Durbin, Senators Introduce Amendment To Protect Health Care For Seniors And Families Of Modest Means

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and a group of 19 Senators in introducing an amendment to protect Medicare and Medicaid. "Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act make up the three pillars of our nation's health care system," Durbin said. "Democrats will not stand idly by while congressional Republicans - who themselves are assured good health coverage - attempt to repeal, dismantle, cut, voucherize, or otherwise throw o… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on U.S. Intel Report on Russian Cyberattacks

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after reviewing classified and unclassified versions of the U.S. intelligence community's assessment of Russia's cyberattack on the 2016 election: Today, the United States Congress counted the electoral ballots and officially certified the election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States. Hours later, we learned that President Vladimir Putin personally ordered a campaign to influence the outcome of the… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $1.3 Million In HUD Funding For Illinois Housing And Community Development

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that five communities in Illinois will receive a total of $1,354,321 in grant funding through the Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) Service Coordinators (SC) Grant Program. This federal grant program is administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide funding to hire and maintain Service Coordinators who will assess the needs of residents of public housing and coordinate available resour… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With U.S. Attorney General Nominee Senator Sessions

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) about his nomination to serve as U.S. Attorney General. Durbin discussed an array of key issues with Sen. Sessions, including gun violence and Department of Justice funding in the city of Chicago, comprehensive immigration reform and the future of DACA, criminal justice reform, policing and civil rights, race relations, and President-elect Trump's call for a ban on Muslims in America. "I have a long personal relatio… Continue Reading

Durbin Welcomes New Democratic U.S. Senators

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after attending the swearing in of the five new Democratic U.S. Senators: Tammy Duckworth (IL), Kamala Harris (CA), Maggie Hassan (NH), Chris Van Hollen (MD), and Catherine Cortez Masto (NV). "It is an honor to welcome these newly sworn-in Democratic Senators to Washington, especially the arrival of four remarkable women, which raises the number of women in the Senate to an all-time high in U.S. history. All five … Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Over $12 Million For Community Health Centers

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded six community health centers in Illinois a total of $12,186,227 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program. Community health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services. Community health centers also often integr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Carper: Education Department Releases Data Showing Many For-Profit Colleges Receive More Than 90 Percent Of Revenue From Federal Taxpayers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Carper (D-DE) issued the following statement after the Department of Education (ED) released data providing a more accurate picture of for-profit colleges' dependence on federal funding by counting Department of Veterans Affairs GI Bill and Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funding. The current federal "90/10 rule" bars for-profit colleges and universities from deriving more than 90% of their revenue from the Department of Education's … Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Push For National Popular Vote Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced a renewed effort to amend the U.S. Constitution to honor the principle of "one person, one vote" in the election of U.S. President and Vice President. Durbin first proposed this constitutional amendment in 2000 and has supported it regardless of the outcome in previous presidential elections. Republican Congressman Ray LaHood joined Durbin in his earlier efforts. Noting the challenges of passing a constitutional amendment, Durbin also… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $3 Million For Water And Waste Projects In Rural Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $3,029,900 in federal funding for water and waste disposal programs in rural areas of Illinois. "This federal investment will create good-paying jobs in Illinois communities, and help protect public health, safety, and the welfare of our families," Senator Durbin said. USDA Water and Waste Disposal Program The Rural Water and Waste Disposal Loan Program is used to develop drinking… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Veterans, Highlights Federal Funding to Prevent Homelessness

GRANITE CITY - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Chestnut Health Systems to meet with veterans and highlight new federal funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program to prevent homelessness. Earlier this fall, Durbin announced more than $9.5 million to prevent homelessness among Illinois veterans and their families, which included $510,116 for Chestnut. "Too often, our nation's veterans find themselves facing financia… Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights $10 Million Federal Investment in Illinois CO2 Projects

DECATUR - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded two grants totaling $10 million to the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), housed at the University of Illinois' Prairie Research Institute (PRI). The grants will fund projects to research commercial-scale geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "Any meaningful strategies for addressing the causes and dangers of climate change must include reduced … Continue Reading

VA Applies Bipartisan Provision To Enhance Va Medical Care

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) welcomed the news that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will implement one of the key proposals from the bipartisan Veterans Health Care Staffing Improvement Act, helping to ensure veterans can get the care they need from Advance Practice Registered Nurses. The VA will now allow Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) to practice to the full extent of their education, training, a… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Bill To Require President, Vice President To Fully Divest Personal Financial Conflicts Of Interest

CHICAGO-On the day President-elect Donald Trump was supposed to inform the American people about his future with the Trump Organization, a group of Democratic U.S. senators announced they will introduce a bill in January that would require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest any potential financial conflicts of interest. It would also require presidential appointees to recuse themselves from any specific matters involving the President's financial conflicts of interest that c… Continue Reading

Durbin: Repealing Affordable Care Act Would Disrupt Lives of Millions

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with doctors and health care experts to discuss the local impact of congressional Republicans plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) - without replacing the law - in early January. Repealing the ACA will threaten health care for all Americans, drive up costs, and let insurance companies place arbitrary limits on benefits and deny coverage for pre-existing conditions or gender. More than one million people in Illinois would lose their hea… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Education Department To Provide Debt Relief To Former Westwood College Students In Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) urged the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to work with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to provide prompt federal student loan debt relief through the Department's borrower defense to repayment rule for more than three thousand former Westwood College students in Illinois. Last year, Attorney General Madigan settled a lawsuit with the company for $15 million after finding that Westwood misled students about the accreditation and cost of its cr… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More Than $3 Million In HUD Funding For Illinois Housing And Community Development

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Chicago Housing Authority and The Village of Oak Park, Illinois will receive a total of $3,452,000 in grant funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Village of Oak Park received $3 million through the Section 108 Loan Guarantee Program to spur business development and economic growth in the community. The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) received $452,000 through the Resident Opportunities and Self Su… Continue Reading

Senators Call For National Intelligence Estimate Of Russian Tampering In U.S. Election, Request Confirmation Of Justice Dept. Investigation

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Al Franken (D-MN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Ed Markey (D-MA) today called for a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) to determine the extent of Russian intervention in the 2016 United States presidential election, accompanied by an unclassified summary of its key judgments by January 20th, 2017. An NIE is the formal, authoritative assessment of the Directo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Business Leaders Highlight New Bill to Protect DREAMers

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition (IBIC) today highlighted Senator Durbin's new legislation to ensure that the young undocumented immigrants known as DREAMers remain shielded from deportation if the Trump Administration ends the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Like DACA, the Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act would provide temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to … Continue Reading

Durbin’s Bipartisan Bill To Reauthorize Leasing Authority At Arsenals Passes Senate

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) released the following statement after the Senate passed their bipartisan legislation, the Arsenal Installation Reutilization Authority, to reauthorize the leasing authority at Department of Defense arsenals and military instillations for unused office space to outside tenants: "This legislation provides the kind of thoughtful, engaged approach we need to ensure … Continue Reading

Durbin, Kirk Announce Illinois Post Offices To Be Renamed After Abner J. Mikva, Officer Joseph P. Cali

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) today announced the Senate passed legislation to name two U.S. Post Office facilities after Illinois' Abner J. Mikva and Officer Joseph P. Cali. "Abner Mikva was always my North Star for integrity, independence, and progressive values. And Officer Cali was a true public servant, putting his life on the line in Vietnam and paying the ultimate sacrifice as a Chicago police officer at a tragically young age. Both men could not be more … Continue Reading