Durbin, Duckworth Press Trump To Fully Fund Fastlane Grants

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called on President Trump to fully fund the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) fiscal year 2017 FASTLANE grants after the Administration announced that DOT will hold funding for large project awardees and call for new and separate applications with "updated" criteria. This latest delay of much needed transportation grant funding by the Trump Administration will directly impact transportation infrastructure proje… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Senate's First-Ever Resolution Recognizing June As Pride Month

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in introducing the first-ever Senate Resolution recognizing June as LGBTQ Pride Month. The resolution notes major milestones in the fight for equal treatment of LGBTQ Americans and resolves to continue efforts to achieve full equality for LGBTQ individuals. Today, June 28, marks the 48th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. "This month we celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ Americans and the strides made toward equ… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Republicans To Work With Democrats To Improve, Not Destroy, Health Care System

WASHINGTON - After Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was forced to delay a vote on his catastrophic health care repeal bill, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) called on Senate Republicans to take the repeal option off the table and work with Democrats to improve America's health care system. "I am glad that we've reached this point, that these proposals by House and Senate Republicans are not going to move forward quickly and become the law of the land. Too many people woul… Continue Reading

Durbin, Murphy Bill Will Meet Demand For High Quality Prosthetic Care For Veterans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) today introduced two bills to improve orthotics and prosthetics care for our nation's service members and veterans. The legislation would enhance research in best practices and support colleges and universities seeking to establish degree programs to train specialists. "The men and women who serve our country and suffer serious injuries because of it have already sacrificed enough. They should ex… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges No Vote On DOT General Counsel Nominee Steven Bradbury

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the nomination of Steven Bradbury, a former George W. Bush administration official who authored several of the infamous "torture memos," to be General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). "The Senate refused to confirm Mr. Bradbury once before because of his role in promulgating torture techniques. The poor judgment Mr. Bradbury demonstrated raises serious questions about whether he… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Republicans To Drop Repeal, Join Democrats In Improving Health Care

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after Senate Republicans convened at the White House with President Trump to discuss next steps for their disastrous health care repeal bill: "When the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported its analysis of the Senate Republican health care repeal bill this week, the bottom fell out of the effort. The Senate Republican bill, which is opposed by hospitals, doctors, nurses, the disability … Continue Reading

Durbin Invites Labor Secretary To Chicago To See Job Training Programs Cut By Trump Budget

WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) questioned U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta about the forty-percent cut to job training programs proposed in the President's fiscal year 2018 budget. Durbin invited Secretary Acosta to visit Chicago and see firsthand what the Trump budget cuts would mean for the city's efforts to reduce gun violence. "If we c… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Delay Of Senate Republican Health Care Repeal Bill

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after Senate Republicans announced a delay on a vote of their devastating health care repeal bill: "While I am relieved that the Senate will not be voting on this bill before July 4, I remain troubled that the Republican repeal effort is still alive. According to the CBO, 22 million Americans would lose health insurance under the Senate Republican health care repeal bill - including one million Illinoisa… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Democrats Blast Secretary DeVos For Harmful Actions On Civil Rights Protections, Enforcement

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 32 other Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos citing major concerns with steps the U.S. Department of Education has taken under her leadership to diminish civil rights enforcement for students across the country. The senators highlight a number of alarming steps Secretary DeVos has taken, including hosting events with anti-LGBTQ hate groups, proposing to slash the budget of the Office fo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth To Rauner: Weigh In On Republican Health Care Repeal Bill Before It Is To Late

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) once again called on Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to explain how Senate Republicans' plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will affect Illinois families, health care providers, schools, and the state's economy. The senators expressed concern that both the House and Senate Republican repeal bills would take away health care from tens of millions of Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans, and incre… Continue Reading

Durbin: FISA Reauthorization Raises Serious Privacy Concerns

WASHINGTON - During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) raised serious concerns with regard to the privacy of Americans whose communications are swept up in foreign intelligence collection. Durbin pressed Bradley Booker, Acting General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to provide details on the intelligence community's efforts to protect Americans' private information. "We have seen… Continue Reading

Durbin Seeks To Expand Important Tax Credit To Put Money Back In Pockets Of Workers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), introduced legislation that would help expand two anti-poverty tax credits that help put money back in the pockets of working Illinoisans and families. The Working Families Tax Relief Act would expand access to and the value of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), and ensure that no worker can be taxed into poverty by the federal tax system. "Strengthening thes… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On CBO Analysis Of Senate Health Care Repeal Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis of Senate Republicans' bill to repeal Americans' health care, which estimates that 22 million people would lose coverage by 2026. "The first version of Republican's health care repeal bill threw 24 million Americans off health care. The second version threw 23 million off. And now this version throws 22 million Americans off … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On SCOTUS Decision On Trump Travel Ban

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after the Supreme Court decision to hear a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. The Court will hear arguments in the lawsuit against the Administration during its October term. For the President of the United States to be forced to defend his travel ban before the Supreme Cour… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Colleagues Press U.S. Army & Sanofi For Affordable Zika Vaccine

WASHINGTON - Amid reports that Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical company, is refusing to commit to a licensing agreement that would ensure a reasonable and affordable price for a Zika vaccine that is being developed largely with taxpayer funding, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Angus King (I-ME) today pressed the U.S. Army to convene a public hearing regarding its Zika vaccine candidate licensing plans.… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Discovery Of Asian Carp Near Lake Michigan

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the discovery of an adult Silver Carp near the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam in the Calumet River: "I'm deeply concerned by today's announcement that an adult Silver Carp was discovered a mere nine miles from Lake Michigan. If this invasive species reaches the Great Lakes, it could cause significant economic losses and irreversible damage to the ecosystem, and threaten the drinking water of 30 million Americans. Now … Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Call For Review By Accreditors Of EDMC's Sale Of For-Profit Colleges

WASHINGTON - In a letter to the heads of several regional college accreditors, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) called for close scrutiny of the proposed sale of the Education Management Corporation's (EDMC) for-profit college chains to The Dream Center Foundation. The proposed sale would allow EDMC's schools, including Argosy University, South University, and the Art Institutes - institutio… Continue Reading

Durbin: NIH At The Heart Of Research That Improves American Lives

WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) highlighted the critical role of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in conducting the important medical research that leads to new cures and treatments for disease and conditions impacting families worldwide. In response to the drastic cuts to medical research, as proposed in President Trump's FY2018 budget, Durbin announce… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Acting Director Of Bureau Of Prisons To Discuss Thomson Prison Activation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Acting Director Tom Kane to discuss the activation of the Thomson, Illinois federal prison and federal prison policies under the Trump Administration. "Thomson prison is an important component of the Department of Justice's plan to tackle major challenges faced by our prison system and to promote economic growth in the region," said Durbin. "Today, Acting Director Kane as… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues to Trump: Act On Russian Cyber Intrusions to U.S. Energy Infrastructure

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senate colleagues today sent a letter to President Trump urging the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct an analysis of Russian capabilities with respect to cyber-attacks on U.S. energy infrastructure. In the letter, the members request that President Trump, "direct the Department of Energy, in consultation with other relevant agencies, to within 60 days conduct a thorough … Continue Reading