Durbin: Monaco and Gupta Can Ensure DOJ is Ready to Respond to threats Facing America

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered his opening statement during the nominations hearing for Lisa Monaco to be U.S. Deputy Attorney General, and Vanita Gupta to be U.S. Associate Attorney General. In it, Durbin argued that Monaco and Gupta are the experienced and dedicated leaders we need to restore integrity and independence to the Department of Justice. Key quotes: "Our nation faces challenging security threats, … Continue Reading

Durbin, Lankford, Kinzinger, Panetta Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Support Rural Hospitals

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the bipartisan Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act, which would support financially vulnerable rural hospitals facing risk of closure. The legislation would update Medicare's "Critical Access Hospital" (CAH) designation so more rural hospitals can qualify for this financial lifeline and continue to serve their communities with quality, affordable health care services. Small and rural… Continue Reading

ICYMI: Senate Must Confirm Lisa Monaco, Vanita Gupta, and Kristen Clarke to the Justice Department

CQ Roll Call; March 8, 2021By Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Judiciary ChairLINK This is an especially historic Women's History Month. Women -particularly women of color - are making history across the political spectrum. On Jan. 20, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first female, Black and Asian vice president of the United States. In the following weeks, the Biden-Harris administration put forward a record number of women for Cabinet and Cabinet-level positions, the majority of whom… Continue Reading

Durbin Releases Opening Remarks Ahead of Nominations Hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released his opening statement ahead of the nominations hearing for Lisa Monaco to be U.S. Deputy Attorney General, and Vanita Gupta to be U.S. Associate Attorney General. In it, Durbin argues that Monaco and Gupta are the experienced and dedicated leaders we need to restore integrity and independence to the Department of Justice. Key quotes: "The nation faces challenging security threats, both… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bipartisan Colleagues Call on USDA to Assist Biofuels Industry

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, along with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and seven Senate colleagues, today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the department to assist biofuel producers hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We have been advocating for targeted relief for the biofuels industry since last spring when we were first … Continue Reading

Durbin, Menendez Statement on Biden Administration's Decision to Grant TPS to Venezuelans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the below statement in reaction to the Biden Administration's announcement that it will designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS): "Today's welcome announcement by the Biden administration reaffirms American support for the Venezuelan people. For years, the world watched in horro… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Their Provision Expanding Online SNAP Purchasing Included in American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced the Senate-passed American Rescue Plan included provisions from their Expanding SNAP Options Act, which will provide $25 million for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online purchasing expansion and technology improvements. Their provision helps more retailers with the process of accepting online SNAP benefits, which increases shopping choices for families and addresse… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Illinois Wins in COVID-19 Relief Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statements after the Senate passed President Biden's American Rescue Plan, which will provide emergency relief to Illinois: "President Biden's American Rescue plan will improve Illinois' public health and jumpstart our economy by investing billions of federal dollars in our state. I was proud to help secure provisions with Senator Duckworth to ramp up vaccine distribut… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of President Biden's American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after voting for the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which delivers economic relief to American families and small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a historic legislative package designed to change the course of the pandemic by ramping up vaccine distribution, getting students back to school, giving families and small businesses a bridge to economic recovery, and investing in advancin… Continue Reading

Durbin, Axne Announce Their Provision to Provide Tax Relief for Unemployed Americans Included in American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cindy Axne (D-IA-03) announced that a provision to provide tax relief for Americans who lost their jobs and utilized unemployment benefits last year will be included in the American Rescue Plan. The provision, based on Durbin's and Axne's Coronavirus Unemployment Benefits Tax Relief Act, would waive federal income taxes on the first $10,200 of unemployment benefits received in 2020 for households earning les… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Inclusion of Maternal Health Provision From Their MOMMA'S Act in American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that a provision based off their bicameral Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA's) Act, sponsored in the House by U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), is included in the American Rescue Plan. The provision gives states a five-year option to extend health care coverage for new moms on Medicaid from 60 days after pregnancy to a full year. In the midst… Continue Reading

Durbin Announced Inclusion of his Provisions to Address Health Care Disparities & Workforce Shortages in American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that provisions from his bipartisan Strengthening America's Health Care Readiness Act will be included in the American Rescue Plan. These Durbin-led policies provide $1 billion in scholarship and loan repayment funding for the National Health Service Corps and Nurse Corps to address health workforce shortages in underserved areas and tackle health disparities by recruiting from communities of color. These provisions would… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Senators Introduce "No Check, No Sale" Bill to Close the Charleston Loophole

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and 23 of their Senate colleagues to introduce legislation to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buye… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Cohen, Armstrong Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the lead sponsors of the landmark First Step Act, today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2021. This legislation would end the unjust practice of judges increasing sentences based on conduct for which a defendant has been acquitted by a jury. U.S. Representat… Continue Reading

Durbin, Graham, Bipartisan Senators Lead Legislation to Strengthen the Victims of Crime Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today led a bipartisan, bicameral coalition of Members to introduce critical legislation to strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded. This legislation will redirec… Continue Reading

Durbin: America Needs President Biden's American Rescue Plan to Help End the Pandemic, Jumpstart Economy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on his Republican Senate colleagues to support President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan as they supported former President Trump's COVID-19 relief packages last year on a bipartisan basis. President Biden's American Rescue Plan would deliver economic relief to American families and small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a historic legislative package designed to change the course of the pandemic, get students … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Illinois Members of American Public Power Association

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with Illinois members of American Public Power Association (APPA), which represents publicly owned municipal electrical systems, to discuss clean energy and how the energy crisis in Texas affected natural gas bills in many towns in southern Illinois who rely on pipelines from Texas. "The recent energy crisis in Texas highlighted the importance of making investments in clean energy in order to create a smarter and clea… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on 100% COBRA Subsidy Included in Senate Version of the American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after it was reported that the Senate version of the American Rescue Plan will include a 100 percent subsidy of COBRA health insurance premiums to ensure that laid-off workers can remain on their employer health plans at no cost through the end of September. This provision will provide crucial assistance for millions of families nationwide who are in financial crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pand… Continue Reading

Durbin Called to Oval Office Meeting to Discuss Medical Research with President Biden

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with President Joe Biden and a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers in the Oval Office to discuss how best to achieve advances in the fight against cancer. For years, Durbin has been a leader in the Congressional effort to restore the United States' commitment to breakthrough scientific and biomedical research. Thanks to Durbin's efforts as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the base budget for the Nat… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls on Republican Colleagues to Support President Biden's American Rescue Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on his Republican Senate colleagues to support President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan as they supported former President Trump's COVID-19 relief packages last year on a bipartisan basis. President Biden's American Rescue Plan would deliver economic relief to American families and small businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a historic legislative package designed to change the course of the pandemic, get students … Continue Reading