Providence, RI – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) this morning touched down in Munich, Germany to join more than 500 world leaders and international security decision-makers at the annual Munich Security Conference.
“The American people and their representatives in Congress are becoming all too familiar with the threat that disguised foreign influence can pose to our democratic institutions,” said Whitehouse. “I am eager to speak with our allies and partners about the work we must do together to increase transparency, crack down on corruption, and protect the law and traditions that underpin free, prosperous nations.”
Whitehouse has served as the Democratic lead for the Congressional delegation to the annual conference at the invitation of Senator John McCain (R-AZ) since 2013. This year’s delegation will include more than a dozen members of Congress.
“This year’s delegation is notably missing our longtime leader, Senator McCain,” Whitehouse said. “Senator McCain represents the very best of America, and we hope to live up to the example he has set over his many years representing the Senate and the country here in Munich.”
While in Munich, Whitehouse will lead the delegation in bilateral meetings with heads of state and government and cabinet ministers from a number of countries, including Britain, France, Canada, Germany, Norway, Iraq, Poland, Qatar, Singapore, and Ukraine. Whitehouse is also scheduled to participate in a panel discussion of U.S. foreign policy alongside Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE), where he intends to stress the national security threat posed by foreign kleptocracy.
Whitehouse is the sponsor of the bipartisan True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act, which would make it more difficult for criminals and foreign enemies to hide assets from tax authorities and law enforcement. In recent years, many countries have required greater transparency in their incorporation laws, while the United States has lagged behind, making it one of the most attractive places in the world to set up dummy corporate entities that can be used to conceal money laundering and other illicit activities.
The Munich Security Conference runs through Sunday, February 18. The annual event was founded in 1963 by Ewald von Kleist, a prominent German publisher. The conference is the major global forum for the discussion of security policy.
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