Durbin Questions Administration Officials During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Ensuring the Safety and Well-Being of Unaccompanied Children

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Administration officials at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about the safety and well-being of unaccompanied noncitizen children (UC), who arrive in the United States without immigration status and without a parent or guardian to care forthem. Durbin first questioned the State Department’s Director for Central America, Bureau for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Joseph Salazar, ab… Continue Reading

Junior Senator From Ohio Once Again Blocks Durbin's Attempt to Confirm U.S. Attorney Nominations on the Senate Floor

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today on the Senate floor requested unanimous consent (UC) to schedule confirmation votes on two U.S. Attorney nominations being held by U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH)—Rebecca C. Lutzko, nominated to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio; and April M. Perry, nominated to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  U.S. Attorneys are empowered to prosecut… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues to Introduce Senate Resolution in Solidarity with UAW Workers on Strike

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), along with 30 of their colleagues in the Senate, to introduce a resolution in solidarity with 150,000 members of United Auto Workers (UAW) bargaining for a fair contract, with 34,000 currently on strike. Auto workers voted to go on strike in September, in one of the largest U.S. strikes in the past three decades, calling for… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds President Biden's Emergency Supplemental Request to Provide Security Aid to Israel and Ukraine

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today released the following statement in support of President Biden’s emergency supplemental request to provide security aid to Israel and Ukraine: “The scale and viciousness of the Hamas terrorist attack against the Israeli people are reprehensible, and I support President Biden’s emergency aid request to help Israel defend itself and free any hostages. Violence against the innocent—both Israelis an… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Murphy, Senators Call for Humanitarian Aid to Address Emergency Needs in Gaza

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), led 28 of their Senate colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to lead the international community in contributing to the United Nations’ emergency appeal of $294 million to address the immediate humanitarian needs in the West Bank and Gaza. Today, President Biden announced significant humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in those areas.  Durbin and Duckw… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Curb Food Waste

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Hunger Caucus and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today introduced the bipartisan Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act, legislation that would prevent and reduce food waste across the country.  Each year, the U.S. produces and imports nearly 241 million tons of food annually, but 33 percent of this food is never sold or eaten, while millions of Americans experience food … Continue Reading

On the Senate Floor, Durbin Reiterates Need to Authorize Subpoenas Related to Supreme Court Ethics Reform

WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, discussed his announcement last week that the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to authorize issuing subpoenas as it relates to the Judiciary Committee’s Supreme Court ethics investigation.  These votes in Committee could take place as soon as Thursday. “I do not make this decision lightly.  Seeking authorization to issue subpoenas is a relatively rare occurren… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Facebook Whistleblower During Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on Social Media Harms to Kids

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Facebook whistleblower Arturo Béjar, former Director of Engineering for Facebook’s Protect and Care team, at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law hearing entitled “Social Media and the Teen Mental Health Crisis.” “The bottom line is this.  They [Meta] made a decision that it [monitoring online child sexual exploitation] is not a priority to them bec… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to Discuss BOP Oversight

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to discuss Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) oversight.  During their meeting, Durbin followed up on his September letter to Deputy Attorney General Monaco requesting information about the reports of excessive force in BOP facilities, including United States Penitentiary Thomson (USP Thomson).  “I take BOP oversight seriously in my position as Chai… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing with Facebook Whistleblower on Harms to Kids

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law hearing entitled “Social Media and the Teen Mental Health Crisis” with Facebook whistleblower Arturo Béjar, former Director of Engineering for Facebook’s Protect and Care team. Key Quotes: “In the Senate Judiciary Committee, after some graphic hearings where parents and victims came fo… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Republican Proposal to Address Border Security

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding Senate Republicans’ proposal to address border security: “For 30 years, Congress has failed to fix America’s broken immigration system, and today, our communities, businesses, and frontline law-enforcement officials are bearing the brunt of that failure.  I have long urged my Republican colleagues to come to the table and negotiate on a bipartisan … Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Congress to Pass the President's National Security Supplemental Funding Request

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass President Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental funding request, which includes emergency funds for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and humanitarian crises.  At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last week, Durbin questioned Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin about the suppl… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $10 Million for Shawneetown Regional Port Revitalization Project

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $10,120,000 for the Shawneetown Regional Port Revitalization Project through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) to fund the design and construction of a 1.25-mile new port access road to safely accommodate existing and future intermodal truck trips and prepare for future port expansions and operations. “The Shawneetown Region… Continue Reading

Durbin, DeLauro Send Letter Urging Department of Education to Recoup Funds from Predatory, For-Profit Colleges University of Phoenix and Ashford University

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urging him to recoup funds from for-profit colleges University of Phoenix (Phoenix) and Ashford University (Ashford) after the agency cancelled student debts for borrowers that were defrauded by those institutions. “For far too long, predatory for-profit colleges like Ashford and Phoenix have preyed on students, especially vet… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Colleagues in Statement Regarding Humanitarian Aid to Civilians in Gaza

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, together with U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), released the following statement: “The tragic war in Gaza, initiated by Hamas terro… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Meet with Mayor of Chicago

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to examine steps for a humanitarian response to the arrival of more than 19,500 migrants to the city.  During the meeting, Durbin, Duckworth, and Mayor Johnson discussed the federal government’s role in offering critical support to Illinois as it receives thousands of new arrivals.  Durbin and Duckworth reiterated… Continue Reading

Senate Advances "Minibus" Spending Bills with Illinois Priorities Secured by Durbin, Duckworth

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that the United States Senate passed three funding bills known as a “minibus” for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24).  Durbin and Duckworth worked to secure various priorities for Illinois in these ap… Continue Reading

Durbin, Cramer Introduce Bipartisan Bill Addressing Shortage of Doctors, Nurses

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), today introduced bipartisan legislation to quickly address our nation’s shortage of doctors and nurses.  The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would recapture 25,000 unused immigrant visas fornurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for physicians that Congress has previously authorized—providing a desperately needed boost to our health care system in… Continue Reading

Durbin Unveils Intended Motion for Subpoena Authorization at Senate Judiciary Committee Meeting

WASHINGTON – At today’s executive business meeting, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, unveiled his intended motion to issue subpoenas to Harlan Crow, Leonard Leo, and Robin Arkley II for refusing to cooperate with information requests as part of the Committee’s Supreme Court ethics investigation. Durbin began by outlining the repeated refusals from Crow, Leo, and Arkley: “I am not requesting this authorization lightly. Over the past several m… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing on Four Nominations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Seth Aframe, to be United States Circuit Judge for the for the First Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Edward Kiel, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; Sarah Russell, to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut; and Christopher Fonzone, to be an A… Continue Reading