WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a decision denying a bid protest filed by Raytheon of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. According to the GAO, Raytheon Company "protests the award of a contract to Lockheed Martin Corporation, of Moorestown, New Jersey, under request for proposals (RFP) No. N00024-17-R-5152, issued by the Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command, for a ship self-defense system (SSDS) to develop, integrate, and maintain a combat management s  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on defense acquisitions. The report (GAO-20-151) is entitled "Senior Leaders Should Emphasize Key Practices to Improve Weapon System Reliability". The report was sent to Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, chairman, and Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 14, 2020. Here are excerpts of summaries associated with the report. What GAO Found: The commercial compa  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on defense health care. The report (GAO-20-165) is entitled "DOD Should Collect and Use Key Information to Make Decisions about Incentives for Physicians and Dentists". The report was sent to Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, chairman, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, chairman, and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, ranking member of the  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the National Nuclear Security Administration. The report (GAO-20-180) is entitled "Additional Verification Checks Could Improve the Accuracy and Consistency of Reported Financial Data". The report was sent to Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, chairman, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, chairman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Califo  more

BOULDER, Rhode Island, Jan. 18 -- Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, issued the following remarks on Jan. 17: House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) is currently leading a field hearing today at the University of Colorado Law School to examine the state of competition in the digital marketplace with CEOs and top executives from small and medium sized companies, including Sonos, Popsockets, Basecamp, and Tile. The following is a transcript of Chairman Cicilline's ope  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 -- Rep. Jim Langevin, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement: Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following statement after the Senate confirmed Peter Gaynor as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator by a vote of 81-9. Gaynor, who has served as the Deputy Administrator of FEMA since he was confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2018, has also been serving as the Acting Administrat  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- Rep. Jim Langevin, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement on Jan. 15: Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), a senior member of the House Committees on Homeland Security and Armed Services, a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, issued a statement regarding a critical cybersecurity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that was reported to the company by the National Security Agency's new   more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- Rep. Jim Langevin, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on Jan. 16: Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) voted in favor of H.J. Res. 76, which blocks a rule submitted by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos that makes it more difficult for students defrauded by predatory, for-profit colleges to get student debt relief. These colleges may have used unlawful practices that leave students with a large amount of debt, worthless degrees, and no job prospects. The bi  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- Rep. Jim Langevin, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) voted in favor of H.R. 1230, the Protect Older Workers Against Age Discrimination Act, which aims to strengthen workplace protections for older Americans by restoring the longstanding burden of proof for discrimination claims, including workplace age or disability discrimination. Earlier in the day, the Congressman spoke on the House floor in support of the legislation. T  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on Jan. 14: The U.S. Senate voted 81-8 to confirm Rhode Island native Peter T. Gaynor to be the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Before taking over as FEMA Deputy Administrator in 2018 and becoming Acting Administrator in 2019, Gaynor served as the emergency management director for the City of Providence and then the State of Rhode Island. U.S. Senator Jack Reed supported Ga  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, Jan. 13 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: In an effort to help coordinate housing and supportive services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness across Rhode Island, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD), announced $7,308,810 in federal Continuum of Care (CoC) grants for Rhode Island homeless assistance programs. This fe  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement: The U.S. House of Representatives voted to transmit two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump for "abuse of power" and "obstruction of Congress," formally setting the stage for the president to be tried in the U.S. Senate. U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) issued the following statement: "President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for the serious charges of abuse of power  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement, dated Jan. 21: After the Washington Post reported that President Trump is planning to divert $7.2 billion from national defense because he failed to get Mexico to pay for his wasteful and ineffective border wall, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement: "It's outrageous that President Trump continues to raid military accounts to pay fo  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on Jan. 15: * * * - Reed announces $3.6M for RI Youth Suicide Prevention Project, Introduces Suicide Prevention Act * * * In an effort to save lives and help people in crisis, U.S. Senator Reed announced over $3.6 million in federal funding for Rhode Island through the Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant and introduced new legislation aimed at expanding effective suicide prevention strategies. Th  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following floor statement, which was published in the Congressional Record on Dec. 17, on climate change: We are rapidly running out of time to protect our future and that of our children and grandchildren from worsening climate upheaval. America ought to be taking every measure available to rein in greenhouse gas emissions from legislative action to legal action, to diplomatic action, to regulatory action, which is goin  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement regarding the opening of an impeachment trial in the Senate: "Is a solemn day, as the Senate prepares to carry out the serious duty that the Founding Fathers charged us with. Every senator has just sworn an oath to 'do impartial justice.' That oath can only be upheld if the Senate allows the witnesses and evidence necessary to get to the truth about the acts charged in the impeachment."  more

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 -- The U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of an individual for a position in the Trump Administration on Jan. 14: Peter Gaynor, of Rhode Island, to be Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.  more