WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman David N. Cicilline, Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law led a bipartisan letter alongside Congressman Joe Neguse, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, Ranking Member for the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law; to the U.S. Department of Justice urging immediate and decisive steps to stop extensive price gouging of consumer health products happening as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Press Releases
2020/03/19
2020/03/19
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and Congressman Don Young (AK-AL), co-chair of the House Afterschool Caucus, led a bipartisan request today with 48 members to House leaders crafting the next round of emergency funding asking for an immediate increase of $500 million for 21st Century Community Learning Centers to provide necessary relief to families and educators affected by the growing pandemic.
2020/03/19
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) is calling on the Trump administration to halt evictions and foreclosures on federally-backed mortgages today. The request includes any properties owned, insured, or overseen by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
2020/03/16
WASHINGTON, DC – Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation today urged the Trump Administration to quickly grant Rhode Island’s request for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue an economic disaster declaration covering the state due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline say the designation will help small business owners successfully apply for low-interest federal loans and unlock other SBA tools and assistance designed to assist small businesses that are suffering a substantial economic injury as a result of the pandemic.
2020/03/14
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement tonight:
“Nothing is more important than protecting the safety and well-being of the American people. The House is providing the resources and leadership our country needs during this time of crisis. A week ago, we passed an $8.3 billion emergency spending bill that addresses the scale and seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. This included nearly a billion dollars for medications, protective gear, and lab tests; $7 billion in low-interest loans for small businesses; $3 billion for research and development of treatment and vaccines; and $300 million to ensure vaccines are affordable.”
2020/03/10
New entity combining Cengage and McGraw-Hill would control more than 40% of market for college textbooks, raising costs and impacting privacy of students
WASHINGTON – House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and House Consumer Protection and Commerce Chair Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) wrote to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division calling for it to closely scrutinize the proposed merger of Cengage Learning Holdings II and McGraw-Hill Education. The proposed merger would combine two of the three major college textbook manufacturers into a single company that controls more than 40% of the market.
2020/03/06
Klobuchar, Cicilline and Colleagues Express Serious Concerns over Reports that Justice Department Official Urged Dish Executive to Lobby Senators to Influence FCC Regulatory Process
In a letter this week, members of Congress called on Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim to addresss reports that he improperly encouraged
Dish Network’s Chairman to lobby members of the Senate to influence the FCC’s review of the proposed T-Mobile/Sprint Merger
2020/03/04
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today to expand its notification process for states to include all travelers returning from countries with significant or elevated reports of cases of coronavirus. Under current protocols, states are only notified when travelers are returning from China, where coronavirus originated. As seen in Rhode Island, the current process fails to identify travelers who could have been exposed to the virus with high numbers of cases, including Italy.
The letter can be accessed by clicking here and is embedded below:
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2020/03/04
Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) called Tuesday on the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to alert state governments to incoming travelers arriving from countries experiencing coronavirus outbreaks.
2020/03/04
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement today:
“This $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 the challenge before us. We have additional work to do to protect workers who may be displaced or furloughed as a result of this crisis.”
2020/03/03
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement today 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:
2020/03/03
WASHINGTON – 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. Video of Cicilline’s remarks can be viewed by clicking the image below.
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 all Americans deserve a strong, effective, fully-funded response to this crisis.
2020/03/01
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 this person is currently being treated and all infection control protocols are being followed.
2020/02/20
WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement today after Roger Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison, despite the best efforts of President Trump and Attorney General William Barr to come to his rescue last week:
“Roger Stone was convicted of serious crimes against the United States, including lying to Congress. Anyone else would receive the same penalty for their actions. The President should not further taint this process by using his pardon power as a Get Out of Jail Free card.”
2020/02/20
PAWTUCKET – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien visited Harvest Kitchen in Pawtucket to talk about the devastating impact that funding cuts in President Trump’s budget would have for small businesses and communities like Pawtucket.
“President Trump’s budget is bad for small business, bad for workers, and bad for Rhode Island,” Cicilline said. “His proposed elimination of the HOME Investment Partnership Program and Community Development Block Grants alone would cost our state $23 million. These federal investments are important to revitalization efforts in cities and towns across Rhode Island, and I’ll continue to fight to ensure that we get the funds we need to continue making our state an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
2020/02/19
2020/02/18
MIDDLETOWN – U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI-01) and Rhode Island State Senator Louis DiPalma (D-12) visited the Middletown Senior Center today to talk about their work to lower the high cost of prescription drugs.
“Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anyone else in the world. We need to do more to make sure working people can get the medicine they need at an affordable cost. That’s exactly why the House passed the Lower Drug Costs Now Act last December,” said Cicilline. “President Trump and Mitch McConnell may talk a big game, but they’re still blocking this commonsense bill from a vote in the Senate. It’s time for them to stop standing up for Big Pharma, and work with us to get this done for the American people.”
2020/02/13
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement today after the U.S. House passed legislation extending the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which Rhode Island ratified in April 1974:
“For as much progress as we’ve made over the years, women are still less than equal in the eyes of the law. In fact, under President Trump, our country has moved in the wrong direction. That changes today. This bill moves us closer to enshrining the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution. Mitch McConnell owes it to all American women to allow a vote on the Senate floor. He should do so without delay.”
2020/02/13
WASHINGTON – Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC) Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) issued the following statement after U.S. Attorney General William Barr said that the President’s Tweets “make it impossible for [him] to do his job:
“It’s hard to understand what the Attorney General’s talking about given everything he’s already done to date. It was the Attorney General who spun the Mueller report before it was released, withheld the whistleblower report from Congress, and is now reported to be responsible for cases of interest to the President. I cannot think of a single case like Roger Stone’s, where senior Department of Justice officials intervened to reduce a sentencing recommendation.”