Senate Passes Durbin, Cruz Bill To Rename Cuban Embassy Street After Murdered Dissident Oswaldo Payá

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) praised the Senate's unanimous passage of bipartisan legislation they authored to rename the street outside of the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C. as "Oswaldo Payá Way" after the Cuban dissident leader who was murdered by the Cuban dictatorship. Earlier this week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released its findings in the suspicious death of Payá that confirmed the Cuban gover… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witness During Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Artificial Intelligence And Human Rights

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law hearing entitled, "Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights." After highlighting the Judiciary Committee's work unanimously reporting five bills designed to stop the exploitation of kids online, Durbin questioned Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, about his Strengthen… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Remarks Honoring Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney As She Receives Paul H. Douglas Award For Ethics In Government

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered remarks at the University of Illinois award ceremony for the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government and introduced this year's honoree, former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney. In his remarks, Durbin praised Congresswoman Cheney's efforts to hold former President Donald Trump accountable for the incitement of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, despite pushback from the Republican Party. Durbin began his… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witnesses During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Oversight Of Section 702 Of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Related Surveillance Authorities." Today's hearing examined the privacy and civil liberties impact of Section 702 and related surveillance authorities as Section 702's sunset approaches. The witnesses included Matt Olsen, Assistant Attorney Gene… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Oversight Of Section 702 Of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

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 entitled "Oversight of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Related Surveillance Authorities." Today's hearing will examine the privacy and civil liberties impact of Section 702 and related surveillance authorities as Section 702's sunset approaches. "Today, the Judiciary Committee will focus o… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bipartisan Senators Statement Following Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Findings in Oswaldo Paya Death

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) along with Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released the following statement after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released its findings in the suspicious death of Cuban pro-democracy leader Oswaldo Payá: "At last, we have a clear verdict on what was suspected all along. After years of petty and cowardly harassment of… Continue Reading

Durbin Advocates For Federal Funding For Illinois’ Southwest Connector Project To Expand Southern Illinois Highways

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor applauding the Biden Administration's commitment to creating jobs while investing billions in federal funding into local infrastructure projects, including in Illinois. During his speech, Durbin expressed his hope that the Southwest Connector-a project that would expand Illinois State Highways 127, 154, and 3 from two to four lanes and create a… Continue Reading

Durbin: Ukraine’s Future Is In The European Union And The Nato Alliance

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor highlighting Ukraine's future as a member of the European Union and the NATO alliance. Durbin began his speech by reflecting on D-Day and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley's trip to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France last week. Durbin said, "In the audience were veterans-some over 100 years old-who storm… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce High Speed Rail Service From Chicago To St. Louis

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the Illinois Department of Transportation’s new schedule changes for Amtrak’s Lincoln Service trains following the successful implementation of the Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed rail project.  Having supported the testing and implementation of high-speed rail for more than two decades, Durbin secured roughly 80 percent of the project’s nearly $2 billion… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce High Speed Rail Service From Chicago To St. Louis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the Illinois Department of Transportation's new schedule changes for Amtrak's Lincoln Service trains following the successful implementation of the Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed rail project. Having supported the testing and implementation of high-speed rail for more than two decades, Durbin secured roughly 80 percent of the project's nearly $2 billion cost, including $1.66 billio… Continue Reading

On World Day Against Child Labor, Durbin, Delauro Introduce Bill to Ban Child Labor on Tobacco Farms

WASHINGTON - In observation of World Day Against Child Labor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today reintroduced legislation to protect child workers from the dangers of exposure to tobacco plants, including nicotine poisoning. The Children Don't Belong on Tobacco Farms Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco fields and coming into direct contact with tobacco plants or dr… Continue Reading

On World Day Against Child Labor, Durbin, Delauro Introduce Bill To Ban Child Labor On Tobacco Farms

WASHINGTON - In observation of World Day Against Child Labor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today reintroduced legislation to protect child workers from the dangers of exposure to tobacco plants, including nicotine poisoning. The Children Don't Belong on Tobacco Farms Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco fields and coming into direct contact with tobacco plants or dr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Boyle Introduce Bicameral Legislation To End Cycle Of Republican Default Brinkmanship

WASHINGTON - After Republicans manufactured another near catastrophic default crisis, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-02) introduced the Debt Ceiling Reform Act, legislation to permanently end the weaponization of the debt ceiling while protecting Congress's oversight responsibilities. The Debt Ceiling Reform Act authorizes the Treasury Department to continue paying t… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Indictment By The Justice Department In Classified Documents Case

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the indictment of former President Donald Trump by the Department of Justice on his alleged mishandling of classified documents he took when leaving office and then obstructing the government's efforts to reclaim them: "While this historic and very serious case continues to play out, Special Counsel Smith must be allowed to continue his investigation … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Indictment By The Justice Department In Classified Documents Case

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the indictment of former President Donald Trump by the Department of Justice on his alleged mishandling of classified documents he took when leaving office and then obstructing the government's efforts to reclaim them: "While this historic and very serious case continues to play out, Special Counsel Smith must be allowed to continue his investigation … Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Two Circuit Court Nominations To Full Senate

WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance two circuit court nominations to the full Senate: Judges Ana de Alba to the Ninth Circuit and Irma Carrillo Ramirez to the Fifth Circuit. "We continued our work advancing highly qualified, diverse candidates to lifetime appointments on the federal bench at our executive business meeting. The two nominees advanced today - including one who would be the first Latina to serve on the Fifth Circuit - are accomplished litigators and… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On His Colleagues To Support Bipartisan Package Of Bills To Protect Kids From Online Sexual Exploitation

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support a package of bipartisan bills that aim to stop the exploitation of children online. In his remarks, Durbin described how social media companies design their products to keep children hooked to their platforms, and discussed the serious, even deadly, harms that children face online, as well as the inadequate efforts of Big Tech compa… Continue Reading

Durbin, Warnock Statement On Supreme Court Decision Striking Down Alabama Congressional Map

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) today released the following statement after the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 decision that Alabama had diluted the power of Black voters and violated theVoting Rights Act by drawing a congressional voting map with a single district in which they made up a majority: "The Court's decision today to affirm decades of precedent and uph… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Schatz, Pocan To Reintroduce Legislation To End Student Loan Debt Crisis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI-02) to reintroduce the Debt-Free College Act, legislation that will reverse the growing student debt crisis in the United States. The bill restores a path to an affordable college education by providing incentives to states through matching grants to increase investments in public higher education and providing students with debt-free college. "Americans ar… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, to discuss the renewable energy investments underway on the island, critical workforce shortage issues, and the nutrition assistance limitations of the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP). They also discussed Puerto Rico's status as a U.S. territory and options for Puerto Ricans to determine their own political future. Last Congress, Durbin was a cosponsor of the Puerto Rican Self-De… Continue Reading