Durbin, Duckworth Applaud More Than $21.6 Million in Full-Service Community Schools Grants for Illinois Institutions

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Education for awarding $21,632,950 in Full-Service Community Schools grants to education institutions and community organizations in Illinois. Funding for full-service community schools has increased five-fold, from $25 million in 2020 to $150 million in 2023. The grant funding allows schools to partner with community organizations and institutions of higher educa… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kelly Lead Congressional Support for ATF Rule to Expand Background Checks

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) led letters signed by more than 160 Members of Congress in support of a proposed rule by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) titled "Definition of 'Engaged in the Business' as a Dealer in Firearms."  This proposal utilizes provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), passed in 2022 and signed into law by P… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement on United, American Commitment to O'Hare Terminal Area Project

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation, today released the following statement regarding a recent report that United Airlines and American Airlines want to “slow down, dramatically scale back, or indefinitely ground” the Chicago O’Hare International Airport Terminal Area Project (TAP), on which they signed an agreement with the City of Chicago. “Un… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Reopening Gaza Hospitals with UN Secretary General

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke by phone with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres to discuss avenues to reopen key Gaza hospitals under the supervision of a credible, neutral third party in order to help innocent civilians caught in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.  “I had a productive conversation with Secretary General Guterres about efforts to alleviate suffering of innocents caught in the conflict in Gaza,” said Durbin.  “In particular, w… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on CBP Whistleblower Alleging Systemic Failures at Agency to Ensure Proper Oversight of Medical Care Contractor

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement regarding a report by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employee whistleblower alleging years of deficient medical care at CBP facilities and CBP’s failure to ensure proper oversight of Loyal Source, the agency’s medical care contractor: “The CBP employee whistleblower’s allegations raise serious concerns. As outlined in the report, it appears that CBP failed to… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Votes to Authorize Subpoenas for Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to authorize subpoenas for Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo relating to the Committee’s Supreme Court ethics investigation: “Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats’ goal all along has been to ensure that like all other federal judges, Supreme Court justices are bound by an enforceable code of conduct.  Today’s vote to issu… Continue Reading

Durbin, Graham Announce January 2024 Hearing with Five Big Tech CEOs on Their Failure to Protect Children Online

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that the Committee’s previously announced hearing on online child sexual exploitation has been rescheduled for January 31, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. and will feature testimony from the CEOs of Meta, X (formerly known as Twitter), TikTok, Snap, and Discord. The CEOs of X, Discord, and Snap will testify pursuant to subpoenas issue… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions District Court Nominees at Latest Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing

WASHINGTON – During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Jacquelyn D. Austin, nominated to be United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina; Jacqueline Becerra, nominated to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida; Melissa Damian, nominated to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida; David Seymour Leibowit… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing on Six Judicial Nominations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Jacquelyn D. Austin, to be United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina; Jacqueline Becerra, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida; Melissa Damian, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida; David Seymour Leibowitz, … Continue Reading

Durbin, Collins Introduce Legislation to Address Uptick in Attacks on Letter Carriers on the Job

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today led 10 of their colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation to address the steep increase in armed robberies against postal workers, who are often targeted for their arrow keys.  The Postal Police Reform Act would ensure that Postal Police Officers may be assigned to duty outside of Postal Service real property to offer protection to letter carriers on their routes. The Postal Inspection S… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Grassley in Attempt to Pass Bipartisan Bill to Require Price Transparency in Prescription Drug Advertisements

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today on the Senate floor to request unanimous consent (UC) to pass their bipartisan Drug-price Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act, a bill that would require price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs, in order to empower patients and reduce excess spending on medications.  U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) objected to the unanimous consent request. In 2018, Durbin and Grassley ask… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce CMS Funding to Address Physician Shortage in Illinois

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded new Medicare Graduate Medical Education funding to support an additional 23 residency slots for hospitals in Illinois. With this new federal funding, eight Illinois hospitals will be able to expand their medical training opportunities for new doctors, in order to help address the nation’s physician shortage.  “This federal funding is a … Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights New Medicare Coverage for Dental Care, Urges CMS to Expand Coverage for State Medicaid Programs

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure urging her to notify states of recent Medicare changes in coverage and billing practices for oral health care services that were outlined in the 2024 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System final rule.  As states often model their Medicaid coverage and billi… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Public Health Experts During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Gun Violence as a Public Health Crisis

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned public health experts during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “The Gun Violence Epidemic: A Public Health Crisis.”  The hearing featured expert testimony on specific public health initiatives that have recently shown promise in reducing gun violence, such as Chair Durbin’s Chicago HEAL Initiative.  In 2022, there were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in the Uni… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Gun Violence as a Public Health Crisis

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “The Gun Violence Epidemic: A Public Health Crisis.”  The hearing features expert testimony on gun violence as a crucial public health issue and specific public health initiatives that have recently shown promise in reducing gun violence, such as Chair Durbin’s Chicago HEAL Initiative.  In 2022, there were mo… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls to Reopen Gaza Hospitals Under Neutral Third Part As Israel-Hamas Reach a Temporary Ceasefire Deal and Hostage Release

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor on the need to reopen key Gaza hospitals under the supervision of a credible, neutral third party in order to help the innocent civilians caught in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.  During his speech, Durbin said he planned to speak with Secretary General António Guterres about implementing this proposal.  He also called on Congress to pass President Biden’s emergency supplemental request, which includes emerge… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal and Hostage Release

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas to release 50 hostages currently being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip over a four-day long ceasefire:  “I am relieved and heartened that the deal to release 50 of the 240 hostages being held by Hamas over a four-day ceasefire has been reached, with the possibility to extend the ceasefire by an additional day for every ten hostages released.  … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Baldwin, Colleagues in Calling for Immediate Steps to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Gaza and Protect Civilians

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) along with U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) led their colleagues in urging President Biden to work with Israel and international partners to implement a plan that will protect innocent civilian life in Gaza, deliver sustained humanitarian aid, and work toward the long term goals of ending Hamas’s threat, bringing hostages home, and achieving su… Continue Reading

Durbin, Graham Announce Subpoenas to Big Tech CEOs to Testify About Their Failure to Protect Children Online

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that subpoenas have been issued to the CEOs of Discord, Snap, and X (formerly known as Twitter) to testify at the December 6 full committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation. The Committee remains in discussion with Meta and TikTok and expects their CEOs—Mark Zuckerberg and Shou Zi Chew—will agree to testify volun… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Send Recommendations to be Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division to the White House

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a list of names for the White House to consider for Federal District Court Judge vacancies in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.  Based on recommendations made by the screening committee the Senators established, Durbin and Duckworth have forwarded the names of the following individuals to President Biden for consideration: Georgi… Continue Reading