Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Jobs and the Economy
Durbin: GOP Tax Plan Will Increase Taxes For Middle-Income Americans & Create $1.5 Trillion Deficit Hole
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today blasted Senate Republicans for ramming through their partisan tax plan, which would hurt working families in Illinois and across the country. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin explained that at the heart of the Republican playbook for how to bankroll massive tax cuts for the wealthy few and the largest corporations is the elimination of three vital tax breaks for working families in this country. The House Republican plan,… Continue Reading
11.13.17
Durbin: GOP Tax Plans Benefit the Wealthy on Backs of Middle-Income Families
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today highlighted how the tax proposals introduced by Republicans in the House and Senate would eliminate numerous deductions and tax benefits used by middle-income families to reduce their tax bills. Along with eliminating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which is used by roughly 1/3 of Illinoisans, Republicans in Congress are also proposing to eliminate deductions for medical expenses and student loan interest - all to give massive cuts to the… Continue Reading
11.06.17
Durbin: GOP Tax Plan Leaves Illinois Middle Income Families Behind
CRYSTAL LAKE - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined local stakeholders to discuss how the House Republicans' new tax plan would hit Illinois families especially hard, while mostly benefitting corporations and the wealthy. The House Republican proposal reduces the top corporate tax rate while gutting the state and local tax (SALT) deduction - a move that could increase taxes on nearly one-third of all taxpayers in Illinois. The SALT deduction is used by 44 million people nationwide, inclu… Continue Reading
11.02.17
Durbin Statement On Republican Tax Plan
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the tax plan released this morning by House Republicans: This plan gives massive tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest individuals while middle class families are left behind. It is based on the mistaken belief that cutting taxes for the wealthiest will benefit everybody else-an assumption that has been proven false each and every time it's been tested. Eliminating state and local tax deductions… Continue Reading
10.30.17
Durbin, Duckworth To Rauner: GOP Tax Plan Will Raise Taxes On Hardworking Illinois Families
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to publicly oppose congressional Republican's proposed elimination of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction as part of their tax plan-a move that would increase taxes on nearly one-third of all taxpayers in Illinois. The state and local tax deduction is used by 44 million people nationwide, including by nearly two million Illinoisans, to avoid being taxed twice on their hard-ea… Continue Reading
10.30.17
Durbin: Sinclair-Tribune Mega-Merger Is Not In The Interest Of The American People
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today warned that if the proposed acquisition of the Tribune Media Company (Tribune) by the Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair) is approved, it would threaten diversity and localism in broadcasting, ignore the unique concerns and interests of local audiences, and harm competition. If approved, the merged Sinclair-Tribune company would own or operate 233 stations nationwide and reach 72 percent of U.S. TV households-making it the nation's largest televis… Continue Reading
10.25.17
Durbin: Republicans, Wells Fargo, Equifax, And Big Banks Teamed Up To Rig The System Against American Consumers
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) called out Senate Republicans for voting to repeal a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that holds big banks and financial institutions accountable for fraud and other misdeeds. The CFPB mandatory arbitration rule, which was set to take full effect next March, would stop financial services companies from using forced arbitration clauses to block consumer class action suits. It also requires… Continue Reading
10.17.17
Durbin: GOP Tax Plan Needs To Look Beyond Board Room And Make Real Investments In The Middle Class
WASHINGTON-In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged his Republican colleagues to put partisanship aside and work with Democrats to craft a fiscally responsible tax reform plan that helps working class families, instead of hurting them. The Republican plan proposes several changes to individual taxes, including eliminating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, a deduction that is used by one-third of all taxpayers to reduce their tax bill. U… Continue Reading
10.16.17
Durbin: Republican Tax Plan Will Hurt Illinois Families
CHICAGO - President Trump and Congressional Republicans' new tax plan would benefit the wealthiest of Americans and corporations while hurting Illinois working families, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today. The plan proposes several changes to individual taxes, including eliminating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, a deduction that is used by one-third of all taxpayers to reduce their tax bill. In 2018 under the Republican plan, half of all tax breaks will go to the top 1% wealt… Continue Reading
10.04.17
Durbin Urges Equifax To Protect Consumers By Paying Credit Freeze Fees At The Other Major Credit Reporting Agencies
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), in a letter to Equifax Interim Chief Executive Officer Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., called on the massive credit-reporting agency to assume fees incurred by consumers freezing, temporarily lifting, and unfreezing their credit reports at the two other major credit reporting agencies: Experian and TransUnion. Durbin also pressed Equifax to reimburse consumers who have already paid such fees since Equifax announced the massive breach of its… Continue Reading
08.25.17
Durbin Visits Roberts Park Fire Protection District, Touts Importance Of Federal Funding For First Responders
JUSTICE - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the Roberts Park Fire Protection District, which was awarded $569,674 in federal funding last month through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant program. The SAFER grant will allow the fire protection district, which includes Justice, Hickory Hills, and parts of unincorporated Cook County, to hire additional firefighters. "Our nation's firefighters and first-re… Continue Reading
08.24.17
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $6.5 Million In Federal Funding To Help At-Risk Youth In Illinois Find Jobs
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) awarded six local community colleges and non-profits in Illinois a total of $6,501,644 million through YouthBuild, a job-training and educational program for at-risk youth ages 16 to 24. Through YouthBuild, at-risk youth learn construction skills while constructing or rehabilitating affordable housing for low-income or homeless families in their own communities. Program … Continue Reading
08.21.17
Durbin, Bustos: Federal Investment In Rockford Airport Is Creating Jobs And Growing Local Economy
ROCKFORD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (IL-17) today toured construction of the Chicago Rockford International Airport passenger terminal, which will provide an additional 30,000 square feet for passenger check-in and additional Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) inspection lanes. Since 2015, Sen. Durbin and Rep. Bustos have helped to secure $18.2 million in federal funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the terminal expansion … Continue Reading
08.09.17
Durbin, Reed Call On Treasury Department To Stop Corporate Inversions
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), and ten of their Senate colleagues called on the U.S. Department of the Treasury to reject calls to eliminate, undermine, or scale back anti-tax inversion and earnings stripping efforts and work with Congress to curb these abusive tax avoidance schemes for good. Inversions are corporate deals that allow U.S. companies to shift their corporate citizenship from the United States to a low-tax foreign jurisdiction, even while keeping … Continue Reading
08.01.17
Durbin, Duckworth, Senate Democrats Lay Out Key Principles For Tax Reform In Letter To President Trump & Senate GOP Leaders
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with 43 of their Democratic Senate colleagues, today wrote to President Donald Trump, Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, urging Republicans to come to the table and work with Democrats in a bipartisan way on the Senate's next critical legislative item - tax reform. Durbin, Duckworth, and their colleagues laid out their three main tenants ahead of … Continue Reading
07.26.17
Durbin, Reed, and Brown Introduce Bills To Stop Corporate Inversions & Put Money Back Into The Pockets Of Working-Class Families
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to stop business practices known as inversions - corporate deals that allow U.S. companies to shift their corporate citizenship from the United States to a low-tax foreign jurisdiction, even while keeping their executives and headquarters in the United States. This is accomplished by merging with a foreign company that can be as little as 1/5 of the size … Continue Reading
07.26.17
Durbin, Reed, And DeLauro Introduce American Business For American Companies Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today introduced the American Business for American Companies Act, which would extend the year-to-year government-wide ban on federal contracts for inverted corporations by moving it out of the annual appropriations process and into permanent law. It also eliminates loopholes in the current law that have allowed inverted corporations to bid for, and win, federal contracts, despite … Continue Reading
07.14.17
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $130,000 In Federal Funding For Huntley, Illinois First Responders
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded a $130,928 grant to the Huntley Fire Protection District through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. Today's funding will support and improve the capability of the department to respond to fires and other types of emergencies. "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect our citizens. As these brave men and wome… Continue Reading
07.10.17
Durbin Calls On Labor Department To Continue Funding Youth Job Training Programs In High Poverty, High Crime Areas
WASHINGTON-In response to drastic cuts to federal job training programs proposed in the President's fiscal year 2018 budget, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor calling for strong investment for youth training programs in communities with high levels of poverty and violence. Durbin argued that these programs help keep at-risk youth safe, improve their future employment outcomes, and make them less likely to engage in crime. "Chronic… Continue Reading
07.07.17
Durbin Statement On Illinois Passing Budget For The First Time In Three Years
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after the Illinois House of Representatives voted to override Governor Bruce Rauner's veto of a $36 billion budget package, giving Illinois its first annual budget since 2015. The Illinois Senate voted to override Gov. Rauner's veto on the Fourth of July. Illinois' budget crisis was the longest budget crisis of any state since at least the Great Depression. "Illinois was in a self-imposed, devastating recession due t… Continue Reading