Since his election to the United States Senate in 2006, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has made cybersecurity one of his top legislative priorities. Among other work, Senator Whitehouse has authored comprehensive cybersecurity legislation, prepared the Senate Intelligence Committee’s first cyber report, and worked with members of both parties to call attention to the growing cyber threat.
In 2010, Senator Whitehouse chaired the Intelligence Committee’s Cyber Task Force. As Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism from 2011 to 2014, Senator Whitehouse held regular hearings on the cyber threat, including hearings on the role of law enforcement in responding to cyber attacks and on the dangers that cyber-enabled intellectual property theft poses to American businesses. In 2013, he introduced the bipartisan Cybersecurity Public Awareness Act to improve public access to information on cyber attacks. From 2014-2016, Whitehouse and Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) chaired the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Cyber Policy Task Force as it developed cybersecurity recommendations for the 45th President, which were published in January 2017.
A graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia Law School, Whitehouse served as Rhode Island’s United States Attorney and Attorney General of Rhode Island before his election to the Senate. In addition to the Judiciary Committee, he is a member of the Budget Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging.
He and his wife Sandra, a marine biologist and environmental advocate, live in Newport. They have two children.
For the latest updates on Senator Whitehouse’s work, follow @SenWhitehouse on Twitter and visit facebook.com/SenatorWhitehouse.