Sheldon Whitehouse

The Domestic Violence SAFE Notice Act establishes a federal victim notification system managed by the FBI that alerts domestic violence, sex trafficking, and stalking victims when their offenders attempt to purchase firearms or when their firearm eligibility status changes. The bill creates a voluntary registration system for victims and requires federal background check agencies to report firearm purchase denials and status changes to state and tribal victim notification systems. To support implementation, the bill authorizes $10 million annually from 2027 through 2031 in grants to states and tribes to create or upgrade victim notification systems, with grant recipients required to establish connections with background check agencies and provide training to judges, advocates, and law enforcement. Grant recipients must submit implementation plans and progress reports, and the Attorney General must report to Congress within one year with findings and recommendations, including analysis of creating a single federal notification system. The bill includes a liability waiver for the federal government and does not restrict anyone's constitutional right to own or carry firearms.

This legislation creates financial incentives and safeguards to expand affordable housing construction. Section 3 increases tax credits available to builders who construct low-income housing with favorable features, such as projects paying workers prevailing wages, using renewable energy, locating near public transit, serving people with disabilities, or housing the poorest families earning under 30 percent of area median income, with bonuses up to 50 percent higher credits. Each state must dedicate at least one-third of its annual housing tax credits to projects meeting these criteria. Section 6 closes a loophole by eliminating the option for most affordable housing building owners to exit their affordable housing commitments early, requiring properties to maintain affordability restrictions throughout their required period, though buildings that received tax credits before January 1, 2027 retain existing exit options. Together, these provisions aim to encourage construction of affordable housing with quality standards while ensuring long-term affordability protections.

This bill would change tax rules for people who donate appreciated property, such as stocks or real estate that has increased in value, to certain tax-exempt organizations. Currently, donors can receive tax deductions when transferring appreciated property to political organizations, but the bill would extend these same tax restrictions to social welfare organizations, labor organizations, and business leagues. Specifically, the bill treats these three types of tax-exempt groups the same way as political organizations when it comes to donations of appreciated property, potentially limiting the tax benefits donors receive. The legislation was introduced in September 2026 and would take effect for transfers made after its enactment. The bill's sponsors argue this measure targets what they call "dark money" groups by eliminating tax incentives that encourage large donations to certain tax-exempt organizations that do not have to disclose their donors.

The Supreme Court Review Act of 2026 establishes a fast-track legislative process for Congress to respond to Supreme Court decisions. Specifically, it allows Congress to pass joint resolutions that overturn or modify Supreme Court rulings that either interpret federal law or diminish constitutional rights previously protected by the Constitution. The bill affects lawmakers and the general public by enabling more rapid legislative responses to controversial Court decisions, with a 10-day window to introduce relevant bills and streamlined Senate procedures including limited debate, restricted amendments, and expedited voting. The legislation does not appropriate any specific funding and sets tight procedural timelines, such as requiring committee action within 30 days of referral and limiting floor debate to 10 hours total. This process applies only to joint resolutions that directly address a particular Supreme Court decision and remain germane to that decision's core holding.

This bill would change the African Growth and Opportunity Act by adding a new requirement that sub-Saharan African countries must effectively enforce their environmental laws and meet their international environmental obligations to qualify for trade benefits under the program. Currently, the act sets eligibility criteria related to labor standards, intellectual property, and market access, but does not include environmental enforcement as a condition. The bill would add environmental law enforcement and compliance with international environmental agreements—including obligations related to public health—as a new eligibility requirement for countries seeking to participate in this trade program. The legislation does not specify any funding amounts or implementation timelines, focusing instead on modifying the eligibility standards that determine which African nations can access preferential U.S. trade benefits. The bill was introduced in September 2026 and referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations for consideration.

This is a Senate resolution expressing support for designating September 19-26, 2026, as "National Estuaries Week." The resolution highlights the economic and environmental importance of estuaries, which cover only 4 percent of continental U.S. land but are home to nearly 40 percent of the population and contributed $511 billion to the gross domestic product in 2023. Estuaries support over 2.6 million jobs and provide critical services including fish nurseries, water filtration, flood control, and storm protection, with coastal wetlands having prevented $625 million in property damage during Hurricane Sandy alone. The resolution calls attention to threats facing these ecosystems, including pollution, algal blooms, and historical wetland loss, while acknowledging ongoing restoration efforts that generate an average of 17 jobs per $1 million invested. The resolution contains no funding mechanisms or mandates but simply expresses Senate support for raising public awareness about protecting and restoring estuaries.

The Environmental Health Restoration Act of 2026 would reverse deregulatory actions taken by the EPA since January 2025 and restore environmental protections that the bill claims were weakened or eliminated. Specifically, the bill requires the EPA to reinstate regulations within 60 days governing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and vehicles, methane pollution from oil and gas operations, mercury and air toxics standards, and air quality standards for fine particulate matter. The legislation also prohibits the EPA from further delaying, suspending, or weakening these regulations without explicit congressional approval. Additionally, the bill mandates that the EPA restore scientific advisory committees, base regulatory decisions on peer-reviewed science, reinstate the use of social cost of carbon calculations in environmental decisions, and restore environmental justice programs focused on communities experiencing disproportionate pollution. The bill authorizes approximately $11 billion annually for EPA enforcement activities and requires annual reports to Congress on enforcement actions, while also allowing individuals to sue the EPA for non-compliance with the law.

The Pay PCPs Act of 2026 would allow Medicare to create a new hybrid payment system for primary care doctors that combines monthly per-patient payments with traditional fee-for-service charges. Under this system, primary care providers could receive 40 to 70 percent of their expected annual revenue as upfront monthly payments for each patient, with the remainder paid through standard billing for individual services. The bill aims to better compensate doctors for care coordination, team-based care, patient communications, and other important primary care activities that currently go unpaid under Medicare's complex billing system. The legislation appropriates $10 billion for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 to fund these hybrid payments and allows Medicare to reduce patient cost-sharing by 50 percent for primary care services under the new system, provided beneficiaries designate a primary care provider. Additionally, the bill establishes a technical advisory committee to review and improve how Medicare values different physician services, addressing concerns that the current fee schedule with over 8,000 billing codes produces inaccurate payment rates.

The Fairness in Foreign Filing Act modifies how the Internal Revenue Service handles certain tax penalties, primarily those related to foreign financial reporting requirements. The bill treats tax penalties more like regular taxes for assessment purposes and requires the IRS to provide taxpayers with advance written notice at least 60 days before assessing covered penalties, along with information about the penalty basis and the right to request an independent review. Taxpayers can request a review by the IRS Office of Appeals within the notice period, during which time the IRS cannot assess or collect the penalty. The covered penalties addressed in this bill relate to foreign trusts, controlled foreign corporations, foreign financial assets, and other international tax reporting obligations. The bill also repeals certain due date requirements for information returns relating to foreign trusts effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026, and includes an exception allowing the IRS to bypass these notice and review requirements when collection is considered in jeopardy.

This bill amends federal election law to close loopholes allowing foreign money to influence U.S. elections through domestic business entities. Currently, the ban on foreign contributions applies only to foreign individuals and governments, but this legislation extends it to U.S. companies that are significantly owned, controlled, or influenced by foreign nationals. The bill captures companies where a foreign national owns at least 50 percent of the business, as well as companies where foreign interests own as little as 1 percent but have control over U.S. election spending decisions. The legislation requires company executives to certify under penalty of perjury within seven days of making political donations or expenditures that their company is not foreign-controlled, and recipients of such funds cannot use them in elections unless they receive and maintain copies of these certifications. Corporate political action committees must also annually certify that their managers and decision-makers are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and that no foreign nationals participate in their spending decisions. The rules take effect 180 days after the law is enacted, regardless of whether federal election regulators have finished writing implementing regulations.

This bill would fundamentally restructure the Supreme Court by establishing a system where the President appoints one new justice every two years during their term, with these appointments occurring in the first and third years of each presidential administration. The Court would expand beyond nine justices, with only the nine most recently appointed justices hearing most cases, while additional justices would handle only original jurisdiction cases and other special duties. The legislation would require Senate confirmation for all appointments and would take effect at the start of the next presidential term following enactment. The bill aims to regularize the appointment process, which currently occurs only when justices retire or die, and would ensure more predictable turnover on the nation's highest court. No specific funding is required since the changes involve personnel and procedural adjustments to an existing institution.

The Curtailing Executive Overcompensation (CEO) Act would impose a new federal excise tax on large corporations where chief executive officers earn significantly more than their median employees. The tax would apply to companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue and $10 million in total wages, and would be calculated as 1 percent of either a formula based on the CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio or 1 percent of the company's gross receipts, whichever is less. The tax only applies when a company's pay disparity ratio exceeds 50 to 1, meaning the CEO earns more than 50 times the median employee wage, and the bill includes inflation adjustments to these thresholds starting in 2028. The legislation would take effect for tax years beginning after its enactment and is designed to discourage extreme executive compensation relative to worker pay.

The Medical Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2026 creates special bankruptcy protections for people whose debts are primarily driven by medical expenses. The bill defines a "medically distressed debtor" as someone who has incurred significant medical debt in the past three years—either more than 10 percent of their adjusted gross income or at least $10,000—or who lost income due to a medical condition or caring for a sick family member. These debtors would receive several key benefits: they can exempt up to $250,000 in home equity or burial plot value from bankruptcy proceedings, they are waived from certain income-based bankruptcy requirements that normally prevent them from filing, they can be excused from mandatory credit counseling, and they may be able to discharge student loans based on undue hardship more easily. Additionally, bankruptcies filed by medically distressed debtors would not appear on credit reports, protecting their financial reputation. The changes take effect immediately upon enactment and apply only to bankruptcy cases filed after the bill becomes law.

This bill creates a new federal grant program called the EMS and First Responder Wellness Grant Program to support the mental health and wellbeing of emergency medical service workers, firefighters, and other first responders. The program, administered through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will distribute grants to fire departments, EMS agencies, and emergency dispatch centers to fund mental health services, suicide prevention programs, peer support, confidential counseling, and family support services for first responders and their families. The bill also authorizes spending of 7.5 million dollars annually from fiscal year 2028 through 2032 to support these wellness initiatives. The legislation is sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators and addresses the growing mental health crisis among first responders who face significant occupational stress and trauma.

In the nature of a substitute.

This resolution recognizes June 8, 2026, as World Oceans Day in the United States and celebrates the nation's maritime heritage, ocean-based economy, and coastal communities. The resolution highlights the ocean's importance to American history, security, and prosperity, noting that the ocean economy contributes trillions of dollars annually and supports millions of jobs in fishing, shipping, tourism, and related industries. It honors contributions from fishermen, mariners, scientists, members of the Armed Forces, and other ocean workers, while also marking two significant anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which established sustainable U.S. fisheries management, and the 20th anniversary of the Marine Debris Program. The resolution expresses bipartisan support for ocean stewardship, scientific exploration, and addressing challenges like marine debris and microplastics. This is a symbolic resolution with no direct funding or implementation requirements.

This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a competitive grant program to fund research on tropospheric ozone, which is ground-level ozone that affects climate and air quality. Universities, national laboratories, and nonprofit research organizations can apply for grants to study how tropospheric ozone impacts global and regional temperatures, crop yields, forests, and ecosystems, as well as to improve monitoring systems and climate models that account for ozone's effects. The EPA must establish the program within 90 days of receiving funding and select grant recipients within 180 days, with results reported publicly annually and a comprehensive EPA report due within four years. The bill authorizes $10.5 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2029 for grants and program oversight, plus $1 million in 2030 for the final report.

This joint resolution seeks to overturn a specific EPA rule that changed the timeline for when companies must begin submitting reports on their use of PFAS chemicals, commonly known as "forever chemicals," under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Using authority granted by the Congressional Review Act, lawmakers are formally disapproving the rule, which was published in the Federal Register on April 13, 2026, and would delay when the reporting and recordkeeping requirements take effect. If passed, the resolution would nullify the EPA's rule entirely, meaning it would have no legal force, effectively reverting to the original reporting timeline requirements. This action primarily affects manufacturers, processors, and importers of PFAS chemicals who must comply with EPA's tracking and disclosure rules, as well as public health advocates concerned about regulatory delays for these substances linked to environmental and health risks. The resolution was introduced by Senator Whitehouse and advanced out of committee via petition in July 2026, now placed on the Senate calendar for further action.

This joint resolution seeks to block the Environmental Protection Agency from repealing emission standards that limit hazardous air pollutants from coal and oil-fired power plants. The EPA issued a rule in February 2026 that would have eliminated these pollution controls, but Congress is using the Congressional Review Act to disapprove and nullify that deregulatory action. If this resolution passes both chambers and becomes law, the EPA's repeal would be void and the original emission standards for hazardous air pollutants would remain in effect. The resolution primarily affects electric utilities that operate coal and oil-fired power plants, as well as communities near these facilities who would continue to receive protection from toxic air emissions. The measure was introduced in April 2026 and placed on the Senate calendar in May 2026, with no specific funding provisions since it simply blocks an EPA rule rather than creating new programs.