Press Releases
Durbin, Senators Call On Saudi Arabia To Release Political Prisoners
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today called on the King of Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release a number of prisoners held by the Saudi government, many of them on dubious charges related to their activism. These include writer Raif Badawi, human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-K… Continue Reading
03.19.19
Durbin, Leahy, Schatz Statement On DOD List Of Military Projects On The Chopping Block For President Trump's Wall
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Defense sent Congress a list of military construction projects that could be delayed in order to pay for Presiden… Continue Reading
03.18.19
Durbin, Kelly Announce Legislation To Lower The Nation’s Rising Maternal And Infant Mortality Rates
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today announced the reintroduction of their legislation to help lower America's rising maternal and infant mortality rates and reduce racial disparities in health outcomes. The Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA) Act, which will be formally introduced by Durbin and Kelly in the House and Senate next week, aims to improve care women receive before, during, and after pregnancy. "No … Continue Reading
03.18.19
Durbin Statement On President Trump's Veto Of Congress' Emergency Declaration Rebuke
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump vetoed the resolution of termination regarding his national emergency declaration to build a wall at the southern border. Yesterday, the Senate voted to reject President Trump's emergency declaration by a bipartisan vote of 59-41. "Yesterday, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate chose the Constitution over th… Continue Reading
03.15.19
Durbin Statement On New Zealand Mosque Massacre
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after at least 49 people were killed in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand: "The massacre at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, was spawned by white supremacy and hatred of Muslims and immigrants. My heart goes out to the victims of this devastating attack, their families, and the communities affected. We must all stand together in solidarity with the Muslim co… Continue Reading
03.15.19
Durbin, Grassley Bill Will Require Supreme Court To Allow Cameras In The Courtroom
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reintroduced legislation today to require open proceedings of the Supreme Court to be televised. The bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act would require the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court, unless the Court decides, by a majority vote of the Justices, that doing so would constitute a violation of the d… Continue Reading
03.15.19
Durbin Statement On Senate's Bipartisan Rejection Of President Trump's Emergency Declaration
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the Senate voted to reject President Donald Trump's emergency declaration in order to fulfill his campaign promise of building a wall at the southern border: "Today, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate chose the Constitution over the President's so-called 'national emergency' declaration. The Senate must continue to reject any e… Continue Reading
03.15.19
Durbin Meets With The Illinois Farm Bureau To Discuss USDA Cuts In President's Budget, Agriculture Priorities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with the Illinois Farm Bureau to discuss the importance of continuing to support and invest in Illinois' agricultural communities. Durbin discussed the potential impact of President Trump's proposed 15 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including a 31 percent cut to the Farm Bill, and a $26 million cut to crop insurance. The group also discussed how the President's trade war with China is affecting business relationships abr… Continue Reading
03.15.19
Durbin Asks CDC To Assist With Ethylene Oxide Emissions In Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today asked Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield to assist in efforts to protect residents of Illinois from ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions-a known carcinogen-especially those that live near the Sterigenics medical sterilization facility in Willowbrook. Currently, Sterigenics is under a seal order from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for unacceptably high EtO emissions. Director Redfield said he had been … Continue Reading
03.14.19
Durbin: Pharma Fleece From Drug Vial Waste Must End
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today on the Senate floor, as part of his new "Pharma Fleece Awards" series of floor speeches highlighting egregious cases of pharmaceutical greed, slammed Takeda, Eisai, Merck, and Genentech, four pharmaceutical companies that sell cancer drugs in excessively large vials that contain dramatically more medicine than the average patient needs. As a result of these pharmaceutical industry decisions, billions of dollars are spent each year on medications… Continue Reading
03.14.19
Durbin Votes For Bipartisan Resolution To Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today voted for the bipartisan joint war powers resolution, of which he is a cosponsor, to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The resolution passed the Senate 54-46. It will go back to the House of Representatives for a vote before heading to the White House. The White House had issued a veto threat ahead of today's Senate vote. "Not only was this war never authorized by the elected representativ… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin, Duckworth, Foster, McMorris Rodgers Introduce Bicameral Bill To Support Military Families By Fixing Inconsistency In GI Bill Benefit
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL-11) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05), today introduced bicameral legislation - the GI Education Benefits Fairness Act - that would support military families by extending Post-911 GI Bill education benefits to foster children and legal wards. "The Post-9/11 GI Bill gives service members the ability to transfer some or all of their unused benefits to family members, but… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin Meets With Willowbrook Residents To Discuss Ethylene Oxide Emissions At Sterigenics
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with residents of Willowbrook, Illinois, who have been impacted by ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions from the Sterigenics medical sterilization facility in their community. Currently, Sterigenics is under a seal order from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for unacceptably high EtO emissions. "Ethylene oxide emissions are a cause for serious concern in Willowbrook, and today I heard directly from residents who have had enough with the… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin: Congress Must Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Senate to once again pass a bipartisan joint war powers resolution to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Yemen. The Senate is expected to vote on the matter this afternoon. In February, the Democratic-led House of Representatives passed a joint war powers resolution to end U.S. involvement in Yemen by a vote of 248-177. The White House has issued a veto threat ahead of today's Senate vote. "Our Founding … Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin & Senators Reintroduce Bill To Protect Children's Online Privacy
WASHINGTON - As the collection of personal information by internet companies is encroaching more and more on the privacy of every American, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today reintroduced legislation to strengthen online privacy protections for children when websites collect their personally identifiable information. The Clean Slate for Kids Online Act would give every American an enforceable leg… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin Meets With President Trump's Nominee To Be U.S. Ambassador To Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON - As the Senate votes once again on the Yemen War Powers Resolution to end U.S.-support for the Saudi-led conflict, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with General John Abizaid, USA (Ret.), President Donald Trump's nominee to be the U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, one of many key Ambassador positions that have inexplicably been left vacant under the Trump Administration. In the meeting, Durbin pressed General Abizaid on the need for accountability following t… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin: President Trump's Budget Request Undermines Our Farmers & Rural America
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Agriculture Committee, today released the following statement regarding cuts to farmers, livestock producers, and rural towns across America in President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2020 budget request: "After signing the Farm Bill in December and saying 'we have to take care of our farmers …and we will,' President Trump is abandoning them in order to fulfill his campaign promise of buil… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin, Duckworth Press EPA Administrator Wheeler For Stronger Standards On Ethylene Oxide Emissions
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler on their concerns about ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions at the Medline and Vantage facilities in Lake County and Sterigenics facility in DuPage County. The Senators pressed Administrator Wheeler for answers as to why the EPA has not yet implemented new standards for EtO emissions, and discussed the data released last week from outside of the … Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin Testifies At House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing On Oversight of For-Profit College Industry
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today testified at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing entitled "Oversight of For-Profit Colleges: Protecting Students and Taxpayer Dollars." Durbin testified about the continued risk that for-profit colleges pose to students and taxpayers and the need for Congress to finally uphold its oversight responsibilities of this predatory industry.… Continue Reading
03.13.19
Durbin: Public Deserves Transparency From The FAA On Safety Of Boeing 737 Max 8 Series Aircraft
WASHINGTON-Following the two devastating plane crashes involving Boeing's new 737 Max 8 series aircraft, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to immediately provide the public with clear answers about the current safety of this aircraft and to work with both the manufacturer and the airlines to perform a thorough investigation of the aircraft to find and remedy any potential vulnerabilities. In a letter to FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell… Continue Reading