Senator Jack Reed

Reed Speaks at Childhood Cancer Advocacy Event

Senator Reed joined St. Baldrick's Foundation, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and over 300 advocates & organizations to discuss the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act of 2015.  This legislation is a comprehensive effort that would take the next needed steps to advance pediatric cancer research and child-focused cancer treatments while also improving childhood cancer surveillance and providing resources for survivors and those impacted by childhood cancer.  

Warwick Nonprofit Wins $50,000 Federal Grant For Preserving Maritime History

The Steamship Historical Society of America (SSHSA) announced today that it has received a competitive grant to build an interactive website experience that will help share some of the organization’s vast archives with a worldwide audience. U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian were on hand to announce the $50,000 award, presented by the National Parks Service through the National Maritime Heritage Grant Program. Federal funds for the program were generated from the scrapping and sale of obsolete vessels from the Maritime Administration’s National Defense Reserve Fleet, which were purchased for recycling.

“Steamships have played an important role in American history, and I commend the Steamship Historical Society of America for winning this competitive grant.  This program helps document, preserve, and advance our maritime heritage and share it with a wider audience.  Once completed, this project will be a great tool for educators, researchers, and the general public,” said Senator Reed.

The interactive online experience, titled “Steaming into the Future,” will focus on a period beginning in 1807 when the first commercially viable American steam engines were successfully powering ships. This began the transition from sail to steam-powered vessels and transformed shipping, commerce and travel across America. 

Senator Reed Helps Commemorate Hmong and Lao Guerilla Units Recognition Day

Senator Reed spoke at the Hmong and Lao SGU Veterans of America National Recognition Day ceremony, which commemorated the 40^th anniversary since these veterans, who were recruited by the CIA to fight in the Vietnam War, left Laos and resettled in the United States. The event was held at the Fisher Student Center at Bryant University.  Other speakers at the event included representatives from the Hmong United Association of RI and the PWC Center for Diversity Inclusion at Bryant University.  Traditional Lao and Hmong dances were performed. 

In 2000, Senator Reed cosponsored the Hmong Veterans’ Naturalization Act, a law that gave Hmong and Laotians who fought alongside Americans in Vietnam -- and their wives and widows who came to the U.S. -- the opportunity to become American citizens.  The law allowed up to 45,000 Hmong veterans and their spouses who aided the U.S. during the Vietnam War to take the citizenship exam.   Senator Reed is also a cosponsor of the Hmong Veterans Service Recognition Act (S. 1358) to give these individuals the right to be buried in U.S. national cemeteries.

Reed Speaks at First Annual RI Holocaust Memorial Yom HaShoah Ceremony

Senator Reed spoke at the first annual Rhode Island Holocaust Memorial Yom HaShoah ceremony, which took place at the Rhode Island Holocaust Memorial along River Walk in Providence.  Other speakers at the ceremony included Jeffrey K. Savit, President & CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, Cantor Jodi Blankstein, Rabbis Wayne Franklin and Howard Voss-Altman, and Herbert B. Stern, Chair of the Rhode Island Holocaust Memorial Committee.  Two poems were recited by 5th graders from the Jewish Community Day School of Rhode Island. 

City Year's Starry Starry Night Gala

Senator Reed gave remarks at City Year's Starry Starry Night Gala at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence.  As City Year's signature fund raising event, the gala was attended by champions, donors, community leaders, and members and staff of Americorps.  City Year is an education-focused organization founded in 1988 dedicated to helping students and schools succeed. 

Reed Takes Walking Tour of West Warwick Businesses

Senator Reed undertook a walking tour of new and old business establishments in West Warwick.  Starting at West Warwick Town Hall, where he met with Town Manager Fred Presley, Senator Reed was then taken to Centreville Bank on Main Street, where he met with CEO Tom Lamb to discuss the bank’s ongoing expansion in Arctic, RI, as well as its support of Arctic redevelopment efforts.  The Senator was then led across Main Street to the West Warwick Health Equity Zone, a project coordinated by Thundermist Health Center and the RI Department of Health with support from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to promote healthier urban areas in the state.  The next stop was Gara’s Men’s Shop, a formalwear and suit rental establishment celebrating fifty years in their West Warwick location.  The Senator was then taken to the Arctic Playhouse, a new, all original production local theater.  The final stop on the tour was the West Warwick Senior Center, where Senator Reed was able to join residents for coffee and conversation.