Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, today announced that $71.3 million in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act has been distributed to five Rhode Island hospitals to offset the costs of caring for coronavirus patients. The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“We set this funding aside in the CARES Act to help local hospitals and providers who are struggling with the fallout of this pandemic, but the Trump Administration’s distribution has been slow and uneven. While I’m glad Rhode Island hospitals are finally receiving this additional infusion of CARES Act assistance, more needs to be done to help offset their COVID-19 related losses,” said Senator Reed.
Press Releases
2020/07/22
2020/07/21
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House passed a Defense spending bill today that includes three provisions first proposed by U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) to expand economic opportunity for working Rhode Islanders.
“Once we defeat this pandemic, we need to make sure that every Rhode Islander has a chance to get ahead,” said Cicilline. “I’m pleased that the House included these measures to strengthen Rhode Island’s economy, bring greater investment to our state, and ensure veterans are protected from forced arbitration clauses. The Senate should send this bill to the President immediately.”
2020/07/18
PAWTUCKET - U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement today:
“Over the course of his 80 years of life, on a journey that took him from a sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, John Lewis never stopped fighting to extend the blessings of liberty to all Americans.
"Whether he was leading us on another march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, sitting in against gun violence on the floor of the U.S. House, or joining Black Lives Matter protesters outside the White House just a few weeks ago, John Lewis always was the Conscience of the Congress. Our country will miss this modern-day saint, this giant of our times."
2020/07/14
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI), David B. McKinley P.E. (R-W.Va.), Ted Budd (R-NC), and David Trone (D-MD) have introduced the Telehealth Response for E-prescribing Addiction Therapy Services (TREATS) Act to support the expansion of telehealth services for substance use disorder treatment.
The TREATS Act would extend telehealth flexibilities by making permanent key waivers, including the ability to prescribe Medication Assisted Therapies (MAT) and other necessary drugs without needing a prior in-person visit and the ability to bill Medicare for audio-only telehealth services. By taking these steps, the TREATS Act will increase overall access to MAT and support telehealth needs in rural communities where broadband may be needed.
2020/07/09
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement today:
“This is an enormous victory for the basic principle that no one is above the law. The Court held today that Congress has the constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch. There is a clear need for that oversight in this case as President Trump continues trying to hide his connections to Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The President is already whining about this decision on Twitter. While he does that, I know that the House will continue our work to hold him accountable For The People.”
2020/07/08
PAWTUCKET – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement tonight:
“This is a terrible decision. Leaving the WHO at this moment makes our country less safe. We should be leading the world in the fight against this pandemic, producing protective equipment, and developing a vaccine. Instead, the President is waving a white flag of surrender to the disease and telling the American people to fend for themselves. Once again, President Trump has failed to lead.”
2020/07/08
Providence, RI – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline today announced that Thundermist Health Center has been awarded $128,347 from the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program to establish robust telehealth services during the ongoing pandemic.
“Telehealth has become a necessity during this pandemic and we must invest in ensuring this technology is effective and accessible for all who need it. This federal funding will help more patients find convenient ways to virtually visit with medical professionals and get the care they need,” said Senator Reed.
2020/07/02
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, announced that the state will receive $8,433,558 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to improve public safety and bolster Rhode Island’s emergency preparedness efforts. These federal funds are targeted to help Rhode Island government agencies and organizations prepare for, respond to, and recover from regional and national emergencies, disasters, and mass-casualty events, in addition to providing for enhanced training and the purchase of essential equipment.
2020/07/02
WASHINGTON – Congressmen Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and David Cicilline (RI-01) just introduced legislation to reduce gun violence by banning the home manufacture of “ghost guns” — firearms that require no background check, have no serial number, and are essentially impossible to trace if used in committing murder, robbery or other crimes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a nationwide surge in “build-it yourself” gun kits used for creating homemade ghost guns. These kits often come with the tools and instructions needed to turn the functional parts of a firearm – the unfinished frame and receiver – into a weapon. Because some buyers think the do-it-yourself stage takes too long to complete the weapon, metal milling machines specifically designed to rapidly finish ghost guns are now being marketed and sold to the public.
2020/07/01
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor this afternoon to advocate for passage of the Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion investment in rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
Click the image below to watch a video of Cicilline’s remarks. A transcript of his speech, as delivered, is embedded at the end of this email.
David N. Cicilline
Moving Forward Act
June 30, 2020
Mr. Speaker, our infrastructure is stuck in the 1950s and it doesn’t have to be.
It is time, in fact it is past time, for Congress to bring our bridges, roads, and schools into the 21st century.
2020/07/01
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor this morning to honor the late former Newport Mayor Paul Gaines who passed away last week.
Click the image below to watch a video of Cicilline’s remarks. A transcript of his speech, as delivered, is embedded below.
David N. Cicilline
Tribute to Mayor Paul Gaines
July 1, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a Rhode Island legend, the late former Mayor of Newport, Paul Gaines, Sr.
At a moment in our nation’s history when we are again confronting the torment of generations of racial inequality, and collectively working to repair the soul of America, Paul Gaines will be remembered as a trailblazer in the fight for equal justice under the law.
2020/06/29
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) played a pivotal role today in passing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA), bring down the cost of prescription drugs, and expand access to quality, affordable health care.
2020/06/26
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor this morning mere hours after the Trump administration filed legal briefs requesting the Supreme Court to rip away health care from 20 million Americans and eliminate protections for 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions.
Click the image below to watch a video of Cicilline’s remarks. A transcript of his speech, as delivered, is below.
David N. Cicilline
Protect Access to Health Care
June 26, 2020
2020/06/26
PAWTUCKET - U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement tonight:
“I’m deeply saddened that my wonderful friend, former Newport Mayor Paul Gaines, has passed away. Paul was a trailblazer and a Rhode Island icon. The first Black mayor of a New England city, Paul never stopped fighting for Newport or its people. All those whose lives he touched were privileged to be in his presence. My thoughts are with his wife, Jo Eva, and their entire family right now.”
2020/06/26
2020/06/26
2020/06/26
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor this morning calling for a National Memorial to honor the 49 victims of the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting.
Click the image below to watch a video of Cicilline’s remarks. A transcript of his speech, as delivered, is embedded below.
David N. Cicilline
Endorses Pulse Nightclub National Memorial
June 26, 2020
Madame Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I thank you Madame Speaker, who brought me to the site of this horrible tragedy and allowed me to see the warmth and beauty of your community in response to it.
Four years ago, 49 people were murdered in a violent, hate-filled, mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando.
2020/06/26
<strong>WASHINGTON</strong> – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor this afternoon calling for his colleagues to override President Trump’s veto of H.J.Res.76, a bill that eliminates Education Secretary Devos’s rule that denies relief to students defrauded by predatory colleges. He voted for the original bill this past January. Click the image below to watch a video of Cicilline’s remarks. A transcript of his speech, as delivered, is embedded at the bottom.
David N. Cicilline
Calls to Override President Trump’s Veto
June 26, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the resolution to override president’s veto.
2020/06/25
WASHINGTON – Moments ago, Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) spoke on the House floor to demand passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act (H.R.7120). Cicilline is a co-sponsor of the bill and voted to pass it last week in the House Judiciary Committee.
David N. Cicilline
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
June 25, 2020
Madame Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited my district in April 1967.
Almost a year to the day he was killed, Dr. King told Rhode Islanders, “I haven’t lost faith in the future. But I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism or of racial inequality.”
More than 50 years later, we are still fighting the madness of racial inequality.