Durbin, Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi Lead Illinois Colleagues In Inquiry To Federal Agencies On Potential Risks Of Toxic Lead-Sheathed Telecommunications Cables

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), led nine members of the Illinois Congressional delegation in requesting information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the General Services Administration (GSA) regarding their knowledge of the lead-sheathed cables and next steps, such as the agencies’ coordination and cooperation to… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Votes to Advance Twelve Judicial and Executive Nominees to the Full Senate

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced twelve judicial and executive nominations to the full Senate, continuing the Committee’s work filling judicial and executive vacancies with highly qualified, diverse candidates who help ensure the fair and impartial administration of the American justice system. “We voted to advance nine highly qualified, diverse nominees for lifetime positions on our federal district courts, and we will continue to advance them at an efficient pa… Continue Reading

Durbin & Blumenthal Request Review Of FDA’s Efforts To Protect The Nation’s Food Supply & Prevent Outbreaks Of Foodborne Illness

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a review of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) efforts to address and prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.  The Senators expressed the importance of ensuring the agency helps farmers, food manufacturers, importers, and others prevent contamination from production to sale.  “We remain concerned that FDA’s oversight of our n… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Home Depot CEO to Discuss Swipe Fees

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with Ted Decker, Chair, President, & CEO of The Home Depot, to discuss the impact of credit card swipe fees.  Earlier this year, Durbin and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) introduced their Credit Card Competition Act, bipartisan legislation that would enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market, which is currently dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. The … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Federal Judge Again Declaring DACA Unlawful

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead author of the Dream Act, released the following statement regarding Judge Andrew Hanen, U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Texas, again declaring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal.  Judge Hanen’s decision struck down a Biden Administration effort to codify the policy into a federal regulation, though he refrained from ordering the termina… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges The Senate To Bring His Credit Card Competition Act To The Floor For A Vote

WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged the Senate to bring his Credit Card Competition Act, bipartisan legislation he introduced with U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) to the Senate floor for a vote.  The bill would enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market, which is currently dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly.  “We're fighting inflation in America, and … Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Colleagues In Urging Census Bureau To Open Appeals Process For Formerly Joint Urban Areas Now In Jeopardy Of Losing Needed Federal Funding

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in sending a letter to U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos urging him to open an appeals process for the change in maximum jump distance, which is the distance of undeveloped land between two cities that allows the municipalities to qualify as a joint urban area, following the 2020 Census.  For more… Continue Reading

Following Annual Bureau Of Prisons Oversight Hearing, Durbin Meets With Federal Corrections Union Leaders

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with union leaders from the National Council of Prison Locals (CPL), including Brandy White, who was elected CPL’s National President in August and is the first woman to hold this position. The meeting follows today’s annual Bureau of Prisons (BOP) oversight hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Among other topics, Durbin, White, and the group discussed the need to improve BOP staff pay … Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Cohen, Armstrong Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Prohibiting Punishment Of Acquitted Conduct Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), former Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND-At-Large), today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2023.  This legislation would end the unjust practice of judges increasing sentences based on conduct for which a defe… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Bop Director Peters During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Bureau Of Prisons Oversight

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Colette Peters, Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.”  Today’s oversight hearing was the third BOP oversight hearing in as many years under Chair Durbin’s leadership of the Committee. Durbin began by asking Director Peters about the First Step Act’s proven track record of reducing re… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Bureau Of Prisons Oversight

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 Committee hearing entitled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.”  Today’s oversight hearing is the third BOP oversight hearing in as many years under Chair Durbin’s leadership of the Committee. Key Quotes: “Director Peters, you have now led the Bureau for a little over a year.  We have seen some significant changes.” “In Feb… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges UAW And The Big Three To Negotiate In Good Faith To Reach An Agreement & Avoid A Strike

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today in a speech on the Senate floor urged the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the Big Three Automakers—General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis—to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement before this Thursday, September 14, to prevent a strike that will cost billions of dollars and impact 150,000 autoworkers.  On July 12, UAW and the Big Three Automakers began contract negotiations to determine their next four-year labor deal, but have n… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With President Preckwinkle, Cook County Health Leadership

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sat down with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Cook County Health and Hospital System CEO Israel Rocha to discuss improving health care access for marginalized communities, particularly incarcerated individuals, migrants arriving in Chicago, and uninsured or under-insured Illinoisans.  During their meeting, Durbin expressed urgency around preventing cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital funding, which … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Calculated Dark Money Scheme Targeting The Supreme Court By Ginni Thomas, Leonard Leo, And Network Of Billionaires

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on POLITICO’sinvestigative report on the calculated financial scheme developed by Ginni Thomas, Leonard Leo, and billionaire conservative activists targeting the Supreme Court, which formed as the Supreme Court was considering Citizens United v. FEC: “Dark money continues to be a dire threat to American democracy and the integrity of the Supreme Court. Ginni Thomas … Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Manchin, Capito Call On DOJ & BOP To Investigate Reports Of Abusive Treatment At FCC Hazelton

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Colette Peters regarding allegations of serious misconduct occurring at Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Hazelton, located in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.  In their… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $456,170 To Address Air Pollution In Will County

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $456,170 to the Warehouse Workers' Justice Center through the American Rescue Plan’s Enhanced Air Quality Monitoring Competitive Grant to conduct community-organized air quality testing in areas with high levels of air pollution in Will County, Illinois. The project will generate data on air pollution in low-income neighborhoods … Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Jeffrey Cummings to Serve as District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois

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 released the following statement after the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Jeffrey Cummings to serve as a District Court Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois: “We are pleased that the Senate has confirmed Judge Cummings to serve as a District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.  Judge Cummings i… Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Jeffrey Cummings To Serve As District Court Judge For The Northern District Of Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) todayreleased the following statement after the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Jeffrey Cummings to serve as a District Court Judge on the U.S. District Court forthe Northern District of Illinois: “We are pleased that the Senate has confirmed Judge Cummings to serve as a District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.  Judge Cummings is … Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Illinois Secretary Of State Giannoulias During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Book Bans And Censorship

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “Book Bans: How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature.”  Durbin first questioned Secretary Giannoulias about the rise of book bans nationwide.  According to the American Library Association (ALA), there were “1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highes… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Illinois Colleagues To Urge IRS To Bring New Facility To Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) and U.S. Representative Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17) in leading eight of their Illinois Congressional delegation colleagues in sending a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Danny Werfel in support of building a new Taxpayer Correspondence print and mail management facility in Bloomington, Illinois. “This new facility is an excellent o… Continue Reading