Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Energy and the Environment
Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Question EPA On Declared Monitoring & Testing Of Air Emissions
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth, and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today raised concerns at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) failure to consistently require companies to monitor and test their air emissions for manganese air pollution-a known neurotoxin-on the Southeast Side of Chicago. The members pressed EPA to use its full authority under the Clean Air Act to protect human health and the environment. Today's letter to EPA Administrator … Continue Reading
04.30.18
Durbin, Dem Senators To EPA: Don't Weaken Coal Ash Rule
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led 10 Democratic Senators in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to not weaken the federal regulation for the safe disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCR) or "coal ash", which protects drinking water, human health, and the environment. The 2015 rule established by the EPA sets minimum federal standards for coal ash disposal. Since the rule was finalized, Congress passed the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Natio… Continue Reading
04.18.18
Durbin, Quigley, Duckworth Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation To Map Urban Flooding & Help FEMA Better Assess Risks
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-02) and John Culberson (R-TX-07) today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Flood Mapping Modernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2018 to enhance the mapping of urban flooding to prevent associated damage. The legislation will help give cities and towns the tools they need to address flooding in a local con… Continue Reading
03.07.18
Durbin Meets With Utah Wilderness Coalition About Trump's Plans To Shrink Bears Ears & Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments
WASHINGTON-Following a recent New York Times article that highlighted internal U.S. Department of Interior documents showing that efforts to reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah were motivated by a desire to increase oil and natural gas development in the region and to allow additional coal and mineral mines, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the Utah Wilderness Coalition to express his continued support for maintaining the monume… Continue Reading
03.06.18
Durbin Meets With MWRD To Express Continued Support For McCook Reservoir, Brandon Road Project
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to express his continued support for the construction and funding of the McCook Reservoir Project. Last month, Durbin, along with Senator Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Dan Lipinski (D-IL-03), Peter Roskam (R-IL-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), and Bobby Rus… Continue Reading
02.16.18
Durbin Calls On EPA To Update Dangerous Lead Hazard Standards
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have sent a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise its lead-based paint and dust-lead hazard standards without delay. The letter is in response to a December 2017 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court requiring the agency to update its current standards within 90 days. "It is widely known and accepted that lead hazards present an urgent health and safety threat to c… Continue Reading
02.16.18
Durbin, Dem Senators Press Interior Secretary To Postpone Development Of Management Plans For Bears Ears & Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led 12 Democratic senators in pressing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to postpone the development of management plans for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument areas in Utah until legal challenges regarding the President's authority to reduce the size of the monuments have been resolved. The Senators also requested that the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument management plan remain in effect for all lands wit… Continue Reading
02.13.18
Durbin, Duckworth, Members Of Illinois Congressional Delegation Urge Army Corps To Include Funding For McCook
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Dan Lipinski (D-IL-03), Peter Roskam (R-IL-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), and Bobby Rush (D-IL-01) today requested $34.7 million in construction funds for the McCook Reservoir Project be included in the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Work Plan. They also requested that the Cor… Continue Reading
12.12.17
Following Completion of EPA Evaluation, Durbin Urges Army Corps to Move Forward with Bubbly Creek Restoration
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) to move forward with the restoration of the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River - known as "Bubbly Creek" - in the most expedited manner possible now that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed its evaluation of the Creek and removed the site from its Superfund program. "The Army Corps restoration project will provide much-needed revitalization to an area with a his… Continue Reading
12.04.17
Durbin, Schumer, Pelosi, Hoyer Statement On President Trump's Decision To Shrink Utah's National Monuments
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) today released the following statement on President Trump's decision to dramatically shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah. President Trump's decision is an unprecedented attempt to use presidential power to shrink national monument designations made by two of his p… Continue Reading
11.29.17
Durbin Continues To Press Interior Secretary On Proposed Shrinking Of National Monuments
WASHINGTON-Following a meeting with U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is once again asking Secretary Zinke to share maps and documentation detailing any changes he is recommending regarding the boundaries and management of existing national monuments in a memorandum referred to as "Monument Review," as well as any document explaining what legal authority President Trump plans to use to enact the changes. This letter follows reports that Presid… Continue Reading
11.27.17
Durbin Joins Bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force Letter Raising Alarm Over Delay In Finalizing Critical Asian Carp Study
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) in sending a letter to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works raising alarm over the delay in finalizing the Brandon Road Study, a critical action-plan for keeping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. Fellow Great Lakes Task Force members - Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kirsten… Continue Reading
10.26.17
Durbin, Senate Democrats To EPA: Show Your Work On Clean Power Plan Repeal
COLLINSVILLE-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) and 17 Senate Democrats in a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt asking for more information on the agency's decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan. The proposal, released by the agency earlier this month, relies heavily on skewed scientific and mathematical data in order to justify repealing the Clean Power Plan. The senators wrote, "Our review of the 2017 Repeal proposal revea… Continue Reading
10.25.17
Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Landmark Environmental Justice Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz (D-CA) to introduce a landmark bill that represents a major step toward eliminating environmental injustice. The Environmental Justice Act of 2017 requires federal agencies to address environmental justice through agency actions and permitting decisions, and strengthens legal protections against environmental injustice for communities of color, low-income communities, and indigenous … Continue Reading
10.24.17
Durbin, Duckworth Call For $300 Million For Great Lakes Restoration Initiative In Next Year's Budget
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined a bipartisan letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney calling for $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to be included in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget request. The letter was signed by Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), along with Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Todd Young (R-IN), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), A… Continue Reading
10.23.17
Durbin, Senators Press President Trump To Protect Utah National Monuments
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led 15 of his Senate colleagues in urging President Trump to maintain the current boundaries and management plans for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments in Utah. Durbin and his colleagues wrote President Trump today following reports by both The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal that Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke recommended modifying certain national monuments, including shrinking the boundaries of… Continue Reading
10.06.17
Durbin Urges Airlines To Implement Additional Practices To Aid Those Devastated By Hurricanes Maria And Irma
CHICAGO-In the wake of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the passenger and cargo air carrier industry to increase their efforts to ensure they are doing everything they can to aid our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) as they recover from the devastation. Passenger airlines took the first step to cap air fares for direct flights off the islands, but Durbin pressed the passenger carriers to consider additional… Continue Reading
10.03.17
Durbin, Colleagues Call On President Trump To Prioritize Disaster Relief Efforts For Puerto Rican Islands Of Vieques And Culebra
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 14 of his Senate colleagues to call on President Trump to step up disaster recovery efforts on the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra after the islands were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Citing in their letter the remoteness of the islands and reports that residents have been "without running water, power, gasoline or communications for more than a week", the senators wrote to President T… Continue Reading
09.29.17
Durbin: We Must Do More For Puerto Rico During Humanitarian Crisis
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with leaders in the Puerto Rican community to hear about local efforts to provide aid and call on President Trump to speed federal assistance to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Earlier this week, Durbin joined a group of Senators in a letter to President Trump calling on his administration to issue a full Disaster Declaration for the entire island of Puerto Rico and take a series of steps to coordinate the federal response in Puerto Rico… Continue Reading
09.29.17
Durbin, Duckworth Press AG Secretary To Quickly Provide Puerto Rico With Food Aid
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and five additional colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to request that he use all available resources to swiftly provide Puerto Rico with much needed food aid. In the letter, the senators wrote, "The devastation caused by Hurricane Maria has left behind a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, with millions of people without power and many fam… Continue Reading