Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Consumer and Financial Protection
Durbin, Duckworth: Change Needed to Help Servicemembers with Student Loan Assistance Programs
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - With average student loan debt for active-duty servicemembers at more than $25,000, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a bill that would fix a provision in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) - created in 1940 - that unintentionally discourages servicemembers from consolidating or refinancing pre-service student loans. For servicemembers with Perkins or Federal Family Education Loans, consolidation of pre-s… Continue Reading
07.29.13
Durbin: House Spending Bill Would Cripple Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
[CHICAGO] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sounded the alarm about the U.S. House of Representatives' plans to cut funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) by 80 percent. Those cuts would severely impact federal programs created to address major ecological problems facing the Great Lakes, including fighting the spread of Asian carp. "The Great Lakes are one of our country's greatest treasures, but they face challenges ranging from industrial pollution to invasive spe… Continue Reading
07.26.13
Durbin, Welch Write to Bernanke on Interchange Fees
Washington, D.C. - In a letter to Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke today, Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) urged the panel to review the new interchange fee regulations the European Commission announced this week and to include the Commission's analysis and recommendations into the Board's assessments of debit interchange fees charged in the United States. "This week, the European Commission proposed to carefully regulate the debit an… Continue Reading
07.18.13
Bipartisan Group of Senators Reach Deal to Lower Rates for All Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Richard Burr (R-NC), Angus King (I-ME), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced a bipartisan compromise to lower interest rates for 100% of borrowers who have taken out, or will take out, a new federal student loan after July 1, 2013. "This agreement will ensure students loan rates will fall below the 6.8 percent rate that kicked in o… Continue Reading
06.19.13
Durbin, Blumenthal, Markey: AMA's Call for Ban on Marketing to Teens Should be Heeded by Energy Drink Companies
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following a decision by the American Medical Association (AMA) to support a ban on the marketing of high stimulant / caffeine drinks to children and young adults under the age of 18, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) once again called on energy drink companies to immediately stop marketing their products to children and teens. The members noted that, at their request, the Food and Drug Administra… Continue Reading
06.12.13
Durbin Praises Northern Illinois University at Senate Hearing Examining For-Profit Colleges & DOD Education Programs
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - While chairing a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) praised the work that Northern Illinois University has done to make serving veterans and servicemembers a priority. During an April 3, 2013 visit to Northern Illinois University, Durbin sat down with several student veterans and program administrators to discuss their experience and hear how the Military Student Services office has improved their life on campus… Continue Reading
04.10.13
Durbin, Markey, Blumenthal: Energy Drinks Report Shows Labeling, Marketingf, Ingredients Create Questionable Concoction for Consumers
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Three Democratic lawmakers today released a report entitled, What's all the Buzz about?, that shows inconsistencies in the labeling and classification of energy drinks, extensive marketing to adolescents and young adults through social media and events, and high caffeine levels that exceed the level considered safe in soda by the Food and Drug Administration. The report was compiled using responses from fourteen energy drink companies received by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sens… Continue Reading
04.09.13
Senate Democrats Crack Down on Excessive Interest Rates and Fees
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA), introduced the Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act today, a bill to eliminate the excessive rates and fees that some consumers are charged for payday loans, car title loans and other types of credit. The bill would create an interest rate and fee cap of 36% for all consumer credit transact… Continue Reading
03.19.13
Durbin, Gillibrand Introduce Bill to Protect Medicare Card Holders from Identity Theft
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today introduced legislation to require the federal government to remove Social Security numbers from Medicare identification cards and communications to Medicare beneficiaries. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which administers the Medicare program, has fallen behind most other public and private organizations in recognizing the danger of displaying Social Security numbers. The S… Continue Reading
01.23.13
As Student Loan Debt Surpasses $1 Trillion, Senators Introduce Legislation to Address Crisis
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) in reintroducing two pieces of legislation - the Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2013 and the Know Before You Owe Act of 2013 - to restore transparency, fairness and common sense to the student loan process. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the student loan debt among… Continue Reading
12.06.12
Durbin, Blumenthal: FDA Taking Energy Drink Concerns Seriously
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - After a meeting with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today said they are confident that the FDA is taking their concerns about energy drinks seriously. The Senators said: "At our meeting the FDA made it clear it is moving forward in a number of areas to protect vulnerable populations against high levels of caffeine in energy drinks. The energy drink makers are mis… Continue Reading
12.05.12
Durbin Applauds Decisions by SunTrust, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union and UW Credit Union to Adopt Fee Disclosure Form
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent letters to the CEOs of SunTrust, Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union and UW Credit Union today, applauding the financial institutions' decisions to voluntarily adopt a disclosure form designed to make checking account terms and fees transparent and easy for consumers to understand, as he has been urging. Copies of those letters are attached. "Today's decision by these three financial institutions to voluntarily adopt a simple and cl… Continue Reading
12.05.12
Durbin: Language Protecting Coal-Fired S.S. Badger Stripped from House Passed Bill
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the House of Representatives passed a bill to reauthorize the US Coast Guard - the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act - which is now clean of any language that would have allowed the S.S. Badger to continue dumping over 500 tons of coal ash into Lake Michigan each year. The original House bill included language that would have exempted the S.S. Badger from long-standing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regul… Continue Reading
11.27.12
Durbin, Blumenthal: FDA Reviewing Safety of Caffeinated Energy Drinks and their Additives
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In response to a series of letters from U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that they are currently reviewing the safety of energy drinks containing caffeine and other ingredients that act as stimulants and may require regulatory action if evidence of a health risk is found. Since April, both Senators have been calling on the FDA to take action to regulate energy drinks and to investiga… Continue Reading
11.27.12
Durbin to Accreditor: Audit Baseless Job Placement Rates of For-Profit College Company EDMC
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to audit all job placement rates reported by Education Management Corporation (EDMC), a for-profit college company that was recently featured in an ABC news report. The report highlighted a lawsuit against EDMC by a former employee which raises serious concerns about the validity of EDMC's reported job placement rates. "While I appreciate the Southern Association of Colleges… Continue Reading
11.15.12
Citing Rising Public Health Concerns About Energy Drinks, Durbin, Blumenthal Call for Meeting with FDA to Discuss Action Plan
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following reports that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received a total of 18 adverse event reports of fatalities following the consumption of 5-Hour Energy and Monster energy drink, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today called for a meeting with the FDA Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, to discuss the steps the agency is taking to ensure the safety of these products. "Over the past year, there has been alarming evidenc… Continue Reading
09.25.12
Durbin to the American Bankers Association: "A Defeat Is Not the Same as a Mistake"
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to Frank Keating, President and CEO of the American Bankers Association (ABA), today to set the record straight about swipe fee reform. The letter was in response to a missive the ABA sent to congressional leaders last week calling swipe fee reform a "mistake." "Last week you sent a letter to the United States Congress in which you criticize the debit interchange reform law that Congress enacted as a 'mistake[],'… Continue Reading
09.12.12
Durbin, Blumenthal Once Again Ask FDA to Address Their Energy Drink Concerns
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today asked the Food and Drug Administration to respond to their specific concerns regarding the interaction of ingredients in energy drinks and the effect that the caffeine in energy drinks has on children and adolescents. In April, Durbin sent a similar letter to the FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg; however, both Senators felt that the FDA's response did not fully address the specific concerns that were laid… Continue Reading
07.27.12
Durbins Bill to Crack Down on Excessive Interest Rates and Fees
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] -U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act late yesterday - a bill to eliminate the excessive rates and fees that some consumers are charged for payday loans, car title loans and other types of credit. "Within blocks of my home in Springfield, Illinois, there are payday lenders charging interest rates of two and three hundred percent of the value of the loan," Durbin said. "These excessive rates are often hidden a… Continue Reading
07.17.12
Durbin Chairs Hearing on Safety and Effectiveness of Flame Retardant Chemicals
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Majority Leader and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Dick Durbin (D-IL), chaired a hearing on the safety and effectiveness of flame retardant chemicals today, following a Chicago Tribune four-part investigative report on flame retardant chemicals and furniture flammability standards. The hearing focused on whether those chemicals and flammability standards are adequately protecting consumers and the pu… Continue Reading