Durbin, Senate Democrats Introduce Bill to Save Public Infrastructure Projects Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and a group of Senate Democrats to introduce the Public Transit Capital Investment Relief Act of 2021. The legislation would provide relief for public transportation agencies through the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program by increasing the federal cost share of the total project cost for qualifying projects that are under construction or near completion. Durbin and Murray were joined by U.S. Se… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More than $380 Million for Illinois Schools for COVID-19 Testing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $381.6 million in federal funding for the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago to support COVID-19 screening testing for teachers, staff, and students to assist schools in re-opening safely for in-person instruction and to support essential worker testing. With funding provided through the American Rescue Plan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $300.5 million to the… Continue Reading

Ahead of House Vote on Immigration Legislation, Durbin Calls on the Senate to Act

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the House of Representatives vote on the American Dream and Promise Act, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, today called on the Senate to take up the legislation after the House passes it. TheAmerican Dream and Promise Act would establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). Durbin also spoke in strong sup… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on House Passage of the Dream and Promise Act & Farm Workforce Modernization Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the original sponsor of the Dream Act, today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the American Dream and Promise Act, the House companion to the Dream Act. These bills will establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and migrant… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bill to Put Cameras in the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation today to require open proceedings of the Supreme Court to be televised. The bipartisanCameras 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… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on DNI Assessment on Threat Posed By Domestic Violent Extremists

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), on behalf of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), released its assessment of the threat posed by domestic violent extremists. Specifically, the IC assesses that "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists"-a category consisting largely of white supremacist extremists-are most likely to co… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Judiciary Committee Members to Support Monaco and Gupta Nominations for Justice Department

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his Senate colleagues in the Judiciary Committee to support the nominations of Lisa Monaco to be U.S. Deputy Attorney General and Vanita Gupta to be U.S. Associate Attorney General. Durbin argued that Monaco and Gupta are the experienced and dedicated leaders we need to restore integrity and independence to the Department of Justice. The Judiciary Committee is set to vote on thei… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce For the People Act to Strengthen Democracy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined their colleagues in introducing S.1., the For the People Act-a sweeping package of comprehensive reforms that would end special interest corruption of our politics and make government work for the people. The introduction comes as Republican lawmakers in 43 states continue to use unfounded election conspiracies regarding the 2020 presidential election to push to restrict Americans' access to … Continue Reading

Durbin, Deutch Introduce Legislation to Create Bond Program to Fund Efforts Combating Climate Change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL-22) today introduced the Climate Change Resiliency Fund for America Act, a bicameral bill that would authorize the U.S. Department of Treasury to issue from $200 million up to $1 billion in state and local tax-exempt "climate bonds" annually for any American to purchase and contribute to the government's efforts to combat the impacts of climate change. The legislation would set up a system similar to the war bo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Deutch Introduce Legislation to Create Bond Program to Fund Efforts Combating Climate Change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL-22) today introduced the bicameral Climate Change Resiliency Fund for America Act. The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Treasury to issue from $200 million up to $1 billion in state and local tax-exempt "climate bonds" annually for any American to purchase and contribute to the government's efforts to combat the effects of climate change. The legislation would mirror the national war bon… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with the League of Conservation Voters

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with the League of Conservation Voters to discuss environmental protection and climate change priorities. Durbin and the group discussed key land and water conservation priorities, centering equity and justice in environmental work, and the importance of confirming a diverse set of judges who respect science. Durbin also discussed the importance of Senate Judiciary Committee ov… Continue Reading

Durbin: to the People of Atlanta and the AAPI Community, I am Standing with You

WASHINGTON - Following a shooting in Atlanta where a gunman murdered eight people-six of whom were women of Asian descent-in what appears to be an act of domestic terrorism, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke out against hate crimes targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also advocated for passage of his Domestic Terrorism Prev… Continue Reading

Durbin: Republican Objections to Becerra Nomination Must End

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) slammed Republican obstruction of the nomination of Xavier Becerra to serve as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Becerra's nomination was announced three months ago and is still being blocked by Senate Republicans despite a majority of Senators supporting his nomination. Durbin said that delaying Becerra's confirmation only hurts the United States as we try to beat the p… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Illinois Food Banks to Discuss Food Insecurity

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with Feeding Illinois, which represents eight food banks that serve Illinoisans, to discuss President Biden's American Rescue Plan, food insecurity, and child nutrition. "Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, one in nine Illinois residents struggled with consistent access to meals, including one in six children. COVID-19 has exacerbated these challenges, but President Biden's Rescue Plan makes historic investments to su… Continue Reading

Durbin, Feinstein, Leahy, Klobuchar Statement on House Passage of VAWA Reauthorization Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statements after the House of Representatives passed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021. The Senators have been working to prepare companion legislation, which they hope to introduce in the coming weeks. "The Violenc… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Illinois Diaper Bank Organizations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with Loving Bottoms, Share Our Spare, Keeping Families Covered, and Cradles to Crayons - Illinois member organizations of the National Diaper Bank Network - to discuss diaper needs in Illinois in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the work the organizations are doing to get diapers to families in need. Durbin discussed President Biden's American Rescue Plan and his support for the End Diaper Need Act. "Diaper nee… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses for Passage of Equality Act in Historic Judiciary Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - During today's historic hearing on the Equality Act - legislation that codifies federal civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans - in the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, pushed back on arguments that the Equality Act could impact religious institutions or people of faith, as well as claims that passing this legislation would discriminate against people of faith or cause legal and social harms on m… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Remarks in Historic Judiciary Committee Hearing on the Equality Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Judiciary Committee hearing on the Equality Act, legislation that codifies federal civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans. This is the first time the U.S. Senate has held a hearing on the legislation, which the House of Representatives passed with bipartisan support last month. "Since the dawn of our Republic, LBGTQ Americans have made importan… Continue Reading

Durbin, Graham Statement on House Passage of Legislation to Strengthen the Victims of Crime Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statements after the House of Representatives unanimously passed critical legislation to strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded. This legislation, which Durbin and Graham are the lead authors of in the Senate, will redirect monetary penalti… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses American Rescue Plan, COVID-19 Response with Illinois Community Health Centers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with leaders from Illinois Community Health Centers (CHCs) and the Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) to discuss President Biden's American Rescue Plan, health disparities, and vaccine distribution in Illinois. Durbin heard from CHCs about their efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted his efforts to expand participation of Illinois CHCs within the new federal program that directly sh… Continue Reading