Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Health Care
Durbin: Dr. Fauci Deserves To Be Listed Alongside World's Greatest Scientific Minds
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today took to the Senate floor to express his support for Dr. Anthony Fauci-Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-and praised him for using his expertise to see the United States through numerous public health crises like HIV/AIDS, SARS, avian flu, swine flu, Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19. In his speech, Durbin called out Dr. Fauci's Republican detractors … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Durbin Meets With Rural Illinois Health Care Providers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Illinois members of the National Rural Health Association to discuss the challenges hospitals and health care providers are facing with COVID-19, behavioral health challenges, and delivering maternal health care services in rural Illinois. During their conversation, Durbin received an update on workforce shortages, the burnout health professionals are experiencing, and how federal programs and funding are helping to … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Durbin: Johnson & Johnson Is Avoiding Accountability To Customers Who Got Cancer
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered remarks at the Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights hearing on "Abusing Chapter 11: Corporate Efforts to Side-Step Accountability Through Bankruptcy." During his remarks, Durbin called out Johnson & Johnson for using a corporate bankruptcy shell game known as the "Texas Two-Step" to avoid facing claims from cancer-stricken customers. If … Continue Reading
January 20, 2022
Durbin, Bipartisan Colleagues Urge President Biden To Include Funding For Emergency International Food Aid In Any Supplemental Request To Congress
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) led 17 of his Senate colleagues today in a bipartisan letter to President Biden urging him to include funding for emergency international food aid in any upcoming supplemental request to Congress. Recently, the Biden Administration provided an additional $308 million in aid and eased procedures for humanitarian groups. However, the Senators noted in their letter that both the United Nations and World Food Programme (WFP) indicate far … Continue Reading
December 22, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $4.3 Million For COVID-19 Telehealth Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $4.3 million in federal funding to several Illinois health care providers for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, building on an initiative established as part of the CARES Act. The funding, awarded by the Federal Communications Commission, supports the efforts of health care providers to continue serving their patients by providing reimbursement for telecommunications services, information services, and … Continue Reading
December 15, 2021
In Speech On The Senate Floor, Durbin Thanks Dr. Francis Collins For His Dedication As NIH Director
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) took to the Senate floor to honor Dr. Francis Collins as he prepares to step down from his position as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to return to his lab at NIH's Human Genome Research Institute. "He has led the NIH for 12 years, under three presidents - Democrat and Republican - making him the longest-tenured head of the agency since presidents began selecting NIH directors 50 years ago. What distinguishes … Continue Reading
December 14, 2021
In Speech On The Senate Floor, Durbin Highlights Lower Prices For Insulin Through The Build Back Better Act
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) took to the Senate floor to deliver a speech criticizing the pharmaceutical industry's price gouging for insulin, and highlighting how the Build Back Better Act would cap the cost to patients of insulin at $35 per month and dramatically lower the cost of other life-saving prescription drugs, despite opposition from Senate Republicans. Durbin referenced a USA Today article to describe how the price of insulin has increased to … Continue Reading
December 09, 2021
Durbin To Acting FDA Commissioner: Agency Is Three Months Past Court-Ordered Deadline To Regulate E-Cigarettes
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock urging the FDA to complete its review of premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) for the millions of e-cigarette products that have fueled the youth vaping epidemic. In the letter, Durbin reiterated that the deadline for FDA's review was three months ago as mandated by a U.S. District Court Judge for Maryland. E-cigarette … Continue Reading
December 09, 2021
Durbin Meets With President Biden's Nominee To Lead FDA, Robert Califf
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with President Biden's nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Robert Califf. During their meeting, Durbin pressed Dr. Califf on his thoughts regarding FDA's overall tobacco strategy and its delays in several public health oversight policies to prevent and reduce tobacco use; Durbin's bipartisan drug pricing legislation, the Drug-price Transparency for Competition (DTC) Act; how to help terminally … Continue Reading
December 08, 2021
Durbin: We Are More Prepared To Fight COVID-19 Variants Because Senate Democrats Passed The American Rescue Plan
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today outlined the historic steps Senate Democrats have already taken to improve our ability to combat the new COVID-19 Omicron variant-including passing the American Rescue Plan, which funded the production and distribution of life-saving vaccines and enhanced detection and tracking of new variants like Omicron. "Today we received preliminary findings that patients are better protected against … Continue Reading
November 10, 2021
Durbin, Senate, And House Dems Object To Johnson & Johnson Bankruptcy Maneuver, Demand Answers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), along with House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY-12) and Chair of the Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), today sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson objecting to the company's efforts to manipulate bankruptcy laws to evade … Continue Reading
October 27, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Federal Grants For Chicago And Quincy Police Departments To Support Mental Health Services
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the cities of Chicago and Quincy were awarded $233,893 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) to support mental health and wellness services for law enforcement officers. The funding is part of the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Program, which supports suicide prevention programs, training and … Continue Reading
October 21, 2021
Durbin To HHS And FDA: More Accessible And Affordable At-Home Rapid Tests Can Help Our Pandemic Response
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra and Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Dr. Janet Woodcock to help expand rapid at-home COVID-19 testing. Durbin highlighted that despite the dramatic expansion of vaccinations by the Biden Administration, the nation's testing infrastructure remains an important and under-developed aspect of our public health emergency response. "In … Continue Reading
October 20, 2021
Durbin: Biden's Vaccine Policy Is Our Path To Recovery
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor about the promising developments stemming from President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine policy. Over the past month, coronavirus case numbers have fallen by more than 40 percent as the average number of daily vaccinations has increased by more than 25 percent. "Millions of American families have already suffered the consequences of vaccine denial, deception, and inaction. A report released earlier this month … Continue Reading
October 12, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $1.5 Million In Telehealth Funding For Illinois Health Care Providers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that four Illinois health care providers have been awarded more than $1.5 million in federal funding to improve and expand telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants are part of Round 2 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which was established as part of the CARES Act and continued under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The following … Continue Reading
October 07, 2021
Durbin: The President's Vaccine Policy Is What Our Country Needs To Put The Pandemic Behind Us
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor in support of the Biden Administration's move to implement vaccine mandates for a majority of American workers. Since vaccination mandates have been announced, Illinois has experienced a nearly 40 percent decrease in new COVID-19 cases. Durbin went on to highlight how Illinois-based companies like United Airlines are benefitting from implementing a vaccine mandate despite skeptics … Continue Reading
October 05, 2021
Durbin Statement On NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced he has decided to end his tenure at NIH by the end of the year: "We should measure the legacy of Dr. Francis Collins not in years served, but in lives saved and suffering spared. From his breakthrough work in mapping the human genome to his tireless battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Francis Collins has … Continue Reading
October 04, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $35 Million In American Rescue Plan Funding For Illinois Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that 42 Community Health Centers (CHCs) throughout Illinois have been awarded a total of $35.7 million in American Rescue Plan funding to modernize their health care infrastructure and enhance their work to address health disparities in underserved communities. CHCs will use this funding for COVID-19-related capital needs, constructing new facilities, renovating and expanding existing facilities to enhance … Continue Reading
September 30, 2021
Durbin Delivers Speech On MOMMA Act At Illinois Maternal Health Summit
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) yesterday joined the first-ever Maternal Health Summit sponsored by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to deliver a speech on his efforts to reduce and close the racial disparity gap in maternal and infant mortality. After being introduced by Director of the IDPH Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Durbin spoke to doctors, health care providers, health researchers, public health officials, midwives, and doulas about the MOMMA Act and its … Continue Reading
September 29, 2021
Durbin Delivers Opening Remarks During Hearing On Texas's Unconstitutional Abortion Ban And The Role Of The Shadow Docket
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered his opening statement during a hearing entitled "Texas's Unconstitutional Abortion Ban and the Role of the Shadow Docket." The hearing will examine the consequences of Texas's S.B. 8 abortion ban and the increasing use of the Supreme Court's "shadow docket" to make drastic changes to legal and constitutional rights without full briefing, deliberation, or transparency. Key … Continue Reading