Senate Passes Domestic Spending Bills With Illinois Priorities Secured By Durbin

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 funding bills for Interior and Environment; Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration; and Commerce, Justice, and Science: "As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I am proud to secure important federal funding for Illinois in the bills… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Top Venezuelan Diplomat & Foreign Minister For Guiadó Government

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Carlos Vecchio, the top Venezuelan diplomat to the United States under interim President Juan Guaidó's government, and Julio Borges, President Guido's foreign minister. In today's meeting, Durbin offered his continued support for President Guaidó and discussed plans for a managed transition and a timely, open, and fair election. "In today's meeting, I reiterated to Minister Borges and Chargé d'Affa… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues To Introduce New Bipartisan Bill To Help Reduce Police Officer Suicides

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Chris Coons (D-DE), Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to introduce a new bipartisan bill to track law enforcement suicides. The Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act requires the FBI to collect voluntary, anonymous data on police suicides and attempted suicides from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Collecting this data will help inform policy … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Congress To Pass Legislation To Increase Number Of Green Cards Available, Eliminating The Backlog

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today made a unanimous consent (UC) request to immediately pass his Resolving Extended Limbo for Immigrant Employees and Families (RELIEF) Act, which would eliminate the family and employment green card backlog by increasing the number of green cards. Senator John Thune (R-SD) objected on behalf of Senator Mike Lee (R-UT). Along with eli… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Voting Against Protecting Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted against a resolution to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions by limiting the proliferation of "junk plans" - short-term insurance plans that are allowed to discriminate against Americans with pre-existing conditions. Durbin, along with every Senate Democrat, was a cosponsor of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to protect Americans with pre-exist… Continue Reading

Durbin, Judiciary Dems Call On Cornyn To Hold Hearing On Green-Card Backlog Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, along with Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Kamala Harris (D-CA) today called on Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, to hold a hearing on legislation to addres… Continue Reading

Top Defense Democrats Demand Answers From Pentagon On President Trump's Order To Withhold Ukraine Military Aid

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper demanding answers regarding the Trump Administration's improper withholding of military aid to Ukraine and the Defense Department's role in the process. The Senators are seeking information from Secretary Esper regarding President Trump's decis… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Senate To Pass MOMMA Act To Reduce Maternal & Infant Mortality Rates

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made a unanimous consent (UC) request to immediately pass his Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA) Act. Durbin's legislation seeks to reduce America's rising maternal and infant mortality rate, especially for moms and babies of color who are significantly more likely to die during or shortly after pregnancy. On average, maternal mortality claims the lives of 700 America… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Senate To Pass Bipartisan, House-Passed Venezuela TPS Legislation

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Senate Republicans to support the bipartisan, House-passed legislation that would designate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and protect approximately 200,000 Venezuelan nationals in the United States from deportation. Durbin and Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have repeatedly made unanimous consent (UC) requests to immediately pass the Venezuela TPS Act of 2019 on the Senate f… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces New Legislation To Support Hospital-Led Efforts Under Chicago HEAL Initiative

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced new legislation to build upon the successful hospital-led efforts under the Chicago Hospital Engagement, Action, and Leadership (HEAL) Initiative. The Healing Communities through Health Care Act would support efforts to reduce violence and improve health by enabling Medicaid funding to pay for supportive housing efforts, increase funding for federal grant programs that recruit low-income and minority health care providers, and establ… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On FTC To Scrutinize Unsubstantiated Claim In E-Cigarette Advertisment

WASHINGTON - Amidst a youth e-cigarette epidemic, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to closely examine the unsubstantiated claims made in an e-cigarette advertisement being run by the Vapor Technology Association. On October 16, 2019, the Vapor Technology Association began airing a commercial that claims, "Vaping is at least 95 percent safer than smoking." This and other similar claims are not supported by any credible medical evidence, which is w… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues To Introduce New Legislation To Help Break The Cycle Of Urban Gun Violence

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to introduce new legislation to reduce urban gun violence in American cities. The Break the Cycle of Violence Act would provide federal grants to communities for evidence-based gun violence intervention and prevention programs designed to interrupt cycles of violence. "In Chicago and communities across the country, people are experiencing gun violence on a daily basis. Just last weekend, forty people in Chicago wer… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Democrats Introduce New Legislation To Block President Trump's Border Wall Money Grab

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, along with Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Brian Schatz (D-HI), today announced the Stopping Executive Overreach on Military Appropriations (SEOMA) Act in response to President Donald Trump's diversion of military construction funds in order to build his ineffective wall on the southern U.S. bor… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos Introduce New Bill To Protect Roadside First Responders

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), today introduced new legislation designed to reduce first responder roadside deaths. The bill would establish a new national safety priority within an existing federal grant program to increase public awareness of "Move Over" laws and encourage implementation of life-saving vehicle technology. "We've seen heartbreaking roadside accidents in Illinois this year, and w… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses Trump Administration To Finalize E-Cigarettes Flavor Ban

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in a call for an update on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) forthcoming e-cigarette flavor ban. The Trump Administration has not issued final guidance to ban e-cigarette flavors, including mint and menthol, despite announcing six weeks ago that they would do so "within a couple weeks." During the call with Secretary Azar, Durbin urged HHS and the FDA to act quickly and… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Voting To Maintain Double Taxation Rule

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted against a resolution to reverse recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules that blocked critical state workarounds to harmful state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps. By voting down this resolution, Senate Republicans blocked states' ability to work around these caps, which would have allowed taxpayers to again fully retain their SALT deduction. "The Trump-GOP tax … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $11 Million In VAWA Funding For Illinois

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $10,918,475 in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to help Illinois agencies and community groups provide critical support and protections for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Today's funding comes from various DOJ programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to prevent, combat, and investigate sexual assault and violence against women and s… Continue Reading

Durbin Pushes To Improve Amtrak On-Time Performance Following OIG Report

WASHINGTON - Following the recent publication of the Amtrak Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) report titled "Better Estimates Needed of the Financial Impacts of Poor On-Time Performance," U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent letters to Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to continue a longstanding and crucial discourse on the negative effects of on-time performance (OTP) on Illinois Amtrak riders-particularly along the Chicago-to-Carbondale Illini/Saluki route-at the hand … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Rock Island Army Corps Commander To Discuss Quincy Bay

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Colonel Steven Sattinger, Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, to discuss the need to restore Quincy Bay, one of the largest natural bays of the Upper Mississippi River. Last month, Durbin included language in the Senate FY2020 Energy & Water appropriations bill directing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to continue working with Quincy to prioritize this environmental re… Continue Reading

Durbin: Shame On Us If We Don't Do Everything In Our Power To Protect The Integrity Of Our Elections

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Rules Committee, today called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to end his legislative graveyard and for the Senate to pass the Election Security Act. This critical, comprehensive election security legislation would provide significant election security funding to states for cyber improvements and audits and establish a robust federal effort to protect our democrac… Continue Reading