Durbin Introduces Bill To End Cuba Embargo And Establish Normal Trade Relations

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) to introduce the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2017, which would repeal outdated sanctions on Cuba and establish normal trade relations with the island nation. "Ending the embargo is about more than opening the country up to American businesses and travel-it's about opening Cuba to new ideas, new values, and improved human rights that our 50 year old policy of isolation could not achieve," said Durbin. "While we… Continue Reading

Durbin Thanks Trump For Keeping DACA In Place

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) came to the Senate floor today to praise President Trump for keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in place. Originally requested by Durbin and former Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN), and granted under President Obama, DACA grants temporary reprieve from deportation to certain undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. "[DACA] has enabled approximately 790,000 talented young people to contribu… Continue Reading

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 m… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Confirmation Of FBI Director Christopher Wray

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after voting to confirm Christopher Wray as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): The next FBI Director will be under incredible scrutiny. America needs an FBI Director who will face that pressure with integrity, independence, and a firm commitment to the rule of law. He may also have to stand up to this President if the interests of justice demand it. I believe Mr. Wray can do that, and … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Proposed Illinois Health Insurance Premium Increases for 2018

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after Illinois health insurers announced that prices on the exchange could increase next year. This year, more than 350,000 Illinois residents enrolled in plans on the individual market. "The White House efforts to sabotage our health care system can be seen in the proposed premium increases under the Affordable Care Act in Illinois next year. President Trump's tactics are well documented: He issued an Executive Order i… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Senate Democrats Lay Out Key Principles For Tax Reform In Letter To President Trump & Senate GOP Leaders

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with 43 of their Democratic Senate colleagues, today wrote to President Donald Trump, Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, urging Republicans to come to the table and work with Democrats in a bipartisan way on the Senate's next critical legislative item - tax reform. Durbin, Duckworth, and their colleagues laid out their three main tenants ahead of … Continue Reading

Durbin: Trump Threatening Millions Of American Families By Undermining Health Care System

WASHINGTON-In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on President Trump and Congressional Republicans to put partisan politics aside and work with Democrats to stabilize and strengthen America's health care system. "Last week, on a bipartisan basis, the United States Senate rejected a bill that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act," said Durbin. "This should be a turning point, not just in our health care debate, but in the way we move f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos: Senate Appropriations Committee Bill Continues Funding For Thomson Prison Activation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (IL-17) today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bipartisan fiscal year 2018 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill that includes $80 million for the continued activation of the Thomson correctional facility in Thomson, Illinois. The legislation must now be passed by the full Senate and then reconciled… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Release Of $16 Million In Funding For Springfield Rail Improvement Project

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that an agreement has been finalized between local, state, and federal officials to release $16 million in previously awarded federal funding for the Springfield Rail Improvement Project. "This agreement allows projects that will create good-paying jobs, improve safety, and increase service reliability to go forward," Durbin said. "I was proud to support this improvement project, and I will continue advocating fo… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Pentagon To Clarify Administration Policy For Transgender Individuals In the Military

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) pressed the Department of Defense to clarify the Administration's policy with regard to transgender individuals serving openly in the U.S. military, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the U.S. government will no longer accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity. In a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Durbin requested that Sec. Mattis provide him with the revised service accession plans, an explanation of the poli… Continue Reading

Durbin: Last Night Was A Victory For Illinois

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement: Last night's defeat of the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act was a victory for our state. One million Illinoisans would have lost their health insurance under the GOP's various plans. Our state's outstanding hospitals would have lost between 60,000 and 95,000 good paying professional jobs. More than three million Illinoisans-twenty percent of people in our state-depend on the Medicaid p… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Health Care Repeal Vote

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after a Republican plan to repeal health insurance coverage for 16 million Americans failed to pass the Senate: "While American families slept last night, Senate Republicans made the latest attempt to strip health insurance from tens of millions of Americans. Because of three courageous Republican Senators, they failed. Now is the time to start anew in the Senate with a bipartisan effort to strengthen our… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Mentoring To Succeed Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced the Mentoring to Succeed Act, legislation that builds on their efforts to reduce gun violence in Chicago and across the nation. Specifically, the Mentoring to Succeed Act helps address the crisis facing at-risk students by: Creating a grant program to help school districts, schools, and local governments establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs to help at-risk students succeed; Pro… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Duckworth, Bost Press HUD OIG To Complete Investigation Into Cairo Housing Crisis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-IL-12) today called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to complete its investigation into the mismanagement at the Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) in Cairo, Illinois as soon as possible and make its findings public. In a bipartisan letter to Acting … Continue Reading

Durbin, Schumer, Democratic Senators Call On President Trump To Protect Dreamers

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 40 of their Democratic Senate colleagues today asked President Donald Trump to use his executive authority to the greatest extent possible to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary relief from deportation to immigrant students who arrived in the United States as children if they register with the government, pay a fee, and pass crimina… Continue Reading

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 specifically… Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed, and Brown Introduce Bills To Stop Corporate Inversions & Put Money Back Into The Pockets Of Working-Class Families

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to stop business practices known as inversions - corporate deals that allow U.S. companies to shift their corporate citizenship from the United States to a low-tax foreign jurisdiction, even while keeping their executives and headquarters in the United States. This is accomplished by merging with a foreign company that can be as little as 1/5 of the size … Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed, And DeLauro Introduce American Business For American Companies Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today introduced the American Business for American Companies Act, which would extend the year-to-year government-wide ban on federal contracts for inverted corporations by moving it out of the annual appropriations process and into permanent law. It also eliminates loopholes in the current law that have allowed inverted corporations to bid for, and win, federal contracts, despite … Continue Reading

Durbin: End Partisan Health Care Repeal Crusade Now, Work On Bipartisan Basis To Strengthen System For Everyone

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor during debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) called on his Senate Republican colleagues to end the secret, partisan effort to repeal health care for tens of millions of Americans and instead work in a bipartisan, public manner to strengthen the health care system for all Americans. Referencing remarks made by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) before the full Senate last night, Durbin slammed Senate Republicans for… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Fair Elections Now Act

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 23 Senate colleagues, today introduced the Fair Elections Now Act, which would dramatically change the way U.S. Senate elections are financed. Under the legislation, qualified Senate candidates would earn grants, matching funds, and television vouchers to run competitive campaigns based on small-dollar contributions, rather than rely on funding from wealthy donors and corporate special interests. The Fair Elections Now Act would help reduce… Continue Reading