Durbin: Final Transportation Funding Bill Protects Illinois Amtrak

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after a Conference Committee between members of the Senate and the House of Representatives released a final appropriations bill that includes funding for transportation projects in Illinois and around the country. The legislation will now go to the House and Senate for final approval. "By rejecting the House Republican proposal that would have devastated Illinois Amtrak, the members of the Conference … Continue Reading

Durbin and Kirk Announce Legislation to Protect School Children with Allergies

[CHICAGO] - Schools across the country should maintain access to critical life saving medication for children with food and other allergies, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) said today. The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, which Durbin and Kirk intend to introduce in the Senate this week, will encourage states across the nation to improve school access to epinephrine auto-injectors, like the EpiPen, to be used if students have life threatening systemic… Continue Reading

Durbin Asks Committee to Include Illinois Transit Priorities in Next Surface Transportation Bill

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today asked the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to include funding for Illinois transit priorities in their bill to reauthorize the Surface Transportation Act. Last week, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) voted unanimously to favorably report its portion of the legislation. The Banking Committee, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Senate Finance Committee all must address… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kirk Statement on White House Nominees to Fill Federal Judgeship in Northern District

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) today announced that President Obama has nominated John Lee and John Tharp to fill two vacancies on the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois. The Senators released the following statement: "We are pleased President Obama nominated John Tharp and John Lee to serve on the federal bench. Both individuals are eminently qualified and we will work together to ensure their swift confirmation in the Sena… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Passage of the Veterans Jobs Bill

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate passed the VOW to Hire Heroes Act - a bill that will help tens of thousands of unemployed veterans get back to work - by a wide bipartisan margin: "More than 75,000 veterans in Illinois are out of work, and as we end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that number will likely grow. These veterans fought for America, and it's our duty to see that they are given a helping hand when they r… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kirk Announce Nearly $500,000 in DOT Funding to Help Illinois' Veterans Literally "Get to Work"

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded a $362,000 competitive grant to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and a $131,325 competitive grant to Lee County, Illinois, to enhance access to affordable transportation for wounded warriors as well as military families and spouses. The funding, which comes through DOT's new Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative, w… Continue Reading

Durbin Opposes Landmark Status that Would Allow SS Badger to Continue Dumping Coal Ash in Lake Michigan

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee to oppose efforts to protect the SS Badger from having to comply with EPA standards. "Lake Michigan is the primary source of drinking water for more than ten million people and a key component of the $7 billion Great Lakes fishing industry. W… Continue Reading

Durbin and Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Level the Playing Field for Illinois Retailers

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and a bipartisan group of seven other Senators today introduced legislation to allow local brick-and-mortar retailers to compete more effectively against out-of-state internet sellers. The Marketplace Fairness Act would give states the option to collect sales tax already owed under current law from out-of-state businesses, rather than rely on consumers to pay those taxes to the states-the method of ta… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls for Report on FDA Enforcement of Dietary Supplement Safety Law

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to determine how effectively a system set up by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is protecting consumers from potentially unsafe dietary supplements is working and what steps the agency is taking steps to ensure compliance by dietary supplement manufacturers. The adverse event reporting system was required in bipartisan legislation authored by Durbin and passed b… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Senators in Urging Justice Department, FDA to Appeal Ruling that Bars Implementation of New Tobacco Warning Labels

[WASHINGTON, D.C] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging an immediate appeal of a U.S. District Court decision that halts the implementation of the FDA's new graphic warning labels on cigarette packages. The labels were set to take effect next fall. … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls on Federal and Local Law Enforcement Officials to Develop Action Plan to Apprehend International Fugitives

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Prompted by a Chicago Tribune investigation, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on federal and local law enforcement officials to develop an action plan to apprehend international fugitives wanted for committing serious crimes in Illinois. While noting a shared concern over the growing problem, Durbin asked for a meeting between federal, state and local law enforcement officials to make sure that all efforts are coordinated in order to bring these dangerous fugiti… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls on Illinois Banks and Credit Unions to Adopt Fee Disclosure Form

[CHICAGO, IL] - While recent reforms have helped bring transparency to the system of debit card swipe fees, more has to be done in order to stop hidden fees and make sure consumers understand what they are getting when it comes to banking services, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today. Durbin called on Illinois' financial institutions to voluntarily adopt a bank account fee disclosure form designed to make checking account terms and fees transparent and easy to understand. Today, Du… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls for STB to Investigate Canadian National Train Derailment

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following the second derailment of a Canadian National train near Elgin this year, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to open an investigation to determine if Canadian National is properly maintaining and upgrading the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern (EJ&E) railway to handle hazardous materials and prevent derailments. The train which was reportedly carrying three hazardous material chemicals - sodium hydroxide, ferrous sulf… Continue Reading

Durbin: House Bill Would Undermine Most Comprehensive Reforms of Food Safety System in 70 Years

[GRANITE CITY, IL] - A recent outbreak of E. coli in the St. Louis region highlights the critical importance of the Food and Drug Administration's ability to ensure the safety of our nation's food supply and demonstrates the danger of spending cuts approved by the House of Representatives, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today. The House funding cuts, which passed in June, would halt or delay key reforms that were part of the Durbin-authored FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA), which w… Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed to Call on Banks to Adopt Fee Disclosure Form

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) today called on the nation's financial institutions to voluntarily adopt a bank account fee disclosure form designed to make checking account terms and fees transparent and easy for consumers to understand. Following the sensible decision by Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other banking giants to roll back or cancel planned debit card usage fees, consumers are now at risk from new, hidden fees being issued in their place… Continue Reading

Letter to Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Raj Date

TO: Mr. Raj Date Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 1801 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 Dear Mr. Date: We write to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to move swiftly to require financial institutions to post on their websites a standardized, concise and consumer-friendly disclosure form that lists the fees and key terms associated with checking accounts. In recent weeks, American consumers have made clear their… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses Gambian Government on Chief Manneh Case

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter today to the Gambian Attorney General, Edward Gomez, requesting information about Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist who has been missing for more than five years. According to recent comments by Attorney General Gomez, Manneh, who many worried had died while in Gambian custody, is alive. "I am writing to request immediate information regarding Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist with the Dail… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kirk, Manzullo Stress Importance of Keeping USPS Jobs in Illinois During Meeting with Postmaster General

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Representative Don Manzullo (R-IL) stressed the importance of keeping good-paying U.S. Postal Service (USPS) jobs in Illinois communities in a meeting with Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. The Illinois members requested the meeting after learning of the Postal Service's plan to review its mail processing network in the hopes of reducing costs and increasing efficiencies. Of the nearly 250 facilities being stud… Continue Reading

Durbin: Bill to Fund Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Justice, Others Protects Several Illinois Priorities

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Senate has approved a bill to fund several federal agencies for the 2012 fiscal year that includes funding that will enhance programs and create jobs in Illinois. Many of these priorities were included in President Obama's 2012 Budget and supported by Durbin. High Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail On September 21, Durbin - a Co-Chair and founding member of the Bi-Cameral High- Speed & Intercity Passenger R… Continue Reading

Durbin: Republican "Jobs" Bill Guts Regulations, But Comes Up Empty on Job Creation

[CHICAGO, IL] - Legislation proposed by Congressional Republicans to delay, roll-back, or eliminate basic pollution standards will weaken our ability to ensure clean air and water, and a healthy environment for our families across the nation, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today during a news conference at the UIC Medical Center. By gutting the Clean Air Act and severely limiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ability to regulate toxic pollutants emitted by coal-fired… Continue Reading