Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Military and Veterans
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 … Continue Reading
March 26, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 26, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 21, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 19, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 14, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
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, … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 12, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 12, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 11, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
January 28, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
January 09, 2019
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 … Continue Reading
December 10, 2018
Durbin, Takano, Carper, Cohen Call On Department Of Education To Protect Military And Veteran Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Mark Takano (D-CA-41), U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), and six of their colleagues today sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urging the Department of Education to protect military and veteran students by publishing, as part of the federal 90/10 rule, the amount and percentage of revenue received by for-profit colleges from all federal educational programs. The 90/10 … Continue Reading
November 15, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Renew Call For Illinois Public Health Director Shah To Resign Over Botched Response To Legionnaires' Outbreak At IVH Quincy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today reiterated their call for Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah to resign given reports that the Rauner Administration and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) botched a water-system repair at Illinois Veterans Home (IVH) Quincy, which was in violation of state health codes, and then chose to deliberately withhold that information from the public and not cite the facility for a mistake. In documents … Continue Reading
November 05, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Call On Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah To Resign Over Botched Response To Legionnaries' Outbreaks At IVH Quincy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called for Illinois Public Health Director Nirav Shah to resign following reports that the Rauner Administration botched a water-system repair at Illinois Veterans Home (IVH) Quincy, which was in violation of state health codes, and then chose to deliberately withhold that information from the public and not cite the facility for a mistake. In newly released documents, Shah detailed the dangers present at the … Continue Reading
October 04, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Investigation Into Rauner Administration's Response To Legionnaires' Outbreaks At IVH Quincy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that her office has opened a criminal probe into the Rauner Administration's response to the multiple Legionnaires' disease outbreaks at Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy since 2015: It appears that the Governor and his administration deliberately postponed announcing an outbreak of deadly Legionnaires' disease at IVH Quincy … Continue Reading
August 28, 2018
Durbin Honors Sen. John McCain's Life & Legacy On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) honored the life and legacy of Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Durbin recalled stories from the times he spent with Sen. McCain in Congress and on trips overseas. He also stated his support for renaming the Senate's Russell Office Building - where Sen. McCain's office was located during his Senate tenure - after the late-Senator. "There's an empty space in the Senate chamber without John McCain. … Continue Reading
August 06, 2018
Durbin Statement On President Trump's Decision To Re-Impose Sanctions On Iran
ST. LOUIS-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after President Trump announced that he will re-impose nuclear-related sanctions on Iran that were lifted in connection with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement. In May 2018, President Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement. In 2015, Durbin led the effort in the Senate that ultimately allowed the Iran … Continue Reading