Sheldon Whitehouse

We have considerable infrastructure in this country that is decrepit, that is in urgent need of repair and replacement

The pattern, I think, is beyond distinct. It is now unmistakable. And it is that where corporate interests are involved, the corporation is highly likely to win.

One of the things that most concerned me about the Citizens United decision was not actually in the decision itself

I do think it is regrettable that the five-member majority of the Supreme Court found as a fact on that question.

The simple fact that one of our decisions remains controversial does undermine the precedent's ability to contribute to the stable and orderly development of the law.

At what point should the Court lose the benefit of the doubt that these are each independent on the merits decisions as the evidence piles up?

So to put a limiter on that sentence, we do not think that EPA should be burdened with the determination that each chemical is safe for its intended use.

Isn't that the purpose of environmental regulation, is to assure that a chemical is safe for its intended use?

I assumed that there was, I don't know, some mistake here.

How well did that work out with tobacco? How well did that work out with lead?

I would rather solve that problem with protections at the border to make sure that harmful products are not imported to our country.

Congress should reform TSCA; there is an emerging consensus that reform is necessary.

The time to modernize TSCA has come.

We have a chemical safety deficit in this country, and we need to catch up.

Senators Tom Udall of New Mexico and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island met with the delegation

I remember Richmond as being the birthplace during the Clinton administration of the Federal firearms enhanced prosecution initiative.

I believe Richmond is the place where it has the longest track record.

The question I was asking is, Is it not fair to ascribe to that Republican administration and its policies the responsibility for more than just the difference between $5 trillion and $12 trillion? Because if those policies hadn't changed…

I cannot think of an area in my personal life where I would refuse to act until 100 percent certainty was achieved.

I think if we do not take action the judgment of history will be extremely harsh.

There was a book called Merchants of Doubt written about the public relations and propaganda effort to raise doubt in order to create political maneuvering room for these industries.

I hope that you do not take away from this particular room any new doubts about the quality of the science that supports, I think, highly legitimate concerns about climate change.

I think Neville Chamberlain's Willful Blindness has justly earned the opprobrium of history.

I just wanted to make sure that there was no doubt in anybody's mind here that climate change is happening, and it is happening as a result of human emissions, and that the consequences are adverse for our planet and species.

So, your best recommendation at this point is to expand the scope of the regulatory process so that it is by chemical category and not just by individual chemical.