Durbin, Colleagues Press DOD OIG To Investigate Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative Funding That Was Held By Trump Administration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, along with Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), today called on the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to review DoD's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funding appropriated by Congress, which was halted for a significant portion o… Continue Reading

Durbin, Menendez, Leahy Respond To Trump Falsehood On Ukraine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) issued the following joint statement in response to President Donald Trump's reference to a letter they sent to the General Prosecutor of Ukraine in 2018 raising their concerns that the Trump Administration could unduly pressure Ukraine into obstructing the Mueller investigation by withholding funding: "President Trump is desperate to divert attention from his abuse of power. We wrote to the Ukrainian … Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Immigrant Labor And Climate Change At Agriculture Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing, asked representatives of the poultry and livestock industry about the need and value of immigrant labor. Durbin made the case that mass deportations and dramatic cuts in legal immigration in America - as proposed by the Trump Administration - would devastate many livestock and poultry processing plants that depend on immigrant labor for operations. "When you go to meat and … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Senate Action On Gun Violence At National Rally

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke at the National Rally to End Gun Violence on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and called for the Senate to vote on legislation that would help reduce the gun violence epidemic. More than 200 days ago, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R.8) passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis. Approximately 90 percent of Americans support universal background checks, including the vast majority of gun owners and NRA members. Fe… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Vote To Reject President Trump's Emergency Declaration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the Senate voted, for the second time, to reject President Donald Trump's emergency declaration in order to fulfill his campaign promise of building a wall at the southern border: "For the second time in six months, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate chose the Constitution over the President's so-called 'national emergency' decl… Continue Reading

Durbin, Maloney Introduce Bicameral Bill To Increase Access To Broadband Service For Low-Income Americans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) today introduced a bicameral bill that would increase access to broadband service for low-income urban and rural Americans. The Promoting Access to Broadband Act would help states increase awareness of, and enrollment in, the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Lifeline program, which aims to help low-income households pay for their telephone and broadband service charges by providing a mon… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Normal Mayor Chris Koos

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Normal, Illinois, Mayor Chris Koos today to discuss transportation priorities in Central Illinois and the importance of investing in our nation's infrastructure. Durbin discussed Amazon's plans to buy 100,000 electric delivery vans from the Rivian plant in Normal, and progress on the Normal Underpass project to improve safety and help establish a better connection between Uptown Normal and homes on the south side of the railroad tracks. Nor… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Illinois Manufacturing Association To Discuss Trade And Workforce Development

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with representatives from the Illinois Manufacturing Association to discuss the impact of the President's trade war with China and improving workforce development programs. Durbin has supported increased funding for worker training and apprenticeship programs in order to train young workers to fill in-demand jobs in manufacturing and other skilled trades. "It was good to meet with representatives of the Illinois Manufacturing Association t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Engel, Leahy, Malinowski Call For U.S. Ambassador To Hungary To Uphold American Democratic & Security Norms

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), along with U.S. Representatives Eliot L. Engel (D-NY-16) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ-07), today sent a letter to the United States Ambassador to Hungary, David Cornstein, calling on him to uphold American democratic values and security interests when dealing with the autocratic government of Victor Orban, whose embrace of Russia and antidemocratic actions are cause for considerable concern. Specifically, the members and Senator… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For House To Begin Impeachment Inquiry Into President Trump

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Congressional Republicans to speak out against reports that President Donald Trump withheld $250 million in military aid from Ukraine unless the newly-elected Ukrainian president investigated one of President Trump's potential opponents, former Vice President Joe Biden. Durbin also called for the whistleblower complaint to be provided to the appropriate House and Senate committees. Give… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Trump Administration To Withdraw Proposal To Cut Food Assistance From Millions Of Americans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, joined 14 Senators in raising serious concerns about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) proposed rule to eliminate categorical eligibility, which would take food assistance away from millions of families currently participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In particular, the proposal could restrict access to school meals for tens of thousand… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $5 Million To Increase Substance Use Disorder Treatments

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services a $4,559,743 federal planning grant to help fight the opioid epidemic by increasing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services under Medicaid. "We are facing one of the worst drug epidemics in our history," said Durbin. "This critical federal investment will hel… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Senate Action On Gun Violence

The real estate numbers for August are in. Last month, 34 homes were sold and closed with prices from $2,800 to $185,000, making the average sale price $84,000, and 84 days on the market was the average and continues to decline as inventory continues to decline. Interesting fact: 14 buyers paid cash, pricing up to $149,000; and every business day, 1.5 homes are sold in the city of Freeport. These statistics are compiled from all three area multiple listing services. I would like to thank the or… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $55 Million In Federal Funding For Airports Throughout Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that five Illinois regional airports will receive a total of $38,776,723 in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Additionally, the State of Illinois Block Grant Program will receive $16,288,753 through the AIP for development projects, bringing the total federal investment to $55,065,476. "Investing in our regional airports is key to our State's economi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bipartisan Senators Urge FDA To Remove All Pod- And Cartridge Based E-Cigarettes From Market Until They Can Be Proven Safe

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), today called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless to immediately remove all pod- and cartridge-based e-cigarettes from the market, unless or until they can prove that they benefit the public health. In a letter to Sharpless, the Senators cited 530 cases of vaping-related lung disease, as well as eight deaths.… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce Resolution To Protect Ambitious National Fuel Economy And Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and 31 colleagues in reintroducing a Senate resolution in response to the Trump Administration's efforts to roll back federal fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards designed to fight climate change and protect Americans' access to clean air. Durbin, Duckworth, and their colleagues are reintroducing the resolution in advance of the Administration's expected move to formally revoke Calif… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Booker, Hirono Introduce Bill To Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness To Adjunct Professors

WASHINGTON - At a time when adjunct faculty members make up nearly half of higher education instructors nationwide, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) today introduced legislation that would allow part-time faculty at colleges and universities across the country - who are often paid low wages with few benefits - to be eligible to participate in the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. In Illinois, more than ha… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Bill To Reduce Youth Tobacco Use & Vaping Epidemic

WASHINGTON-U.S Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D- IL) and U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) today announced the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2019, which would help reduce youth tobacco use by closing loopholes in the tax code that have long been exploited by the tobacco industry to avoid regulation and taxes for their products. This legislation wo… Continue Reading

Durbin: Appropriations Bills Provide Critical Funding For Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced Illinois priorities included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration; and Financial Services and General Government Appropriations funding bills. The legislation passed the Senate Appropriations Committee today and will now be sent to the Senate floor for final consideration. Durbin also … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Closed School Discharges For Former ITT Tech Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced automatic closed school discharges for more than 7,000 former ITT Tech (ITT) student borrowers-amounting to nearly $95 million in relief. The 2016 Obama-era borrower defense rule requires the Department to automatically grant closed school discharges, without any application, for borrowers who attended a school-such as ITT-that closed on or after November 1, 2013,… Continue Reading