Press Releases
Durbin, Duckworth Slam Trump Administration Proposal To Weaken Protections Against Discrimination In Health Care
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 32 of their fellow Democratic senators, have submitted a comment letter for the record to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar criticizing the Trump Administration's proposed rule to weaken critical protections that help address discrimination in health care. The senators outlined several issues with the proposed rule, including how it could harm patie… Continue Reading
08.14.19
Durbin Calls For Investigation Of Trump Admin's Efforts To Use Eminent Domain To Seize Privately Held Land To Build Border Wall
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), have sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting that the U.S. Government Accountability Office investigate the Trump Administration's efforts to exercise the power of eminent domain to seize privately held land to build a border wall at the southern border of the United States. The Senators, who are all opposed to the president's border wal… Continue Reading
08.13.19
Durbin Statement On Prison Understaffing Crisis Following Epstein Death
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the understaffing crisis at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which is receiving heightened attention following the apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein. The Bureau of Prisons has not had a permanent director since May 2018, a leadership vacuum that Attorney General William Barr has not addressed in his six months on the job. "Attorney Ge… Continue Reading
08.13.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $1.5 Million In Opioid, Behavioral Health Services For Southern Illinois Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers in Southern Illinois a total of $1,560,000 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-qual… Continue Reading
08.13.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $1.5 Million In Opioid, Behavorial Health Services For Western Illinois Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers in Western Illinois a total of $1,501,000 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-quali… Continue Reading
08.13.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $2.1 Million In Opioid, Behavioral Health Services For Central Illinois Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers across Central Illinois a total of $2,169,000 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-q… Continue Reading
08.13.19
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4.5 Million In Opioid, Behavioral Health Services For Chicago Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers in Chicago, Illinois, a total of $4,503,836 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-quality health care in underserved urban and rural c… Continue Reading
08.12.19
Durbin, Senators Call Out Partisan 'Project' To Tip Supreme Court In Favor Of NRA-Backed Plaintiffs
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case bringing the first major challenge to gun safety laws since 2010. Against the backdrop of shocking gun violence in America, the Senators detail how the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Federalist Society, and other dark money-funded partisan groups have announced their … Continue Reading
08.12.19
Durbin, Markey, Blumenthal Request Information On Student Data Collection Practices
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today sent letters to numerous education technology (EdTech) companies inquiring about data collection practices on American students. The Senators raised concerns that the learning tools used by these companies could pose a serious risk to students, parents, and educational institutions as a result of the potential for massive amounts of personal information to be stolen, collected, or sold without thei… Continue Reading
08.12.19
Illinois Congressional Democrats Urge Census Bureau To Ensure Full And Fair Count For 2020 Census
WASHINGTON - The Democratic members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation today sent a letter to U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham urging him to ensure a full and fair count of the State of Illinois with the upcoming 2020 Decennial Census. The members expressed concern with administrative and technological changes being made to the upcoming Census, and urged the Bureau to provide Illinois with the necessary resources to count all Illinois residents, especially vulnerable and hard… Continue Reading
08.09.19
Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos, Loebsack Announce $1.2 Million In DOT Funding for Quad Cities Ferryboat Dock
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and Dave Loebsack (D-IA-02), announced today that Quad Cities MetroLINK will receive $1,200,000 in federal grant funding to replace an old Channel Cat dock in Davenport. The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Passenger Ferry Grant program. Today's grant will be used to rebuild Davenport's Lindsay Park dock. "I'm pleased that this… Continue Reading
08.09.19
Durbin Statement On Passing Of U.S. Representative Paul Findley
DECATUR - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the passing of former U.S. Representative Paul Findley, who represented Illinois' 20th Congressional District from January 3, 1961 - January 3, 1983: "Paul Findley was my political opponent, but he was also my friend. In 1982, I prevailed in the election over twenty-two year incumbent Congressman Paul Findley. Over the years, our infrequent conversations increased in number and a friendship emerged. I was hon… Continue Reading
08.09.19
Durbin Holds Roundtable To Discuss How Trump's Tariffs Are Impacting Farmers
NIANTIC-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today held a roundtable discussion with local agricultural leaders to discuss issues impacting farmers, including the President's recent trade war with China that places tariffs on Chinese goods. China is Illinois' number one agriculture export market. "This has been a tough planting season - and when you combine it with the President's mystifying decisions like a reckless trade w… Continue Reading
08.09.19
Durbin, Baldwin, Sanders, Warren, Blumenthal To FDA: Hold Avexis Accountable
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today blasted AveXis, a subdivision of pharmaceutical giant Novartis, for falsifying data in order to obtain approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new gene therapy, Zolgensma, which was developed through taxpayer funding and is now sold for $2.1 million. In a letter to FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless, the Senators urg… Continue Reading
08.08.19
Durbin, Booker Call Out Barr, Wray For Inadequate Effort To Combat White Supremacist Terrorism
WASHINGTON-Following another devastating incident of domestic terrorism committed by a white supremacist, this time in El Paso, Texas, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today pressed Attorney General William Barr and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wrayabout what the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI are doing to combat white supremacist violence. "After the horrific September 11th terrorist attacks, your agencies shifted focus from invest… Continue Reading
08.08.19
In Peoria, Durbin Announces Bill To Boost Agricultural Research Funding
PEORIA-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today unveiled new legislation that would authorize a five percent annual funding increase over the next five years at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). With most domestic agriculture research on the decline, the America Grows Act would restore the United States' commitment to publically-funded agriculture research at USDA. Durbin announced the bill while visiting the Peor… Continue Reading
08.08.19
Durbin Asks Barr To Investigate Opioid Companies That Fueled Addiction Epidemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the role of pharmaceutical companies and their executives in fueling the opioid epidemic in America. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Durbin cited recent Washington Post reporting that revealed 76 billion opioid pills were distributed in America between 2006 and 2012 and that opioid distributors and manufacturers ignored persistent red flags that those pills were being sold … Continue Reading
08.07.19
Durbin, Duckworth Urge MLB To Report Data On Foul Ball Injuries At Ballparks
WASHINGTON-After repeated incidents of Major League Baseball (MLB) fans being hit by foul balls, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, urging MLB to collect and report data about fan injuries at MLB baseball stadiums. In their letter, the Senators said that releasing this data would help provide the public a better understanding of fan injuries and evaluate the voluntary safety measures that teams are implementing. "This will provide… Continue Reading
08.06.19
Durbin, Duckworth, Stabenow, Peters Urge USDA To Delay Crop Insurance Premium Deadline
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and Gary Peters (D-MI) today urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help farmers by deferring penalties or postponing the crop insurance premium deadline to December 1, 2019, instead of October 1, 2019. In a letter to USDA Under Secretary… Continue Reading
08.05.19
Durbin Discusses Bipartisan Bill To Speed Up Availability Of Generic Insulin
MOLINE - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed the Affordable Insulin Approvals Now Act, a bipartisan bill to speed up approvals of lower-cost, generic, and "follow-on" insulin products in order to help reduce costs of the life-saving drug. Approximately 7.5 million Americans with diabetes rely on insulin every day to survive, yet the drug has experienced a price increase of more than 600 percent over the past two decades in the United States. This legislation, introduced by Durbin la… Continue Reading