Sheldon Whitehouse

A delegation of US lawmakers wrapped up a visit to Cuba Wednesday, one day after meeting with President Raul Castro and visiting jailed American contractor Alan Gross.

In the end it took an act of Congress, but US television advertisers are finally required to do something parents have been pleading for for decades: turn down their excessively loud ads.

US Senate Republicans rejected the White House-backed "Buffett Rule" aimed at hiking tax rates on millionaires, a move both sides will use as campaign benchmarks ahead of the November election.

The US Senate on Monday rejected the White House-backed "Buffett Rule" aimed at raising tax rates on millionaires, a move both sides will use as campaign benchmarks ahead of the November election.

Nearly half of all U.S. Democratic senators support an effort to add marriage equality to the 2012 Democratic Party Platform. ?Nearly half of all U.S. Democratic senators support an effort to add marriage equality to the 2012 Democratic Party Platform, gay weekly The Washington Blade reported. Last month, Freedom to Marry launched the Democrats: Say I Do campaign, which calls on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to endorse marriage equality in this year's platform. The DNC will ratify the document during its national convention, which begins September 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The effort has been endorsed by seven Obama for America co-chairs and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Twenty-two senators expressed support, including Michael Bennet of Colorado, Chris Coons of Delaware, Dianne Feinstein of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ben Cardin of Maryland, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Carl Levin of Michigan, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Patty Murray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five U.S. senators urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to reject Republican efforts to make approval of the Keystone XL pipeline part of a payroll tax cut bill expected to pass through Congress in the next two weeks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five U.S. senators urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to reject Republican efforts to make approval of the Keystone XL pipeline part of a payroll tax cut bill expected to pass through Congress in the next two weeks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five U.S. senators urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to reject Republican efforts to make approval of the Keystone XL pipeline part of a payroll tax cut bill expected to pass through Congress in the next two weeks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five senators urged Harry Reid to reject Republican efforts to make approval of the Keystone XL pipeline part of a payroll tax cut bill expected to pass through Congress in the next two weeks.

(Thomson Reuters Accelus) - International travelers would have to file reports when carrying prepaid access cards and devices loaded with large amounts of money in or out of the United States, under a U.S. Treasury proposal made under pressure from Congress.

Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed's office has suggested he will co-sponsor a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed's office has suggested he will co-sponsor a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law that forbids federal recognition of the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples. Gay marriage advocates on Tuesday began courting Reed with a petition campaign. ?You have a consistent record of supporting LGBT Rhode Islanders and we know that you are committed to doing what's right for all families,? the petition reads. ?Thousands of loving same-sex couples in Rhode Island have legally wed or plan to, and are committed to sharing their lives and building a family together. They need access to the same safety net and security that other families are afforded by the federal government. On behalf of the majority of Rhode Islanders who support the freedom to marry, we respectfully ask that you join your colleag

John Kerry, Jerrold Nadler today introduced legislation to outlaw discrimination against gay people in the housing and credit markets. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry and New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler on Thursday introduced legislation to outlaw discrimination against gay people in the housing and credit markets. The Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) Act would amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or source of income. It would also amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit LGBT discrimination in credit decisions. ?LGBT Americans, non-traditional families, and the disabled should not be subjected to housing discrimination at the hands of the unscrupulous or bigoted,? said Nadler in a statement. ?This legislation will ensure that the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act are actually protecting ALL Americans and guaranteeing people of any sexual orientation, gender

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top Pentagon contractors have been bleeding secrets for years as a result of penetrations of their computer networks, current and former national security officials say.

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will get "a fair trial" on charges of attempted rape, a senior US senator said Tuesday amid shock and anger in France at the photos of the suspect in handcuffs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers considering new privacy laws scolded Google and Apple on Tuesday for not doing enough to guard mobile device users' location data, despite executives' assertions that they do not abuse the information.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While Congress brawls over how to shrink a $1.6 trillion budget deficit this year, an even tougher battle has begun over cutting popular Social Security retirement benefits to achieve long-term savings.

Ear relief: Congress passes bill to stop blaring TV commercials. Here's a message TV viewers may not want to mute: The days of getting blasted out of the easy chair by blaring TV commercials may soon be over.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Defense Department is aware that Internet traffic was rerouted briefly through China earlier this year, a Pentagon spokesman said on Friday, referring to what a congressionally appointed panel has described as a hijack.

Introducing the new governors headed for executive mansions around the nation. A look at the newest faces in the nation's governorships:

Democratic candidate for governor of RI says Obama can 'shove it' for not endorsing him. The Democratic candidate for Rhode Island governor, widely seen as more conservative than the independent seeking to lead the heavily Democratic state, said Monday that President Barack Obama can "shove it" after learning Obama would not endorse him.