Durbin Grills Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh On Secret Documents & Misleading Prior Testimony

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today pressed President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to show the American people that he has nothing to hide by asking for his hearing to be suspended until his full White House record from 2001 to 2006 is made public, following the traditional, non-partisan National Archives process. "Judge Kavanaugh, this is your field - judicial nominations - this i… Continue Reading

Durbin To Judge Kavanaugh: Trust The American People & They Will Trust You; Show Us That Your Record Matches Your Word

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today raised concerns about the rushed confirmation process for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, including the 35-month black hole of missing documents from Kavanaugh's time as White House Staff Secretary during the first day of his confirmation hearings. In his remarks to the Committee, Durbin urged Judge Kavanaugh to call for the suspension of h… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Passing Of Longtime Naperville Mayor, George Pradel

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the passing of George Pradel, Naperville's longest-serving mayor: I used to kid George and tell him he was my favorite Republican. He was my personal guest at a State of the Union Address by George W. Bush. The reason for George's popularity: he brought out the best in all of us. He loved Naperville and he loved life. He was more than "Officer Friendly." He was a friend to everyone he met. I was glad t… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Decision To Not Seek Re-Election

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding Mayor Rahm Emanuel's decision to not seek re-election: Rahm's record of public service spans Congress, the White House, and the fifth floor of City Hall in Chicago. I have worked closely with him at every level of his public career. I always knew a call from Rahm was an invitation to join him in a bold, ambitious effort to make life better for those he served. It has been my honor to join him in these gr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Senators Call On Trump Administration To Meet Current Refugee Resettlement Cap And Significantly Increase Numbers Of Refugees Allowed Into U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 21 of their Democratic Senate colleagues in a letter to President Trump demanding that the Administration honor the United States' legacy as a nation of immigrants and beacon of hope for families around the globe fleeing violence and persecution by increasing the cap on the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S. and strengthening resources across the federal governmen… Continue Reading

Durbin, Warren, Blumenthal, Brown Seek Response To Allegations That Dept Of Education Official Advised Dream Center Education Holdings To Misrepresent Accreditation Status To Students

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos regarding reports that the Department of Education was behind Dream Center Education Holdings' (DCEH) alleged misrepresentation of its accreditation status. A report published by David Halperin of the Republic Report alleges that Diane Jones, Principal Deputy Under Secretary delegated to perform the duties of… Continue Reading

Durbin Honors Sen. John McCain's Life & Legacy On Senate Floor

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) honored the life and legacy of Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Durbin recalled stories from the times he spent with Sen. McCain in Congress and on trips overseas. He also stated his support for renaming the Senate's Russell Office Building - where Sen. McCain's office was located during his Senate tenure - after the late-Senator. "There's an empty space in the Senate chamber without John McCain. Th… Continue Reading

Senate Passes Funding Bill That Includes Durbin Priority Of Increased Medical Research Funding

CHICAGO - The U.S. Senate passed the Defense-Labor-HHS-Education appropriations "minibus" package yesterday, which included a $2 billion, or 5.4 percent, increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. Over the past five years, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) has worked to provide NIH with $10 billion in increased funding, a 34 percent increase. Within this amount, the bill provides an increase for every NIH Institute and Center, in… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Meeting With Judge Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court Nominee

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after meeting with President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh: The Administration and Senate Republicans have refused to disclose any documents from the 35 months that Judge Kavanaugh spent as Staff Secretary in the White House, a time when many controversial issues of constitutional importance were debated and decided. Judge … Continue Reading

Senate Passes Durbin-Grassley Amendment To Take On Big Pharma, Require Disclosure Of Drug Prices In Tv Ads

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Senate passed a bipartisan amendment introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to the Defense-Labor-HHS-Education appropriations "minibus" package that provides the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with $1 million to implement rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. The amendment helps to empower patients, promote transparency, and… Continue Reading

Durbin, Dem Senators To DHS Secretary Nielsen: Under Your Leadership, Immigration Crisis Grows Worse By The Day

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate's Immigration Subcommittee, led 19 Senators today in sending a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen imploring her to reverse course on several anti-immigrant policies implemented by her agency, including by immediately reunifying all children separated at the border by the Trump Administration's zero-tolerance policy. The Senators also called on Secretary Nielsen to restore DACA, support the… Continue Reading

Durbin, Dem Senators Take Action To Stop Trump-Devos Elimination Of Student Borrower Protections

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with several of his Senate Democratic Colleagues, today introduced a pair of amendments to the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill - part of the "minibus" appropriations package being considered this week by the Senate - to protect relief for student loan borrowers who have been defrauded by for-profit colleges and universities and hold institutions accountable. The amendments would prohibit Secretary of Educatio… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $33 Million In Federal Funding For Positive Train Control In Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $33,224,233 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) safety technology on Chicago-area railroads. PTC is a federally mandated computerized system that prevents certain types of train-to-train collisions, helps avoid derailments and other accidents caused by excessive speed, and increases safety for rail workers. "Im… Continue Reading

Durbin: Judge Kavanaugh Should Be Held To The Same Standard Of Transparency As Prior Supreme Court Nominees

WASHINGTON- In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, discussed the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh and how Republicans have embarked on an unprecedented effort to hide critical documents from Kavanaugh's tenure as a top White House aide to President George W. Bush. As of right now, just two percent of Kavanaugh's records from his time in the Bush White House have been made public, including none from h… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds Bipartisan Passage Of Amendments Establishing Firefighters Cancer Registry

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) applauded passage of a bipartisan amendment that will help fund and establish the Firefighter Cancer Registry, which is a specialized national cancer registry to improve collection and research activities related to monitoring and studying cancer incidence among firefighters. The amendment passed last night by a vote of 85-0 for inclusion in the Labor Health and Human Services FY19 appropriation bill being considered by the Senate… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kennedy Applaud DEA For Lowering Opioid Quotas For Third Year In A Row

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John Kennedy (R-LA) today praised the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) proposal to reduce production quotas for nearly all Schedule II prescription opioids by an average of 10 percent for next year. The DEA is responsible for establishing annual quotas determining the exact amount of each opioid drug that is permitted to be produced in the U.S. each year. After two decades of dramatic increases to the volume of opioids allowed to come to… Continue Reading

As Big Pharma Rakes In Profits At Patients' Expense, Durbin Calls For Action On Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Cost

CENTREVILLE - As the costs of prescription drugs continue to soar for patients under the Trump Administration, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called for action on several pieces of legislation that would hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable, curb price hikes, and bring much-needed transparency to price setting for prescription drugs in the U.S. Durbin was joined by officials from SIHF Healthcare, Touchette Regional Hospital, and a patient who has struggled with rising prescriptio… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Announcement of Kavanaugh Hearings

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee announced dates for the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh: "This is unprecedented and unfair to the American people. Senate Republicans want to wrap up Judge Kavanaugh's hearing before the National Archives releases documents--which Republicans themselves requested--about the work Kavanaugh did in the White House. These documents may… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Tribune Withdrawal From Sinclair Mega-Merger

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Tribune Media Company (Tribune) announced it was withdrawing from its $3.9 billion proposed mega-merger with Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair): From day one, the proposed acquisition of the Tribune Media Company by the Sinclair Broadcast Group was not in the interest of the American people. It threatened diversity and localism in broadcasting, it ignored the unique concerns and interests of… Continue Reading

In Central Illinois, Durbin Touts Legislation that will Support Rural EMS Agencies

FLANAGAN - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined officials at the Flanagan-Graymont Fire Protection District to discuss his bipartisan legislation, Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act, which would reauthorize a federal grant program that directly supports rural emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting courses to satisfy certification requirements, and purchasing equipment, for everything from naloxone and first aid kits, to po… Continue Reading