Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Health Care
Durbin, Collins Praise President Biden For Signing Their Bipartisan SIREN Reauthorization Act Into Law
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today praised President Biden for signing their bipartisan SIREN Reauthorization Act into law yesterday. The legislation will extend funding for five additional years for SIREN Act grants to rural fire and EMS agencies nationwide. The funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration … Continue Reading
September 24, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $11 Million In Federal Funding For Health Care Research In Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $10,906,668 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) medical research grants for Illinois institutions. The federal funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be put toward research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, ranging from lung diseases to mental health research. “Federal investments in medical … Continue Reading
September 16, 2024
Durbin: Republican Will Have Another Chance To Show The American People Where They Stand On IVF With Right to IVF Act Vote Tomorrow
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on Senate Republicans to show the American people where they stand on in vitro fertilization (IVF) when the Senate votes on the Right to IVF Act tomorrow. The legislation, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, establishes a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide, or cover IVF services and other assisted reproductive technologies. It also … Continue Reading
September 16, 2024
Durbin Calls On House To Pass Siren Reauthorization Act To Support Rural EMS Agencies
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling on the House of Representatives to pass his bipartisan legislation with U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), the SIREN Reauthorization Act, which is scheduled for a vote this week, after having already passed the Senate last December. During his remarks, Durbin emphasized the importance of SIREN Act grants, explaining that these fire and EMS agencies are often the only nearby medical … Continue Reading
September 10, 2024
Durbin Touts Reduced Prescription Costs Made Possible By Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor highlighting the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement last month that Medicare has reduced the costs of 10 of the most expensive and frequently-dispensed prescription drugs for seniors. In his remarks today, Durbin spoke about his support for Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which provided the Biden-Harris Administration with the authority to negotiate the drug prices with Big … Continue Reading
September 05, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $8 Million In Federal Funding For Health Care Research In Illinois
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $8,196,118 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) medical research grants for Illinois institutions. This federal funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be put toward research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, ranging from lung diseases to mental health research. “Federal investments in medical research … Continue Reading
July 17, 2024
Durbin, Underwood Discuss Maternal Health Care At UIC Maternal Health Research Center Of Excellence
CHICAGO - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) for a roundtable discussion with health care professionals about UIC’s selection by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence to develop innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths. “Every year in the U.S. we lose approximately one thousand pregnant or postpartum women. … Continue Reading
July 03, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Federal Approval Of Illinois Application For Medicaid 1115 Waiver
HICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) applauded the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) approval of Illinois’ application for a Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver to enhance the delivery of behavioral health services for Medicaid beneficiaries across Illinois. The approval of the federal waiver accelerates efforts in Illinois to use the Medicaid program to address the opioid epidemic, maternal mortality, violence … Continue Reading
July 02, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth, Applaud NIH's Announcement Of UIC As Newest Maternal Health Research Center Of Excellence
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) applauded the announcement by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it has awarded two new grants to expand its Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence, including one at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Launched last year as part of NIH’s Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, the Centers of Excellence develop and … Continue Reading
June 28, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4.4 Million In Medical Research Grants For Illinois
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $4,452,852 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to Illinois institutions. A large portion of the funding will be put towards research programs across the state to support medical advancement in various fields, ranging from cancer research to metabolic research. “Federal investment in medical research pushes our society forward, bringing us new treatments … Continue Reading
June 28, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $6.2 Million In Health Care Related Grants For Illinois
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $6,218,045 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to Illinois institutions. The funding will be put towards programs across the state to support efforts to improve health equity. “While we continue to make strides in the medical and health care fields, there are still clear inequities in outcomes that we must address,” said Durbin. “Today’s announced … Continue Reading
June 28, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $525,000 In Federal HHS Grants For Lawrence County Department Of Health
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded President Joe Biden’s executive actions to offer relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including allowing undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to seek protection and streamlining the process for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) holders and other immigrants to change their immigration status. In March, Durbin led a group … Continue Reading
June 25, 2024
Durbin Statement On Surgeon General Advisory Highlighting Firearm Violence As Urgent Public Health Issue
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement on a new U.S. Surgeon General Advisory calling the American people’s attention to firearm violence as an urgent public health issue that demands response: “The Surgeon General’s advisory sounds the alarm on gun violence, a uniquely American crisis. I’ve worked with doctors treating gunshot victims, spoken with survivors about the physical and emotional scars … Continue Reading
June 24, 2024
On The Two-Year Anniversary Of The Dobbs Ruling, Durbin Recommits To Protecting Women's Reproductive Freedom
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court: “For the past two years, the Dobbs ruling has sown chaos, fear, and division. Abortion is now completely banned in 14 states, leaving large swaths of the country without care. Some statewide bans include jail time for health care providers who perform … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Durbin Delivers Floor Speech Calling On His Colleagues To Protect IVF Access Ahead Of Right To IVF Act Vote
WASHINGTON - Ahead of the Right to IVF Act vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to vote for this crucial legislation. The legislation, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, establishes a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide, or cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) services and other assisted reproductive technologies. It also expands insurance coverage for such care. During … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Voting Against The Right To IVF Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted against the Right to IVF Act. The legislation, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, establishes a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide, or cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) services and other assisted reproductive technologies. It also expands insurance coverage for such care. “Whether, when, and how to … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Durbin Statement On The Supreme Court's Decision On FDA v. Alliance For Hippocratic Medicine
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision on Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which held that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) actions regarding the regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone: “In acknowledging that a group of anti-abortion activists has no standing to … Continue Reading
June 10, 2024
Durbin Reacts To Creation Of Federal Multi-Agency Task Force To Combat Sale Of Illegal E-Cigarette Products
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a federal multi-agency task force to combat the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarettes. The task force aims to employ all criminal and civil enforcement tools to crack down on the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarette products. Joining DOJ and … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Voting Against The Right To Contraception Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted against the Right to Contraception Act. This bill, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, would protect the rights of patients to access and use contraception and of health care providers to provide contraception and information about contraception. It would codify the right to contraception that the Supreme Court first recognized in … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin Talks High Prescription Drug Prices, Children's Online Safety With FTC Chair Lina Khan
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with Lina Khan, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The two discussed their efforts to prevent Big Pharma from exploiting patent policy to inflate its profit margins at the expense of delivering affordable and accessible medications to Americans. Pharmaceutical companies often improperly list patents the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Orange Book in an attempt to delay FDA … Continue Reading