Durbin Visits Erie Family Health Centers To Highlight Efforts To Lower Prescription Drug Costs And Address Health Care Workforce Shortages

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Erie Family Health Centers to discuss efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs and address workforce shortages in the health care industry. "The hardships on patients and health care providers from the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate the importance of places like Erie Family Health," Durbin said. "From helping their patients access discounted medications to providing quality care, Erie continues to be a beacon of hope for… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on the One-Year Anniversary of Russia's War on Ukraine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, released the following statement on the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022: "One year ago today, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, an ill-fated throwback to the era when aggressor nations tried to seize their neighbor's territory by force-all in blind pursuit of some warped Soviet nostalgia trip. Pu… Continue Reading

Durbin, DeLauro Continue To Urge FDA Commissioner Califf To Implement Reforms At The Agency’s Human Foods Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent a follow-up letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf urging him to make critical reforms within FDA's Human Foods Program. Following the recent external evaluation and report by the Reagan-Udall Foundation, which outlined various flaws at FDA including their slow response to foodborne illness outbreaks, particularly with infant formula, and failure to… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $2 Million For Illinois Institute Of Technology University Transportation Systems

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced the Illinois Institute of Technology's Center for Assured and Resilient Navigation in Advanced Transportation Systems will receive $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Today's announcement comes through DOT's University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program, which supports colleges and universities' research efforts to advance safe, efficient, and climate-friendly… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Screening Committee, Application Process for Federal District Court in the Central District of Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that they will begin accepting applications from those interested in serving as a Federal District Court Judge in the Central District of Illinois.  The Senators will be assisted by a screening committee whose task is to review and vet District Court candidates and advise the Senators regarding the candidates’ qualifications and fitness for t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $375,000 For City Of Rockford Through Department Of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program

ROCKFORD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the city of Rockford, Illinois, has been awarded $375,031 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. This is the first round of funding from this program, making Rockford one of the first awardees in the nation. The Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program is the first federal program dedicated to reconnecting communities … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues To Urge Biden Administration To Limit Availability Of Junk Health Care Plans

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) in a letter urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take immediate action and address short-term limited duration insurance (STLDI) plans, or junk plans, which fail to provide adequate, comprehensive health insurance coverage. In 2018, in an effort to sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Trump … Continue Reading

Durbin, Booker, Armstrong, Jeffries Announce Reintroduction Of Bipartisan Legislation To Eliminate Federal Crack And Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism, and U.S. Representatives Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the House Democratic Leader, in announcing the reintroduction of the bipartisan Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law (EQUAL) Act, legislation to eliminate the federal crack and po… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $18 Million From USDA Reconnect Program To Bring High-Speed Internet Access To Communities Across Rural Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $18,066,450 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) ReConnect Grant program to bring high-speed internet access to residents living and working across Warren, Henderson, Hancock, and McDonough counties. "The pandemic exacerbated the digital divide in rural communities across Illinois and the entire nation," said Durbin. "Investing in high-speed interne… Continue Reading

Durbin, Shaheen Announce Congressional Delegation Visit To Georgia & Romania To Underscore Importance Of Black Sea Region

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation and a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statements announcing their travel to Georgia and Romania following their participation in the 2023 Munich Security Forum. During their visit, Durbin and Shaheen will meet with heads … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi, Ramirez Urge Surface Transportation Board To Defer Decision On Canadian Pacific And Kansas City Southern Rail Merger Until Further Study Of Impacts On Chicago Region

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03) today sent a letter to Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Martin Oberman urging the STB to defer any decision on the proposed merger between Canadian Pacific (CP) and Kansas City Southern (KCS) railroads until the STB completes a more accurate assessment of the impacts of the merger on the Chicago region. Th… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Congressional Delegation To Munich Security Conference

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, will join a number of his Senate colleagues in a bipartisan Congressional Delegation to this weekend's Munich Security Conference (MSC) amid continued Russian aggression following the illegal war in Ukraine and interference in western democracies. The MSC is widely considered the world's leading forum for international security policy. The conference is a "marketplace of ideas" where initiatives a… Continue Reading

Durbin Reflects On Russia’s War On Ukraine Ahead Of The One-Year Anniversary

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Durbin began his speech by highlighting Chicago Chef Tony Priolo, who leapt into action to help the Ukrainian people, and who previously employed a young Ukrainian woman. Chef Priolo contacted the Illinois Restaurant Association and 30 chef friends, and less than three we… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $69 Million For Variety Of Illinois Health Care Programs And Initiatives

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced nearly $70 million in federal funding a variety of health care programs, initiatives, and community projects across the state. "State and local institutions count on federal investments like the ones announced today to ensure they can continue providing vital resources and services to their communities-from improving access to primary health care, to supporting pregnant women, to he… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Opioid Quotas, Social Media Drug Distribution With DEA Administrator Milgram

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram. Durbin commended Administrator Milgram for continuing to rein in the pharmaceutical industry's demand for excessive and unjustified manufacturing quotas for opioid pills. Durbin, along with U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), was the lead author of the 2018 law that enhanced DEA's opioid quota-setting authority by imp… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Four Nominees To Full Senate On Bipartisan Basis

WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced four nominations for consideration by the full Senate, including two U.S. Attorney nominees. "This week, we celebrated the confirmation of the 100th judge under the Biden Administration. It's a notable milestone - not just because of the pace that we are filling judicial vacancies, but also because of the outstanding credentials of the confirmed nominees. They are professionally diverse, highly qualified, and reflective of America - qu… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $1.3 Million Grant For National Louis University To Strengthen Teacher Diversity Preparation Programs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Education has awarded $1,341,279 in Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Programs grants to National Louis University (NLU) in Chicago. NLU is among the first universities and colleges to receive federal funds dedicated to the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Programs. The federal funding will be used to implement three multi-pathway residency p… Continue Reading

Durbin, Graham Announce Subcommittees And Subcommittee Chairs & Ranking Members Of Senate Judiciary Committee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced the establishment of the Subcommittees of the Senate Judiciary Committee for the 118thCongress, and the assignment of Chairs, Ranking Members, and members to these Subcommittees. "During the 117th Congress, the Judiciary Committee held 41 subcommittee hearings on issues important to Americans-st… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Special Olympics Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with athletes, students, teachers, staff, and the Board Chair from Special Olympics Illinois to discuss the nonprofit’s mission of championing the rights and acceptance for people with intellectual disabilities through sports.  During the meeting, Durbin heard from athletes about how the program has impacted them and offered them leadership opportunities.  Durbin and the representatives from Special Olympics Illinois also touch… Continue Reading

Durbin Invites FDA Commissioner To Visit Vape Shop To See Firsthand The Abundance Of Kid-Friendly E-Cigarettes On The Market

WASHINGTON - On the one year anniversary of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf's Senate confirmation, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to FDA slamming the agency for its continued lack of urgency to address youth tobacco use. For years, FDA has failed to regulate e-cigarettes, refusing to enforce the law and take action against companies marketing illegal vaping products to children. Due to this inaction, Durbin invited Dr. Cal… Continue Reading