Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Justice and Civil Rights
Durbin Urges Colleagues To Support Nomination Of Tiffany Cunningham To The Federal Circuit
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke in support of the nomination of Tiffany P. Cunningham, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit, ahead of her cloture vote on the Senate floor. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin highlighted that Ms. Cunningham will bring much-needed diversity to the bench as well as impeccable credentials. The Senate voted to advance Ms. Cunningham's nomination by a bipartisan … Continue Reading
07.15.21
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Latest Slate Of Circuit & District Court Nominations
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Eunice C. Lee, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; Veronica S. Rossman, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit; David G. Estudillo, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; Lauren J. King, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; and Tana Lin, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washingt… Continue Reading
07.14.21
Following Meeting With Biden, Durbin Speaks On Protecting Voting Rights
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about defending the right to vote for every American. Durbin commended President Biden for speaking forcefully about protecting voting rights yesterday and urged Congress to step up to end the assault on voting rights in states across the country. "Sixty years later I'm afraid, Jim Crow is still around," Durbin said. "We are witnessing a coordinated, relentless, na… Continue Reading
07.14.21
Durbin: We Need David Chipman, Nominee To Lead ATF, To Help Enforce Nation's Gun Laws & Reduce Crime
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voiced his strong support for David Chipman, President Biden's nominee to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin said Mr. Chipman would be essential in helping the nation enforce the gun laws already on the books and helping reduce gun crime. The ATF has been without a Senate-confirmed Director since 2015. "Da… Continue Reading
07.14.21
Durbin, Grassley Announce Senate Judiciary Committee To Hold Hearing This Month On Ransomware Attacks
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced that on July 27, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the growing wave of ransomware attacks affecting businesses, non-profits, and local governments across the nation. Durbin and Grassley have asked the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and t… Continue Reading
07.14.21
Durbin Questions Latest Circuit & District Court Nominees To Come Before Judiciary Committee
WASHINGTON - During today's Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Myrna Pérez, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. Durbin asked Ms. Pérez about her thoughts on the right to vote, which has been under assault in recent years. "Speak to me, if you will though, about the right to vote. That is the central issue we are discussing in so many aspects. A group of Texa… Continue Reading
07.14.21
Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Allow Sexual Assault & Harassment Survivors To Seek Justice & Accountability
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), along with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7) to announce the bipartisan, bicameral Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault & Harassment Act to empower sexual assault and harassment survivors. The legislation would stop perpetrators from being able to … Continue Reading
07.14.21
Durbin Gives Remarks In Judiciary Committee Hearing For Circuit & District Judicial Nominees And Executive Nominee
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during the nominations hearing for Myrna Pérez, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; Jia M. Cobb, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; Sarah A.L. Merriam, to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut; Florence Y. Pan, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; Ka… Continue Reading
07.13.21
Durbin Presses For Increased Transparency And Competition To Lower Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Protection hearing titled, "A Prescription for Change: Cracking Down on Anticompetitive Conduct in Prescription Drug Markets." During his questioning, Durbin discussed his longstanding efforts to bring transparency and competition to the pharmaceutical industry in order to lower drug prices f… Continue Reading
07.13.21
Durbin: Congress Has A Responsibility To Gather A Full Accounting Of What Happened On January 6
WASHINGTON - Days after the fence around the U.S. Capitol building was removed and six months after the January 6 insurrection, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today once again slammed Senate Republicans' refusal to support the bipartisan January 6 commission, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and applauded Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats for creating a select committee to investigate both the security failing… Continue Reading
07.12.21
Durbin: Congress Must Address Gun Violence In Chicago And Across The Country
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy and what must be done to help prevent mass shooting tragedies in Chicago and across the country. "Did you hear that? This year, 23,000 gun violence deaths in America…Sadly, virtually every weekend is a mass shooting in the City of Chicago," Durbin said. "No other nation on Earth experiences this massive c… Continue Reading
06.30.21
Durbin, Grassley Statement on Justice Department Responsiveness To Committee Members' Oversight Requests
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding a virtual meeting today between members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland about the Department of Justice's (DOJ) responsiveness to committee members' oversight requests: "Today's discussion was a step in the right direction… Continue Reading
06.24.21
Durbin Speaks In Support Of President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor to discuss President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy. Durbin shared his support for the President's initiative and discussed the deadly toll gun violence has had in Chicago, Illinois. Durbin also called on the Senate to pass background check legislation to prevent guns from ending up in the hands of criminals and mentally unstable people and to confirm David C… Continue Reading
06.24.21
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Durbin, Grassley Bill To Put Cameras In Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-7 to advance the bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act, introduced by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bipartisan bill would require the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court, unless the Court decides, by a majority vote of the Justices, that doing so would… Continue Reading
06.24.21
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Chipman To Lead ATF, Jaddou To Lead USCIS, And Strickland To The District Of New Mexico
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Margaret Irene Strickland, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico; David H. Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Ahead of the votes, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support all thr… Continue Reading
06.24.21
Durbin Statement On Biden Administration's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy: "Too many Chicagoans endure the daily stress and fear of gunfire, and too many Monday mornings start with devastating news headlines of the weekend's toll of shootings in our streets and neighborhoods. This violence is heartbreaking, traumatic, and impacting innocent families and children. Addressing the gun viol… Continue Reading
06.23.21
Durbin: The Fight For Voting Rights Did Not End With Yesterday's Republican Filibuster
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today slammed Senate Republicans for filibustering the For The People Act, a bill that would strengthen voting rights, secure our elections, reform our broken campaign finance system, and combat corruption through improving ethics laws for federal government officials. "Welcome back to the fight to preserve voting rights that has never ended. It didn't start on th… Continue Reading
06.23.21
Durbin Calls For Unanimous Passage Of Bipartisan & Bicameral Legislation To Sustain Crime Victims Fund
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today on the Senate floor requested unanimous consent to pass the bipartisan VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act, which would strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded. Specifically, the bill would redirect monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into the CVF to increase funding for state v… Continue Reading
06.23.21
Durbin Calls On His Senate Colleagues To Support Judicial Nominations Of Candace Jackson-Akiwumi & Deborah Boardman
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his colleagues to support two judicial nominees who are being considered on the Senate floor this week: Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, nominated to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and Judge Deborah Boardman, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. "Ms. Candace Jackson-Akiwumi spent ten years as a federal public defender.… Continue Reading
06.23.21
Durbin Gives Opening Remarks In Judiciary Committee Hearing For Judicial & Executive Nominees
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during the nominations hearing for Gustavo A. Gelpi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the First Circuit; Angel Kelley, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts; Christine P. O'Hearn, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; Helaine Ann Greenfeld, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislativ… Continue Reading