Durbin, King, Sinema, Smith Urge Department of Education to Prevent Students from Being Automatically Charged for Course Materials

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and Tina Smith (D-MN) today sent a letter to the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona urging him to finalize proposed changes that would make “Inclusive Access” (IA) and “Equitable Access” (EA) programs – models that allow institutions of higher education (IHEs) to automatically charge a student’s federal student aid for textbooks without a student’s consent – an opt-in program … Continue Reading

Durbin, Thune Statement on Approval of Summertime E15 Fuel Sales

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today issued the following statement regarding the Biden administration’s decision to allow the summertime sale of E15 fuel: “Year-round access to E15 fuel is a huge win for American drivers, farmers, and the environment.  Higher blends of home-grown ethanol enhance our energy security, lower emissions, and provide a … Continue Reading

Durbin: Without Critical Changes to Improve FISA Reauthorization Bill, I Cannot Support It

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 his bipartisan amendment to the House-passed Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISA). Durbin, along with U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), today filed a bipartisan amendment to RISAthat would require the government to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) before reviewing th… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues in Pressing Navient to Cancel Loans of Borrowers Scammed by Fraudulent, For-Profit Colleges and Services Misconduct

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and seven of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to David L. Yowan, President and Chief Executive Officer of student loan servicer Navient, urging the servicer to cancel decades-old private student loans pushed onto borrowers attending fraudulent, for-profit colleges.  The letter comes as Navient plans to transfer its 2.7 million student borrower loan portfolio to the Higher Educa… Continue Reading

Durbin, McCollum Introduce Bill to Mitigate Use and Release of Toxic PFAS

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN-04) today introduced new bicameral legislation to address the excessive use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) across the nation’s supply chain, which has led to the harmful compounds contaminating water sources, infiltrating surrounding environments and communities. The Forever Chemical Regulation and Accountability Act would initiate a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, a… Continue Reading

Durbin Speaks with USCIS Director Jaddou Following Senator's Letter Calling on USCIS to Process DACA Renewal Applications After Reports of Delay

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today had a phone conversation with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director (USCIS), Ur M. Jaddou, about recent processing delays for renewal applications and work permits for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.  During the call, Durbin received a commitment from Director Jaddou that USCIS is improving processing for DACA recipients around the country Today’s … Continue Reading

Durbin, Cramer File Bipartisan Amendment to the FISA Reauthorization Bill to Add Narrow Warrant Requirement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) today filed a bipartisan amendment to the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISA) that would require the government to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) before reviewing the contents of innocent Americans’ private communications.  Requiring the government to obtain court approval before accessing the content… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds Sentencing Commission's Unanimous Vote to Prohibit Acquitted Conduct from Being Used in Sentencing Guidelines

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today applauded the bipartisan United States Sentencing Commission’s unanimous vote to restrict conduct for which a person was acquitted in federal court from being used in calculating a sentence range under the federal sentencing guidelines.  The vote comes after Durbin and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), along with U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-At-Large… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Ten Nominations to the Full Senate

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced ten nominations to the full Senate, continuing the Committee’s work to bring balance to the federal judiciary. The nominations advanced include five judicial nominees, two nominees to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, two U.S. Attorney nominees, and one U.S. Marshal nominee. “As we have since Senate Democrats took back the majority in 2021, we’re moving forward with strength to confirm highly qualified, diverse judicial nominees. No… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations of Judge Nancy Maldonado to the Seventh Circuit, Georgia Alexakis to Serve as United States District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nominations of Judge Nancy L. Maldonado to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit, and Georgia Alexakis to be United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois: “We are pleased that the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanc… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill to Conduct Special Resources Study on Cahokia Mounds

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced the Cahokia Mounds Mississippian Culture Study Act to require the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a Special Resources Study (SRS) on Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and its satellite sites.  Durbin and Duckworth have long pushed for Cahokia Mounds to receive a National Historical Site designation from NPS, but in a congressional hearing last Congress, NPS indicated that a SRS m… Continue Reading

Durbin, Marshall Hold Press Conference with the National Restaurant Association to Highlight the Impact of Swipe Fees on Local Restaurants

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) along with the National Restaurant Association and restaurant operators from Illinois and Kansas, held a press conference on the need to pass their Credit Card Competition Act, bipartisan legislation that would enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market, which is currently dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly.  Swipe fees are t… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Nominees at Latest Judiciary Committee Judicial Nominations Hearing

WASHINGTON – During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Kevin Gafford Ritz, nominated to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Brian Edward Murphy, nominated to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts; Rebecca L. Pennell, nominated to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington; and Jeannette A. Vargas, nominate… Continue Reading

Durbin Votes to Dismiss Unjustified Articles of Impeachment Against Secretary Mayorkas

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after voting to dismiss the two impeachment articles filed against U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: “This charade was nothing more than an attempt to politicize this solemn constitutional tool to distract from the very real fact that House Republicans are struggling to govern.  Neither article that we received from the… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Latest Judiciary Committee Hearing on Four Judicial Nominations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Kevin Gafford Ritz, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Brian Edward Murphy, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts; Rebecca L. Pennell, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington; and Jeannette A. Vargas, to be Unite… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Illinois DACA Recipient Alyssandra Abrenica

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with Alyssandra Abrenica, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient from Illinois who moved to America from the Philippines when she was four years old. Ms. Abrenica is currently pursuing a career in psychiatry as a resident at the University of Wisconsin, and she is a passionate advocate for DACA. The pair discussed Durbin’s Dream Act, bipartisan legislation that would… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Community, Business, & Labor Advocates at Briefing on Tax Contributions of Immigrant Spouses of U.S. Citizens

WASHINGTON – Following Tax Day, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined American Families United, American Business Immigration Coalition, FWD.us, and UNITE HERE Local 1 for a briefing on why President Biden should use his administrative authority to grant work permits to immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens.  In March, Durbin led a lettersigned by 18 other Senators calling on the Biden Administration to extend work permits to undocumented immi… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Eliminating the Abuse of Solitary Confinement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Legacy of Harm: Eliminating the Abuse of Solitary Confinement.”  The hearing examined the frequent abuse of solitary confinement in federal custody, including members of vulnerable populations and those suffering from mental illness. Durbin first questioned Gretta Goodwin, the Director of Homeland Security and Justic… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Eliminating the Abuse of Solitary Confinement

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Legacy of Harm: Eliminating the Abuse of Solitary Confinement.” The hearing will examine the frequent abuse of solitary confinement in federal custody, including members of vulnerable populations and those suffering from mental illness. The hearing follows the introduction of two bills—the Solitary Confinem… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Remarks at American Hospital Association Annual Meeting

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered remarks at the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Meeting.  In his speech, Durbin thanked the health care workers in attendance for tirelessly caring for their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic while putting their own health and safety on the line.  Durbin acknowledged the workforce shortages of critical hospital personnel that place extra stress on those in the medical field, and exacerbate challenges forpa… Continue Reading