the scientific case for acid rain is dying.” In June 1989, the editorial page argued that we needed to wait—it’s always needing to wait—for science to understand, for example, to what extent acid rain is man-made before enacting regulations. During that same period, the Wall Street Journal editorial page also smeared the motives, declaring that the effort to address acid rain was driven by politics, not science:  In July 1987, the editorial page wrote, consistent with number two there in the playbook: “As the acid-rain story continues to develop, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that politics, not nature, is the primary force driving the theory’s biggest boosters.” Wall Street Journal editors also consistently opposed plans to address acid rain because of cost concerns, number three in the playbook: A June 1982 editorial warned of the “immense cost of controlling sulfur emissions.” A January 1984 editorial claimed a regulatory program for acid rain would cost “upwards of $100 billion.” These claims were made even as the evidence mounted against their position; even as President Reagan’s own scientific panel said that inaction would risk “irreversible damage.” And of course the cost equation of the Wall Street Journal editorial page was always totally one-sided: always the cost to clean up the pollution; never the cost of the harm that the pollution cased. That’s the industry playbook; faithfully spouted through the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal:  1) deny the science; 2) question the motives; and 3) exaggerate the costs. But, we made undeniable progress against acid rain, despite the efforts of the editorial page.  And guess what?  The Journal editorial page suddenly reversed its tune.  A July 2001 editorial called the cap-and-trade program for sulfur dioxide “fabulously successful,” fabulously successful, noting that the program “saves about $700 million annually compared with the cost of traditional regulation and has been reducing emissions by four million tons annually.” On this occasion, when its effort had failed, the Journal changed its tune.  But up ‘til then it was still the industry playbook:  1) deny the science; 2) question the motives; and 3) exaggerate the costs. And now, with carbon pollution running us to 400 parts per million for the first time in human history, the Journal is using the same old polluter playbook against climate change. The Journal has persistently published editorials against taking action to prevent manmade climate change.  As usual, they question the science: In June 1993 the editors wrote that there is “growing evidence that global warming just isn’t happening.” In September 1999 the page reported that “serious scientists” call global warming “one of the greatest hoaxes of all time.” In June 2005 the page asserted that the link between fossil fuels and global warming had “become even more doubtful.” This is June 2005, and the Wall Street Journaleditorial page is questioning whether there is a link between fossil fuels and global warming. A December 2011 editorial said that the global warming debate requires “more definitive evidence.” As usual, back to the industry playbook, the motives of the scientists were smeared: A December 2009 editorial claimed that leading climate scientists were suspect because they: “have been on the receiving end of climate change-related funding, so all of them must believe in the reality (and catastrophic imminence) of global warming just as a priest must believe in the existence of God.” And as usual, we heard that tackling climate change, tackling carbon pollution, would cost us a lot of money: In August 2009, the editorial page warned “that a high CO2 tax would reduce world GDP a staggering 12.9% in 2100—the equivalent of $40 trillion a year.”  And just last month, October 2013, the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal warned that in the face of climate change, “interventions make the world poorer than it would otherwise be.” That same October 2013 editorial actually completed the full polluter playbook trifecta by also decrying the “political actors” seeking to gain economic control; and by questioning the science, saying “global surface temperatures have remained essentially flat.” They covered them all in just the one editorial. If only the editorial page writers at the Wall Street Journal would turn the page to the actual news their own paper reports on climate change: A March 2013 article reported, and I’ll quote: “New research suggests average global temperatures were higher in the past decade than over most of the previous 11,300 years, a finding that offers a long-term context for assessing modern-day climate change.” A piece from the Wall Street Journal news in August 2013 revealed, and I’ll quote again:  “Average global temperatures in 2012 were roughly in line with those of the past decade or so, but the year still ranked among the 10 warmest on record as melting arctic ice and warming oceans continued to boost sea levels…” Which takes me to a particular fact about what carbon pollution is doing. And that is that our oceans are taking the brunt of the harm from carbon pollution, and it’s time to stop looking the other way. But the Wall Street Journal editorial page doesn’t often address the effects of carbon pollution on oceans, perhaps because the changes taking place in our oceans are not a matter where the complexity of computer modeling leaves room for phony doubt to be insinuated.  The oceans’ recent changes from our carbon pollution aren’t projections.  They aren’t models.  They are measurements.  Simple, unyielding measurements.  We measure sea-level rise with a ruler.  It’s not complicated.  We measure ocean temperature with a thermometer.  We measure ocean acidification on the pH scale. So, they don’t talk about that much at the Wall Street Journal editorial pages.  There’s no room for phony doubt, so they look elsewhere. Well, we have the right to expect independent and honest media to teach the American public about the threats facing our oceans and our environment.  What a difference good reporting can make.  Exemplary and compelling storytelling can and does influence our national conversation and inspire change. Reporters fail when they give false equivalency to arguments on each side of the political spectrum even though they’re not really equivalent.  Editors fail when they look at the science, look at the measurements, look at the real threats posed to our world, and then fail to tell us the unvarnished truth.  The story of climate change needs to be told.  Our oceans need a voice.  It seems the big polluters already have one. I yield the floor.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/event/affordable-care-act-workshop-uninsured-families,Affordable Care Act Workshop for Uninsured Families,2013-11-05,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"Join Congressman David N. Cicilline and HealthSource RI staff, as well as federal and state offices, for a workshop regarding the opportunities the Affordable Care Act provides for uninsured Rhode Island families. This event will be held on Saturday, November 9th, at Thundermist Health Center, 450 Clinton Street in Woonsocket at 1pm.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/sen-whitehouse-named-to-water-infrastructure-bill-conference-committee,Sen. Whitehouse Named to Water Infrastructure Bill Conference Committee,2013-11-05,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.05.13 Sen. Whitehouse Named to Water Infrastructure Bill Conference Committee Legislation includes Whitehouse measure to create oceans endowment Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today was appointed as a member of the joint House-Senate conference committee convened to merge the versions of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2013 passed by the two chambers.  The legislation authorizes and reforms civil works programs and policies for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The Senate-passed bill includes an amendment authored by Whitehouse to establish a National Endowment for the Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes. “As a member of this conference committee, I’ll be working to improve the ability of the Army Corps to carry out its mission in Rhode Island and across the country,” said Whitehouse.  “My other priority will be the National Endowment for the Oceans, which passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support.  The Endowment would support ocean and coastal research and restoration projects critical to fisheries, tourism, and recreation – bolstering Rhode Island’s and our nation’s coastal economies and ecosystems.” The Water Resources Development Act authorizes the Army Corps to assist with flood protection, ecosystem restoration, and navigation and facilitate the flow of commerce.  The bill is expected to support up to 500,000 jobs.  When funded, the National Endowment for the Oceans would make grants available to coastal and Great Lakes states, local governments, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations.  The grants would support research, restoration, and conservation efforts, including projects to restore habitat, manage fisheries, plan for sustainable coastal development, enhance ocean monitoring and research activities, acquire coastal properties for preservation and recreation, and relocate critical coastal infrastructure. Other Senate members of the conference committee are Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Max Baucus (D-MT), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), David Vitter (R-LA), John Barrasso (R-WY), and James Inhofe (R-OK).  The conference committee is expected to begin meeting later this year. ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221060839/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-announces-207-million-for-ri-winter-heat-aid,Reed Announces $20.7 Million for RI Winter Heat Aid,2013-11-04,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Monday, November 4, 2013 Reed Announces $20.7 Million for RI Winter Heat Aid PROVIDENCE, RI – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today announced that the Obama Administration is releasing $2.9 billion in low-income heating assistance funds under the FY 2014 Continuing Resolution (CR).  Under this release, Rhode Island will receive $20.7 million. Earlier this year, Senators Reed and Susan Collins (R-ME) worked to include language in the continuing resolution to fund LIHEAP at the higher Fiscal Year 2012 enacted level of $3.47 billion.  Unfortunately, this funding remains subject to automatic, across the board sequestration cuts, which both Senators oppose and support addressing.  Without the Reed-Collins language, LIHEAP would have been subject to even deeper cuts during the cold winter months ahead. “I am pleased the Obama Administration is releasing this vital heating assistance.  LIHEAP helps families in need deal with heating and financial challenges during the cold winter months.  With winter approaching it is critical to speed this assistance to seniors and low-income families in time to help with their heating bills,” said Reed, noting that about 34,000 Rhode Islanders depend on LIHEAP to help with their energy bills. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), states will soon receive 90% of their full year allocations under the FY 2014 Continuing Resolution.  This level gives states certainty to plan for their upcoming heating season while allowing Congress flexibility in setting its final funding level for the program in a final 2014 appropriation, as required by the CR. “LIHEAP funds are now available for folks needing assistance with their energy bills.  Residents seeking LIHEAP aid may schedule an appointment with their local Community Action Partnership office to apply.   We want to ensure seniors and families stay safe and warm this winter,” said Reed. Rhode Islanders wishing to apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program may go to the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources website to get more information and links to an online application.  Or, Rhode Islanders may contact their local Community Action Program (CAP) Agency. Eligibility guidelines for the 2013-14 LIHEAP season are the same as last year and are set at 60% of the Rhode Island median income.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/newsletters/back-business,Back to Business,2013-11-01,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Dear Friends, When I last reached out to you, exactly one month ago, it was the first day of a government shutdown. The shutdown would end up lasting 16 days and cost our economy an estimated $24 billion. Our country simultaneously came dangerously close to defaulting on our debt, a financial disaster that would have been unprecedented in our nation’s history. Needless to say, it has been a challenging time in Washington. But just one week after these manufactured crises were avoided and a budget conference convened, I got to experience firsthand some of the good news that is too often overlooked in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Foundation launched the “It’s All In Our Backyard” campaign to address what CEO Neil Steinberg calls a serious “self-esteem problem” in our state. Our economy is certainly facing challenges, but there are also bright spots to celebrate. If we want to bring in new business, and encourage existing business to set roots and expand here, we need to play to our strengths. The Foundation has done just that, and they graciously led me on a tour to see some success stories in action. From Armando & Sons Meat Market in Providence to Fielding Manufacturing in Cranston and FarSounder in Warwick, I was so impressed by Rhode Island’s resourceful and forward-thinking business owners. We need to empower those thriving businesses and gain best practices from them that will help small and growing enterprises to follow suit. Did you know that between 2000 and 2010, the health care industry added more than 10,600 jobs in Rhode Island? The Ocean State is also a top 10 state leading energy efficiency innovation and programs. And that’s just the beginning. There is a lot of work to be done to improve Rhode Island’s business climate, but it can be done with the right attitude and proper resources. We need to do better, and we need your help to do that. Share your thoughts via email, Facebook and Twitter, and check out my YouTube and Flickr pages.             Sincerely,",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-disappointed-additional-cuts-snap,Langevin Disappointed in Additional Cuts to SNAP,2013-11-01,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) issued the following statement in response to benefit cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The cuts, which affect more than 47 million Americans, go into effect today due to the expiration of a temporary benefit increase under the 2009 Recovery Act. A family of three will receive $29 less per month, while a family of four will receive $26 less. “Why is it that every time we discuss cutting costs in government, it is our most vulnerable citizens who pay the price?” asked Langevin, who is co-sponsoring a bill to extend the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s 13.6 percent temporary increase for one additional year. “SNAP amounts to only 2 percent of the federal budget, and yet it continues to be targeted for additional cuts, cuts that will be devastating to millions of families. I was proud to join my colleagues who participated in the SNAP Challenge, helping us to understand what it is like to live on $4.50 per day. I assure you, it isn’t easy. And now, by allowing these benefits to expire, we are asking individuals to sacrifice more, living on an average of just $4.20 per day. “Eighty percent of the households receiving SNAP benefits have monthly income below the poverty line, and these reductions will serve to push them further into poverty. We are forcing parents to go hungry so that their children have enough to eat. We are forcing families to choose between paying the rent and buying groceries. Those are choices that no American should have to make.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221060857/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/40-us-senators-led-by-reed-and-collins-urge-hhs-to-release-winter-heat-aid,40 U.S. Senators Led by Reed & Collins Urge HHS to Release Winter Heat Aid,2013-11-01,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Friday, November 1, 2013 40 U.S. Senators Led by Reed & Collins Urge HHS to Release Winter Heat Aid WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to help millions of Americans who are struggling with their energy bills as winter approaches, a bipartisan group of 40 U.S. Senators, led by Jack Reed (D-RI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), are calling on the Obama Administration to release federal heating aid funds. Today, the Senators sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging her to release Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds as quickly and at as high a level as possible.  Recently, Reed and Collins worked to include language in the continuing resolution to fund LIHEAP at the higher Fiscal Year 2012 enacted level of $3.47 billion.  Unfortunately, this funding remains subject to automatic, across the board sequestration cuts, which both Senators oppose and support addressing.  Without the Reed-Collins language, LIHEAP would have been subject to even deeper cuts during the cold winter months ahead.   “The government shutdown hurt the economy and threatened to delay the release of LIHEAP assistance.  Now that it’s behind us, it is critical to quickly get these funds out to ensure Rhode Islanders in need do not get left out in the cold this winter,” said Senator Reed, noting that about 34,000 Rhode Islanders depend on LIHEAP to help with their energy bills. “The LIHEAP programs assists some 8 million households nationwide; nearly 50,000 in Maine,” said Senator Collins.  “As energy costs have increased, LIHEAP remains an important lifeline that helps prevent people from having to choose between heating their home, paying their bills, or going without food or medicine.  I urge DHHS to release this critical funding quickly.” Recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released their Winter Fuels Outlook report, which projects that household expenditures for natural gas, propane, and electric heating will be higher this winter.  Home heating oil prices are expected to be modestly lower.  The report also noted that the Northeast is expected to be 3% colder than the previous winter. Eligibility for LIHEAP is based on income, family size, and the availability of resources. Text of the letter follows (PDF attached): Dear Secretary Sebelius:   As state agencies prepare their Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) programs for the winter, we respectfully request that the Department of Health and Human Services release LIHEAP funds as quickly and at as high of a level as possible under the current continuing resolution.   LIHEAP is the main federal program that helps low-income households and seniors with their energy bills, providing critical assistance during the cold winter and hot summer months. This funding has been an indispensable lifeline during challenging economic times, helping to ensure that recipients do not have to choose between paying their energy bills and paying for other necessities like food or medicine. On average low-income families and seniors spend a higher proportion of their income on energy, and for many states, October marks the start of the heating season, creating an additional constraint on these household budgets.   As the relevant state agencies begin to provide assistance for this winter, it is critical that they have the resources to assist low-income households and seniors as soon as possible. Therefore, we request that you quickly release LIHEAP funds and at as high of a level as possible in order to allow states and low-income households to prepare for the upcoming season.      We look forward to continuing to work with you on this critical program, and thank you for your attention to our concerns and those of our constituents.    Sincerely, Reed Collins Ayotte Baldwin Begich Blumenthal Brown Cardin Casey Coons Durbin Franken Gillibrand Hirono Tim Johnson Heitkamp Kaine King Klobuchar Landrieu Leahy Levin Manchin Markey Menendez Merkley Murkowski Murphy Murray Pryor Rockefeller Sanders Schatz Schumer Shaheen Stabenow Tester Warren Whitehouse Wyden",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/-bicameral-task-force-on-climate-change-applauds-president-obamas-commitment-to-climate-change-resilience-preparation,Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change Applauds President Obama’s Commitment to Climate Change Resilience Preparation,2013-11-01,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.01.13 Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change Applauds President Obama’s Commitment to Climate Change Resilience Preparation Washington, DC – The Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change strongly supports the executive order issued by President Obama today to enhance climate preparedness and resilience for the United States.  This order firmly grounds Administration policy in the realities of climate science and acknowledges the variety of challenges that our country will face in coming years due to increasing erratic and dangerous weather patterns and events.   It will encourage increased information sharing on all levels of government in order promote smarter, more climate-resilient investments and will help provide state and local governments the tools to identify and make those investments.  The order also requires the Departments of Defense, the Interior, and Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, NOAA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other agencies to compile an assessment of the effects of climate change on communities, economies, and ecosystems across the nation.   “I commend President Obama’s continued action on climate change,” said Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD).   “We are already feeling the effects of climate change through rising sea-levels, devastating wildfires, and deadly superstorms.  These harms pose serious risks to the public health, our national security, and our economy.  The Task Force the President established today will bring the wisdom and experience of state and local leaders to the challenge of protecting our communities from the worsening impacts of climate change.”   “Climate change poses a serious threat to national security, undermines the health and safety of our communities, and represents a substantial risk to taxpayers,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).  “I applaud the Administration for issuing an executive order and forming a task force to help communities across the country prepare for the effects of climate change.”   “Climate change is already here, lapping at our doorstep in the form of more extreme weather and rising sea-levels,” said Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA). “That’s why we have to deal with the realities of resiliency against these impacts we can no longer avoid, even as we try to cut the pollution that could make climate change even worse.”   “Climate change is increasing the severity of droughts and storms and the intensity of wildfires,” said Representative Henry A. Waxman (CA-33), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “Today the President has taken important steps to ensure that the federal government is a good partner in helping our communities prepare for these serious impacts.  This is an important complement to his leadership in fighting for limits on dangerous carbon pollution.”   With the Republican-controlled Congress refusing to enact any type of legislation, comprehensive or otherwise, that would address the serious impacts of climate change, I applaud President Obama for showing leadership on this critical issue,” said Representative Bobby Rush (IL-01). “Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately impacted by the most harmful health and environmental effects associated with climate change. The President’s actions will undoubtedly give us a better understanding of how to protect these communities, in particular, and the nation as a whole from the dangerous and more frequent extreme weather events and disasters that the country has been experiencing.”   “In addition to fighting to reverse climate change, we must also ensure that we are as prepared as possible for its inevitable effects, which are already wreaking havoc across our country,” said Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-03). “I’m grateful to the President for taking this action and will continue to work toward legislative solutions to combat the man-made sources of climate change and protect our land, soil, and water.”                                                                                 ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/senators-introduce-legislation-to-promote-public-awareness-of-cyber-security,Senators Introduce Legislation to Promote Public Awareness of Cyber Security,2013-11-01,2013,2013-11,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"11.01.13 Senators Introduce Legislation to Promote Public Awareness of Cyber Security Bipartisan bill would improve transparency of threats to government, business, and infrastructure targets Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Lindsey Graham (D-SC), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today introduced the Cyber Security Public Awareness Act of 2013.  The bill would improve public awareness of cyber security threats by instituting new reporting requirements for federal agencies charged with monitoring and responding to cyber threats.   In recent years, cyber attacks by criminals, foreign intelligence and military services, and terrorists have increased in frequency and efficacy.  These incursions have resulted in billions of dollars of intellectual property lost, millions of Americans’ identities stolen, increased vulnerability of critical infrastructure to sabotage, and intrusions into sensitive government networks.  However, reliable information about cyber attacks and cyber risks remains largely unavailable to consumers, businesses, and policy makers.   “The cyber threat posed to American corporate and government networks and to individual users of the internet is enormous and unrelenting,” said Whitehouse, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism.  “Yet too many Americans remain in the dark about the severity and nature of this threat.  This legislation will allow us to better arm ourselves with the basic knowledge needed to protect our nation’s vital assets and our privacy.  I particularly thank my lead cosponsor Senator Blunt for his assistance.”   “Cyber breaches are a serious and growing ‎threat to our country's security, and this bill will give us a greater understanding of the number of threats and the tools available to repel them,” Blunt said. “I’m pleased to partner with Senator Whitehouse as we work to improve awareness of the danger of cyber attacks on our nation’s government and private sector networks.”   “So far Congress has failed to forge a workable cyber security framework to protect the United States against a fast-growing national security and economic threat,” said Graham.  “Our cyber-networks remain dangerously vulnerable to outside attack and are the repeated targets of foreign governments’ efforts to steal the fruits of our intellectual and business efforts.  This bill is a great step towards understanding this problem so that Congress can adequately and appropriately address it.”   Blumenthal said, “Every day the United States is under attack by individuals wishing to steal sensitive information from the American government and corporate information systems, as well as the home networks of individual internet users. As a result of these cyber attacks, intellectual property is lost, identities are stolen, and America is less safe. By instituting new reporting requirements for federal agencies charged with reviewing and responding to cyber attacks, this legislation will help us better protect our country and constituents from hackers wishing to do harm. Cyber security is national security, and Americans should be in the know about the real threats we face.”   The Cyber Security Public Awareness Act would require national security and law enforcement agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and Justice, to submit reports to Congress on attacks on federal networks, investigations of cyber crime, and other impediments to appropriate public awareness of common cyber security threats.  The bill also includes provisions to enhance awareness of threats against our nation’s critical infrastructure, publicly traded businesses, and individual internet users.     ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-introduces-bill-protect-adopted-children,Langevin Introduces Bill to Protect Adopted Children,2013-10-30,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) introduced legislation today that would help provide a more stable home environment for adopted children. A recent investigative series from Reuters, “The Child Exchange,” brought to light an alarming trend of adopted children being “re-homed” into the custody of strangers without oversight. Langevin’s bill, the “Protecting Adopted Children Act,” aims to curb that practice through the provision of pre- and post-adoptive support services. “All children deserve a loving home, but unfortunately, not every adoption has a happy ending. When a family is ill-equipped to care for a child, for whatever reason, there must be safe mechanisms in place through which an adopted child can be transitioned into a more stable environment,” said Langevin, who led a letter to the House Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee, asking them to investigate the practice known as “re-homing” and convene state and federal officials and other stakeholders to determine what authorities exist to address the problem. The Protecting Adopted Children Act, the House companion bill to S. 1527, provides for pre- and post-adoptive counseling to ease the transition for children and families. The bill helps to fund treatments specialized for adopted children, including psychiatric residential services, outpatient mental health services, social skills training, intensive in-home supervision services, recreational therapy, suicide prevention and substance abuse treatment. Adoptive parents would have access to peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups in order to learn from experienced adoptive parents, and could access a 24-hour emergency hotline. The bill also calls for a GAO study of re-homing practices, including how children are advertised for adoption on the internet. “This is a complex issue, and simply outlawing the online advertisement of children available for adoption will unfortunately not fix the problem. In many states, re-homing a child without notifying the state is already illegal, yet those prohibitions have not prevented the unsafe and illegal transfer of children,” Langevin continued. “Instead, my legislation requires an in-depth study of rehoming by the General Accountability Office to better understand the underlying issues, while aiming to prevent re-homings by providing the resources necessary to create a loving, stable environment for every child. It is my hope that pre-adoptive counseling in particular would educate prospective adoptive parents about some of the challenges these children face, and discourage them from bringing a child into their home before they are ready.  I will continue to look for ways to address these heartbreaking stories both legislatively and through increased coordination with state and local governments, advocates and families.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221054059/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/video-audio/sen-whitehouse-at-budget-conference-committee-hearing,Sen. Whitehouse at Bicameral Budget Conference Committee Hearing,2013-10-30,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As Sheldon travels the ocean state, he’s been hearing from middle-class families, seniors, small business owners – taking that information back to Washington and standing up for Rhode Island. We invite you to use the resources in this section to learn more about Sheldon’s latest efforts for the Ocean State.  You’ll find video, press releases, speeches and more.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221054137/http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/video-audio/time-to-wake-up-hurricane-sandy-anniversary,Time to Wake Up: Hurricane Sandy Anniversary,2013-10-30,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"As Sheldon travels the ocean state, he’s been hearing from middle-class families, seniors, small business owners – taking that information back to Washington and standing up for Rhode Island. We invite you to use the resources in this section to learn more about Sheldon’s latest efforts for the Ocean State.  You’ll find video, press releases, speeches and more.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/bicameral-budget-conference-committee-opens-negotiations,Bicameral Budget Conference Committee Opens Negotiations,2013-10-30,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"10.30.13 Bicameral Budget Conference Committee Opens Negotiations Sen. Whitehouse urges health care savings, closing tax loopholes to balance spending cuts Washington, DC – House and Senate negotiators today held the first formal meeting of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Conference Committee, tasked with merging the budget plans passed earlier this year by each chamber.  In his opening remarks, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) urged his fellow conferees to support a responsible blueprint that will spur job creation and avoid further damage to the American economy from indiscriminate across-the-board spending cuts.   “The sequester was designed to be stupid and painful, and has filled the bill,” said Whitehouse.  “In poll after poll, Americans have been clear that the most urgent issue facing our nation is the weak economy and lack of jobs.  Unfortunately, federal budget policy in recent years has been dragged toward the dangerous ‘austerity’ path, and largely ignored the role that infrastructure, research, and energy efficiency investments can play in supporting job growth.”   Senator Whitehouse noted that the budget resolution passed by the Senate generates $975 billion over ten years from closing loopholes in the tax code, such as those that benefit corporations that ship American jobs overseas or allow billionaires to pay a lower income tax rate than many middle-income workers.  Whitehouse also sought to harness the tremendous potential savings that can be achieved through health care delivery system reform without compromising health outcomes or reducing federal health care benefits.   The full text of the Senator Whitehouse’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, is below. ________________________________________________________________   Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Opening Statement: Conference Committee The Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY 2014 October 30, 2013   Chairman Ryan, Chairman Murray, thank you for your leadership in bringing together this Conference Committee.  We’re still recovering from the worst recession of our lifetimes; a harmful budget sequester is eroding our economy; and a debt limit once again looms.  We have critical work to do.   In poll after poll, Americans have been clear that the most urgent issue facing our nation is the weak economy and lack of jobs.  Unfortunately, federal budget policy in recent years has been dragged toward the dangerous “austerity” path, and largely ignored the role that, for instance, infrastructure, research, and energy efficiency investments can play in supporting job growth.   Europe’s failed austerity experiments inflicted significant economic harms while not delivering the promised budget improvements.  At home, the dangers of austerity budgeting show in the sequester, which to its credit was designed to be stupid and painful, and has filled the bill.       In August, Senator Jack Reed and I convened a meeting in Rhode Island to discuss the effects of the sequester in Rhode Island.  We heard about layoffs in the defense industry, civilian personnel forced to take unpaid leave, children unable to enroll in Head Start, and a cruel $40 a week cut to unemployment insurance, with unemployment in our state hovering around 9 percent.   We also heard about more lasting damage.  Karen Markin, Director of Research Development at the University of Rhode Island said, “[T]hese budget cuts are insidious, because we won’t feel the consequences for a few years.  And when we do, it will be subtle but devastating in the long run. It will be the absence of innovations in science, technology and medicine at the pace we have come to expect.  It’s like deferred maintenance—it seems innocuous now, but it will come back to bite us several years from now. We can probably recover from a single year of treading water in scientific discovery, but if this keeps up, the nation’s scientific research enterprise will begin to erode.”        We must replace the sequester with policies that support job growth.  Our efforts to date have been heavily in the form of spending cuts.  Of the $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction since 2011, we’ve cut spending on government programs by $1.5 trillion.  That compares with only $600 billion in deficit-reducing revenue—mostly from letting the Bush tax cuts on high-income earners expire this January.   And that compares to zero in another costly area of federal spending: spending through the tax code.  I say to my fellow Conferees, you cannot say that the debt and deficit are (a) a mortal threat to our nation and (b) less important than every tax loophole. The Senate budget generates $975 billion from loophole-closing revenue—and I’d urge you to take an honest look at this untouched tax spending.   The tax loopholes I’d like to devote to deficit reduction are ones we should close anyway.  Big Oil does not need taxpayer subsidies.  Companies should not be rewarded for shifting assets to foreign countries.  Billionaires should not pay lower tax rates than brickmasons.  Correcting these would be fair, and can help us create jobs and grow the economy.   I’ll close on health care.  The potential savings from health care delivery system reform are tremendous.  Experts from the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, to the Lewin Group and former Bush Treasury Secretary O’Neil, to the Institute of Medicine estimate $700 billion to $1 trillion in nationwide health care savings every year without compromising health outcomes – all by addressing things like medical errors and our backwards payment structure.  Since over 40 percent of total health spending is federal, that means huge potential federal savings.   In fact, according to CBO, it already has.  Since 2010 when the Bowles-Simpson commission recommended we cut our deficits by $4 trillion, we’ve seen CBO’s estimates for Medicare and Medicaid drop by $1.2 trillion—substantial savings that have not been included in the official deficit reduction tallies.  I look forward to working with Conferees on both sides to support policies to deliver the savings and better health care Americans deserve.    ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/senate-panel-approves-childrens-hospital-graduate-medical-education-bill,Senate Panel Approves Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Bill,2013-10-30,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"10.30.13 Senate Panel Approves Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Bill Bill includes Whitehouse fix to include RI children’s psychiatric hospital Washington, DC – Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee reported out the Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013, with bipartisan support. The legislation, which provides freestanding children’s hospitals federal support for graduate medical education (GME) teaching programs for pediatric medical residents, includes a provision authored by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) that extends federal support to teaching programs at children’s psychiatric hospitals.     Senators Whitehouse and Jack Reed (D-RI), original cosponsors of the legislation, have long advocated for the inclusion of children’s psychiatric hospitals, like Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, in the Children’s Hospitals GME payment program as a means to address the shortfall in mental health professionals that specialize in treating children and adolescents. Senator Whitehouse's provision accomplishes this.   “Psychiatric children’s hospitals like Bradley play a key role in training the next generation of mental health professionals,” said Whitehouse, a member of the HELP Committee. “By including these hospitals in the CHGME program, this bill will make a significant difference in their ability to sustain, build, and strengthen their residency programs, and will help our children have access to trained health care professionals who can provide the best possible mental and behavioral health care services.”   “I have fought to address the omission of children's psychiatric teaching hospitals for years because I believe it is essential to end discriminatory funding policies against children with mental health issues.  I commend Senators Casey, Isakson, Whitehouse, and others who helped broker this bipartisan agreement to include children’s psychiatric teaching hospitals in the definition of a ‘children’s hospital.’  I remain committed to boosting mental health parity and ensuring that Bradley Hospital and other children’s psychiatric teaching hospitals have the resources and federal support they need to train doctors equipped to treat mental illness,” said Reed, a former member of the HELP Committee who has worked on this issue for over a decade.   The Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013 will reauthorize the Children’s Hospitals GME (CHGME) Payment Program for five years at $300 million per year.  The bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use a portion of CHGME funds appropriated above $245 million for “qualified hospitals” that meet the requirements of the program but for technical reasons did not previously qualify.   The bill will now go to the Senate floor, where it awaits action by the full Senate. ### Print Email Tweet Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://cicilline.house.gov/press-release/cicilline-helps-force-house-vote-consideration-make-it-america-manufacturing-act,Cicilline Helps Force House Vote on Consideration of Make it in America Manufacturing Act,2013-10-29,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,David Cicilline,C001084,cicilline.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI) today helped force a vote in the House of Representatives on whether to consider the Make it in America Manufacturing Act, the Rhode Island lawmaker’s signature proposal to reinvigorate American manufacturing and provide small to medium-sized manufacturers with targeted resources to retrain workers and retrofit facilities to compete in a global economy. “I am proud that we were able to force a vote related to the Make it in America Manufacturing Act in the House of Representatives. Growing manufacturing jobs shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it should be a national priority,” said Cicilline. “No matter who controls the House of Representatives, I am going to continue fighting for commonsense proposals that will put Rhode Island families back to work, strengthen our middle class, and reinvigorate our manufacturing sector.” On an entirely party line vote of 226-193, House Republicans defeated Cicilline’s proposal to defeat the previous question and consider the Make it in America Manufacturing Act. A video of Cicilline’s remarks to the House can be viewed by clicking here. The full text of Cicilline’s remarks, as delivered, is embedded below. ---- David N. Cicilline Make it in America Manufacturing Act Remarks As Delivered October 29, 2013 I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, it is beyond time for Congress to focus on getting Americans back to work. If we want to get things back on the right track, we have to start making things again in this country. Job creation shouldn’t be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue — it’s an American issue. At some point, the gridlock in Washington needs to end and we need to take advantage of the opportunities we have to reinvigorate this critical sector of our economy. And that’s why I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question today, so that we can consider the Make It In America Manufacturing Act — legislation I have introduced that would facilitate the creation of unique public-private partnerships — bringing together federal, state, local, and regional stakeholders to develop comprehensive Manufacturing Enhancement Strategies and deliver targeted resources to strengthen the manufacturing sector, which has proven vital to our country’s economy.  It would provide small- to medium-sized manufacturers with the resources they need to retool and retrofit their operations, and train their workforce in order to transition to the manufacturing of clean energy, high-technology, and advanced products. And it would enhance the competitiveness of the industry, including through increased exports and domestic supply chain opportunities. Mr. Speaker, it’s time for Congress to work together to make things again so that Americans can make it again. And this is about strengthening the manufacturing sector, which helped build the middle class of this country, which helped build one of the strongest economies in the world. This would allow manufacturers who are beginning to see a resurgence, a revival, because of some market conditions, because of the great innovations and the great quality of our workforce. It would allow us to strengthen this sector and grow jobs at a critical time for my state and for our country, so I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question, so that we can consider the Make it in America Manufacturing Act — something that we should be able to come together on that will promote job growth in this critical sector of our nation’s economy. I thank the gentleman and I yield back.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z http://langevin.house.gov/press-release/langevin-cosponsors-bill-delay-flood-insurance-rate-increases,Langevin Cosponsors Bill to Delay Flood Insurance Rate Increases,2013-10-29,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Jim Langevin,L000559,langevin.house.gov,,,legacy,"Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) joined as an original cosponsor of the “Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act,” a bill introduced today that would delay increases in federal flood insurance rates for four years. This legislation calls for a two-year affordability study, followed by an additional two-year delay to implementation of new rates mandated in the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act. This delay applies to primary residences, including those sold after July 6, 2012. “Homeowners in Rhode Island coastal communities are already seeing significant increases in their flood insurance rates, rates that, for some, are unsustainable,” said Langevin. “These families have already been through enough, seeing their homes damaged and memories destroyed by the rising floodwaters in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. I understand that reforms are needed in the federal flood insurance program, but those changes should not come at the cost of someone losing their home.” The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to set regulations addressing affordability within 18 months after the completion of the study. The bill eliminates the 50 percent cap on state and local contributions to levee construction or reconstruction; allows FEMA to utilize National Flood Insurance Funds to reimburse policyholders who appeal a map determination; protects the basement exemption that allows the lowest proofed opening in a home to be used for determining rates; and requires FEMA to certify that it has fully adopted a modernized risk-based approach to analyzing flood risk. The bill also establishes a Flood Insurance Rate Map Advocate within FEMA to answer policyholder questions. “As Rhode Islanders know all too well, so-called ‘100-year storms’ are becoming more frequent, providing a stark reminder that climate change is a reality we have to adjust to,” Langevin continued. “But as we work on mitigation efforts and improving our coastal defenses to superstorms like Sandy, we must protect our homeowners. Thousands of individuals and families are insured under the National Flood Insurance Program, and we cannot price them out of their homes.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://web.archive.org/web/20140221042529/http://www.reed.senate.gov/news/release/reed-calls-for-congress-to-focus-on-manufacturing-jobs,Reed Calls for Congress to Focus on Manufacturing Jobs,2013-10-29,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Jack Reed,R000122,web.archive.org,,,legacy,"Tuesday, October 29, 2013 Reed Calls for Congress to Focus on Manufacturing Jobs The “Manufacturing Jobs for America” initiative features Reed’s plan to increase investment in job training WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to get Congress to refocus on manufacturing jobs, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today joined a group of 21 U.S. senators in launching the “Manufacturing Jobs for America” initiative, which seeks to build bipartisan support for legislation that will help create jobs, modernize America’s manufacturing sector, and improve workforce training.  A key piece of the initiative is Senator Reed’s Adult Education and Economic Growth Act (S. 1400), which will reform and increase investment in job training and adult education and help connect adult learners with opportunities for jobs. Specifically, the Adult Education and Economic Growth Act would: •           Encourage employers to invest in lower skilled working adults by providing a tax credit for employers who invest in their employee's education; •           Increase funding for adult education to provide additional support for state and local authorities to ensure collaboration between adult education and workforce needs; and •           Expand access to adult education services through the use of technology. “The best way to keep our economy moving forward is to get people back to work, and the best resource for our economy is an educated and skilled workforce.  We need to invest in human capital,” said Senator Reed.  “The “Manufacturing Jobs in America” agenda shows there is a broad range of things Congress should be doing to help create jobs.  One of the initiatives I have put forward as part of this effort is the Adult Education and Economic Growth Act, which creates and supports avenues for adults to continue their education and build their career skills.  By better aligning education and workforce training programs to the jobs that are available we can help people get the jobs of today and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.” Despite high unemployment levels, a recent Deloitte and Manufacturing Institute online survey found there are an estimated 600,000 unfilled U.S. manufacturing jobs due to a lack of workers with the right skills.  But the U.S. has chronically under-invested in job-training and workforce development.  According to Senator Reed, 150,000 Rhode Islanders could benefit from some form of job-skills training or adult education right now.  But today there’s only enough financing to help 6,500 (4.3%). “Adult education can help bridge the skills gap that separates people seeking work from those who are offering good paying jobs.  We need to effectively prepare our workers to meet the demands of a shifting economy.  Investing in adult education programs helps American workers learn new skills and improve their lives.  It gives them a platform for upward mobility both professionally and personally.  It can help lift individuals, communities, and businesses together because the more skilled workers out there earning a paycheck, the more demand there is for the goods and services our businesses offer.” According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST), Rhode Island has an estimated 1,500 manufacturers, and 95 percent have fewer than 100 employees.  In 2011, these manufacturers employed 40,349 workers.  To help local manufacturers, Senator Reed has secured federal funding for the Rhode Island Manufacturing Extension Services (RIMES), a nonprofit funded jointly by the federal and private investments.  RIMES has a strong record of helping local small and medium-sized manufacturers in the state with improving operations and increasing efficiency.  Earlier this year, Reed helped secure $750,000 in federal Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) funding for the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation to help local manufacturers accelerate development and adoption of cutting edge manufacturing technologies.  Reed also helped the state land a $100,000 first round “Investing in Manufacturing Community Partnership” (IMCP) grant to help the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) and its collaborative partners enact long-term economic development strategies intended to create a business environment that leads to well-paying, sustainable manufacturing jobs. “Our nation has learned an important lesson: we have to put people on the shop floor because it’s not only the ability of the United States to create and innovate, it is a competitive global marketplace out there.  Unless you are actually manufacturing these products, you don’t have the advantage of learning how to do it better, how to improve it, how to be more competitive.  Think of all the things, the manufacturing products we’ve invented.  But then we’ve lost the ability to reproduce them and as a result we’ve lost the jobs.  So this whole effort is designed to rekindle that spirit of giving people the skills, the incentives, and the encouragement to go back and manufacture.  The greatest phrase we have been hearing is Made in America, so let’s make it in America,” concluded Reed.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/time-to-wake-up-the-anniversary-of-hurricane-sandy,Time to Wake Up: The Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy,2013-10-29,2013,2013-10,Democrat,House,RI,Sheldon Whitehouse,W000802,www.whitehouse.senate.gov,,,legacy,"10.29.13 Time to Wake Up: The Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy Mr. President, this is my forty-eighth trip to the floor to remind Congress it is time to wake up to the threat of climate change.   I'm joined here by Senators Blumenthal and Schumer, because one year ago today, Hurricane Sandy struck our states with frightening force.  Now, a year later, communities across the Northeast have dug out and are rebuilding, but Sandy left a permanent mark on our coasts and on our consciousness. To be sure, we cannot say that this devastating storm was specifically caused by climate change.  However, Sandy showed the many ways we are vulnerable to the undeniable effects of climate change, like rising sea levels and warming oceans—effects that can in turn load the dice for more damaging storms.   As evening fell on October 29, 2012, a storm surge from the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded swept against Rhode Island’s shores, about five feet above mean sea level.  A few hours later, waters peaked around New York City, about nine feet above mean sea level.  A harrowing night followed for victims of Hurricane Sandy—a night that took more than 150 lives and caused $65 billion in physical damage and economic loss.   Hurricane Sandy—or Superstorm Sandy as many remember it—hit twenty-four states with direct effects.  Flood waters invaded homes and swept out roads.  High winds knocked out power to eight-and-a-half million homes and businesses, cutting a swath of darkness that could be seen from space.  An entire New York neighborhood was gutted by fires that emergency personnel could not reach through the storm. Sandy flooded nearly the entire coastline, with beaches and dunes driven down by the waves and wind. Displaced sand and stone covered roads, like here on Atlantic Avenue in Misqaumicut, Rhode Island. Houses were swept off their foundations in Rhode Island's southern-coast communities like Matunuck, shown in this photo.  Here we see Governor Lincoln Chafee, a former member of this body, surveying the damage to these homes.  President Obama granted Governor Chafee’s request for a federal disaster declaration covering four of Rhode Island's five counties.  More than 130,000 Rhode Islanders lost power. Eight cities and towns implemented evacuation actions.  Nearly a third of all Rhode Islanders were directly affected, one way or another, and in a close-knit state like ours nearly everyone was touched by Sandy.   Rhode Islanders are resilient, and we are recovering.  Over $30 million has been paid out to Rhode Islanders for more than 1000 federal Flood Insurance claims.  FEMA has approved more than 260 projects for reimbursement.  Over $12 million has been put to repairing our state’s parks, wildlife refuges and historic sites. Individuals and families received more than $423,000 in grants to meet their immediate basic needs for housing and other essential disaster-related expenses.   The federal government will always play a central role for communities like ours picking up after a disaster like Sandy.  So it would make sense for the federal government to learn from these events and be smart as we plan for future risks. The Government Accountability Office recently reported on the risks to U.S. infrastructure posed by climate change.  Roads, bridges, and water systems are designed to operate for fifty to 100 years.  Well, fifty to 100 years from now, our climate and our coastline will be very different.  Sandy threw at Rhode Island's shores Atlantic seas that had risen almost ten inches since the 1930s, against a shoreline that had already retreated more than 100 feet in some locations.   As climate change progresses, more and more infrastructure will be exposed to more and more risk.   Earlier this year, GAO added to its High Risk List the United States’ financial exposure to climate change.  GAO—our congressional watchdog—now warns that it is fiscally irresponsible to ignore the signs of climate change. The President's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and his Climate Action Plan, both call for adaptation to this risk from climate change, particularly for better coastal resiliency and preparedness.   Here is an example of doing it right. When Hurricane Katrina hit the I-10 Twin Span Bridge that crosses Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, it twisted and toppled the bridge’s 255-ton concrete bridge spans, off their piers and into the lake.  The bridge was rebuilt, using Federal Highway Administration funding, but they built it stronger, they built it better engineered, and in some sections they built it more than twenty feet higher.   It makes sense to make sure that our agencies repair American infrastructure to the commonsense standard that it's ready for future risks.  Rebuilding to the specs that failed is not common sense.  Being deliberately stupid in order to deny climate change is a losing proposition.   Well, Congress can do something smart right now.  We could pass the Water Resources and Development Act with the resiliency and restoration provisions that were in the Senate-passed bipartisan bill.   Congress could support the President’s Climate Action Plan, using our wise Earth's natural protections for our coastal infrastructure.    Of course, even robust climate adaptation won't let us off the hook in some places.  New England can build levees and dams to hold the waters back.  But the vast low areas of Southeastern Florida are porous limestone, and even if you built a giant dike, the water would just seep in through the underlying limestone.   A study last year found that three feet of sea-level rise, which is what we presently expect, will hit more than one-and-a-half-million Floridians and nearly 900,000 Florida homes, almost double the effect on any other state in the nation.   So Florida should want to prevent as much climate change as possible, and that means cutting carbon pollution.  Ultimately, for the open market to work, we need to include the full cost of carbon pollution in the price of fossil fuels.  Anything less is a subsidy to polluters.  What Florida should want, is for Congress to enact a carbon pollution fee to correct the market, and then return that fee to American families.   Ultimately, inaction is irresponsible, and Americans get it.  Eighty-two percent of Americans believe we should start preparing now for rising sea levels and severe storms from climate change.   And young Americans in particular see through the phony climate denial message.  Get this: three-quarters of independent young voters -- and more than half of Republican young voters -- would describe climate deniers as, I quote, “ignorant,” “out of touch,” or “crazy.” Let me repeat that. The majority of Republican voters under 35 would describe climate deniers as “crazy, “ignorant”, or “out of touch.” Continuing the climate denial strategy is not a winning proposition for our friends on the other side. Even their own young voters see through it. Congress should wake up to the alarms that are ringing in nature, and to the voices of the American people.  One of the loudest alarm gongs was Hurricane Sandy. Voltaire said, “Men argue, nature acts.”  Well, nature acted, driving epic winds and seas against our shores, and she will continue to act, if we continue to tip her careful balances with reckless carbon pollution, and shameless subsidies to the big polluters.  We need to wake up as a Congress and take responsible action to protect our homes and communities.  We need to remember Sandy, and learn her lessons. I yield the floor to my distinguished colleague from New York.   ###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z