Durbin, Duckworth, Budzinski Announce $21 Million For Multimodal Transportation Improvements In Edwardsville

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) today announced that Edwardsville, Illinois will receive $21,241,730 in U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant funding for the Goshen Road and Liberty Trail Multimodal Transportation Improvements. “I’m pleased to see more federal funding coming home to Illinois to improv… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Send Illinois School Counselors Letter Urging Them To Support Students Completing The FAFSA

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a letter to Illinois school counselors to urge them to assist students and their families in filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  After Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act, the U.S. Department of Education rolled out a new FAFSA form in January 2024.  However, students, families, and counselors have experienced challenges with the new form.  Along with encou… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge Governor Pritzker To Sign Project Partnership Agreement For Brandon Road Project Ahead Of June 30 Deadline

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a response letter to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker regarding the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, in which they encouraged the Governor to sign a Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) and reiterated their support for the project.  The Senators’ letter comes ahead of the June 30, 2024, deadline for the State of Illinois to sign a PPA with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or risk losing signific… Continue Reading

Durbin, Marshall Statement On Judge Rejecting Visa & Mastercard Settlement With U.S. Merchants To Address Excessive Swipe Fees

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), lead sponsors of the Credit Card Competition Act, today released the following statement after U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie rejected the Visa and Mastercard settlement with U.S. merchants to temporarily lower credit interchange rates and cap those rates into 2030: “We’re pleased Judge Brodie rejected this settlement, which we felt only temporarily pr… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Surgeon General Advisory Highlighting Firearm Violence As Urgent Public Health Issue

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement on a new U.S. Surgeon General Advisory calling the American people’s attention to firearm violence as an urgent public health issue that demands response: “The Surgeon General’s advisory sounds the alarm on gun violence, a uniquely American crisis. I’ve worked with doctors treating gunshot victims, spoken with survivors about the physical and emotional scars from… Continue Reading

On The Two-Year Anniversary Of The Dobbs Ruling, Durbin Recommits To Protecting Women's Reproductive Freedom

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court: “For the past two years, the Dobbs ruling has sown chaos, fear, and division.  Abortion is now completely banned in 14 states, leaving large swaths of the country without care.  Some statewide bans include jail time for health care providers who perform a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Cardin, Raskin Lead Colleagues In Urging DHS Secretary To Protect Stateless Persons In The U.S.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD-8); along with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety; and U.S. Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; and colleagues from the U.S. Senate a… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On FDA Authorizing First Menthol Flavored E-Cigarette Products

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement expressing his disappointment after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the marketing of four menthol e-cigarette products in the United States through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway. Today’s authorizations mark the first non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette products to be authorized by FDA. “Flavors like menthol are used by Big Tobacco companies to mask the harsh… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Ruling In United States v. Rahimi

SPRINGFIELD – 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 United States v. Rahimi, which ruled that when an individual has been found by a court to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another, that individual may be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment: “Today, the Court reaffirmed that the Second Amendment is not limitless and rejected a… Continue Reading

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