Durbin Statement On DOJ Lawsuit Against Georgia Voting Law

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement today after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it would file a lawsuit against the state of Georgia over its new voting law: "I applaud the Department of Justice challenging the new Georgia law restricting the right to vote, particularly for communities of color. We have battled this form of discrimination for decades. It should have no place in our nation.… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Visit To El Paso, Texas, With Vice President Harris

EL PASO, TX - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after visiting the southwest border at El Paso, Texas, with Vice President Kamala Harris, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16): "I was last in El Paso two years ago. What I saw at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center on that day has haunted me ever since. Simply put, the former… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $60 Million In Federal Funding For Illinois Rural Communities

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $59,193,800 in federal loans and grants for rural communities in Illinois. The funding, awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program, will go to ten communities in Illinois to rebuild and modernize essential services. "These loans and grants will help rural communities throughout Illinois expand economic opportunities and impro… Continue Reading

Durbin Speaks In Support Of President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor to discuss President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy. Durbin shared his support for the President's initiative and discussed the deadly toll gun violence has had in Chicago, Illinois. Durbin also called on the Senate to pass background check legislation to prevent guns from ending up in the hands of criminals and mentally unstable people and to confirm David C… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Durbin, Grassley Bill To Put Cameras In Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-7 to advance the bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act, introduced by 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. The bipartisan bill 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

Senate Confirms Candace Jackson-Akiwumi To The Seventh Circuit

WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate confirmed Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit by a bipartisan vote of 53-40. U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on her confirmation: "Ms. Jackson-Akiwumi has devoted her life to defending the rule of law, including spending ten years as a federal public defender-representing hundreds of indigent clients at every stage of the legal pro… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, King Introduce Bill To Require Price Transparency In Prescription Drug Advertisements

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and US. Senator Angus King (I-ME) today introduced the Drug-price Transparency for Competition (DTC) Act, a bill that would require price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs, in order to empower patients and reduce spending on medications. Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report - requested by Durbin and Grassley - which found direct-to-consumer (DTC) ad… Continue Reading

Durbin Speaks With CDC Director On Public Health Priorities

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke by phone with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky about his public health priorities, including ways to reduce community violence and address children's exposure to trauma, funding to improve maternal health, restricting tobacco companies from marketing e-cigarettes to children, and improving health outcomes for individuals with congenital heart defects. On the call, Durbin discussed… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Chipman To Lead ATF, Jaddou To Lead USCIS, And Strickland To The District Of New Mexico

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Margaret Irene Strickland, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico; David H. Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Ahead of the votes, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support all thr… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Chipman To Lead ATF, Jaddou To Lead USCIS, And Strickland To The District Of New Mexico

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Margaret Irene Strickland, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico; David H. Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Ahead of the votes, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support all thr… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Biden Administration's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy: "Too many Chicagoans endure the daily stress and fear of gunfire, and too many Monday mornings start with devastating news headlines of the weekend's toll of shootings in our streets and neighborhoods. This violence is heartbreaking, traumatic, and impacting innocent families and children. Addressing the gun viol… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Schakowsky, Garcia, Trahan Introduce Mentoring To Succeed Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL-4), and Lori Trahan (D-MA-3), introduced the bicameral Mentoring to Succeed Act to provide a strong, sustainable support system through mentorship to ensure that children who experience barriers like poverty, inadequate schooling, disability, adverse childhood experiences, or drug or alcohol abuse, can su… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Call On President Biden To Extend Pause On Student Loan Payments

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), and Joe Courtney (D-CT-2), to send a bicameral letter to President Biden calling on him to extend the pause on federal student loan payments until at least March 31, 2022. "The scheduled resumption of student loan payments in October could create a significant drag on our econom… Continue Reading

Durbin: The Fight For Voting Rights Did Not End With Yesterday's Republican Filibuster

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today slammed Senate Republicans for filibustering the For The People Act, a bill that would strengthen voting rights, secure our elections, reform our broken campaign finance system, and combat corruption through improving ethics laws for federal government officials. "Welcome back to the fight to preserve voting rights that has never ended. It didn't start on th… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Unanimous Passage Of Bipartisan & Bicameral Legislation To Sustain Crime Victims Fund

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today on the Senate floor requested unanimous consent to pass the bipartisan VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act, which would strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded. Specifically, the bill would redirect monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into the CVF to increase funding for state v… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On His Senate Colleagues To Support Judicial Nominations Of Candace Jackson-Akiwumi & Deborah Boardman

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his colleagues to support two judicial nominees who are being considered on the Senate floor this week: Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, nominated to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and Judge Deborah Boardman, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. "Ms. Candace Jackson-Akiwumi spent ten years as a federal public defender.… Continue Reading

Durbin: Any Vaping Product That Increases Youth Use Must Be Rejected By FDA

WASHINGTON-U.S Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today testified at a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy hearing entitled, "An Epidemic Continues: Youth Vaping in America." Today's hearing focused on the role of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in regulating e-cigarette products. After years of delay, the agency is in the process of determining which, if any, e-cigarettes will be allowed stay on the market. All e-cigarette manufacturers we… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Forward Recommendations For U.S. Attorneys & U.S. Marshals To White House

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a list of names to the White House to consider for two U.S. Attorney positions in the Central District and Southern District of Illinois and for three U.S. Marshal positions in the Northern District, Central District, and Southern District of Illinois. Based on recommendations made by screening committees the Senators established in each district, Durbin and Duckworth have forwarded the … Continue Reading

Durbin Gives Opening Remarks In Judiciary Committee Hearing For Judicial & Executive Nominees

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during the nominations hearing for Gustavo A. Gelpi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the First Circuit; Angel Kelley, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts; Christine P. O'Hearn, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; Helaine Ann Greenfeld, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislativ… Continue Reading

Durbin Talks For-Profit Colleges, Student Debt With Federal Student Aid COO

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid Richard Cordray to discuss protecting students from predatory for-profit colleges and student loan bankruptcy. On the call, Durbin received an update about the Biden Administration's efforts to reverse damaging policies enacted during the Trump Administration. Cordray noted that the Department will soon be considering revisions to the borrower defense rule that would … Continue Reading