WASHINGTON, March 2 -- Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: Folks, the Rhode Island Department of Health sent out the following information below, and I wanted to make sure you had it. -David The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is announcing the state's first presumptive positive case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The person is in their 40s and had traveled to Italy in mid-February. RIDOH is coordinating closely with the hospital where t  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a decision denying a bid protest filed by 100 Westminster Partners of Providence, Rhode Island. According to the GAO, 100 Westminster Partners LLC (Westminster), "protests the award of a lease for office space to Providence Financial Plaza (Providence), LLC, of Brooklyn, New York, by the General Services Administration (GSA), under request for lease proposals (RLP) No. 6RI0019. The protester asserts that the building propose  more

WASHINGTON, March 2 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the ready aircrew program. The report (GAO-20-91) is entitled "Air Force Actions to Address Congressionally Mandated Study on Combat Aircrew Proficiency". 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. Richard C. Shelby, R-Alabama, chairman, Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, ranking member of the Sena  more

WASHINGTON, March 6 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on data center optimization. The report (GAO-20-279) is entitled "Agencies Report Progress, but Oversight and Cybersecurity Risks Need to Be Addressed". 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. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, chairman, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Sec  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on defense logistics agreements. The report (GAO-20-309) is entitled "DOD Should Improve Oversight and Seek Payment from Foreign Partners for Thousands of Orders It Identifies as Overdue ". 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. James Risch, R-Idaho, chairman, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, ra  more

WASHINGTON, March 6 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on business systems modernization. The report (GAO-20-253) is entitled "DOD Has Made Progress in Addressing Recommendations to Improve IT Management, but More Action Is Needed". 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. Richard C. Shelby, R-Alabama, chairman, Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, rankin  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the Federally Funded Research and Development Centers. The report (GAO-20-272) is entitled "Improved Oversight and Evaluation Needed for DOD's Data Access Pilot Program". The report was sent to Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, chairman, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, chairman, and Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, ranking membe  more

WASHINGTON, March 2 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the military equipment. The report (GAO-20-189) is entitled "Observations on the Transfer of Excess Humvees to Foreign Governments". 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. James Risch, R-Idaho, chairman, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee  more

WASHINGTON, March 2 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the nuclear nonproliferation. The report (GAO-20-392) is entitled "Past U.S. Involvement Improved Russian Nuclear Material Security, but Little Is Known about Current Conditions". 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 Feb. 27, 2020. Here are excerpts of summaries associated with the report. W  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- The House Financial Services subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance issued the following testimony on March 4 by Elizabeth Kelleher Dwyer, superintendent at the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation's Insurance Division, testifying on behalf of the National Association of Insurance, at a hearing entitled "Drivers of Discrimination: An Examination of Unfair Premiums, Practices, and Policies in the Auto Insurance Industry": My name is Elizabe  more

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement on March 3: Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after his bipartisan bill (H. Res. 387) condemning continued violence against civilians by armed groups in the Central African Republic passed the U.S. House of Representatives: "While CAR has made significant process toward democr  more

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, issued the following remarks: Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke moments ago about the emergency spending package the House will pass this week to take on the coronavirus epidemic. Mr. Speaker, two Rhode Islanders have already tested positive for coronavirus. Dozens more are being monitored. Across the globe, more than 90,000 are sick and 3,000 have died. Rhode Islanders and  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement: Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement: "This massive $8.3 billion emergency appropriation is an important first step to address the scale and seriousness of the coronavirus epidemic. It meets several urgent needs specific to Rhode Island. "These resources will ensure an effective, coordinated, and comprehensive response to  more

WASHINGTON, March 7 -- Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on March 6: This week, Representative David N. Cicilline (D-RI), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, sent a letter with members of their respective subcommittees, expressing serious concerns over the Justice Department's   more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Rep. Jim Langevin, D-Rhode Island, issued the following opening statement on March 4: Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities (IETC), delivered the following opening statement at the IETC hearing "The Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Request for U.S. Cyber Command and Operations in Cyberspace." Video of the Chairman's statement commences at 25:40: https://armedservices.house.gov/hearin  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Rep. Jim Langevin, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) voted in favor of H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. The $8.3 billion emergency funding package, which includes at least $4.9 million in funding for Rhode Island, will support robust preparedness and response activities by prioritizing vaccine development and support for state and local governments, health agencies, and s  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, March 4 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on March 3: * * * - New federal grant will help Providence Housing Authority replace carbon monoxide alarms in over 1,400 units * * * In an effort to protect families from carbon monoxide poisoning, U.S. Senator Jack Reed announced $126,282 in federal funding to help the Providence Housing Authority (PHA) purchase, replace, and install new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in HUD-funded p  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following remarks: Senator Inhofe, for holding this hearing to consider funding levels for the Department of Defense. I join you in welcoming our witnesses this morning, and I look forward to their testimony. Before we consider the details of the budget request, I would like to address some broader concerns I have with the Department. The National Defense Strategy (NDS) Commission Report released in November 2018 expressed signi  more

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following remarks on March 3: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to join Senator Wicker in welcoming Secretary Barret and General Goldfein to the Committee this morning to testify on the plans and programs of the Department of the Air Force in our review of the Fiscal Year 2021 President's budget request. We are grateful to all the men and women of the Air Force for their service, and to their families for their continued support.   more

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement After meeting with Vice President Mike Pence and other Trump Administration officials in the U.S. Capitol to discuss the coronavirus outbreak: "We need to work together to protect the American people. "The federal government needs to step up and ensure doctors and hospitals have the resources they need to test and care for people who get sick. "The Vice President didn't provide a lot of concrete answers in  more

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, March 2 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement after the Rhode Island Department of Health announced the first presumptive positive case of coronavirus disease in the state: "We've taken steps to prepare for this and nobody should panic. It's essential that people have all the facts, listen to health experts, and stay informed. "The good news here is that this individual was in a place where there was a known outbreak and they quickly alert  more

WASHINGTON, March 3 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following statement: The Trump Administration withdrew the nomination of Elaine McCusker, who was nominated to be comptroller of the U.S. Department of Defense, but whose nomination was effectively killed by the White House in retaliation for questioning President Trump's Ukraine aid freeze. U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement: "Elaine McCusker is ano  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: * * * - Led by Reed & Peters, Senators warn SecDef against eliminating worker protections & collective bargaining rights of civilian DoD employees * * * In an effort to stand up for workers' rights and organized labor, the entire Senate Democratic Caucus sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper urging the Pentagon to uphold workplace protections and safeguard the collective bargaining rights of   more

WASHINGTON, March 6 -- Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on March 5: * * * - Emergency funding bill heads to the President's desk to be signed into law * * * In an effort to bolster public health resources and help stop the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the U.S. Senate approved a bipartisan $8 billion funding package to combat the outbreak. U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, supported the measure, which was appr  more

WASHINGTON, March 4 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: * * * - New measures to improve safety in pediatrics, better coordinate care transitions included in Patient Safety Improvement Act * * * U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced The Patient Safety Improvement Act to strengthen patient safety. The legislation seeks to reduce health care-associated infections (HAIs) and preserve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics. The bill includ  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release on March 4: * * * - $4.9+ Million More on the Way in Bipartisan Supplemental Aid Package - $8.3-billion package expected to be approved by Congress as soon as tomorrow * * * As Rhode Island ramps up efforts to contain the novel coronavirus, members of the state's congressional delegation announced an initial $500,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support sta  more

WASHINGTON, March 6 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: Senate Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) sent a series of letters to Leonard Leo, U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Dale Cabaniss, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, and Federalist Society President and CEO Eugene Meyer raising concerns with potential conf  more

WASHINGTON, March 6 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: In the event that workers are directed on medical advice to self-isolate because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse are strongly urging major U.S. employers to commit that workers will not be penalized for following recommended health procedures to protect the public from further spread of the coronavirus. In a letter to major industry groups signe  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: * * * - Senators demand Trump Health Department reverse efforts to promote junk plans and undermine Medicaid, and commit to ensuring that any potential coronavirus vaccine is affordable for all * * * U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and other Democrats in demanding that Secretary of Health and Human Service  more

WASHINGTON, March 5 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Congressman Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo correcting inaccurate comments by Pompeo at the Munich Security Conference and encouraging him to do more to support State Department employees in the face of unfounded attacks by political partisans. The members call Pompeo's failure to de  more