Durbin Statement On JBS Pork-Processing Plant Pollution In Beardstown

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding a Chicago Tribune story that reported a Beardstown, Illinois pork-processing plant, owned by JBS, discharged more nitrogen from animal waste into Illinois waterways than any other slaughterhouse in the country last year: The details outlined in the Chicago Tribune story aren't the first reports we've read on the reckless polluting occurring from this particular plant. Recent reports have stated that… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On HHS Announcement To Require Disclosure Of Prescription Drug Prices In TV Ads

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcement to issue regulations requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. In November 2017, Durbin introduced the Drug-price Transparency in Communications (DTC) Act that would require the pharmaceutical industry to provide more transparency about the cost of drugs in their advertisem… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Disappearance Of Saudi Critic Jamal Khashoggi

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin should cancel his participation in the Saudi investor conference and it's long overdue that the Trump Administration nominate a U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the disappearance of noted journalist and critic of the Saudi government, Jamal Khashoggi. Yesterday, Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Ambassador to the United States, called Durbin directly fro… Continue Reading

Senate Passes Durbin, Duckworth Resolution Honoring Illinois' Bicentennial

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced today that a resolution celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the State of Illinois has unanimously passed the Senate. The resolution honors and celebrates the State of Illinois and the Illinoisans who have participated in cultivating the rich history of the State. December 3, 2018, will mark the 200th anniversary of the State of Illinois' admittance as the 21st State to the Union. "From president… Continue Reading

Durbin, Boozman, Senators Press President Trump On Decision To Continue Providing Assistance To Countries That Use Child Soldiers

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Boozman (R-AR), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today pressed President Donald Trump for information regarding his recent decision to invoke troublingly broad waivers for continued United States military assistance to countries that use child soldiers-assistance prohibited under the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2008, which was originally introduced by Durbin and … Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Durbin-Graham Bipartisan Election Interference Bill

WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee today unanimously approved the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act, which will prevent foreign regimes from exploiting our immigration laws to advance their efforts to undermine our democracy. Introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in April, this bill will make "improper interference in U.S. elections" a ground of inadmissibility and deportability under U.S. immigration law, and … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On President Trump And Republicans To Get Tough On Combating Climate Change

WASHINGTON - Following the release of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (UN IPCC) report on Monday, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on President Trump and Congressional Republicans to take immediate action to limit human-induced global warming. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also urged President Trump to rethink his decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement. "Last year, President Trump decided that the United States would step away from th… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Matha Pacold, Mary Rowland, & Steven Seeger To Serve As U.S. District Judges For Northern District Of Illinois

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nominations of Martha M. Pacold, Mary M. Rowland, and Steven C. Seeger to serve as District Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago: "We are pleased that the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced these three Illinoisans. They have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to serve … Continue Reading

Durbin, Blumenthal, Brown, Warren, Hassan Press Secretary Devos To Respond To Troubling Findings At For-Profit Colleges By Accreditor

WASHINGTON-Following the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges' (ACCSC) decision to place for-profit Center for Excellence in Higher Education's (CEHE) Stevens-Henager Colleges, California College San Diego, CollegeAmerica, and Independence University on probation based on a system-wide disregard for addressing the needs of their students, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today pre… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With HUD Acting Deputy Inspector General About Ongoing Investigations Into Cairo Housing Crisis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Deputy Inspector General Jeremy Kirkland to receive an update on HUD's Office of Inspector General's (OIG) ongoing investigation into alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by former Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) officials. The investigation has lasted for more than two years. A photo from today's meeting is available here. "It has been more t… Continue Reading

Durbin Supports Baldwin Resolution To Overturn Trump Administration's "Junk" Health Insurance Plans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on his Republican colleagues to support Senator Tammy Baldwin's (D-WI) resolution to protect patients with pre-existing conditions by overturning the Trump Administration's expansion of "junk" health insurance plans. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration finalized a rule that would return the health care system to the dark days when insurance companies could refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions and raise premiums sig… Continue Reading

Durbin Votes Against Judge Kavanaugh, President Trump's Nominee To The Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. In a speech on the Senate floor shortly before the confirmation vote, Durbin thanked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford for her bravery and shining example of civic duty. Durbin also urged those who have bravely shared their own stories of sexual violence and harassment to not be discouraged and to know that t… Continue Reading

Durbin Votes Against Moving Forward With Judge Kavanaugh's Nomination To The Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted against moving forward with the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that if there are serious questions about a nominee's temperament, credibility, or judgment-as there clearly are for Judge Kavanaugh-then the Senate should give the benefit of the doubt to protecting the integri… Continue Reading

Senate Passes Durbin, Portman Resolution Commemorating 85th Anniversary Of The Holodomor

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rob Portman (R-OH)-who co-chair the Senate Ukraine Caucus-announced that their resolution to commemorate the anniversary of the Holodomor and recognize the Soviet Union's role in perpetrating this genocide has passed the Senate. "Ukraine's famine is an ugly chapter in world history, in which millions of civilians died at the hands of the Soviet Union's cruel policies," Durbin said. "As a co-chair of the Senate's Ukraine Caucus, I am proud … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Investigation Into Rauner Administration's Response To Legionnaires' Outbreaks At IVH Quincy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that her office has opened a criminal probe into the Rauner Administration's response to the multiple Legionnaires' disease outbreaks at Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy since 2015: It appears that the Governor and his administration deliberately postponed announcing an outbreak of deadly Legionnaires' disease at IVH Quincy fo… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds Passage of Bipartisan Opioid Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the final Senate passage of a major bipartisan legislative package aimed at addressing the opioid crisis. The bill, named the SUPPORT for Patients and Families Act, includes several key initiatives Durbin included to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. "Our nation is in the midst of the worst drug overdose epidemic in its history-there is no town too small, and no suburb too wealthy… Continue Reading

Durbin: Secretary Nielsen Must Be Held Accountable For Family Separation Crisis & Resign

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today in a speech on the Senate floor called on U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to resign for her failed leadership in the Trump Administration's disastrous family separation policy. Nearly 2,700 children were forcibly separated from their parents at our border, with at least 136 kids still not reunited today. "I believe Secretary Nielsen shoul… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On DOJ Investigation Into Trump Administration's Family Separation Crisis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate's Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General announced that it will initiate a review of the Justice Department's implementation of the Trump Administration's zero-tolerance policy. Durbin and 30 of his Senate colleagues called for this investigation in a letter to DOJ Inspector General Horowitz in July. This … Continue Reading

Durbin: Senate Republicans And White House Should Allow FBI To Follow The Facts In Investigating Sexual Assault Allegations Against Judge Kavanaugh

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on Senate Republicans and the White House to allow the FBI to follow the facts where they lead and hold off on scheduling a vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court until Congress and the American people learn what the FBI uncovers. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also called out Republicans who have been calling Dr. Blasey Ford's allegations of se… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On DHS IG Investigation Into Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate's Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Inspector General released a report on the Trump Administration's zero-tolerance policy. The report, which Durbin and 23 of his Senate colleagues requested in March, found that "DHS was not fully prepared to implement the Administration's Zero Tolerance Policy or to deal with some … Continue Reading