Durbin Questions Nominees In Latest Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing

WASHINGTON – During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Julia M. Lipez, nominated to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the First Circuit; Karla M. Campbell, nominated to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Mary Kay Lanthier, nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Vermont; and Catherine Henry, nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsy… Continue Reading

In Speech On Senate Floor, Durbin Applauds President Biden's Executive Actions For Undocumented Immigrants

WASHINGTON – In  a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded President Joe Biden’s executive actions to offer relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including allowing undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to seek protection and streamlining the process for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) holders and other immigrants to change their immigration status. In March, Durbin led a group o… Continue Reading

Durbin: Judge Maldonado Is An Accomplished Litigator & A Distinguished Jurist Who Will Be A Great Asset To The Seventh Circuit

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his colleagues to advance the nomination of Judge Nancy L. Maldonado to be the United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit.  If confirmed, Judge Maldonado would be the first Hispanic judge to ever serve on the Seventh Circuit. Judge Maldonado currently serves as a United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.  In July 2022, the Senate confirmed … Continue Reading

On World Refugee Day, Durbin Leads Nearly 70 Members Of Congress In Letter Urging Administration To Consider Certain Palestinians Fleeing Gaza For Refugee Status

WASHINGTON – On World Refugee Day, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representatives Greg Casar (TX-35), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) led 69 members of Congress on a bicameral letter urging the Biden Administration to consider refugee status for certain Palestinians fleeing Gaza—namely those with U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family members.  In the letter sent today to U.S. Secretary of State Anton… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds President Biden's Announcement Of Relief For Undocumented Immigrants

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today applauded President Joe Biden’s announcement to offer relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including DACA holders and undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens. Today’s announcement offers relief to certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens, which will protect these individuals from deportation, offer them work permits, and ease their path toward permanent r… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $15 Million In Health Care Related Grants For Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $15,121,547 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to Illinois institutions. A large portion of the funding will be put toward research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, ranging from cancer research to increasing the number of nursing faculty nationwide.    “Federal investments in medical research and health care progr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Bipartisan Letter Urging EPA To Strengthen Renewable Fuel Standard

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and a bipartisan group of 14 colleagues in sending a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan urging EPA to raise Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for biomass-based diesel and advanced biofuels to levels that are consistent with production and ava… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses Google Parent Company On Its Role In Enabling Nonconsensual, Sexually-Explicit Deepfakes

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today pressed Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet, on its role in enabling the explosion in nonconsensual, sexually-explicit deepfakes online. Durbin begins by outlining how Google products fuel the spread of this material, writing: “Google Search drives users to apps that produce nonconsensual, sexually-explicit deepfakes and platforms that host it. Google Play makes availabl… Continue Reading

Durbin, Graham, House Leaders Applaud Bipartisan Bill To Support Missing And Exploited Children Becoming Law

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applaud the signing of their Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2023 into law by President Biden. The bill renews funding for the Missing Children’s Assistance Act (MCAA) through Fiscal Year 2028 and updates the statute concerning the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCM… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Bump Stocks Ruling

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling today in Garland v. Cargill, which ruled a bump stock does not convert a rifle into a machine gun: “This ruling is deeply disappointing. Like Justice Sotomayor notes in her dissent: ‘When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.’ A bump stock effectively turns a se… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $14 Million In Grant Funding For Head Start Projects

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois Head Start programs will receive $14,026,810 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant funding.  The federal funding will support Head Start’s mission to offer services for children under the age of five in receiving wrap-around support in early learning and development. “Providing a strong education is one of the greatest gifts we can give the next g… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions SEC, CFTC Chairs On Crypto At An Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today participated in a Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Subcommittee hearing on the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget, where he questioned U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler and U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam about the risks of cryptocurrency.  “Eighty-eight percent of people have heard… Continue Reading

Durbin Reveals Omissions Of Gifted Private Travel To Justice Clarence Thomas From Harlan Crow

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released exclusively obtained information from Harlan Crow on his gifts of free luxury travel to Justice Clarence Thomas, which was omitted from Justice Thomas’ financial disclosure, despite last week’s amendment to his 2019 financial disclosure report. A report on the Senate Judiciary Committee Majority’s Supreme Court ethics investigation will be released later this summer. In documents o… Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed, And DeLauro Introduce American Business For American Companies Act

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) reintroduced the bicameral American Business for American Companies Act, legislation that would extend the year-to-year government wide ban on federal contracts for inverted corporations by moving it out of the annual appropriations process and into permanent law. Corporate inversions allow U.S. companies to shift their corporate citizenship from United… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Floor Speech Calling On His Colleagues To Protect IVF Access Ahead Of Right To IVF Act Vote

WASHINGTON – Ahead of the Right to IVF Act vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to vote for this crucial legislation.  The legislation, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, establishes a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide, or cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) services and other assisted reproductive technologies.  It also expands insurance coverage for such care.  During h… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Voting Against The Right To IVF Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted against the Right to IVF Act. The legislation, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, establishes a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide, or cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) services and other assisted reproductive technologies. It also expands insurance coverage for such care. “Whether, when, and how to expand… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Director Of DARPA

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Stefanie Tompkins, Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), to discuss Illinois’ role in research and development (R&D) in the defense industry.  During their meeting, Durbin reiterated that Illinois is a strong candidate for continued investment in emerging technologies such as quantum computing.  Illinois has proven to be an environment conducive to innovation, research, and economic grow… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On The Supreme Court's Decision On FDA v. Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) actions regarding the regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone: “In acknowledging that a group of anti-abortion activists has no standing to d… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Braven And First-Generation College Students

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Aimée Eubanks-Davis, CEO of Braven, an organization that works with colleges and employers to help underserved students complete college and obtain quality jobs by offering students a class on workforce readiness skills, support in securing paid internships, and holding networking, mentoring, and job skill sessions.  First-generation college students from Chicago State University, National Louis University, and Northern Illinois … Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Bipartisan Bill To Authorize Dozens Of New District Court Judgeships

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act, which would authorize 63 new permanent district court judgeships and three new temporary district court judgeships. “As dockets become overburdened, it’s important that Congress uses its authority to ensure the federal judiciary remains efficient. These new district court judgeships will help alleviate the caseloads for overburdened districts and ensure the… Continue Reading