View Sheldon Whitehouse on OpenCongress.org

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Sheldon Whitehouse is the Junior Senator for the state of Rhode Island. He is a Democrat, and was first elected in 2006. (map)

Contents 1 Record and controversies 1.1 Iraq War 1.2 Environmental record 1.3 Transparency 1.4 Cornel Young, Jr. Death 2 Biography 2.1 2006 Senate race 3 Money in politics 4 Committees and Affiliations 4.1 Committees 5 More Background Data 6 Contact 7 Articles and Resources 7.1 Resources 7.2 Local blogs and discussion sites 7.3 Articles

Record and controversies

Congressional scorecards

Click through the score to see the records of other members of Congress and full descriptions of the individual votes. Want to see someone else's scorecard added to the list? You can do it! Organization 2007 Scorecard Score - Agree ratio 2008 Scorecard Score - Agree ratio American Civil Liberties Union not avail. not avail. American Conservative Union 0 - 0/25 not avail. AFSCME 100 - 7/7 not avail. Americans for Democratic Action 95 - 19/20 90 - 18/20 Club for Growth not avail. not avail. Drum Major Institute not avail. not avail. Family Research Council 0 - 0/9 0 - 0/9 Information Technology Industry Council 80 - 4/5 80 - 4/5 League of Conservation Voters not avail. 100 - 11/11 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People not avail. not avail. U.S. Chamber of Commerce 36 - 4/11 not avail.

Iraq War

Environmental record

For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Transparency

Cornel Young, Jr. Death

When black Providence police officer Cornel Young Jr. was shot by two fellow officers while he was off-duty in January 2000, Whitehouse was criticized for not appointing an independent prosecutor to investigate the shooting. Later that year, Whitehouse was criticized when 15-year-old Jennifer Rivera, a witness in a murder case, was shot by a relative of the man she was to testify against later that year.[1] After Rivera's shooting, Whitehouse strengthened the state's witness protection program.

Biography

Born in 1955, Whitehouse is the son of Charles Whitehouse, a WWII veteran and a three-time ambassador. Whitehouse is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia Law School. In 1994 President Bill Clinton appointed Whitehouse to be the U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island. As U.S. Attorney Whitehouse prosecuted the first case the new federal "three strikes" law and began the investigation into what became Operation Plunder Dome, a municipal corruption case that sent Providence Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci to jail on conspiracy charges.

In 1998 Whitehouse was elected Rhode Island's Attorney General. As Attorney General he initiated a lawsuit against the lead paint industry that ended in a mistrial; the state later won a second lawsuit against former lead paint manufacturers Sherwin Williams Co., Millennium Holdings and NL Industries that found them responsible for creating a public nuisance. Whitehouse also founded the Rhode Island Quality Institute, "an organization dedicated to improving health care quality in the State of Rhode Island,"[2] and authorized the first Rhode Island State Police wire tap to investigate public corruption.

In 2002 Whitehouse made a run for the Democratic nomination for Governor. He lost to Sen. Myrth York by 900 votes.

2006 Senate race

When Whitehouse entered the race he initially faced a tight primary against Secretary of State Matt Brown. Whitehouse held a clear fundraising edge and Brown soon dropped out of the race after questions about his fundraising practices brought increasing negative attention.

Whitehouse has used Rhode Island's status as the most Democratic state in the nation as a means to ask voters to send a Democrat to the Senate over his opponent, liberal Republican Lincoln Chafee. Despite Chafee's liberal positions on social issues and the war Whitehouse has been able to use President Bush's unpopularity against the incumbent Senator.

Whitehouse favors bringing "the troops home from Iraq in a reasonable time frame".[3] Whitehouse has labeled the American health care system as "both our biggest national problem and our biggest national opportunity."[4]

Polls showed Whitehouse with a lead throughout the race.[5] In the general election, he defeated Chafee 53%-47%. [6]

Money in politics

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. For specific controversies, see this article's record and controversies section.

Top Contributors to during the 2006 Election Cycle
Donor	Amount (US Dollars)
Thornton & Naumes	$ 43,200
Technology Crossover Ventures	$ 37,600
Goldberg, Lindsay & Co	$ 34,200
Intellectual Ventures LLC	$ 33,000
Comcast Corp	$ 31,331
Edwards Wildman Palmer	$ 26,000
DLA Piper	$ 25,300
Bickel & Brewer	$ 24,300
Ocean Champions	$ 23,800
Walt Disney Co	$ 22,666
Source: The Center for Responsive Politics' www.OpenSecrets.org site. Note: Contributions are not from the organizations themselves, but are rather from the organization's PAC, employees or owners. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.

Links to more campaign contribution information for Sheldon Whitehouse from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org site.
Fundraising profile:	2008 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by organization/corporation:	2008 election cycle	Career totals
Top contributors by industry:	2008 election cycle	Career totals

• Revolving door profile for Sheldon Whitehouse from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• 2006 privately funded travel profile for Sheldon Whitehouse from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.
• Personal finance profile for Sheldon Whitehouse from the Center for Responsive Politics' OpenSecrets.org website.

Committees and Affiliations

Committees

• Senate Committee on the Budget
• Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
• Senate Special Committee on Aging
• Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight and Children's Health Protection
  • Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security and Water Quality
• Senate Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
  • Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law

More Background Data

Background information on Lincoln Chafee, whom Sheldon Whitehouse challenged in the 2006 congressional elections:

• Background information on Lincoln Chafee from Project Vote Smart

• Interest group scorecard ratings for Lincoln Chafee from Project Vote Smart

• Voting record for Lincoln Chafee from the Washington Post database

• Information on Lincoln Chafee from Congress Merge

Contact

Washington Office:
Hart Senate Office Building Room 502
Washington, D.C. 20510
202-224-2921 phone
202-228-6362 fax
Web Email
Website

Providence Office:
170 Westminster Street, Suite 1100
Providence, RI 02903
401-453-5294 phone
401-453-5085 fax

Articles and Resources

Resources

• Whitehouse for Senate, official campaign site.
• See how you compare to Sheldon Whitehouse

Local blogs and discussion sites

• 4&20 blackbirds.
• A Chicken Is Not Pillage.
• Intelligent Discontent.
• Left in the West.
• Kmareka
• Matthew - RI

Audio of Whitehouse Introducing His First Congressional Legislation -- 3 Bills on Health Care Reform

Articles

• Jonathan Rockoff, "Minority leaders seek independent inquiry," Providence Journal, February 6, 2000.
• Michael Cote, "Sheldon Whitehouse, Democratic candidate for Senate From Rhode Island," ePluribusMedia, August 12, 2005.
• Jonathan Singer, "MyDD Conversation with RI Sen Candidate Sheldon Whitehouse," MyDD.com, December 19, 2005.
• Peter B. Lord, "3 companies found liable in lead-paint nuisance suit," Providence Journal, February 23, 2006.
• Stephanie A. Salmon, "10 things about Sheldon Whitehouse," U.S. News & World Report, September 13, 2006.
• Michele Smith, "R.I.'s Chafee, Whitehouse Meet in Debate," Associated Press, October 19, 2006.
• Michele Smith, "Corruption Claims in R.I. Senate Race," Associated Press, October 27, 2006.
• Scott MacKay and Timothy C. Barmann, Campaigns go traditional in last days, Providence Journal, November 5, 2006.
• McGough, Michael (June 14, 2007). "Whitehouse takes Gonzales to the woodshed: How the freshman senator built the strongest case against the attorney general.", Los Angeles Times. 

Semantic data (Edit data)

From the Sunlight Foundation API
Current Office: U.S. Senate
Title: Sen	First name: Sheldon	Middle name:	Last name: Whitehouse
Suffix:		Nickname:
Party: D	State: RI	District: Junior Seat District short: Junior Seat	Currently in office? True
Gender: M
Phone: 202-224-2921	Fax: 202-228-6362	Website: http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov	Webform email: http://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/contact/ Email address:
DC office: 530 Hart Senate Office Building
Bioguide ID: W000802	Votesmart ID: 2572	FEC ID: S6RI00221	Govtrack ID: 412247
CRP ID: N00027533	Eventful ID:	Old Sunlight ID:	Twitter ID: SenWhitehouse
OpenCongress Wiki URL: http://www.opencongress.org/wiki/Sheldon_Whitehouse		YouTubeID:	Senate class: I

Entered manually within the Template:Politician
U.S. Senate
111th Congress
Leadership Position:	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
110th Congress
Leadership Position: None	Committees Chaired:	Committees, Ranking Member On:	Caucuses:
Committees:
Congressional Career
First Elected to Current Office: November 7, 2006	First Took Current Office: January 3, 2007	Next Election: November 6, 2012	Term Ends:
Freshman Member? Yes	Previous Political Work? Rhode Island Attorney General, US Attorney	Other Party Membership:
District Offices:
170 Westminster Street, Suite 1100, Providence, RI 02903 Phone: 401-453-5294 / Fax: 401-453-5085
Campaign Contact:
Website: Webform Email: / Email: Campaign Offices: Phone: / Fax:
Misc:
Date of Birth: October 20, 1955 November 7, 2006