Durbin Delivers Floor Speech On The First Anniversary Of The American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke about the importance of the American Rescue Plan one year after Democrats passed the legislation-without a single Republican vote. The American Rescue Plan provided a critical lifeline to low-income families, and it helped stabilize middle-class families by providing enhanced child tax credits, expanded unemployment insurance, and housing relief. It also expanded the availability of affordable health coverage - including expan… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Tribute To Illinois Director Of Public Health Dr. Ngozi Ezike

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today took to the Senate floor to express his gratitude to Dr. Ngozi Ezike as she steps down from her position as Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health today after leading Illinois through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Durbin highlighted Dr. Ezike's positive impact on public health and applauded her approach to reassuring and educating Illinoisans about coronavirus. Dr. Ezike is a Harvard-trained, board-certified… Continue Reading

Congress Passes Bipartisan Spending Bill With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 omnibus appropriations bill. "Congress came together on a bipartisan basis to pass a comprehensive budget, which will benefit families across Illinois. This bill makes critical investments in public health, housing, infrastructure, public safety and violence prevention, election security, environme… Continue Reading

Senate Passes Bipartisan Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization

Senate Passes Bipartisan Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Washington-The Senate passed the omnibus government funding bill that includes the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act, authored by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The bill, which would reauthorize VAWA through 2027, preserves advancements made in previous reauthorizations and includes a number of … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Secure $211 Million For Illinois Projects In FY22 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) secured $211 million through Congressionally-directed spending for Illinois projects in the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Omnibus appropriations bill. The bill passed the Senate and now heads to the President's desk to be signed into law. "This appropriations package invests in the future of Illinois," Durbin said. "The use of Congressionally-directed … Continue Reading

Senate Passes Bipartisan Spending Bill With Key Priorities Secured By Durbin

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus appropriations bill. "The omnibus spending package is a testament to the incredible progress we have made in the last year and makes significant investments for Illinois. It provides more than $13 billion to the people of Ukraine fighting tooth and nail to defend their freedom. It also includes … Continue Reading

Durbin Talks Infrastructure With Champaign County First

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with Champaign County First to discuss county infrastructure priorities now that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has been signed into law. During their conversation, Durbin and Champaign County leaders discussed potential federal funding for several current projects in the region, including The Yards development at the Illinois Terminal of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD); the Curtis R… Continue Reading

Durbin, Shaheen, Colleagues Meet With European Ambassadors On Ukraine

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, hosted key European Ambassadors to brief the Senate Democratic Caucus on Ukraine. The Senators and Ambassadors discussed transatlantic unity and additional actions Congress and the Administration can take in the coming days and weeks to help the Ukrainian people as they co… Continue Reading

Durbin, King, Smith, Sinema, Neguse Introduce Bicameral Legislation To Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable

WASHINGTON - In observation of Open Educational Resource Week, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), along with U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO-02), today introduced bicameral legislation designed to help students manage costs by making high quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors, and the public for free. The legislation, known as the Affordable College Textbook Act, would authoriz… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Quincy Bay Restoration, Modernization Of Illinois Locks And Dams, And Protecting The Great Lakes From Invasive Species With Rock Island Army Corp District Commander

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) received an update today from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District Commander Colonel Jesse Curry about several Illinois water infrastructure projects including the restoration of Quincy Bay, the Brandon Road project to protect the Great Lakes from the spread of invasive Asian Carp, and the modernization of Illinois locks and dams through the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP). "Illinois' water infrastr… Continue Reading

Durbin: This Spending Package Is A Testament To The Progress We've Made During The Past Year Of The Democratic Majority

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Omnibus. The funding will reduce the cost of living for working families, create good-paying jobs, ensure families and children can access critical supplies, provide more than $13 billion to Ukrainians, make critical investments in our future, and much more. "Ukraine needs humanitarian, military, and economi… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Advances Six District Court Judges, Two U.S. Attorneys

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Kenly Kiya Kato, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; Jennifer Louise Rochon, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York; Sunshine Suzanne Sykes, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; Sherilyn Peace Garnett, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; Nina Morrison, to be United States… Continue Reading

Durbin, Thune, Duckworth Lead Bipartisan Push to Utilize E15, Restore American Energy Independence

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), both members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today led a letter signed by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and a bipartisan group of their colleagues urging President Biden to permit the year-round sale of E15 fuel in order to reduce the United States' reliance on foreign sources of energy. The Senators note that American biofuels are a clean and reliable energy solut… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators To FDA Commissioner: Agency Is Six Months Past Court-Ordered Deadline To Regulate E-Cigarettes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led a bipartisan letter with Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) and 13 other Senators to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf urging the FDA to end its delays in reviewing premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for the e-cigarette products that have fueled the youth vaping epidemic. In the letter, the Senators reiterated that the deadline for FDA's review was six months ago as mandated by a U.S. District Cou… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Omnibus Provision To Close E-Cigarette Loophole, Regulate Synthetic Nicotine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after he led a bipartisan Senate effort to successfully secure a provision in the fiscal year 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that will clarify the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) ability to regulate products containing synthetic nicotine as tobacco products. This legislative fix was necessary to close legal loopholes that manufacturers of kid-friendly, flavored e-cigarettes sought to sidestep … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets Virtually With Illinois Farm Bureau

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today met virtually with Illinois Farm Bureau members, who thanked him for his work to secure $829 million in federal funding to modernize Illinois locks and dams. During the meeting, the members also spoke about the importance of federal crop insurance in the upcoming farm bill, the challenges of the rising costs of fertilizer, COVID-19-induced trucking bottlenec… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Passage Of Postal Service Reform Act

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on Senate passage of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022: "With passage of the Postal Service Reform Act, we will finally address some of the root issues plaguing the U.S. Postal Service-including solvency and access to health care for retirees-while ensuring that Americans will continue to have six-day integrated delivery and reliable mail service. "Passage of this bill also reaffirms that… Continue Reading

Durbin: Judge Jackson Will Be A Strong, Fair, Principled, Evenhanded, & Impartial Supreme Court Justice

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke about his meeting last week with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court. Durbin discussed Judge Jackson's breadth of experience, character and temperament, and evenhandedness and impartiality. "As I said, the day her nomination was announced, it's hard to think of a better jurist to replace the highly regarded J… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Justice Department In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Rise Of Hate Crimes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "Combating the Rise in Hate Crimes." This hearing includes the first DOJ testimony on hate crimes since the January 15 synagogue attack in Colleyville, Texas, and the recent wave of bomb threats against Historically Black Colleges… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Biden Administration's Announcement To Ban Russian Oil Imports

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced a ban to Russian oil imports: "I applaud the Biden Administration's announcement to ban Russian oil imports. We cannot continue to purchase millions of barrels of oil to help fund Putin's unprovoked and unjustified war. This is another important step in tightening economic pressure on Putin and his cowardly enablers and h… Continue Reading