Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Foreign Policy
Durbin Sends Letter to Technology Firms Regarding Internet Freedom in China
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent letters to 30 information and communications technology companies, including Apple, Facebook, Skype, and Twitter, seeking information about their human rights practices in China following the recent revelation that Google was the subject of a sophisticated cyber-attack in that country. In response to the attack, Google announced it will no longer cooperate with Chinese internet censorship efforts and has threaten… Continue Reading
01.27.10
Durbin Will Host Illinois Soldier for Today's State of the Union
[WASHINGTON, DC] - In what has become an annual tradition, Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), will host a wounded soldier as his guest for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. Sergeant First Class (SFC) John Wright from Tuscola, Illinois will also attend the Secretary of the Senate's dinner immediately preceding the President's address. Durbin has invited soldiers who have served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as his guests to the State of the Union since 2… Continue Reading
12.16.09
Durbin's Human Rights Enforcement Act Passes House, Sent to President for Signature
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - A bill that would create a new human rights section at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was passed by the House of Representatives late yesterday and has been sent to the President for his signature. The bill, the Human Rights Enforcement Act, introduced by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) was unanimously approved by the Senate last month. The legislation would combine the two offices in the Justice Department with juris… Continue Reading
12.12.09
Durbin Statement on US-Japan Open Skies Agreement
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, announced that the United States and Japan had reached an Open-Skies aviation agreement. "The Open-Skies agreement with Japan will prove to be a huge benefit to U.S. businesses and consumers alike. Expanded air service between Chicago and Japan will give U.S. air travelers greater access to Asian markets, increase choices for co… Continue Reading
12.01.09
Durbin Statement Following President's Address Outlining Strategy in Afghanistan
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after President Barack Obama outlined his strategy for the war in Afghanistan in an address earlier this evening. "President Obama asked for time to make his decision on a new policy in Afghanistan. I am going to take some time to think through the proposal he presented tonight."… Continue Reading
10.20.09
Durbin Meets with Special Envoy to Sudan on New Administration Policy
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with U.S. Special Envoy to the Sudan, Scott Gration, today to discuss the Obama Administration's new policy toward the war-torn country. The approach announced yesterday by Secretary of State Clinton combines a campaign of pressure and incentives to pursue peace in the Darfur region of the Sudan, ensure implementation of the peace agreement with South Sudan and to provide greater cooperation on international terrorism. … Continue Reading
10.06.09
Durbin: Human Rights Violators Still Finding Safe Haven in America
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) chaired a second hearing today on the U.S. government's efforts to identify, investigate and prosecute suspected human rights abusers found to be living in America. Durbin's first hearing on the subject was in late 2007. "Two years ago, this Subcommittee held the first-ever Congressional hearing on the enforcement of human rights laws in the United States. While progress has been made, there is still much more to be don… Continue Reading
09.15.09
Durbin Chairs Hearing on Mental Health in US Prisons
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) chaired a hearing on "Human Rights at Home: Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons and Jails," today before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. The hearing, which focused on the high rate of mental illness among U.S. prisoners, was the Subcommittee's first hearing examining a domestic human rights issue. "Mental illness has been criminalized in our country over the last thirty years," Durbin said. "By… Continue Reading
08.07.09
Durbin, Coburn Continue to Press Tech Companies on Human Rights Code Of Conduct
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) sent a letter today to 26 tech companies, urging them to join a voluntary code of conduct known as the Global Network Initiative (GNI). Recent crackdowns in China and Iran have made the code of conduct, which regulates the actions of technology firms operating in countries that restrict freedom of expression, even more important to the protection of human rights. Durbin and Coburn, Chairman a… Continue Reading
07.09.09
Durbin Introduces Bill to Promote Economic Opportunities for Women, Address Global Poverty
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced bipartisan legislation today that will promote economic and educational opportunities for women in developing countries. The Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive or GROWTH Act will support a variety of programs designed to improve the economic standing of women. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) is the bill's lead cosponsor. "There is a critical link between improving the lives of women an… Continue Reading
06.26.09
Durbin to Travel to Bosnia, Lithuania, and Belarus This Week
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) will travel to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania and Belarus this week as part of a bipartisan Congressional delegation which will attend the 18th Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly. Durbin will depart Friday, traveling first to Bosnia-Herzegovina, then on to Lithuania and Belarus. Stops in Sarajevo, Vilnius and Minsk are currently planned. Due to security… Continue Reading
06.24.09
Durbin, Leahy, and Feingold Introduce Legislation Making Crimes Against Humanity a Violation of US Law
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader and Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, Dick Durbin (D-IL), introduced the Crimes Against Humanity Act today - legislation that would make it a violation of U.S. law to commit a crime against humanity. This legislation is needed to ensure that perpetrators of the worst human rights violations do not find safe haven in our country. "The United States led the first prosecutions for crimes against humanity in … Continue Reading
06.04.09
Durbin Introduces Bill to Aid Reforestation Efforts in Haiti
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation today to aid reforestation efforts in Haiti. Once covered by thick tropical forest, Haiti is now 98 percent deforested. That deforestation has caused widespread soil erosion; the destruction of natural barriers from hurricanes; and contributes to widespread and abject poverty. The Haiti Reforestation Act seeks to end the rapid and near total deforestation of the island-nation and restore Haiti's n… Continue Reading
05.21.09
Durbin Resumes Leadership of Human Rights Subcommittee
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) made the following statement today after Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) restored the Human Rights Subcommittee and named Durbin as its Chairman: "After offering my Crime and Drugs Subcommittee gavel to Senator Specter, I asked Senator Leahy to reestablish the Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee. Today that subcommittee has been reconstituted, allowing us to continue working on some of the… Continue Reading
05.14.09
Durbin Commends Inclusion of Study Abroad in House Foreign Relations Act
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made the following statement the announcement that the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Act was included in wide-ranging legislation in the House of Representatives to improve and support U.S. foreign policy efforts. The House Foreign Relations Authorization Act - introduced by Congressman Howard Berman (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee - would establish the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation as a new executive… Continue Reading
05.12.09
Durbin Works with Leahy to Secure Additional $50 Million for Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that he, along with Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), has secured $50 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The funds will be included in the supplemental spending package that the Senate will consider next week. Today's funds are in addition to $50 million Durbin had already secured for FY09. "Today there are over 33 million people worldwide living with HIV. Every year, more t… Continue Reading
05.06.09
Durbin Introduces Bill to Eliminate the Practice of Child Marriages Overseas
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation today which seeks to end the harmful practice of child marriage oversees. The International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act would require the U.S. Government to develop an integrated, strategic approach to reduce, and ultimately end, the practice of child marriage. "As I've travelled the world, I've always thought the way a country treats women and children says a lot about its c… Continue Reading
04.23.09
U.S. Policy toward Cuba
Delivered on the Floor of the United States Senate Mr. President, last month during the vote on the omnibus bill we heard the beginnings of a discussion on the best way to encourage change in Cuba. Shortly thereafter several of my colleagues, including Senators Dorgan, Lugar, Dodd, and Enzi spoke about their bill, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, which I am pleased to cosponsor. And last week President Obama announced an easing of U.S. policy toward Cuba--one that allows for, am… Continue Reading
04.07.09
Addressing the Global Food Crisis
Remarks Prepared for Delivery by Senator Richard J. Durbin I want to thank my friend Dan Glickman for that generous introduction - and for his and Cathy Bertini's tireless leadership in the fight against global poverty and hunger. I want to thank them, in particular, for their leadership on The Chicago Initiative on Global Agricultural Development. I also want to acknowledge and thank Marshall Bouton for his leadership of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The sympo… Continue Reading
03.30.09
Durbin, Whitehouse Seek Additional Information Regarding Justice Department Investigation of Torture Authorizations
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter today to the Acting Assistant Attorney General, inquiring about an internal investigation of Justice Department attorneys who provided legal advice regarding waterboarding and other abusive interrogation techniques. Today's letter is in response to revelations that former Justice Department officials Jay Bybee, John Yoo, and Steven Bradbury, the targets of the internal… Continue Reading