Durbin, Duckworth To EPA: Don't Weaken Coal Ash Rule

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging the agency to not weaken the federal regulation for the safe disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) or "coal ash", which protects drinking water, human health, and the environment. The 2015 rule established by the EPA sets minimum federal standards for coal ash disposal. Industry reports required under the 2015 rule show that coal ash disposa… Continue Reading

Durbin, Young Bill To Support Congenital Heart Defect Research Passes Senate

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Todd Young (R-IN) announced today that their bipartisan bill, the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act, unanimously passed the Senate. This legislation will promote federal research on congenital heart defects (CHD) and raise awareness of the impact these health problems have throughout patients' lives. The Senate-passed Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act increases the funding authorization level for the Centers for Disease Co… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Court Decision Striking Down Affordable Care Act

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after a federal judge in Texas issued a ruling finding the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional: After repeatedly trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act in Congress, President Trump and his Republican allies have turned to right-wing activist judges to try to overturn this vital law. Instead of working to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions and ensure that all Americ… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Passage Of Sexual Harassment Bill

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Congress passed legislation to update and strengthen the procedures available to victims of harassment and discrimination and other violations of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995. The bill now heads to President Trump for his signature. The alternatives available to victims of harassment and discrimination in Congress were in obvious need of reform. Thanks to the efforts of my co… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Passage Of Resolution To Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today voted for the bipartisan joint war powers resolution, of which he is a cosponsor, to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Yemen. The resolution passed the Senate 56-41. "The Constitution is clear - Article 1, Section 8 states 'The Congress shall have Power: To declare War.' But there was never a vote to authorize U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen," Durbin said. "Not only was this war ne… Continue Reading

Durbin Pushes President Trump To Prioritize Addressing Chicago Gun Violence In Next Year's Budget

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to support strategies and programs that can help reduce gun violence in Chicago in his fiscal year 2020 budget request to Congress. Durbin pushed the President to prioritize federal resources across several grant programs, such as increased funding in housing and economic development, job training and youth programs, quality early childhood education, public health prevention and behavioral he… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Statement On Report Of Additional Manganese Source In Southeast Chicago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today released the following statements after a Chicago Tribune report found that air monitors recorded dangerous levels of brain-damaging manganese at Watco Transloading on Chicago's Southeast Side. The members raised concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) failure to consistently hold companies accountable for violations of the Clean Air Act, and highlight… Continue Reading

Durbin: A Border Wall Will Not Reduce Cartel Violence Or Stop Fentanyl From Flooding Into Our Country

WASHINGTON-During a Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Mexican cartels, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged the Trump Administration to reduce brutal cartel violence and drug, gun, and human smuggling by deploying more technology and personnel at ports of entry, working to address the drug epidemic at home, stopping the weapons and cash that flow south to cartels, and collaborating more effectively with regional nations to strengthen their economies and decrease the cartel … Continue Reading

Senate & House Lawmakers Release Updated First Step Act

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers today released revised text of the First Step Act to continue building support for criminal justice reform. This update was brokered by the White House and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers of Congress. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Paul Ryan have pledged to take up the revised package before the end of the year. Last month, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman … Continue Reading

Senate Passes Durbin, Duckworth Resolution Honoring Victims Of Shooting At Mercy Hospital

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that the Senate has unanimously passed a resolution honoring the memory of the victims of last month's shooting at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, in which a gunman killed Chicago Police Department Officer Samuel Jimenez, Dr. Tamara O'Neal, and Dayna Less. "Officer Jimenez, Dr. O'Neal, and Ms. Less were all doing work that mattered - and mattered greatly. All three were dedicated to helping others - Officer Jimenez … Continue Reading

Senate Passes Durbin, Roberts Legislation To Support Rural EMS Agencies As Part Of Final Farm Bill

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) applauded Senate passage of the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill, which includes their bill to reauthorize a federal grant program that directly supports rural emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting courses to satisfy certification requirements, and purchasing equipment-for everything from naloxone and first aid kits, to power stretchers o… Continue Reading

Durbin: Democrats Want Border Security, But Will Not Support Administration's Hardline Anti-Immigrant Agenda

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today rebuked President Donald Trump's claims that Democrats "do not want border security." During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, Durbin reminded Commissioner McAleenan that earlier this year, a bipartisan majority of the Senate supported Durbin's bipartisan immigration and border security agreement but it failed to reach the 60 votes it needed because of t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed, Leahy, Schatz Press Secretary Mattis On Plans To Build Barriers Along Arizona Border

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee: Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee today pressed Secretary of Defense James Mattis about planned activities on the Barry M. Goldwater Range near Yuma, Arizona, including buildin… Continue Reading

Durbin, Takano, Carper, Cohen Call On Department Of Education To Protect Military And Veteran Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Mark Takano (D-CA-41), U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), and six of their colleagues today sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urging the Department of Education to protect military and veteran students by publishing, as part of the federal 90/10 rule, the amount and percentage of revenue received by for-profit colleges from all federal educational programs. The 90/10 rule … Continue Reading

Durbin, Murray, Markey, and Colleagues Keep Pressure On FDA To Go Further In Combatting Youth Tabacco Use

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, along with Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ed Markey (D-MA), and 18 of their colleagues, sent a letter to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urging him to act quickly to implement agency plans to ban flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes and follow FDA's recent efforts to address rising youth e-cigarette use with additional steps including ending marketing of all tobacco products to youth and removing from market all… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $22 Million Grant For Springfield Rail Improvement Project

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the City of Springfield has been awarded $22 million in federal funding for the Springfield Rail Improvement Project. Today's investment, awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) BUILD grant program, will support the replacement of the existing single track bridge with two new double track bridges over both 5th and 6th Streets to accommodate the expanded corridor. "This important … Continue Reading

Durbin: Expel The Saudi Ambassador To The U.S.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today again called for the expulsion of the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid bin Salman, son of King Salman of Saudi Arabia and the younger brother of the Crown Prince, following his return to the U.S. given the clear evidence that the Crown Prince was directly involved in the murder of noted journalist and critic of the Saudi government, Jamal Khashoggi. Durbin first called for the expulsion of the Saudi Ambassador… Continue Reading

Durbin Pays Tribute To President George H.W. Bush

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today paid tribute to the 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush on the Senate floor. "President Bush himself is now passed beyond our reach. And yet we all feel the difference that he made in the nation and in the world. Many of us feel that deep longing for a kinder, gentler nation that President Bush promised in his inaugural address 30 years ago," Durbin said. "George Herbert Walker Bush was an American patriot who… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $36 Million For Illinois Community Health Centers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded five community health centers in Illinois a total of $36,726,488 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-quality health care in underserved urban and rural communities by integrating primary he… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Full Senate Briefing By CIA Director Haspel On Saudi Involvement In Khashoggi Murder

WASHINGTON-Following a classified briefing on Saudi Arabia's involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi from CIA Director Gina Haspel in which only a handful of Senators were allowed to attend, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement: While I cannot discuss the content of the briefing, it certainly reinforced my support for the bipartisan joint war powers resolution to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Yemen and the need for a stronger… Continue Reading