Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $8 Million for Housing and Homeless Assistance in the Metro East

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Metro East communities will receive a total of $8.5 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for affordable housing and homelessness programs. "Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home," Durbin said. "These federal programs are critically important to addressing homelessness and housing insecurity throughout the Metro East, especially a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $168 Million for Housing and Homeless Assistance in the Chicagoland Area

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Chicagoland communities will receive a total of $168.8 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for affordable housing and homelessness programs. "Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home," Durbin said. "These federal programs are critically important to addressing homelessness and housing insecurity throughout Chicagoland, especially a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Baldwin, Smith, Bustos Introduce Bill to Address Teaching Disparities in Low-Income Communities of Color

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Tina Smith (D-MN), along with U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), today introduced a bicameral bill that would address severe nationwide shortages of early childhood and K-12 teachers that disproportionately impacts students from low-income backgrounds and students of color. Exacerbated by low pay, school leadership instability, and poor teaching conditions, schools in low-income communities… Continue Reading

Durbin to Republicans: Stop Lamenting & Start Working with Democrats to Fix our Broken Immigration System

WASHINGTON - As the Biden Administration seeks to address the backlog of migrant children seeking refuge at the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his Republican colleagues to work with Democrats to fix our broken immigration system. Durbin called out his colleagues on the other side of the aisle for lamenting the situation on the Senate floor, but refusing to roll up their sleeves and work with Democrats to… Continue Reading

On Bipartisan Basis, Senate Confirms Nomination of Merrick Garland to be Attorney General

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate confirmed the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. Attorney General by a bipartisan vote of 70-30: "Merrick Garland is determined to write a new chapter of public service in his life - and the Senate has finally given him that opportunity. He is the right person for this moment in history to lead the Department of Justice… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Bill to Invest in a Clean Climate Future and Spur Job Creation

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced the introduction of America's Clean Future Fund Act, a bill that would spur job creation by investing in a clean energy economy. The bill would achieve critical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, facilitate a fair transition for workers from declining energy sectors, and renew America's commitment to remain a world leader in technology, innovation, and a sustainable future. The bill also would provide $50 billion in … Continue Reading

Following Anniversary of Bloody Sunday, Durbin Calls on Congress to Restore & Strengthen Voting Rights for All Americans

WASHINGTON - Following the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on Congress to work to restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin specifically called for Congress to enact the For the People Act, which the House of Representatives passed last week. This bill would prohibit voter roll purges that states like Ohio and Georgia have enacted, and modernize and… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Rohit Chopra, Nominee for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Rohit Chopra, President Joe Biden's nominee for Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). During their Zoom call, Durbin and Chopra discussed protecting consumers from predatory lenders, student loan bankruptcy relief, and oversight of predatory for-profit college companies. For years, Durbin has sounded the alarm on predatory practices of payday lenders and for-profit colleges, both whom often prey on th… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Illinois Farm Bureau

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, today met virtually with the Illinois Farm Bureau to discuss agriculture priorities in Illinois, including the role of agriculture in climate policy, the importance of immigrant workers to the farm economy, support for biofuels, and pandemic-related financial assistance. "It was great to meet with members of the Illinois Farm Bureau today and hear how I can support … Continue Reading

Durbin: American Rescue Plan will Help Deliver Vaccines, Support Unemployed Americans

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today highlighted important provisions in President Biden's American Rescue Plan, which the Senate passed on Saturday, that will help distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccines and support unemployed workers and families during the pandemic. "All across the board, the bill that we passed, whether it's money for schools or money for hospitals or money for clinics or money for administering this vaccine, w… Continue Reading

Durbin: Judge Garland is the Right Nominee at this Moment to Lead the Justice Department

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the cloture vote on Judge Merrick Garland's nomination to be the next U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his Senate colleagues to support Judge Garland's nomination. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the nomination of Judge Garland by a bipartisan vote of 15-7. Durbin has argued that Judge Garland is the right leader to restore integrity and the rule of law to the J… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Lisa Monaco and Vanita Gupta on Domestic Terrorism and Supporting Law Enforcement

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today chaired the nomination hearing for Lisa Monaco to be U.S. Deputy Attorney General and Vanita Gupta to be U.S. Associate Attorney General. Durbin asked Monaco to discuss the rising threat of white supremacy and domestic terrorism. "If you take a look at the course of American history, the Ku Klux Klan seems to appear and reappear about every 50 years. 1865, 1910 to 1915, then again in the '5… Continue Reading

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