Durbin, Duckworth: Census Should Stay On Schedule, Omit Citizenship Question

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and 26 of their Senate colleagues in calling for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to meet the Administration's previously set deadline of July 1 to begin printing materials for the 2020 Census and move forward without adding a politically motivated question about citizenship. Their call comes a day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration's rationale for addi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Davis, Bustos, LaHood, Bost Urge Air National Guard To Assign Flying Mission To 183d Wing In Springfield

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL-13), Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Darin LaHood (R-IL-18), and Mike Bost (R-IL-12), today sent a letter to the National Guard urging for a flying mission for the 183d Wing of the Illinois Air National Guard in Springfield. In their letter, the members stated that transitioning the 183d back to flying status could be a key component towards reaching the Air Force's goals of incr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Demand Trump Administration Reverse Course And Uphold Protections Against Discrimination In Health Care

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 28 Senate Democrats, denounced the Trump Administration's efforts to allow health care discrimination, which would affect millions of people across the country. A recent rule proposed by the Trump Administration could scale back protections from an Obama-era civil rights law that protects communities who have historically faced discrimination. In a letter to Department of… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Passage Of NDAA

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today released the following statement after voting for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a Durbin amendment to speed up the long process that the U.S. Department of Defense has for developing and fielding new weapons systems, as well as proposals to extend lease authorities at Arsenal's, and a streamlining of the honorary… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Decision Regarding Citizenship Question On 2020 Census

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court's ruling on the Trump Administration's request to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census: "Recent revelations have made it clear that the individuals who worked to add a citizenship question to the census were motivated by partisan politics. Today, the Supreme Court recognized that the Trump Administration's stated rationale for adding this question 'seems to ha… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge MLB To Extend Safety Netting To Right And Left Field Corners At All Ballparks

WASHINGTON-After recent incidents of Major League Baseball (MLB) fans being hit by foul balls, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today wrote to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, urging him to push for an extension of the protective netting to the right and left field corners at all 30 major league ballparks. "Clearly, more needs to be done to put the safety of fans first," wrote Durbin and Duckworth. "Players are hitting balls with a velocity of more than 100 miles per h… Continue Reading

Durbin Reintroduces Food Safety Act

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) introduced the Safe Food Act of 2019, which would create a single, independent food safety agency. Currently, food safety oversight is split up among 15 different federal agencies that administer at least 30 laws to regulate food safety. This fragmentation results in a patchwork system where no single voice guides industry, retailers, and consumers. "Our food safety system is fragmented, outdated, and in d… Continue Reading

Durbin Warns Against Another Reckless War In The Middle East

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today warned the Trump Administration against another reckless war in the Middle East. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that the U.S. Constitution is clear that the power to declare war is an explicit power of the Congress. Durbin is a cosponsor of a bipartisan amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which would prohibit … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Illinois Department Of Corrections To Discuss Prison Reform

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Rob Jeffreys, Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, and John Wetzel, President of the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA), to discuss the Trump Administration's implementation of the recently-enacted Grassley-Durbin First Step Act, the overuse of solitary confinement, and the need for further criminal justice reform efforts at the state and federal levels. In today's meeting, Durbin also received an aw… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos, Underwood Meet With FEMA Acting Administrator Gaynor

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), today met with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Acting Administrator Peter T. Gaynor to push his agency to do everything in its power to help Illinois recover from and prepare for disasters. The members also urged Gaynor to improve the state application process for Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM) funding. "Illinoi… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Passage Of Humanitarian Aid To Southwest Border

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today voted for a bipartisan funding agreement to address the humanitarian crisis that President Donald Trump has created at our southwest border. The bill includes funding to alleviate overcrowding at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities and provide food, supplies, and medical care to mig… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Officials From Springfield & Sangamon County in Washington

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met today with officials from Springfield, Illinois, and Sangamon County to discuss local priorities including the Illinois Air National Guard's 183rd Wing and transportation and infrastructure improvements. Durbin discussed progress on the Springfield Rail Improvement Program (SRIP) and various road and highway improvement projects the city is hoping to get federal support for. "Springfield is my hometown, and it's always great to welcome Mayor La… Continue Reading

Durbin: President Trump Has Created A National Embarrassment At The Border

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today slammed the Trump Administration for the inhumane conditions at the southwest border and called on the Senate to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin detailed recent press reports that describe detestable and unacceptable conditions at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Clint, Texas, which was holding mo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Bipartisan Group Of Senators Urge EPA To Update Ethanol Science To Improve Trade

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), both members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today led a bipartisan group of Senators urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to update an outdated environmental analysis on ethanol in order to improve foreign sales opportunities. Peer-reviewed science conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has affirmed U.S. ethanol lowers greenhouse gas emissions between 39 to… Continue Reading

Durbin Testifies At House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Student Loan Bankruptcy Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today testified at a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing entitled "Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals." Durbin testified about the Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019, a bicameral bill he introduced with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-01), and U.S. Representative John Katko (R-NY-24) that would give A… Continue Reading

Durbin, Cardin, Van Hollen, Kaine Introduce NDAA Amendment To Halt Security Assistance To Cameroon

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced an amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to halt all further U.S. security assistance to Cameroon, except for dealing with Boko Haram, until the U.S. Secretaries of Defense and State certify military and security forces of Cameroon have demonstrated progress in abiding by international human rights standards, particularly in regards t… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Peoria, Illinois, Mayor Jim Ardis today to discuss transportation priorities and the importance of investing in our nation's infrastructure. Durbin discussed Peoria's interest in becoming a research hub for autonomous vehicle technology, including the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission (TCRPC) in the Greater Peoria Area's application for an Automated Driving System Demonstration Grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Durb… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Lipinski Announce More Than $65 Million For Chicago Airport Improvements

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL-03), today announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), has awarded O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport grants totaling $65,276,900. O'Hare International Airport will receive $65 million to support runway construction and Midway International Airport will receive $276,900 to conduct a n… Continue Reading

Ten Years After Landmark Law To Fight Tobacco Addiction, Durbin Presses FDA For Stronger Response To Youth E-Cigarette Epidemic

TEN YEARS AFTER LANDMARK LAW TO FIGHT TOBACCO ADDICTION, DURBIN PRESSES FDA FOR STRONGER RESPONSE TO YOUTH E-CIGARETTE EPIDEMIC CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 15 of their Democratic colleagues, sent a letter to Dr. Ned Sharpless, Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in recognition of the ten year anniversary of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. In the letter, the Senators urged the FDA to take… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Reintroduce Bill To Provide Equal Tax Treatment For Married Same-Sex Couples

WASHINGTON - During LGBTQ Pride Month, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), today reintroduced the Refund Equality Act. This legislation would ensure that legally-married same-sex couples - who until the U.S. Supreme Court's 2013 U.S. v. Windsor decision were barred from filing federal taxes jointly - are permitted to file amended tax returns back to the date of their marriage. The House Ways and Means Committee will vote… Continue Reading