Durbin To Reintroduce Measure To Combat Lead In Federally Assisted Housing; Discusses Funding In American Jobs Plan To Replace Lead Pipes

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today held a news conference to draw attention to several efforts at the federal level to combat lead exposure and contamination in Illinois and across the country. Next week, Durbin will be reintroducing bipartisan legislation to protect children living in federally assisted housing from lead poisoning. Durbin is also pushing for the passage of President Biden's American Jobs Plan, which includes $45 billion to replace 100 percent of the nation's lead pipe… Continue Reading

Durbin Attends White House Signing Of COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after attending the White House signing ceremony of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, legislation introduced by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). This legislation will improve the Justice Department's response to the appalling rise in hate incidents targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and provide state and lo… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances President Biden's First Slate Of Judicial Nominees

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Ketanji Brown Jackson, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit; Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit; Julien Xavier Neals, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; Zahid N. Quraishi, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; and Regina M. Rodriguez, to be United States District Judge for the D… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Biden's Nominee To Lead U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with Ur Jaddou, President Joe Biden's nominee to be the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). During their meeting, Durbin and Jaddou discussed the need to evaluate and strengthen our nation's immigration system, including protecting Dreamers. "Under the Trump Administration, the Department of Homeland Security was plagued by chaos, mismanagement, and… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $105 Million In American Rescue Plan Funding For Mental Health And Addiction Treatment In Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois has been awarded nearly $105 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to help communities grappling with mental health and addiction challenges that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Illinois Department of Human Services will receive $54.7 million in Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant funding and $50.2 million in Community Mental Hea… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Biden's Nominee To Lead Drug Enforcement Administration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with Anne Milgram, President Joe Biden's nominee to be the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). During their meeting, Durbin discussed reining in excessive opioid production, incorporating public health approaches into law enforcement policies, and combatting the opioid epidemic. "After years of absent leadership at DEA, I am pleased to see a qualified,… Continue Reading

Durbin Slams Republican Refusal To Support Bipartisan January 6th Commission

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today slammed Congressional Republicans' refusal to support the bipartisan January 6 Commission, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that the bipartisan Commission is necessary in order to prevent Trump loyalists from rewriting the reality of what happened on January 6, 2021. "We know President Trump and his followers have been … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Senate Colleagues To Support Endless Frontier Act

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today encouraged his Senate colleagues to support the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, the broader competitiveness package and substitute amendment to the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act. The legislation represents the largest investment in U.S. science and technology leadership since the Apollo era. It will authorize more than $100 billion over five years to support breakthrough s… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues In Bipartisan Letter To President Biden In Support Of Afghan SIV Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and a bipartisan group of Senators in a letter to President Joe Biden expressing widespread support in the Senate for the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program for Afghans, and to urge continued support from the Administration to uphold the integrity of the program. The SIV program is the only path to ensuring the safety of Afghan allies that aided U.S. service members and di… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions CDC Director On Community Violence Prevention, COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, today participated in a Subcommittee hearing on President Biden's Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Budget Request for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). During the hearing, Durbin questioned the witnesses-Director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, and Principal Deputy Director of the CDC, Dr. Anne Schuchat-… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues In Introducing Electrifying America's Future Resolution

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and 14 Senate Democrats in introducing the Electrifying America's Future Resolution to advance the vision of widespread electrification across every sector of American life. "As we experience the disastrous effects of climate change, we know we must invest in cleaner forms of energy," said Durbin. "With the Electrifying America's Future Resolution, we are reaffirming our commitment to building more s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $12 Million For MidAmerica Airport

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Scott Air Force Base/MidAmerica Airport has been awarded $12.6 million in federal grant funding to support the final phase of the airport's terminal expansion project. The funding comes from the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and federal COVID-19 relief packages. "Investing in our airports is key to Illinois' economic success, especially as communities recover… Continue Reading

Ahead Of Motion To Discharge, Durbin Calls On Senate Republicans To Support Kristen Clarke's Nomination To Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the vote to discharge from the Judiciary Committee the nomination of Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden's nominee to be Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his Republican colleagues to support her nomination. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that Ms. Clarke is the ideal candidate to restore credibility at the Civi… Continue Reading

Durbin: McConnell Would Rather Cut Taxes For The Ultra-Wealthy Than Repair America's Crumbling Infrastructure

WASHINGTON - One day after the deadline for filing personal income taxes in America, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) "red line" when it comes to funding President Biden's American Jobs Plan, which would make historic investments in transportation infrastructure, clean energy, and broadband. When Senator McConnell met with President Biden last week, he said that raising taxes on the largest corporations is a "red line" wh… Continue Reading

During Visit To NIH, Durbin Meets With Dr. Collins & Dr. Fauci, Thanks Staff For Work Throughout COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), co-chair of the Senate NIH Caucus, today visited the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland-the foremost biomedical research institute in the world-and met with Dr. Francis Collins, Director of NIH, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). During the visit, Durbin discussed the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of scientific and biomedical research, and than… Continue Reading

Durbin, Wyden, Krishnamoorthi, DeLauro Press Biden Administration To Support Tobacco Tax Equity Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today pressed the Biden Administration to support their proposal to close loopholes exploited by the tobacco industry, establish a new tax on e-cigarettes, and increase the tobacco tax rate within legislative negotiations surrounding the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. In a letter to Brian Deese, Director of th… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Dems Press DOJ To Not Appeal Federal Court Decision Ordering Release Of Key Memo Related To Mueller Report

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights; today led Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland expressing serious concerns about the Trump-era Department of Justice's (DOJ) apparent misrepresentations to a federal court regarding an Office… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Federal Electric Vehicle Research And Electric Vehicle Infrastructure In Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a virtual news conference to discuss electric vehicles (EV) and EV infrastructure opportunities in Illinois. President Biden's American Jobs Plan (AJP) proposes a $180 billion investment in research and development and another $174 billion investment in electric vehicles and charging stations. With Rivian's EV manufacturing facility in Normal, cutting-edge battery research at Argonne National Laboratory, and a statewide push for chargin… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Advance Three Bipartisan Law Enforcement Bills During Police Week

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced that the Committee advanced three bills, on a unanimous and bipartisan basis, that will help support law enforcement officers by providing resources they need to do their jobs safely and build trust within the communities they serve. In 1962, President Kennedy signed a law authorizing the President to proclaim May 15 as "Peace Officers Memorial Day" and the week in which it falls … Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Advance Nominations Of Kristen Clarke & Todd Kim

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nomination of Todd Kim to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) by a vote of 15-7 and the nomination of Kristen Clarke to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division by a vote of 11-11. Under the provisions of S. Res. 27, Leader Schumer may now file a discharge motion on Ms. Clarke's nomination to place her on the executive calendar. Ahead of the votes, U.S. … Continue Reading