Durbin, Hawley Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Protect Employees When Businesses File For Bankruptcy

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced the Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act.  The bipartisan legislation would correct abuses of the bankruptcy process that deprive employees and retirees of their hard-earned wages, benefits, and retirement savings.  As businesses’ bankruptcy filings have increased, jobs, pen… Continue Reading

Durbin Issues Statement On Urgency Of Passing Farm Bill As President-Elect Trump's Tariffs Loom Over Illinois' Agriculture Sector

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today released the following statement regarding the urgency in passing a Farm Bill as President-elect Trump threatens to impose tariffs on prominent trade partners in the agricultural sector: “Sticker shock has become an almost expected experience during Americans’ weekly grocery shopping, and it’s deeply impacting families’ budgets.  And Illinois farmers are exp… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges President-Elect Trump To Follow Precedent And Require All Nominees To Complete FBI Background Investigations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor urging President-elect Trump to follow precedent and ensure every single Senate-confirmed nominee has undergone an FBI background investigation. Durbin has served on the Senate Judiciary Committee for over 20 years and in that time, he has voted on thousands of judicial, U.S. Attorney, U.S. Marshal, and Justice Department nominees. Regardless of party, every nominee who h… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Ramaswamy's Threat To Claw Back Federal Loan To Rivian, Rival Company Of Elon Musk

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on remarks made by Vivek Ramaswamy, the incoming Co-Chair of President-elect Trump’s commission to cut government spending, about clawing back federal funding that the Biden administration is dispersing, including a key loan to Rivian, a rival company of his commission Co-Chair, Elon Musk: “Isn’t this rich. In 2009, when his Tesla operation was hanging by a thread, Elon Musk borrowed nearly $500 mil… Continue Reading

Durbin Makes Urgent Plea For Defense Secretary Austin To Reconsider His Revoking Of Guilty Plea Deal For Accused September 11th Plotters

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, again pressed U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin today on his decision to revoke a long-sought guilty plea deal between prosecutors and defendants accused of perpetrating the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. Secretary Austin revoked the deal two days after it was announced despite two years of negotiations, a move that frustrated victims’ families and put them through e… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Senate Democratic Whip Operations For 119th Congress

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the following Senators were selected to be members of the Senate Democratic Whip operation for the 119th Congress: Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chief Deputy Whip; Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Deputy Whip; and Senator Tina Smith, Deputy Whip; as well as Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE). “The November 5th election showed that our nation remains di… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Illinois Primary Health Care Association

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) to discuss workforce shortages in the health care sector, and funding to ensure Illinoisans can continue to get the high quality, affordable care they need. One in nine patients in Illinois are served by community health centers across urban, suburban, and rural parts of the state—providing primary, behavioral, and dental health care to patients regardless of their income… Continue Reading

Durbin, Markey, Waters Lead 72 Colleagues In Calling On Department Of Education To Discharge Loans For Defrauded Borrowers

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) today called on the Department of Education to discharge student loan debt for hundreds of thousands of students who were defrauded by predatory schools.  During the first Trump Administration, defrauded borrowers’ applications for debt relief were left to languish for years, and if reviewed, were often denied.  In their letter today, the lawmakers called for… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Metra CEO

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Jim Derwinski, CEO of Metra to discuss surface transportation reauthorization priorities for the commuter rail provider and receive updates on its recent federal grant awards.  During their meeting, Durbin and Metra leadership spoke about ongoing funding needs for station upgrades and bridge repairs. “Many Illinoisans rely on Metra to commute in and out of Chicago.  It’s critical that Metra has the support it needs to meet… Continue Reading

Durbin Pays Tribute To Senators Cardin, Carper, Manchin, Stabenow, And Butler For Their Service In The U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today paid tribute to five Senators who will be retiring at the end of the 118th Congress—U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Joe Manchin (I-WV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Laphonza Butler (D-CA). “The Biden-Harris Administration will go down in history as arguably the most productive and consequential administration in the last 75 years. They couldn’t have done it without a good partners… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Introduction Of National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act

WASHINGTON – To maintain and expand the United States’ leadership in the global race for quantum technology, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Todd Young (R-IN), and Steve Daines (R-MT) to introduce the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act, bipartisan legislation that would authorize $2.7 billion in federal funding, for the next five years, to accelerate quantum research and development at federal science agencies – includin… Continue Reading

Durbin Re-Elected As Senate Democratic Whip For 119th Congress

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after being unanimously re-elected as the Senate’s second-highest ranking Democrat, the Senate Democratic Whip, for the 119th Congress by his Senate Democratic colleagues this morning.  Durbin has served in the number two role in the caucus since 2005.  “I am honored to continue to serve the Senate Democratic Caucus as Whip in the 119th Congress. The November 5th election showed that our nation remains di… Continue Reading

Durbin Recommits To Protecting Dreamers On Senate Floor Ahead Of New Administration

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor highlighting the urgent need for Congress to pass legal protections fornoncitizens who were brought to the United States as children, known as Dreamers, especially as President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on an immigration platform of “mass deportations.” Durbin said, “I rise today to again discuss one of my top priorities throughout my Senate career: fixing our broken… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Biden Administration To Prioritize Processing Borrower Defense Claims To Support Defrauded Students Before Second Trump Administration

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling on the Biden Administration to prioritize discharging student loans of borrowers who attended predatory for-profit colleges.  In his remarks, Durbin underscored that the current administration must move to protect students as the Trump Administration has a proven record of disregarding students’ borrower defense claims.  Durbin also emphasized the dangers of for-profit colleges, which h… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On President-Elect Trump's Intent To Nominate Kash Patel As FBI Director

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he intends to nominate Kash Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): “We already have a FBI Director, Christopher Wray, and his term does not expire until 2027. President-elect Trump knows this, because he nominated Director Wray in 2017 after he fired the previous Director,… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Introduction Of Bicameral Legislation To Expand Protections For Migrant's Essential Personal Belongings

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and U.S. Representatives Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03) and Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07) in introducing the CBP Guidance on Personal Belongings Act, bicameral legislation to require the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to develop guidance for the handling of personal property of individuals arrested, restrained, or confine… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Warren To Renew Push To Support Survivors Of Natural Disasters

Bill Text | Section by Section SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to reintroduce the Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act.  This bill would streamline the process for people in communities affected by natural disasters and seeking housing assistance.  After devastating natural disasters, like Hurricanes Helene and Milton in late September, survivors can be left with limited options for recovery.  The Federal Emergency Mana… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges The Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency To Clarify Its Misinterpretation Of Interchange Fees

SPRINGFIELD –U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), author of the “Durbin Amendment,” sent a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) requesting it to clarify its understanding of interchange fees in light of the OCC’s recent amicus brief filed in Illinois Bankers Association v Raoul. In the letter, Durbin highlights the fact the OCC may be misinterpreting or misstating basic elements of interchange fees, which is particularly troubling given the OCC’s statutory role … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On President-Elect Trump's Intent To Nominate Pam Bondi As Attorney General

SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he intends to nominate Pam Bondi to be U.S. Attorney General: “Serious questions have been raised about Ms. Bondi’s conduct as Florida’s Attorney General and President-elect Trump’s personal attorney. The Trump transition team is moving forward with an Attorney General nominee without the customary … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With U.S. Ambassador To Ukraine, Bridget Brink

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, hosted the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, to discuss continued Congressional support for Ukraine and the need to strengthen the NATO alliance ahead of the incoming Administration. Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed (D-RI) also joined the meeting. “More than two and a half years after Putin began his brutal, criminal invasion, Ukraine remains on the frontlines of democracy,” said Durb… Continue Reading