Durbin Urges Secretary Of Education Cardona To Take On For-Profit Colleges And Help Struggling Student Borrowers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services hearing about the Department of Education's Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Budget Request, urged Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to bring greater accountability and oversight to the for-profit college industry. In his remarks, Durbin highlighted that for-profit colleges and universities enroll just eight percent of all post-secondary students … Continue Reading

Durbin Commemorates Juneteenth, Calls Out Filibuster As Tool To Hinder Civil Rights Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) took to the Senate floor today to commemorate Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in America. In his speech, Durbin told the story of the Emancipation Proclamation and acknowledged the long legacy of slavery, perpetuated by a contradiction at the center of our nation's founding principle that all people "are created equal." "Halfway through that war, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation P… Continue Reading

Durbin: Biden Is Reasserting America's Role As A Champion Of Democracy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), today spoke on the Senate floor about President Biden's first foreign trip where he met with G-7 and NATO countries, as well as with Russian President Vladimir Putin today. Durbin said that America's leadership and its example are critical in leading shared efforts to halt the COVID pandemic, tackle climate change, push back on rogue nations, and maintain global norms of behavior. "Perhaps what was most important was that President Bide… Continue Reading

Durbin, Capito, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Address Childhood Trauma

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), along with U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), today introduced bipartisan legislation to increase support for children who have been exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma, including witnessing community violence, parental addiction, or abuse. The Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion (RISE) from Trauma Act dramatically increases funding … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Vice President Harris, DACA Recipients, And TPS Holders

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead sponsor of the Dream Act, met with Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and a group of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders to mark the 9th anniversary of the announcement of DACA and underscore the need for Congress to pass the Dream and Promise Act. The DACA recipients and TPS holders were all immig… Continue Reading

Durbin Slams McConnell's Dismissal Of Congressional Investigation Into Trump's DOJ Alleged Abuse of Power

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor slamming U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) dismissal of calls to hold a congressional investigation of reports that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump Administration issued subpoenas involving members of Congress, their staff, and family members. In his remarks, Durbin called out McConnell's hypocrisy in minimizing t… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witnesses At American Dream And Promise Act Judiciary Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "H.R.6, American Dream and Promise Act of 2021," U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Manuel Bernal Mejia, a DACA recipient, and Leon Rodriguez, former United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director under President Obama, about the importance of passing the American Dream and Promise Act. Durbin asked Dr. Bernal Mejia whether or not he's had … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge SBA To Speed Up Relief For Struggling Live Event Venues

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 51 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman urging her to disburse Shuttered Venue Operator Grant funding to eligible live entertainment venues as soon as possible. The legislation that created this program, the Save Our Stages Act, was signed into law nea… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement At American Dream And Promise Act Judiciary Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during "H.R.6, American Dream and Promise Act of 2021" Judiciary Committee Hearing. During his opening statement, Durbin highlighted the need for Congress to pass legislation providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and people living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Key quotes: "It was nine years ago today when President Oba… Continue Reading

Durbin, Cicilline Announce Introduction Of Bill To Ban Child Labor On Tobacco Farms

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI-01) today announced the introduction of legislation to protect child workers from the dangers of exposure to tobacco plants, including nicotine poisoning. The Children Don't Belong on Tobacco Farms Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco fields and coming into direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves by deeming this … Continue Reading

Durbin: Judge Jackson Represents The Best Of The Judiciary

WASHINGTON - Ahead of her confirmation today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, highlighting her impressive career-from her judicial clerkships to her work as a federal public defender to her tenure on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Durbin called on his Senate colleagues to vote in favor of her nomination, empha… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Statement On Supreme Court First Step Act Ruling On Low-Level Drug Offenders

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tarahrick Terry v. United States, a case related to the interpretation of provisions of the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA) and the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010: "Obviously, we argued for a different result in this case. We had hoped a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Collins, Wenstrup, Underwood Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill To Make The VA Smoke-Free

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), along with U.S. Representatives Brad Wenstrup, D.P.M. (R-OH-02) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), today introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to prohibit smoking at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The legislation would repeal an antiquated 1992 law that requires the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to furnish and maintain designated indoor or outdoor smoking areas. Supported … Continue Reading

Durbin, Judiciary Committee Democrats Demand Answers from DOJ About Subpoenas for Communications Data of House Democrats

WASHINGTON - Today, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) led all Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on a letter to Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland requesting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) produce materials relating to the Trump-era DOJ's apparent decision to subpoena metadata of House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) Members, their staff, and family members, including a minor. The letter also urges AG Garland to provide the Committee with an imme… Continue Reading

Durbin, Schumer Statement On Revelations About Secret Subpoenas For Metadata Of House Intelligence Committee Democrats

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement on revelations about secret subpoenas for metadata of House Intelligence Committee Democrats: "The revelation that the Trump Justice Department secretly subpoenaed metadata of House Intelligence Committee Members and staff and their families, including a minor, is shocking. This is a gross abuse of power and an assault on the separation of powers. This… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Two Bipartisan Durbin, Grassley Criminal Justice Bills

WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance two bipartisan criminal justice reform bills authored by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee -the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2021 and the First Step Implementation Act of 2021. These bills will build on the landmark First Step Act and continue Congress's bipartisan ef… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Report Regarding Federal Prison Inmate Deposit Accounts

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding a report that Federal prison inmates are keeping large sums of money in government-run deposit accounts run by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Per reporting by The Washington Post, there are more than 20 inmate accounts holding more than $100,000 each for a total exceeding $3 million. In all, the combined value of such inmate accounts recently topped… Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Zahid Quraishi To Be District Judge For District Of New Jersey

WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate confirmed Zahid Quraishi to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey by a bipartisan vote of 81-16. Ahead of the confirmation vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on his Senate colleagues to support Judge Quraishi's nomination. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin highlighted Judge Quraishi's distinguished career in public service and his service as a U.S. Magistrate Judge. J… Continue Reading

University Of Illinois System Awarded $1 Million Open Textbook Pilot Grant

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the University of Illinois (U of I) System has been awarded $1.08 million from the U.S. Department of Education's Open Textbooks Pilot Program - a competitive grant program based on Durbin's Affordable College Textbook Act. The funding will support the creation and expand the use of open college textbooks - textbooks that are available under an open license, allowing professors, students, researchers, and others to f… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Boardman, Griggsby District Court Nominations And Davis Nomination To Lead U.S. Marshals Service

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Deborah L. Boardman, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland; Lydia Kay Griggsby, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland; and Ronald L. Davis, to be Director of the United States Marshals Service. Ahead of the votes, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support all three nominees. Key Durbin q… Continue Reading