Durbin: The Senate Judiciary Committee Will Proceed With Previously-Scheduled Nominations Hearing on October 12

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the upcoming Committee schedule after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that the Senate will hold its next floor votes after November's midterm elections: "While the Senate will now be in recess, the Judiciary Committee will hold a previously-scheduled hearing on judicial nominations on Wednesday, October 12. "While it is my prer… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions New BOP Director During Senate Judiciary Committee Oversight Hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Colette Peters, the new Director at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons." Durbin began his questioning by asking about solitary confinement. Research has shown that solitary confinement has severe physical and mental health consequences and that the practice has little effect on maint… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of Continuing Resolution

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement on Senate passage of the Continuing Resolution (CR), which will fund the federal government through December 16, 2022: "The CR that passed the Senate today is essential to keeping the government funded through December 16. I'm pleased it includes Democratic priorities, including roughly $12 billion toward Ukraine assistance, to help our Ukrainian fri… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Pritzker Announce More Than $21 Million for Illinois Highway Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) along with Governor JB Pritzker today announced $21,998,178 awarded to Illinois by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations along the Illinois Interstate Highway System. "As Illinois becomes poised to play a nationally important role on electric vehicles, it… Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Arianna Freeman to Third Circuit

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Arianna Freeman to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding Freeman's confirmation: "Arianna Freeman is an accomplished appellate attorney who has dedicated her career to representing those seeking to vindicate their rights to due process, effective assistance of counsel, and other constitutional guarant… Continue Reading

Durbin, Padilla Introduce Legislation to Broaden Legal Pathway to Citizenship

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, introduced legislation to expand a pathway to legal permanent resident (LPR) status for millions of long-term U.S. residents. The Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929 would update the existing Registry statute so that an immigrant may qualify for LP… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $15 Million in DOJ Awards to Support Illinois Violence Prevention

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $15,009,020 in Department of Justice (DOJ) awards for violence prevention efforts across Illinois communities. "This federal funding will give communities around Illinois additional resources to not only respond to violence, but help prevent these tragedies from happening in the first place," said Durbin. "Senator Duckworth and I will continue working to… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Bureau of Prisons Oversight

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Prisons." Key Quotes: "It is no overstatement to say that in recent years, the Bureau has been riddled with mismanagement and scandal. Under the Bureau's previous leadership, we witnessed a lackluster response to the COVID-19 pandemic, rampant misconduct by BOP offic… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committe Advances Two Circuit Court and Four District Court Nominees

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Cindy K. Chung, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; Tamika R. Montgomery-Reeves, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; Kelley Brisbon Hodge, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; John Frank Murphy, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Mia Roberts Perez, to be United States District Judge for the Easter… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $2.5 Million for Chicago Public Schools and Depaul University to Address Teacher Shortages

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded a total of $2,504,602 to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and DePaul University through the Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) program. This program uses innovative ways to recruit, prepare, and retain more educators, especially teachers of color. "We must do more to support our nation's educators to ensure students across Illinois have a… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with New Director of FDA's Center for Tobacco Products

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) Director Dr. Brian King, to discuss FDA's long-standing failure to use its authority to effectively and efficiently regulate the e-cigarette and synthetic nicotine marketplace, which has led to dramatic increases in youth use of tobacco products. During the meeting, Durbin expressed hope that Dr. King, just a few months into his tenure at FDA, would bring a ne… Continue Reading

Durbin, Trone Send Letter Urging Federal Bureau of Prisons to Reduce Solitary Confinement

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Congressman David Trone (D-MD) sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Colette Peters urging BOP facilities to reduce the frequency and length of solitary confinement. The letter comes just four months after President Biden issued an Executive Order stating that people in prison must be "free from prolonged segregation" and that isolation must be "used rarely, applied fa… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with New President of Dominican University

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Glena Temple, the new President of Dominican University, which is based in River Forest, Illinois. During their meeting, Durbin and Dr. Temple discussed the affordability of higher education and Dominican's work in helping combat the nursing shortage. Durbin and Dr. Temple also touched on improving access to higher education for undocumented students. Dominican, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), is one of the five … Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Military Readiness with Commander of Air Mobility Command General Minihan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today met with Commander of Air Mobility Command (AMC) General Mike Minihan to discuss the U.S. Air Force's operations related to airlift, air refueling, air mobility support, aeromedical evacuation, and senior leader transport. During their meeting, Durbin received an update on mission readiness, improvements across the base, and quality of life for military families. "Air… Continue Reading

Durbin: America Will Hold Russia Accountable for War Crimes

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, warned Vladimir Putin that he will be held accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine. This morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled, "From Nuremberg to Ukraine: Accountability for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity," which focused on the role the U.S. must play in holding Putin and Russi… Continue Reading

Durbin Continues to Call Out Governor Abbott's Political Stunts & Exploitation of Migrant Families

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, blasted Texas Governor Greg Abbott for exploiting a humanitarian crisis in an attempt to score political points by busing migrants from Texas to Chicago-most of whom have traveled from Venezuela to the U.S.-Mexico border. Durbin noted that the families fleeing Venezuela are seeking refuge from the same menace that the victims of communism faced decades ago: politic… Continue Reading

Durbin, Ossoff, Braun Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Overhaul Federal Prison Oversight

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Mike Braun (R-IN) today introduced bipartisan legislation to overhaul federal prison oversight. The Federal Prison Oversight Act will require the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) to conduct comprehensive, risk-based inspections of the Federal Bureau of Prison's (BOP) 122 facilities to identify problems that affect incarcerated people and staf… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Ukraine and Accountability for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "From Nuremberg to Ukraine: Accountability for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity." Durbin and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, previously introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act, legislation that updates the current war… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Releases Testimony of Justice Department Official on Crimes Against Humanity in Ukraine

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee released prepared testimony from Eli Rosenbaum, Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy and Counselor for War Crimes Accountability at the U.S. Department of Justice, during today's hearing entitled "From Nuremberg to Ukraine: Accountability for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity." Key quotes as prepared: "Given the shocking crimes that continue to be perpetrated by Russia's forces in the course of its unprovoked war against Ukra… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Talk with Quad Cities Leaders About Reducing Gun Violence

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 met with Quad Cities community leaders, including Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms, Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati, and Davenport Mayor Mike Matson, to discuss ways to work together to combat gun crimes in the region. During their conversation, local leaders explained the importance of information-sharing and coordination between federal, state, and local… Continue Reading