Dear John,

I want to begin this week’s update by wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

As we prepare to celebrate with family and friends, I also want to share information about help for those who may need some extra support this holiday season. The Rhode Island Department of Human Services’ local resource page has information about various programs that can provide support.

As always, if you need help navigating or accesses these resources, or have questions about other resources that may be available to you, my staff and I are here to help. You can call us at (401) 729-5600 or email me at [email protected].   

Updates from Rhode Island

$191K for Rhode Island Healthy Communities Grants

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of six Healthy Communities Grants in Rhode Island. The $191,335 in federal funding will strengthen the health and well-being of more Rhode Islanders, particularly in communities that have experienced the heaviest burden of environmental and health hazards. These funds will help our most vulnerable communities through key investments in environmental risk prevention, public health resources, and food waste management.

The grant recipients are:

• Center of EcoTechnology: $40,000 for Sustaining Wasted Food Solutions for Providence County: This project will reduce the quantity of wasted food entering the municipal solid waste stream by working with target entities, including K–12 schools, event venues, healthcare facilities, colleges/universities, hospitality facilities, and food rescue and donation organizations. 
  
• MEANS Database partnering with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine: $30,000 for Rhode Island & Bristol County Food Recovery Extension: This project aims to significantly improve both food sustainability and food equity in the state of Rhode Island and in neighboring Bristol County, MA. 
  
• Woonasquatucket River Watershed Association: $30,000 for Frontline Communities First! Residents Build Climate Resilience in the Woonasquatucket River Watershed: This project builds capacity of resident and student leaders in the impaired and climate vulnerable lower Woonasquatucket River Watershed to develop plans and projects that address the environmental and public health challenges these communities already face; climate change related flooding from both excessive stormwater and sea level rise; poor water and habitat quality; urban heat island; and riverbank erosion and scouring. 
  
• Environment Council of Rhode Island: $40,000 for Rhode Island Schools Recycling Club (RISRC) Get Food Smart, RI; Phase 3: This project will be a catalyst for the behavioral changes that will be required of all RI schools to understand the problems associated with food waste and comply with the new RI school food waste diversion law. 
  
• Childhood Lead Action Project (CLAP): $30,000 for Central Falls Lead Safety Project: This project will work to reduce lead poisoning in Central Falls by participating in a multi-stakeholder community outreach, funding, and enforcement strategy that will proactively target a never-before-available citywide list of rental properties lacking lead safety certificates. 
  
• Refugee Development Center: $21,335 for Healthy Homes, Healthy Lives for Refugees: This program, in alignment with the Rhode Island Asthma State Plan 2014-2019, will provide asthma management and prevention interventions that serve communities of color and low-income communities in the core cities of Rhode Island. 

Remembering Judge Richard J. Israel

Last Friday, we laid to rest former Rhode Island Attorney General and Superior Court Judge Richard J. Israel.

Judge Israel was a kind, thoughtful, and deeply caring person. I, and so many, have long been inspired by Judge Israel’s brilliant intellect, integrity, and long service to the people of Rhode Island. His exemplary tenure as Attorney General of Rhode Island and an Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court were marked by dedication and fidelity to the law. Our community has lost a great man who will be deeply missed.

I was lucky enough to call Judge Israel a friend, and I will miss his wisdom, warmth, and friendship. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Lana and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. May his memory be a blessing.

Supporting Open Door Health

I had a great time at The Gala PVD in support of Open Door Community Health Centers and their mission to provide safe, confidential, and inclusive health care for all. Thank you to everyone who joined this evening to advance the important work of Open Door in our community.

Updates from Washington, D.C.

Thanking Nancy Pelosi for Her Decades of Leadership

Yesterday, Speaker Pelosi announced that she will not seek a leadership position within the House Democratic Caucus next Congress. Speaker Pelosi’s historic career will not just be remembered for the barriers she broke but also for the incredible progress she delivered for the American people and her beloved San Francisco.

I have been lucky enough to serve with and learn from one of the greatest political minds in our country for the past twelve years and am honored to call her a mentor, and most importantly, a close friend.  I remain in constant awe of her brilliance, toughness, and dedication to service. Nancy Pelosi led our party to the majority twice and saw our country through some of the toughest times in our nation’s history including the COVID pandemic and the attack on our democracy on January 6, 2021. 
  
In addition to our work in Washington, I’ve had the pleasure of welcoming her to Rhode Island many times, where her grandparents first met, and am thankful for her focus on delivering for every American and all Rhode Islanders. 

You can read my full statement on the Speaker’s announcement here.

The Speak Out Act

On Wednesday, the House overwhelmingly voted to send the Speak Out Act to the President’s desk. This legislation will bar judicial enforcement of pre-dispute non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements (NDAs) in sexual harassment and sexual assault disputes. This bill importantly builds on the progress made with H.R. 4445, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which was enacted earlier this year to restore the right of survivors to have their day in court. I joined with Representatives Frankel, Buck, Griffith, Nadler, Bustos, and Jayapal to introducing this legislation in June and am thrilled that we were able to get it passed so quickly.

It was honor to work with so many incredible survivors and advocates on this legislation that will make workplaces across the country safer for countless employees and help to end a toxic culture of silence. 

Barring Trump from Federal Office

This week, I asked my colleagues to join me in introducing legislation that will enforce the 14th Amendment and bar former President Trump from ever again holding federal office. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that “[n]o person shall … hold any office, civil or military, under the United States … who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”

Under this authority, and given the proof – demonstrated through the January 6th Committee Hearings, the 2021 impeachment trial, and other reporting – that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection on January 6, 2021 with the intention of overturning the lawful 2020 election results, I have drafted legislation that would prevent Donald Trump from holding public office again under the Fourteenth Amendment.

I will be introducing this legislation in the coming weeks once my colleagues have a chance to read it and join in this effort.

Standing with the Protestors in Iran

On Wednesday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks and I were joined by our colleagues on the committee in reasserting our support for the protestors in Iran two months after the demonstrations began. Our statement, below:

We unequivocally stand with the brave women and men in Iran fighting for their freedoms and basic human rights. It has been two months since protests erupted following Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands of Iran’s “Morality Police.” Since then, the Iranian regime has continued to act with impunity – violently cracking down on its own citizens, holding sham trials, and now issuing a death sentence to a protestor. The brutality of the Iranian regime is unacceptable and cannot be ignored. 
 
We applaud the Biden Administration for continuing to hold Iran accountable, including through sanctioning key Iranian government officials responsible for the violent crackdown on peaceful protestors while still providing for increased internet access across Iran. 
 
We are committed to continuing to work alongside the Administration, as well as our partners and allies around the world, to maintain pressure on the regime and to demand justice and accountability for the brave Iranians who already lost their lives at the hands of state authorities and for those who, despite the brutalities and danger, continue to protest every day. We stand with you.

Health Insurance Open Enrollment

Are you uninsured or hoping to pay less or change your health insurance plan?

Rhode Islanders can shop for your 2023 plan NOW, through January 1, 2023 at healthsourceri.com.

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, 13 million Americans will save an average of $800 individually or $2,400 per family per year on their health insurance premiums.

Key Dates:

• Sign up by December 23, 2022 for coverage beginning on January 1, 2023
• Sign up by December 31, 2022 for coverage that will be active starting in January 2023
• The last day for Open Enrollment is January 31, 2023 for coverage that will become active in February 2023

Help with Winter Heating and Utility Costs

As winter approaches, it’s predicted that we are going to see a higher-than-usual increase in home heating costs. To help keep these and other utility costs down, I want to share with you some resources and programs that are available through our federal, local, and state government.

• The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps eligible low-income households pay their heating bills through federal grants to the household. There are two components to this program: Heating Assistance and Crisis Assistance.
• The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) helps income-eligible households reduce heating bills by providing whole house energy efficiency services to households that qualify for LIHEAP. Some services available include installing insulation and providing health and safety measures including: installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, reducing drafts, and providing proper ventilation.
• The Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP), funded by the American Rescue Plan Act  and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, is available for eligible low-income households through September 30, 2023, or until funds are exhausted. LIHWAP helps eligible low-income households afford and maintain access to drinking water and wastewater services through federal grants. One-time payments are made directly to the household’s utility company.
• The Heating System Repair and Replacement Program (HSRRP) provides a one-time service to eligible homeowners to increase the efficiency of their heating system, or replace it if necessary. Households that qualify for LIHEAP may be eligible.

As always, if you need help navigating or accesses these resources, or have questions about other resources that may be available to you, my staff and I are here to help. You can call us at (401) 729-5600 or email me at [email protected]. 

Missing Your Tax Refund?

If you are owed a tax refund, filed on paper more than six months ago, and the Where’s My Refund? tool does not have any information about the status of the return, the IRS is now advising that you resubmit your tax return for 2021, electronically if possible. They have advised that this submission must include an original signature and all the documents submitted with your original return. More information is available here and of course, my office is always available to help. You can call us at (401) 729-5600 or email me at [email protected].

Uniting for Ukraine: Welcoming Refugees

On April 21, as part of fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the United for Ukraine program.

This program will enable Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a two-year period of parole. To qualify for the program, Ukrainians must have a supporter in the United States. These supporters are responsible for providing their Ukrainian sponsors with financial support throughout their time in the United States.

You can learn more about the program, and becoming a sponsor, here. 

Important Passport & Travel Reminder

As more Rhode Islanders and people around the world get vaccinated and boosted, we are seeing an increase in both domestic and international travel. With travel resuming, many folks are looking to renew passports and this uptick in requests has led to a backlog at the State Department. Turnaround time, according to the State Department, for expedited processing is now at 3-5 weeks and regular processing is taking 6-9 weeks from submission to receipt.

Before booking international travel, please remember to check the expiration date on your passport and plan accordingly. Passports last for 5 or 10 years, depending on your age when the passport was issued. Some countries require that your passport be valid at least six months beyond the dates of your trip. Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met.

You can learn more from the State Department here.

As always, I am here to serve you. If there is anything I can do, please call my office at 729-5600 or send me an email at [email protected].

Warm regards, 

David N. Cicilline
Member of Congress