Durbin, Casey Introduce Senate Bill to Increase Congenital Heart Defect Research

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bob Casey (D-PA) today introduced legislation to reauthorize Durbin's Congenital Heart Futures Act, which expired earlier this year. The bipartisan legislation - introduced in the House today by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) - raises awareness of the continuing impact congenital heart defects have throughout patients' lifespans, promotes more research at NIH, and encourages the development of lifelong, speci… Continue Reading

Durbin: The For-Profit College Model Not Sustainable

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today said that the decline of the for-profit college industry over the last five years has shown that Wall Street is downgrading these for-profit colleges and universities because they believe this model is flawed and can't be sustained. Durbin joined his colleagues - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) - in dis… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Booker, Senators in Calling on CFPB to Protect Formerly Incarcerated from Predatory Prison Prepaid Cards

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and sixteen other Senators in sending a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging them to address the predatory behavior in the prepaid card market that impacts formerly incarcerated people. Other Senators signing on to today's letter include: U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Richard Blume… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $67 Million in HUD Funding for Illinois Housing and Community Development

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that communities in Illinois will receive a total of $67,050,654 in grant funding through four programs administered by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help develop urban communities. "This federal investment will give local development agencies across Illinois the ability to offer affordable housing and homeless assistance to the people in their community who need it most," said Durbin. Community… Continue Reading

Illinois Congressional Delegation Backs Chicago Medical Network as Regional Treatment Center for Ebola Virus

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - The entire Illinois Congressional Delegation urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Chicago Ebola Response Network (CERN) - a network of high-quality volunteer healthcare leaders, practitioners and first responders - as a regional treatment center for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) to enable them to better support the national response to Ebola and access resources for emergency preparedness and biocontamination. "Throughout the Ebola v… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $754K in Federal Funding for UIS Innocence Project

[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the University of Illinois Springfield's Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) has been awarded a $753,958 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. IIP will use the grant funds to perform investigations and DNA testing in additional cases where inmates have a credible claim of innocence, with a particular focus on Latino inmates who have often faced additional barriers to pursuing innocence claims due to language and o… Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Senators Calling for Expanded Availability of Life-Saving Drug on School Campuses

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Nearly one-quarter of high school students have used, sold, or been offered drugs on a school property, and reports of students overdosing on campus are growing in frequency. To better equip emergency personnel on the front lines of this crisis, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) led a group of nine Senators in writing to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell urging the agency to expand the availability of naloxone on school campuses. Today's le… Continue Reading

Durbin & Kirk: Gilmore Confirmed by Senate as U.S. Marshal for Illinois' Northern District

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) today announced that the Senate has unanimously confirmed Edward Gilmore to serve as U.S. Marshal in the Northern District of Illinois. "Through many years of service to Illinois, Edward Gilmore has established a reputation for responsibility and professionalism in the law enforcement community," said Durbin. "He will bring a wealth of knowledge and managerial experience to the position of U.S. Marshal in… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Bipartisan Effort to Save Student Loan Program

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Robert Casey (D-PA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) in a bipartisan letter, cosigned by a majority of the Senate, to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid urging them to take up and pass legislation to reauthorize the Perkins Loan Program. This critical lifeline for many low-income students expired on September 30, despite receiving a unanimous one-year, no-cost e… Continue Reading

Eleven Senators Commend Defense Department for Enforcement Actions Against University of Phoenix

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, eleven U.S. Senators today commend the recent actions by the Department of Defense to enforce its Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Phoenix in order to protect servicemembers and taxpayers. Earlier this month, after its own investigation into allegations raised by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Defense Department placed the University of Phoenix on probation and prohibited the company … Continue Reading

Durbin: Budget Deal Pulls Economy Back from the Brink, Will Allow for Increase in Medical Research Funding

WASHINGTON-Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced his support today for the two-year bipartisan budget agreement in a Senate floor speech. "We have before us a deal that removes the threat of catastrophic sequestration budget cuts for two years and allows our country to meet our financial obligations," said Durbin. "I will support it when it comes to the Senate floor." Durbin announced his support for the deal in a speech on the Senate Floor highlighting the … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Judge's Decision to Require Corinthian Colleges to Pay Restitution

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after learning that a federal district court judge has ordered the bankrupt Corinthian Colleges, Inc. to repay $531 million - including more than $400 million in student loans - to the now-shuttered school's former students. "Corinthian Colleges, Inc. - a for-profit college - defrauded students and taxpayers out of more than $500 million," said Durbin, who was the first to ask for an investigation i… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Introduce “No Check, No Sale" Bill to Close Loophole Allowing Gun Sales Without a Completed Background Check

WASHINGTON-Today, Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to introduce legislation that would close a loophole in current law that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. When a criminal background check indicates that a fi… Continue Reading

Durbin Defends Defense Department Action Against University of Phoenix

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a speech on the floor of the Senate, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today encouraged the Defense Department to remain steadfast in its protection of students and taxpayers when it comes to future decisions related to the University of Phoenix's participation in the Department's voluntary military education programs - Tuition Assistance for servicemembers and MyCAA for their spouses. Earlier this month, after an investigation into an article by Reveal from the Center for… Continue Reading

Senator Durbin and U.S. PIRG: Students Win Against Banks in U.S. Department of Education Rule

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today the U.S. Department of Education significantly lowered costs for college students by banning some of the worst fees from bank accounts on campus. The agency's new rule will impact over 9 million college students that are exposed to campus-sponsored bank accounts. These debit accounts, often used by students to house their financial aid dollars, are not a better deal for students than what they might find off campus. The fees can be confusing and unavoidable. In 2… Continue Reading

Durbin Speaks Out on Gun Violence, Medical Reserach at Capitol Hill Rally for Children

WASHINGTON-Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke today at the American Academy of Pediatrics' Rally for Children at the U.S. Capitol. Watch video of Durbin's remarks HERE. Full text of Durbin's remarks: "It was about two and a half years ago that I went to the National Institutes of Health and saw a man who's an inspiration, to me and to many, Dr. Francis Collins. And he brought together the doctors who were in charge of the Institutes and caught me up to … Continue Reading

Durbin: Let's Give Students a Fighting Chance for a Debt-Free Education

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) reminded participants at a forum on college affordability and the student debt crisis that for-profit institutions of higher education enroll only about 10% of all college students, yet take in a disproportionate 20% of the Department of Education's federal student aid funds while accounting for 44% of student loan defaults. According to a recent report by Brookings, in 2014, 13 of the top 25 schools whose students owed the most in federal de… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on New Cape Air Contract for Quincy, Marion & Cape Girardeau

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made the following statement after the Department of Transportation announced that it has awarded new contracts to Cape Air to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) from Quincy, Marion and Cape Girardeau to St. Louis International Airport. The current contracts expire at the end of November. "Cape Air has been a reliable, safe and affordable air service provider in Quincy, Marion and the Cape Girardeau region," said Durbin. "These … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $14 Million TIGER Grant for Metra's Fox River Bridge Project

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Transportation has awarded $14 million in federal funding through the TIGER grant program to Metra to replace the existing rail bridge over the Fox River. A new double track bridge is expected to eliminate the bottleneck between freight rail and Metra's Milwaukee District - West Line while upgrading technology that will allow for Positive Train Control (PTC)… Continue Reading

Durbin, Warren, Takano & Colleagues Urge Social Security Administration to Implement Supreme Court’s Marriage Decisions, Not Penalize Previously-Married Same-Sex Couples

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), U.S. Representative Mark Takano (D-CA), and 119 of their congressional colleagues in a letter urging Acting Commissioner of Social Security Carolyn W. Colvin and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to make sure that the Supreme Court's landmark marriage decisions are implemented and that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is treating all marriages equally. The letter urges SSA not to penaliz… Continue Reading