Rhode Island Government Officials

The United States of America operates under a Presidential system of government. The American citizens are able to elect into office the candidates they feel will best fill a certain position. Each state elects officials into different offices including the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, the Governor, the Secretary of State and other offices. The elected officials of Rhode Island are predominantly Democrats.

The upper house of the U.S. Congress is called the Senate. Rhode Island, like each state elects two senators. Democrat, Jack Reed, has been a senator since being elected in 1996 (2). Senator Reed is an advocate for affordable housing and it has been a platform for him since his political career began. The New York Times is quoted saying “Mr. Reed has had a passion for housing issues throughout his career.” in 2008 (Senator). He has written laws which are now creating a new affordable housing trust fund, improving buyer reports on mortgages, and addressing middle-class families struggling as a result of the current housing crisis. Rhode Island’s other senator is Sheldon Whitehouse. Senator Whitehouse is a Democrat and was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 7, 2006 (Biography). One of his greatest achievements has been his Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act which was signed into law in 2013. This act is targeted at cancers which have five-year survival rates below fifty percent, for example pancreatic, ovarian and lung cancers (Biography).

The lower house of the U.S. Congress is called the House of Representatives. The number of seats per state is determined by population size and as such Rhode Island has two representatives. The first Congressional District’s elected representative is David N. Cicilline . Democ...

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Works Cited

"Directory of Government Officials." Ri.gov. State of Rhode Island, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014. .

"Senator Jack Reed - US Senator for Rhode Island." Reed.senate.gov. Senator Jack Reed, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.

"Biography: Sheldon Whitehouse." Whitehouse.senate.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.

"David Cicilline: Full Biography." Cicilline.house.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.

"Welcome to Congressman Jim Langevin." Langevin.house.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.

"State of Rhode Island: Office of the Governor." Governor.ri.gov. State of Rhode Island, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.

"Lincoln Chafee Will Not Seek Reelection in 2014." Huffingtonpost.com. HuffPost Politics, 04 Sept. 2013. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.

"State of Rhode Island: Office of the Secretary of State." Sos.ri.gov. State of Rhode Island, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2014.