Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Energy and the Environment
Durbin, Duckworth Call For $300 Million For Great Lakes Restoration Initiative In Next Year's Budget
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined a bipartisan letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney calling for $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to be included in the Fiscal Year 2019 budget request. The letter was signed by Great Lakes Task Force Co-Chairs Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), along with Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Todd Young (R-IN), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), … Continue Reading
October 23, 2017
Durbin, Senators Press President Trump To Protect Utah National Monuments
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led 15 of his Senate colleagues in urging President Trump to maintain the current boundaries and management plans for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments in Utah. Durbin and his colleagues wrote President Trump today following reports by both The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal that Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke recommended modifying certain national monuments, including shrinking the boundaries … Continue Reading
October 06, 2017
Durbin Urges Airlines To Implement Additional Practices To Aid Those Devastated By Hurricanes Maria And Irma
CHICAGO-In the wake of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the passenger and cargo air carrier industry to increase their efforts to ensure they are doing everything they can to aid our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) as they recover from the devastation. Passenger airlines took the first step to cap air fares for direct flights off the islands, but Durbin pressed the passenger carriers to consider … Continue Reading
October 03, 2017
Durbin, Colleagues Call On President Trump To Prioritize Disaster Relief Efforts For Puerto Rican Islands Of Vieques And Culebra
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 14 of his Senate colleagues to call on President Trump to step up disaster recovery efforts on the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra after the islands were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Citing in their letter the remoteness of the islands and reports that residents have been "without running water, power, gasoline or communications for more than a week", the senators wrote to President … Continue Reading
September 29, 2017
Durbin: We Must Do More For Puerto Rico During Humanitarian Crisis
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with leaders in the Puerto Rican community to hear about local efforts to provide aid and call on President Trump to speed federal assistance to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Earlier this week, Durbin joined a group of Senators in a letter to President Trump calling on his administration to issue a full Disaster Declaration for the entire island of Puerto Rico and take a series of steps to coordinate the federal response in Puerto … Continue Reading
September 29, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Press AG Secretary To Quickly Provide Puerto Rico With Food Aid
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and five additional colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to request that he use all available resources to swiftly provide Puerto Rico with much needed food aid. In the letter, the senators wrote, "The devastation caused by Hurricane Maria has left behind a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, with millions of people without power and many … Continue Reading
September 28, 2017
Durbin Pushes For Protection Against Harmful Pollution In East Chicago
WASHINGTON - Following a recent Chicago Tribune article, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and SunCoke Energy to address SunCoke Energy's Indiana Harbor coke-making facility's violations and contributions to Chicago's air pollution. Indiana Harbor has been cited by the EPA six times since 2010 for violations including high levels of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, and lead. Yet, the EPA has not yet taken action against Indiana Harbor … Continue Reading
September 28, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues To Trump: We Must Do More For Puerto Rico And U.S. Virgin Islands
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 35 additional colleagues in a letter to President Trump to express deep concern about the situation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the letter, the senators wrote, "We write to express deep concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria recently … Continue Reading
August 07, 2017
Durbin Statement On Brandon Road Study Release
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) released the Brandon Road Study, a draft plan for keeping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. This draft plan was set to be released on February 28, 2017, but had been stalled by the Trump Administration. "After an unexplained five month delay, the Trump Administration finally released the draft plan for keeping Asian carp from reaching and irreparably … Continue Reading
August 02, 2017
Durbin Presses Trump Administration On McCook Reservoir Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with officials from the Assistant Secretary of the Army's (ASA) office and the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to demand answers on why funding for the McCook Reservoir Project in Chicago has not been included in the President's budget for the second year in a row, despite repeated Congressional directives to do so. The McCook Reservoir Project is a major flood damage reduction reservoir of the Chicagoland Underflow Plan (CUP) that will provide … Continue Reading
July 27, 2017
Durbin Pushes For Protection Against Harmful Pollution In Southeast Chicago
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and S.H. Bell to address petroleum coke (pet coke) and manganese pollution concerns in Southeast Chicago. Pet coke is a byproduct of refining crude oil into fuels such as gasoline and diesel. While the Clean Air Act clearly directs the EPA to protect human health, there are no current standards in place to guard against particulates … Continue Reading
July 20, 2017
Durbin Proposal To Release Brandon Road Study On Asian Carp Included In Senate Appropriations Bill
WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its $38.4 billion energy and water spending package, including a provision offered by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to release a draft plan within 30 days of the bill's passage for keeping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. This plan, referred to as the Brandon Road Study, was set to be released on February 28, 2017, but has been stalled … Continue Reading
July 13, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth: Plainfield Tank Car Derailment A Wake-UP Call For DOT
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao to do more to prevent railroad tank car accidents like the one in Plainfield, Illinois on June 30, 2017, in which multiple rail cars on a Canadian National (CN) train carrying crude oil derailed, causing an estimated 45,000 gallons of oil to leak out of the tank cars. "We are extremely grateful for the hard work of Plainfield's first … Continue Reading
June 29, 2017
Durbin Joins Legislation Demanding Trump Administration Release Report On Asian Carp
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) to introduce the Stop Asian Carp Now Act, which will require the Trump Administration to release the Brandon Road Study within seven days of the bill's enactment. The Brandon Road Lock and Dam study will provide important guidance on how best to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes and is an important hurdle before further action can be taken. "With last week's … Continue Reading
June 23, 2017
Durbin Statement On Discovery Of Asian Carp Near Lake Michigan
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the discovery of an adult Silver Carp near the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam in the Calumet River: "I'm deeply concerned by today's announcement that an adult Silver Carp was discovered a mere nine miles from Lake Michigan. If this invasive species reaches the Great Lakes, it could cause significant economic losses and irreversible damage to the ecosystem, and threaten the drinking water of 30 million Americans. … Continue Reading
June 22, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues to Trump: Act On Russian Cyber Intrusions to U.S. Energy Infrastructure
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senate colleagues today sent a letter to President Trump urging the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct an analysis of Russian capabilities with respect to cyber-attacks on U.S. energy infrastructure. In the letter, the members request that President Trump, "direct the Department of Energy, in consultation with other relevant agencies, to within 60 days conduct a … Continue Reading
June 01, 2017
Durbin Statement on Trump Pulling U.S. from Historic Paris Climate Agreement
CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after President Trump announced that the U.S. will pull out of the Paris Climate Accord, an historic deal negotiated by former-President Obama to combat climate change: "Pulling out of the international agreement to protect this Earth from the threat of climate change is a fateful message to our children and grandchildren. The President and his party have chosen politics over science and greed over responsibility. With … Continue Reading
April 26, 2017
Durbin to Trump: Protect America's National Parks & Monuments
WASHINGTON - As President Trump signed a new Executive Order to strip America's National Parks and Monuments, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, legislation to protect 9.2 million acres of land in Utah that is rich in archaeological resources and home to numerous rare plant and animal species. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin explained how these landscapes are also the access point for many national parks and offer research, educational, and … Continue Reading
April 25, 2017
Durbin, Kaptur, Bipartisan Great Lakes Coalition Press EPA Chief to Keep Region 5 Office Open
WASHINGTON - Following reports that the Trump Administration plans to abolish Region 5 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - which serves Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio - as part of the fiscal year 2018 budget, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) led a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers from the Great Lakes region in calling for the Region 5 office to remain intact and fully supported. In a bicameral letter to EPA … Continue Reading
April 24, 2017
Durbin, Deutch Introduce Bicameral Climate Change Adapt America Fund Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL) today introduced the Climate Change Adapt America Fund Act, bicameral legislation that would create an "Adapt America Fund" administered by the Secretary of Commerce and used to finance climate change adaptation and infrastructure resiliency projects. The bill would also authorize the U.S. Department of Treasury to issue up to $200 million annually in "Climate Change Bonds" to be purchased by Americans … Continue Reading