Card image cap

Sheldon Whitehouse's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

Office:

Key

Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Sheldon Whitehouse did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2024 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

What is the Political Courage Test?

Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2024.

  • "It’s a sad and infuriating day. Far-right justices have torn up constitutional abortion protections that had been in place for nearly 50 years. Women in this country will have fewer freedoms than their mothers did." (x.com)
  • "When the right-wing justices on the Supreme Court followed the urging of far-right billionaires and overturned Roe v. Wade, it was a massive, life-altering setback for millions of women. I support codifying Roe into federal law to reverse the damage this captured Supreme Court has done to women’s freedoms. With Republicans seeking a nationwide abortion ban – even in Rhode Island – and threatening access to IVF, I will continue defending women’s rights to make their own family planning decisions and determine the course of their own lives." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Rated 100% by NARAL Pro-Choice America (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 3755: "Women's Health Protection Act of 2021" (votesmart.org)
  • Rated 100% by the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • "Protecting Social Security and Medicare is so important to me that I co-founded a Senate caucus solely focused on defending Social Security – and now we’re working to expand benefits. I’ve introduced legislation to protect the solvency of Social Security and Medicare as far as the eye can see, simply by making the nation’s highest earners contribute their fair share. Republicans have put Social Security and Medicare in their crosshairs for years. Let me be clear: I will fight with every available tool any attempt to roll back, slim down, or push further out of reach the Social Security and Medicare benefits that seniors have earned and paid for over a lifetime of hard work. I know how much Rhode Island seniors and their loved ones rely on these programs for their financial security. I am determined to remove any doubt in Rhode Islanders’ hearts about the security of these programs, so they can check that worry off their family’s list of concerns." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "Rhode Islanders have invested in Medicare and Social Security with the expectation that they'll be able to retire with dignity after a lifetime of hard work. There is no way I will allow Republicans in Congress to move forward on their plans to cut Social Security and Medicare." (x.com)
  • "We can expand Social Security and give millions of seniors a more dignified retirement just by making sure billionaires and the very wealthiest pay their fair share into the system." (x.com)
  • "It’s outrageous that Republicans slipped in yet another tax cut for millionaires and billionaires into a coronavirus relief package. For god’s sake." (x.com)
  • "Rising inequality is a threat to the American way of life. We shouldn’t have a structure that allows the very wealthiest people who benefit the most from our system to get away with paying so little in taxes." (x.com)
  • "The wealthiest Americans are able to exploit accounting tricks and loopholes to avoid paying taxes while hard-working middle-class families shoulder the burden. Let's pass my Buffett Rule bill so that billionaires finally start paying their fair share on Tax Day." (x.com)
  • Voted against HR 1: "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" (2017) (votesmart.org)
  • "Rising inequality is a threat to the American way of life. We shouldn’t have a structure that allows the very wealthiest people who benefit the most from our system to get away with paying so little in taxes." (x.com)
  • "The wealthiest Americans are able to exploit accounting tricks and loopholes to avoid paying taxes while hard-working middle-class families shoulder the burden. Let's pass my Buffett Rule bill so that billionaires finally start paying their fair share on Tax Day." (x.com)
  • "We can expand Social Security and give millions of seniors a more dignified retirement just by making sure billionaires and the very wealthiest pay their fair share into the system." (x.com)
  • Rated 0% by FreedomWorks (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • "Another blow to the campaign finance laws meant to prevent wealthy special interests from buying our politics. The Court that Dark Money Built continues serving the dark-money donors who paid the justices’ way." (x.com)
  • "The American people are fed up with dark money influence campaigns that allow billionaires and big corporations to blockade progress on essential needs like solving climate change, enacting commonsense gun safety laws, and restoring women’s reproductive freedom. We need to root out special interest influence from our government and our courts, and restore power to ordinary Americans. I’m leading the charge in the Senate for disclosure laws that would undo the disastrous Citizens United decision and prevent billionaires from anonymously pulling the strings of government from the shadows." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Rated 100% by End Citizens United (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S 2093: "For the People Act of 2021" (votesmart.org)
  • "I’ve worked with colleagues across the aisle to pass needed reforms to our criminal justice system and legislation to better support law enforcement officers." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Rated 0% by the National Association of Police Organizations (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 2670: "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024" (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S 1605: "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022" (votesmart.org)
  • "State and local governments have been crushed by the pandemic, putting a drag on the whole economy. Our relief bill will deliver real help to RI so we can get people back to work." (x.com)
  • "This year, $300 million was at work in Rhode Island on projects funded by the INFRA Program I championed through the Environment and Public Works Committee: four massive job-creating projects to upgrade the Pell Bridge, Route 146, the Providence Viaduct, and connections to Quonset Business Park. I had a hand in developing the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will deliver over $2 billion in investments to rebuild Rhode Island’s highways and bridges, replace lead pipes, improve drinking water and wastewater systems, boost coastal resiliency, and build EV charging infrastructure, among many other upgrades." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Voted in favor of HR 1319: "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021" (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 5376: "Inflation Reduction Act of 2022" (votesmart.org)
  • "Homeownership is at the heart of the American dream. I'm working to bring homeownership within reach for more RI families and help them get a foothold in the middle class." (x.com)
  • "Our Build Back Better proposal would fund the construction of affordable homes across the country, easing the housing crunch and bringing homeownership within reach for more RI families." (x.com)
  • "Dems are working to ease inflation by unwinding the global supply chain mess, investing in ports, and getting people back into workforce with vaccines and affordable child care. Meanwhile gleeful Rs say higher prices are a "gold mine" for them." (x.com)
  • "I’ve been a strong advocate for our local manufacturing industry, and I’ve delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in direct job-creating investments to Rhode Island communities. While big corporations post record profits, many Rhode Islanders still struggle to make ends meet and worry about their children’s opportunities. I’m fighting to restore fairness to the tax code, protect unions, bring homeownership within reach, and make sure women are paid fairly. When Big Oil’s price gouging started getting out of control, I wrote a bill to claw back excess fossil fuel profits for consumers." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "This year, $300 million was at work in Rhode Island on projects funded by the INFRA Program I championed through the Environment and Public Works Committee: four massive job-creating projects to upgrade the Pell Bridge, Route 146, the Providence Viaduct, and connections to Quonset Business Park. I had a hand in developing the landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which will deliver over $2 billion in investments to rebuild Rhode Island’s highways and bridges, replace lead pipes, improve drinking water and wastewater systems, boost coastal resiliency, and build EV charging infrastructure, among many other upgrades." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Voted in favor of HR 4521: "America COMPETES Act of 2022" (votesmart.org)
  • "The American Dream rests on the promise that every child, regardless of the zip code where they were born, can get a first-rate education and prosper in a career of their choice. That’s why I’ve been focused on improving our public schools, making higher education more affordable by increasing Pell Grants, and reducing the student debt burden on graduates who dedicated their careers to serving others." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "There’s a lot more that needs to be done to rein in student debt, but the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program has been a life-changing relief for the Rhode Islanders we’ve been able to help." (x.com)
  • Rated 100% by the National Education Association (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • "10 years ago, the Supreme Court tossed out a key part of the Voting Rights Act, sweeping in a new wave of laws meant to keep people from being able to exercise their right to vote. We have to protect that sacred right." (x.com)
  • "I sponsor legislation to safeguard every American’s right to vote, which is increasingly under attack." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Voted against HR 5746: "Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act" (votesmart.org)
  • "I regularly battle the fossil fuel industry, so we can hasten America’s transition to a clean energy economy and leave this planet a better, safer place for our children and grandchildren. The Inflation Reduction Act was a major step toward climate safety, and I shaped many of the clean energy provisions of the law – provisions that will save Rhode Islanders money and create jobs. I founded the bipartisan Senate Oceans Caucus to protect natural resources like Narragansett Bay, and I created a national coastal fund to help communities near the ocean address the unique challenges facing coastal infrastructure." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "The Inflation Reduction Act will create millions of new green energy jobs. We're going to make solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles right here in America." (x.com)
  • "The window for climate action is still open, but it narrows every day. I'm doing everything in my power to end the fossil fuel industry's political obstruction. This is the fight of our time." (x.com)
  • Rated 100% by the League of Conservation Voters (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • "I regularly battle the fossil fuel industry, so we can hasten America’s transition to a clean energy economy and leave this planet a better, safer place for our children and grandchildren. The Inflation Reduction Act was a major step toward climate safety, and I shaped many of the clean energy provisions of the law – provisions that will save Rhode Islanders money and create jobs. I founded the bipartisan Senate Oceans Caucus to protect natural resources like Narragansett Bay, and I created a national coastal fund to help communities near the ocean address the unique challenges facing coastal infrastructure." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "The window for climate action is still open, but it narrows every day. I'm doing everything in my power to end the fossil fuel industry's political obstruction. This is the fight of our time." (x.com)
  • "We can't be at the mercy of Big Oil companies any longer. Time for energy independence through major investments in renewables, and a windfall clawback that sends excessive fossil fuel profits back to the people." (x.com)
  • Rated 100% by the League of Conservation Voters (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • "We know what would save lives: Banning assault weapons. Raising the age limit for firearm purchases. Requiring universal background checks. These are straightforward solutions, widely supported even by gun owners, yet the gun lobby blocks them all." (x.com)
  • Rated 0% by the National Rifle Association (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of S 2938: "Bipartisan Safer Communities Act" (votesmart.org)
  • "It is long past time for Congress to enact common sense gun safety measures like universal background checks and renewing a ban on military-style assault weapons. I’m going to keep fighting for changes to our gun laws until children can go to school without fearing for their lives. The need for "active shooter drills" should shame us all." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "I have fought relentlessly for Rhode Island, and I am proud of my record. I am fighting for affordable health care for all, Medicare and Social Security, and for federal investment in Rhode Island." (x.com)
  • "In the wealthiest country in the world, every single Rhode Islander should be able to get high-quality health care at a price they can afford. From introducing the public insurance option during the Affordable Care Act debate to delivering funding to keep our state’s health care system afloat during the pandemic, I have a long track record of work to lower health care costs and improve the quality of care." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "Our American Rescue Plan brought affordable, high-quality health care within reach for more Rhode Islanders." (x.com)
  • "Everyone benefits from a #paidfamilyleave system that allows workers to take time off if they or a loved one get sick, especially during a pandemic. We need to pass the #FAMILYAct to finally make paid family leave an option for every American." (x.com)
  • "Paid family leave is working in RI. We need to make it a reality for families across the country." (x.com)
  • "Providing paid family leave and lowering the cost of child care are two of the most important things we can do to relieve the burden that too often falls to women trying to balance work and family." (x.com)
  • Voted in favor of HR 6201: "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" (votesmart.org)
  • "Democrats capped seniors’ out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 and for the first time ever, we freed up Medicare to negotiate drug prices — which will lower prices across the board." (x.com)
  • "If Trump is re-elected, he could end the Biden team’s negotiations to lower drug prices. We cannot backslide and allow seniors to get priced out of lifesaving medications." (x.com)
  • "Our Inflation Reduction Act capped the price of insulin at $35 for seniors, and allowed Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices for the first time ever. I will defend the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act from Republican attempts to take us back to the bad old days when people could be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions and seniors had to ration their insulin to keep food on the table." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • "We need comprehensive immigration reform to bring undocumented workers out of the shadows to become law-abiding, tax-paying residents; we need border security that is effective and humane; and we need businesses to grow and create jobs. I helped craft the bipartisan immigration reform that the Senate passed in 2013, which Republican leadership in the House refused even to consider. Republicans recently blew up a second bipartisan Senate proposal. But we must not be discouraged; Congress must get back to work finding a bipartisan path forward." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Rated 0% by the NumbersUSA (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • "We need comprehensive immigration reform to bring undocumented workers out of the shadows to become law-abiding, tax-paying residents; we need border security that is effective and humane; and we need businesses to grow and create jobs. I helped craft the bipartisan immigration reform that the Senate passed in 2013, which Republican leadership in the House refused even to consider. Republicans recently blew up a second bipartisan Senate proposal. But we must not be discouraged; Congress must get back to work finding a bipartisan path forward." (whitehouseforsenate.com)
  • Rated 0% by the NumbersUSA (justfacts.votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor for HR 7691: "Making emergency supplemental appropriations for assistance for the situation in Ukraine for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes" (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 8034: "Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024" (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 815: "National Security Act, 2024" (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor for HR 7691: "Making emergency supplemental appropriations for assistance for the situation in Ukraine for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes" (votesmart.org)
  • Voted in favor of HR 815: "National Security Act, 2024" (votesmart.org)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.

Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.

arrow_upward