Durbin Visits Marion VA, Receives Update On Ongoing Investigation

MARION - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Marion VA Medical Center and met with leadership and concerned staff to discuss the ongoing investigations related to mismanagement and retaliation against whistleblowers, and the potential impact on patient safety and care. Following Durbin's calls for an investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has sent a number of national offices to the Marion VA for a series of reviews, interviews, and briefings. "We owe each and every v… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Administration Immigration Wishlist

CHICAGO-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, released the following statement: The Administration passed the buck to Congress when it announced the end of DACA. There will be time to debate these deeply flawed immigration principles after Congress addresses the DACA crisis that the Administration itself created. Many of these proposals already face bipartisan opposition in the House and Senate and it would be wrong t… Continue Reading

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

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce "No Check, No Sale" Bill To Close Loophole Allowing Gun Sales Without A Completed Background Check

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and 18 additional Senate colleagues introduced legislation to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Franken Introduce Bill To Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness To Adjunct Professors

WASHINGTON - At a time when adjunct faculty members now make up a majority of higher education instructors nationwide, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Al Franken (D-MN) today introduced legislation that would allow part-time faculty at colleges and universities across the country - who are often paid low wages with few benefits - to be eligible to participate in the federal student loan forgiveness program for public servants. In Illinois, more than half of all faculty at public and non-pr… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Equifax To Protect Consumers By Paying Credit Freeze Fees At The Other Major Credit Reporting Agencies

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), in a letter to Equifax Interim Chief Executive Officer Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., called on the massive credit-reporting agency to assume fees incurred by consumers freezing, temporarily lifting, and unfreezing their credit reports at the two other major credit reporting agencies: Experian and TransUnion. Durbin also pressed Equifax to reimburse consumers who have already paid such fees since Equifax announced the massive breach of its… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform Package

WASHINGTON-A bipartisan group of senators today reintroduced the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 to recalibrate prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, target violent and career criminals and save taxpayer dollars. The legislation permits more judicial discretion at sentencing for offenders with minimal criminal histories and helps inmates successfully reenter society, while tightening penalties for violent criminals and preserving key prosecutorial tools for law enforceme… Continue Reading

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

Durbin Pushes For Quick Action On Bipartisan Dream Act During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On DACA

WASHINGTON - During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, warned his Senate colleagues that the deportation clock is ticking for approximately 800,000 DACA recipients. He also urged them to support the bipartisan Dream Act that he and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced, which would allow immigrant students who grew up in t… Continue Reading

Durbin: Congress Is Complicit In Gun Violence If We Continue This Course Of Inaction

WASHINGTON-Following the tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, that killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) challenged his Senate colleagues to not just be casual observers of gun violence, but to do their job and pass laws that make America safer. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin called on Congress to pass a universal background checks bill and commonsense gun laws to help prevent the next mass shooting. "Gun violence is… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than 790,000 In Federal Funding To Strengthen Math & Science Skills Of Illinois Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Family Centered Educational Agency, Inc., and Carl Sandburg College a total of $791,814 through the Upward Bound Math and Science program. The Upward Bound Math and Science program is designed to strengthen the math and science skills of participating students. The goal of the program is to help students recognize … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Trump Administration To Extend DACA Deadline

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend the October 5th Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal deadline and encouraged eligible DACA recipients to file their renewal applications as soon as possible to make the deadline. Under the arbitrary deadline set by the Trump Administration, current DACA recipients whose status expires between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018 must apply to renew their DACA status by Thurs… Continue Reading

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

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

Durbin, Brown Caution Purdue University Amid Bid To Purchase Predatory For-Profit College

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today cautioned Purdue University President Mitch Daniels of Kaplan University's shameful record as part of a for-profit college industry that has become known for systemic fraud and predatory practices. In a letter to President Daniels, Durbin and Brown stressed that Purdue's embrace of Kaplan through their bid to purchase the for-profit giant poses major risks for Purdue's current students and the institution's reputation as… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Legislation To Ensure Transparency & Accountability In DEA Quotas For Prescription Opioid Painkillers

WASHINGTON - As the nation suffers from a national public health emergency in the form of an opioid epidemic that took the lives of nearly 50,000 Americans last year, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) today to introduce legislation, the Opioid Quota Openness, Transparency, and Awareness Act (Opioid QuOTA Act), to shed light on the secretive process by which the pharmaceutical companies gain approval to produce the deadly opioid painkillers. The Drug Enforce… Continue Reading

Durbin Pushes For Protection Against Harmful Pollution In East Chicago

WASHINGTON - Following a recent Chicago Tribune article, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and SunCoke Energy to address SunCoke Energy's Indiana Harbor coke-making facility's violations and contributions to Chicago's air pollution. Indiana Harbor has been cited by the EPA six times since 2010 for violations including high levels of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and lead. Yet, the EPA has not yet taken action against Indiana Harbor Co… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues To Trump: We Must Do More For Puerto Rico And U.S. Virgin Islands

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 35 additional colleagues in a letter to President Trump to express deep concern about the situation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the letter, the senators wrote, "We write to express deep concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria recently kn… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Administration Decision To Slash Refugee Resettlement Quota

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Elaine Duke, who confirmed that the Trump Administration has decided to allow the resettlement of no more than 45,000 refugees in the United States next year. This will bring the number of refugees allowed into the United States to the lowest level… Continue Reading

Durbin, Franken, King, Polis, Sinema Introduce Bicameral Legislation To Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), and Angus King (I-ME) along with U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO-02) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ-09) today introduced bicameral legislation designed to help students manage costs by making high quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors, and the public for free. This bill, known as the Affordable College Textbook Act, would create a competitive grant program to support the creation and expand the use of open c… Continue Reading