Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Consumer and Financial Protection
Durbin Statement On FDA Authorizing First Menthol Flavored E-Cigarette Products
SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement expressing his disappointment after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the marketing of four menthol e-cigarette products in the United States through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway. Today’s authorizations mark the first non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette products to be authorized by FDA. “Flavors like menthol are used by Big Tobacco companies to mask the harsh… Continue Reading
06.10.24
Durbin Reacts To Creation Of Federal Multi-Agency Task Force To Combat Sale Of Illegal E-Cigarette Products
CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a federal multi-agency task force to combat the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarettes. The task force aims to employ all criminal and civil enforcement tools to crack down on the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarette products. Joining DOJ and F… Continue Reading
05.30.24
Durbin Applauds Illinois State Legislature On Passing Budget That Contains Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the Illinois state legislature’s passage of a state budget that included the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act. This legislation, which—like Durbin’s Credit Card Competition Act—aims to curb the outrageous swipe fees on electronic transactions will prohibit credit card companies and financial institutions from charging merchants interchange fees on sales and excise taxes, as well as gratuities, added to electronic transact… Continue Reading
09.15.22
Durbin Slams FDA's Missed Deadlines To Protect Our Children From Nicotine Addiction
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) condemned the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) failure to meet e-cigarette and synthetic nicotine deadlines, unwillingness to take action against companies that defy the agency's orders, and general lack of urgency when it comes to protecting children from the harms of tobacco and nicotine use. The court-ordered deadline for FDA to finish reviewing e-cigarette applications was more than one year… Continue Reading
09.09.22
On One Year Anniversary of FDA Failing To Meet Court-Ordered Deadline To Regulate E-Cigarette Products, Durbin Urges HHS To Step In
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra condemning the FDA for its failure to meet e-cigarette and synthetic nicotine deadlines, unwillingness to take action against companies that defy the agency's orders, and general lack of urgency when it comes to protecting children from the harms of tobacco and nicotine use. Th… Continue Reading
08.02.22
Durbin Raises Questions About Cryptocurrency On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) raised questions about cryptocurrency and the dangers it poses to personal finances. Durbin began his speech by highlighting various celebrities who have promoted cryptocurrency companies, including NBA star LeBron James and comedian Larry David, in commercials during the Super Bowl. During these commercials, LeBron James promoted Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore, while Larry … Continue Reading
07.28.22
Durbin, Marshall Introduce Bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) introduced the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act of 2022, legislation that would enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market, which is currently dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. Building off of debit card competition reforms enacted by Congress in 2010, the bill would direct the Federal Reserve to ensure that giant credit card-issuing banks offer a choice of … Continue Reading
07.26.22
Durbin, Warren, Smith Press Fidelity On Bitcoin Exposure To Retirement Funds
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tina Smith (D-MN) requested answers from Fidelity Investments on their decision to allow 401(k) plan sponsors to offer plan participants exposure to Bitcoin, a highly volatile and unregulated digital asset. Fidelity is one of the largest 401(k) providers with around 40 million individual investors and around $11.3 trillion in assets under administration. The letter said in part, "we write to… Continue Reading
07.18.22
Durbin: There Is No Excuse For FDA's Food Safety Failures To Persist
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) highlighted his Food Safety Administration Act of 2022, legislation he introduced with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) that would establish the Food Safety Administration, a single food safety agency responsible for ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply. This new agency would take over food safety responsibilities currently housed at the Food and … Continue Reading
07.13.22
Durbin, Blumenthal, DeLauro Introduce Food Safety Administration Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) introduced the Food Safety Administration Act of 2022, legislation that would establish the Food Safety Administration, a single food safety agency responsible for ensuring the safety of our nation's food supply. This new agency would take over food safety responsibilities currently housed at the Food and Drug Administration (FD… Continue Reading
07.12.22
Durbin, Collins Urge FDA To Follow The Law, Clear The Market Of All Unauthorized Synthetic Vapes Ahead Of July 13th Deadline
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led a bipartisan letter with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging the agency to remove all unauthorized synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes from the market as required by law. Durbin and Collins successfully secured a bipartisan provision in the Fiscal Year 2022 Omnibus Appropriations bill that clarified FDA's ability to regulate products containing synthetic nicotine as tobacco products. This le… Continue Reading
06.23.22
Durbin Applauds FDA Decision To Remove All JUUL Products From The Market
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today praised the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to remove all JUUL Lab Inc.'s products from the market, after finding these e-cigarettes fail to meet the agency's public health standard for authorization. "I'm happy to report that the Food and Drug Administration has announced this morning a dramatic, historic step forward to protect the children across America from e-cigarette and v… Continue Reading
06.22.22
Durbin Investigation Finds More Than 750,000 Kids Have Picked Up Vaping Since FDA's Missed Deadline To Regulate E-Cigarettes
WASHINGTON - Following an investigation by U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) of multiple health surveys and retail sales data, Durbin announced findings that more than 750,000 children have started to use e-cigarettes over the last nine months, in the period of time during which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has defied a court order to regulate all e-cigarettes on the market. This examination was based upon data from the National Institute of Health's Monitoring the Future su… Continue Reading
06.16.22
Durbin, Tillis, Grassley Introduce Legislation To Improve Coordination Between USPTO And FDA
WASHINGTON -U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced bipartisan legislation that would establish a task force between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve communication and… Continue Reading
05.27.22
Durbin, Cassidy Meet With Major Retail CEOs To Discuss INFORM Consumers Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) met with several retail CEOs to discuss their Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act, which passed the House as part of the America COMPETES Act and is currently being conferenced with the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). The bipartisan legislation will combat the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and dangerou… Continue Reading
05.20.22
Durbin, Senators To FDA Commissioner: Remove All Unauthorized E-Cigarettes From Market Immediately
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led a letter with ten Senators to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf urging the FDA to immediately remove all unreviewed e-cigarettes from store shelves until the agency completes its public health review of these vaping products. Currently, addictive, kid-friendly e-cigarettes like JUUL are on the market illegally but are being granted a free pass to be sold due to FDA's decision to grant enforcement… Continue Reading
05.18.22
Durbin Applauds Inclusion Of Important Dietary Supplement Provisions In Bipartisan Senate Committee's FDA User Fee Package
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) applauded the inclusion of a modified version of his Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022 in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee's recently-released draft Food and Drug Administration (FDA) User Fee package. The Dietary Supplement Listing Act of 2022 requires dietary supplement manufacturers to list their products with FDA. In 1994, Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), … Continue Reading
05.18.22
Durbin Meets With eBay CEO To Discuss INFORM Consumers Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with eBay's CEO, Jamie Iannone, to discuss his Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act, which passed the House as part of the America COMPETES Act and is currently being conferenced with the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). The bipartisan legislation will combat the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and dangerous consumer products by ens… Continue Reading
05.18.22
Durbin: I'm Calling On FDA To Immediately Halt Its Enforcement Discretion And Remove All Unauthorized E-Cigarettes From The Market
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today blasted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to meet a court deadline to complete its public health review of e-cigarette premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs). The deadline for FDA to finish reviewing e-cigarette applications was September 9, 2021, more than eight months ago-leaving dangerous, kid-friendly e-cigarettes available on store shelves to hook children. On Friday, F… Continue Reading
05.05.22
On Senate Floor, Durbin Proposes Solutions To Cut Costs For Working Americans
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today highlighted solutions Congress can implement to help American families save money. Due to inflation caused by Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine and rising COVID cases in China, every day Americans are feeling the brunt of rising prices for gas, groceries, and housing. During his speech, Durbin highlighted ways to cut gas prices, including implementing President Biden's emergency fuel waiver allowing… Continue Reading