Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Military and Veterans
Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Support Wounded Warriors
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have introduced a bill to help wounded warriors by expanding the current orthotics and prosthetics workforce. The Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act would support colleges and universities seeking to establish or expand degree programs to train orthotics and prosthetics specialists. "The men and women who serve our country and suffer serious injuries should expect nothing less than the highest standard of care whe… Continue Reading
05.02.19
Durbin Votes To Override President Trump's Veto Of The Bipartisan Resolution To Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today voted to override President Donald Trump's veto of the bipartisan joint war powers resolution to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. In March, the resolution passed the Senate by a vote of 54-46, and on April 4, it passed the House by a vote of 247-175, but today it did not garner enough votes in the Senate to override the President's veto. "Not only was this war never authorized as required b… Continue Reading
05.02.19
Durbin, Murphy, Cartwright Introduce Bills To Support Wounded Warriors
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), and U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08), today introduced two bicameral bills to support wounded warriors by improving orthotics and prosthetics care, and expanding the current orthotics and prosthetics workforce. The bills would enhance research in best practices and support colleges and universities seeking to establish degree programs to train specialists. "The men and women who serve our country and suffer ser… Continue Reading
04.09.19
Durbin, Reed Press Trump Administration On Use Of OCO/GWOT Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today pressed acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney on the Trump Administration's increasing use of overseas contingency operations/global war on terrorism (OCO/GWOT) funding for matters that have nothing to do with military deployments abroad. As a member of Congress, Mulvany professed concern a… Continue Reading
03.27.19
Durbin: President Trump Is Building His Wall At The Expense Of The Military
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today questioned Mark Esper, Secretary of the U.S. Army, and General Mark Milley, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, about President Trump's Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 budget request. In today's hearing, Durbin pressed the Defense Department about President Donald Trump's efforts to divert defense funds to the border wall so that he can fulfill a campaign promise. On Monday, Congress… Continue Reading
03.27.19
Durbin Questions Trump Administration's Commitment to Air Safety
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development hearing, questioned Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao about the Trump Administration's commitment to air safety, asking why President Donald Trump waited 14 months to nominate a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator. In the wake of two deadly plane crashes, and heightened attention surrounding FAA's safety measures a… Continue Reading
03.26.19
Durbin And Hassan Introduce Comprehensive Legislation To Protect Students And Taxpayers From Predatory Higher Education Practices
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today introduced the Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of Students Act of 2019, also known as the PROTECT Students Act. The bill will help safeguard students, including servicemembers and veterans, and taxpayers from predatory and anti-student higher education practices and ensure that higher education meets the needs of hard-working students. As the Senate HELP Committee wo… Continue Reading
03.26.19
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Illinois Auditor General Report: Cover-Up And Delay Endangered Vets And Staff At IVH Quincy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement today after a report from Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino was released detailing serious lapses in the State's handling of the Legionnaires' outbreaks at Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy from 2015 to 2018: "The Auditor General's report on Legionnaires' disease at IVH Quincy found: 'cover-up and delay that endangered our Veterans and staff.'" The Senators went on to say: "When mi… Continue Reading
03.26.19
Senators Press Defense Department For Answers Following Transfer of $1 Billion In Military Personnel Funding To Pay For President Trump's Wall
WASHINGTON - Following notification from the Department of Defense that it transferred $1 billion in military personnel funding to the Drug Interdiction and Counter-narcotics Activities account to be used to build part of President Donald Trump's wall on the Southwest border, even though it was not approved by Congress, every Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Ag… Continue Reading
03.21.19
Durbin On Marine Corps Memo: President Trump Is Endangering Our Troops To Build His Wall
PEORIA - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the Los Angeles Times published a memo from the Marine Corps regarding the danger being created by diverting excess Department of Defense funding to President Trump's border wall rather than Marine Corps priorities, such as repairs at Camp Lejeune and training. Last week, the Senate voted to reject President Trump's emergency declaration… Continue Reading
03.19.19
Durbin, Leahy, Schatz Statement On DOD List Of Military Projects On The Chopping Block For President Trump's Wall
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Defense sent Congress a list of military construction projects that could be delayed in order to pay for Presiden… Continue Reading
03.14.19
Durbin Votes For Bipartisan Resolution To Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today voted for the bipartisan joint war powers resolution, of which he is a cosponsor, to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The resolution passed the Senate 54-46. It will go back to the House of Representatives for a vote before heading to the White House. The White House had issued a veto threat ahead of today's Senate vote. "Not only was this war never authorized by the elected representativ… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin, Duckworth, Foster, McMorris Rodgers Introduce Bicameral Bill To Support Military Families By Fixing Inconsistency In GI Bill Benefit
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL-11) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05), today introduced bicameral legislation - the GI Education Benefits Fairness Act - that would support military families by extending Post-911 GI Bill education benefits to foster children and legal wards. "The Post-9/11 GI Bill gives service members the ability to transfer some or all of their unused benefits to family members, but… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin: Congress Must Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Senate to once again pass a bipartisan joint war powers resolution to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Yemen. The Senate is expected to vote on the matter this afternoon. In February, the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed a joint war powers resolution to end U.S. involvement in Yemen by a vote of 248-177. The White House has issued a veto threat ahead of today's Senate vote. "Our Founding … Continue Reading
03.12.19
Durbin, Duckworth, Talks Legionnaires' At Illinois Veterans' Homes & Ethylene Oxide Emissions With New Illinois Directors Of Veterans' Affairs & Public Health
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today discussed both Legionnaires' disease at Illinois Veterans' Homes (IVH) and ethylene oxide emissions from medical device sterilization facilities in Illinois with Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) Director Linda Chapa LaVia and Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike. This was the Senators' first call with the newly appointed directors under Governor J.B. Pritzker's Administra… Continue Reading
03.12.19
Durbin, Leahy, Schatz, Senators Demand Answers From DOD On Its Plans To Defund Military Projects To Pay For President Trump's Wall
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, today led a group of Democratic appropriators calling on the Department of Defense to provide Congress with a list of military projects it intends to defund to pay for President Do… Continue Reading
03.11.19
Durbin, Leahy, Schatz, Ask Gao For Legal Opinion On President Trump's Transfer Of DOD Funds To Build A Wall
WASHINGTON-As the Senate prepares to vote on President Trump's national emergency declaration this week, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs today asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for a legal opinion on the authori… Continue Reading
03.07.19
Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Protect Veterans' Economic Security
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Cornyn (R-TX), today introduced the bipartisan Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need (HAVEN) Act to protect the economic security and well-being of veterans and their families who rely on disability benefits and may be experiencing financial hardship. Under current bankruptcy law, disability benefits paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of De… Continue Reading
01.28.19
Durbin Discusses Legionnaires' Case At IVH Manteno With Governor Pritzker
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today in a phone call with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) received an update on the death of a veteran who contracted Legionnaires' disease this month at Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Manteno and the Pritzker Administration's prompt response efforts. Durbin offered federal support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help protect the veterans, residents, and staff at IVH Mant… Continue Reading
01.09.19
Durbin Meets With Air Force Secretary To Urge For New, Additional Mission At 183rd Wing In Springfield
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today met with Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson to discuss operations at the Air National Guard 183rd Wing in Springfield, Illinois. During the meeting, Durbin urged the Secretary to consider the 183rd for new, additional missions, noting the capabilities of the facility and the expertise of the women and men who work at the Wing. "The 183rd Wing is more than capable to ta… Continue Reading