Durbin Urges His Colleagues To Repeal Iraq AUMFs

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) urged his colleagues to repeal two outdated Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) against Iraq. During his speech, Durbin reflected on the 2002 Iraq War AUMF vote, which he opposed over 20 years ago. "I remember that vote as clearly as if it were yesterday. It was a little more than a year after the vicious terrorist attacks of 9/11. Our nation felt deeply about what happened to 3,000 … Continue Reading

In Speech On Senate Floor, Durbin Reacts To Nashville School Shooting, Calls On Colleagues To Ban Assault Weapons

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor responding to the horrific mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, that left at least three children and three adults dead. The school shooting is the 129th mass shooting in America so far this year, despite being fewer than 90 days into 2023. "This morning, a shooter entered the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, reported… Continue Reading

ICYMI: Top Democrats Warn Biden: Don’t Restart Family Detentions

WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, the Los Angeles Times highlighted the efforts by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 18 Senate colleagues urging against the use of family detention. In a letter to President Biden, the Senators raise concerns over reports the Administration is considering a return to the ineffective and inhumane practice of detaining migrant families, after previously putting an end to family detention in December 202… Continue Reading

ICYMI: Durbin, Graham, Bipartisan Group Of Senators Urge President Biden To Support The ICC’s Investigation Into Atrocities In Ukraine

WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, USA TODAY highlighted a bipartisan call for President Biden to use enhanced authority to assist the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine. The letter is led by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The piece also included an exclusive ann… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan H-1B, L-1 Visa Reform Legislation To Protect Workers And Stop Outsourcing Of American Jobs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation to reform and close loopholes in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs. The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act will reduce fraud and abuse in our immigration system, provide protections for American workers and visa holders, and require more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers. The … Continue Reading

Durbin, King, Smith, Sinema, Neguse Introduce Legislation To Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), along with U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (D-CO-02), today introduced bicameral legislation designed to help students manage costs by making high quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors, and the public for free. The legislation, known as theAffordable College Textbook Act, would authorize a competitive grant program to support the creati… Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Letter To President Biden Urging Against The Use Of Family Detention

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led 18 Senate colleagues in a letter to President Biden raising concerns over reports the Administration is considering a return to the ineffective and inhumane practice of detaining migrant families, after previously putting an end to family detention in December 2021. The Senators wrote, "Under both the Obama and Trump Administrations, family detention had disastrous effects on migrant families… Continue Reading

Durbin, Graham, Bipartisan Group Of Senators Urge President Biden To Support The ICC’s Investigation Into Atrocities In Ukraine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Thom Tillis (R-NC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a letter to President Biden urging his Administration to support the International Criminal… Continue Reading

Durbin, Blackburn, Budzinski Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Increase Medical Providers In Rural Communities

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and U.S Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) today introduced the bipartisan Rural America Health Corps Act. The legislation will incentivize more health professionals to serve and plant roots in rural communities. U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Tina Smith (D-MN) are sponsoring this legislation. "Patients across rural Illinois face c… Continue Reading

Durbin, Krishnamoorthi Join Merkley To Protect Students From Worthless Degrees

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) to introduce the Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act of 2023. This bill would help protect students from predatory for-profit college schemes by ending federal financial aid for unaccredited degree programs. The legislation would close a loophole by preventing for-profit colleges from receiving federal financial aid dollars for studen… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Nomination Of Jeremy Daniel To Serve As District Court Judge For The Northern District Of Illinois

CHICAGO - 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 White House announced its intent to nominate Jeremy Daniel to serve as a District Court Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois: "We are pleased that President Biden is nominating Jeremy Daniel to fill a judicial vacancy for the Northern District of Illinois. He was highly regarde… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Send Two Finalists For U.S. Attorney For The Northern District Of Illinois To The White House

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today recommended two individuals for the position of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois to President Joe Biden for consideration. The two finalists are, in alphabetical order: Sergio Acosta and April Perry. "We appreciate the opportunity to provide assistance and input in filling this important position, and we look forward to working with y… Continue Reading

Durbin Participates in Mental Health, Violence Prevention Roundtable With HHS Secretary and U.S. Rep. Jackson

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a roundtable with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Representative Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01) to discuss mental health and how gun violence has impacted the community. "Across the country, gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children," said Durbin. "These shootings have ripple effects on those who are hit by gunfire, those who witness it, and those who grow up su… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions USDA Secretary About New Revenues From Clean Energy Generation On Farms

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today participated in a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture." During the hearing, Durbin questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack about how the federal government can support farmers in creating new revenue streams from clean energy generation on the farm to help combat climate change. "Farm organizations are arguing that it … Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds The Administration’s Response To Collapse Of Silicon Valley Bank

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and applauded the Biden Administration's swift action to minimize the damage. During his speech, Durbin slammed former President Trump's decision in 2018 to roll-back critical parts of the Dodd-Frank Act-the strongest bank regulations since the Great Depression. "Americans woke up with a bad case of déjà vu. We witnessed the bigg… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Televise Supreme Court Proceedings In Real Time

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) led a group of their colleagues in re-introducing the bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act today. The legislation, which advanced out of the Judiciary Committee last Congress on a bipartisan 15-7 vote, would require the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open Court sessions, unless the Court decides by a majority vote of Justices that tele… Continue Reading

In Speech On Senate Floor, Durbin Honors The Work Of Public Defenders Ahead Of 60thanniversary Of Gideon V. Wainwright

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, honored public defenders ahead of the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the Court held that the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee a right of legal counsel to anyone accused of a crime. "Behind the scenes of our nation's courtrooms and jails, you'll find some of our most dedicated public servant… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Floor Remarks Ahead Of Senate Cloture Vote On Repeal Of 1991, 2002 Iraq AUMFs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor ahead of today's cloture vote to repeal both the 1991 and 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq. Durbin was one of 23 Senators to vote against the 2002 Iraq War AUMF. "When the Constitution was written, there were some fundamental principles included. One of them said that any declaration of war in the United States had to have the approval of the American people through their… Continue Reading

Durbin, Rubio Introduce Legislation To Reauthorize And Increase Funding For The National Health Service Corps Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced bipartisan legislation to provide historic investments in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) scholarship and loan repayment program to address health workforce shortages throughout our country. Today's Restoring America's Health Care Workforce and Readiness Act includes a three-year reauthorization that would double the mandatory funding, which will expire on September 30th, from… Continue Reading

Durbin Probes DOJ, FDA Coordination, Urges Enhanced Enforcement Of Unlawfully Marketed Vaping Products

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf urging them to enhance interagency coordination to address unlawfully marketed vaping products, and requesting more information about their enforcement efforts. Following a scathing independent review of FDA's tobacco regulatory program that highlighted how inadequate enfo… Continue Reading