During First Day Of Questioning, Durbin Highlights What Is At Stake With Nomination Of Judge Barrett To The Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - On the second day of the Supreme Court nomination hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today once again emphasized the dangerous repercussions of filling this judicial vacancy without voters' input as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) just one week after the November 3, 2020, election. Durbin shared the health care story of th… Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Naperville Family's Health Care Story As Second Day Of Supreme Court Nomination Hearing Begins

WASHINGTON - As the second day of the Supreme Court nomination hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett begins today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, shared the health care story of the Williams family from Naperville, Illinois, who have relied upon protections enshrined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to access health care. Cathy and Les Williams have four sons. Their eldest, Matt, is 27 and was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes when he was… Continue Reading

Durbin To Highlight Chicagoland Family's Health Care Story During First Day Of Supreme Court Nomination Hearing

WASHINGTON - On the first day of the Supreme Court nomination hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, will share the health care story of his constituent, Kenny Murray, who is able to get the care he needs through protections enshrined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Sue and Ken Murray's second child, Kenny, was diagnosed in utero with multiple complex congenital heart defects. Before his first birthday,… Continue Reading

Durbin: The Affordable Care Act Is At Stake In This Supreme Court Nomination

WASHINGTON - On the first day of the Supreme Court nomination hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called out Senate Republicans' reversal on filling a Supreme Court vacancy in a presidential election year and argued it is a thinly-veiled effort to destroy the Affordable Care Act (ACA) after numerous failed attempts to undo the law in Congress. Durbin emphasized the dangerous repercussions of filli… Continue Reading

Durbin Cosponsors Legislation To Make Payroll Tax Deferral Optional, Including for Military Members And Federal Employees

SPRINGFIELD - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in announcing legislation to make the payroll tax deferral outlined by President Trump optional for any worker whose employer chooses to participate, including federal employees and service members. The legislation, which can be found here, is cosponsored by more than 14 of the Senators' colleagues. "Because Fortune 500 companies and state governments are rejecting President Trump's poorly thought-out pa… Continue Reading

Durbin To Cornyn: Following Bombshell Report, Senate Must Hold A Hearing On Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy

SPRINGFIELD-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today called on U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, to immediately hold hearings in the Subcommittee on the Trump Administration's disastrous zero-tolerance policy, which has forcibly separated thousands of infants, toddlers, and children from their parents at our southern border. Durbin, in a letter to Cornyn, calle… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Illinois Manufacturers Association

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke by phone with members of the Illinois Manufacturers Association (IMA) to discuss the necessity of additional COVID-19 relief and infrastructure investment. Recently, Congress passed a one year extension of surface transportation programs as the FAST Act, the current surface transportation reauthorization bill, expires this year. Earlier this summer, the House passed a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package, which included a $500 billion sur… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Call For Inclusion Of PFAs Provisions In Final FY21 NDAA

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in leading a bipartisan letter on behalf of 19 other Senators today to Senate and House Armed Services Committee leadership urging the inclusion of several provisions in the final fiscal year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to prevent and address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. The NDAA is the annual defe… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $1.18 Million For CTA Safety Improvements

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $1,183,091 in federal funding to support safety improvements for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). The funding, awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), will support CTA's Station Third Rail Safety Enhancement Pilot Project, which would add additional safety features on the third rails in the vicinity of station platforms, including non-conductive side boards on both sides of the third rail… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On DOJ IG Report On Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy

SPRINGFIELD-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after a New York Times article reported on a forthcoming Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on family separation, which Durbin requested in July 2018: "Even these brief excerpts of the DOJ OIG report I requested tell a sickening story of the zero-tolerance policy that forcibly separated thousands… Continue Reading

Durbin, Warren To Federal Prison Authorities: Take Urgent Action To Contain Further Spread Of COVID-19 In Federal Prisons

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to act promptly to reduce the rapid spread of COVID-19 in federal facilities by adopting a public health-driven approach to managing the novel coronavirus, including releasing eligible individuals to home confinement and adopting appropriate and humane procedures to medically isolate or quarantine individuals infected with COVID-19 instead of c… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Illinoisans With Pre-Existing Conditions To Speak Out Against Republican Threat To Overturn Affordable Care Act With SCOTUS Nomination

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, to discuss the Supreme Court nomination and the importance of coverage for those with pre-existing conditions provided under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Durbin was joined by several Illinoisans with pre-existing conditions who shared their stories highlighting the importance of the protections provided by the ACA. One week after Election Day, the Supreme Court will take up a case that will deter… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues To Highlight Need For State Assistance To Prevent Ongoing Threat Of Foreign

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and two of their other colleagues on the Rules Committee in sending a letter to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) asking what steps are being taken in the final month before the election to assist states in administering safe, secure, and successful elections. Additionally, the U.S. Intelligence Community has left no doubt that foreign adversaries, particularly Russia, are actively working to undermine the 202… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues In Calling For Investigation Into Political Inference With Coronavirus Information

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Gary Peters (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in leading 24 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General calling for an immediate investigation into allegations of political interference with public health information at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Dru… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $3.2 Million In FEMA Reimbursement For Flooding Recovery

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois has been awarded a total of $3,248,722 in federal funding to offset costs related to the historic flooding that occurred from February 24 to July 3, 2019. The funding, awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will go to the Illinois Department of Transportation to help cover the costs of emergency response and flooding prevention efforts in Springfield. "I saw firsthand the i… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Cosponsor Legislation To Build Core Public Health Infrastructure Needed To Save Lives, Fight Threats Like COVID-19

WASHINGTON- This week, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 16 of their Democratic Senate colleagues to introduce the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act (PHISLA). The legislation would establish a new core public health infrastructure program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with up to $4.5 billion in annual funding to bolster the nation's efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and strengthen its abil… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Federal Funding For Gun Violence Prevention Research

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Northwestern University has been awarded more than $500,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study the effects of gun violence. This is the first time in more than 20 years that federal funding has been appropriated for research related to firearm violence prevention at the CDC after Congress passed the Dickey Amendment in 1996, which effectively banne… Continue Reading

Durbin Attempts To Pass House-Passed Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act On Senate Floor

WASHINGTON - Following President Donald Trump's refusal to condemn white supremacists during the course of Tuesday night's Presidential debate, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made a unanimous consent (UC) request to immediately pass the House-passed Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2020. Last week, on a unanimous vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the House companion to Durbin's Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2020. The bill would enhance the federal … Continue Reading

Durbin, Feinstein Statement On Trump Admin Decision To Slash Refugee Resettlement Goal To Lowest Level In History

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced that it will aim to admit just 15,000 refugees to the U.S. in the coming year, the lowest target in history: "In the midst of the worst refugee crisis in history, it is no surprise that the Trump Admin… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Passing Of Former Rockford Mayor John McNamara

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the passing of former Rockford, Illinois, Mayor John McNamara: "John was a dedicated public servant who fought for his country and worked tirelessly for his community. He was a class act who led by example, and he was my friend. Loretta and I stand with his family as they honor John's incredible life." -30-… Continue Reading