Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Education
Durbin: Education Department's Rejection of New Programs at Corinthian Colleges Should Prompt Action from Accreditor
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following a disclosure by Corinthian Colleges, Inc. that the Department of Education has denied many of the company's pending new program applications and increased scrutiny in light of deceptive job placement practices, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges -8 Corinthian Colleges, Inc.'s accreditor whose Board will discuss the issue at its meeting this weekend - to take action. "In your response [to my … Continue Reading
February 04, 2014
Durbin Meets With Leaders From Illinois Colleges and Universities To Discuss Higher Education Issues
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met today with Barbara Farley, President of Illinois College to discuss higher education issues including reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, making college textbooks more affordable, and student loan reform measures. A photo of today's meeting with President Farley is available here. Durbin also met, today, with representatives from the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities. A photo of that meeting is … Continue Reading
January 30, 2014
Durbin Applauds Effort to Better Track Military and Veterans Education Benefits
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made the following statement after the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Education and Justice, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced the launch of a new online complaint system designed to collect feedback from veterans, service members and their families who are experiencing problems with educational institutions that receive funding from federal military and veterans educational benefits programs. … Continue Reading
January 28, 2014
Durbin Statement on President Obama's State of the Union Address
Washington, D.C. - Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today following President Obama's State of the Union address: "Tonight the President gave an optimistic speech about opportunity for American families, an economy on the rise and leveled a call to action to ensure this is a year of progress for the middle class." "From programs to grow the economy and create jobs like the launching of new manufacturing institutes and infrastructure … Continue Reading
December 19, 2013
Durbin, Reed, Warren: Student Loan Debt Is Hurting America's Middle Class
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today vowed to do more to address America's exploding student loan debt crisis that is reducing homeownership, jeopardizing retirement security, limiting the formation of small businesses, and leading to more income inequality in this country. On a conference call with reporters, the three Senators discussed the higher education priorities they will focus on next year to help working families … Continue Reading
December 17, 2013
Durbin Applaud CFPB'S Call for Transparency Regarding Campus Debit Card Programs
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today commended the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) call for financial institutions to publicly disclose agreements with colleges and universities to market financial products to students, including debit, prepaid, and other products. Durbin and U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, have been leaders in calling attention to this issue, and submitted … Continue Reading
December 13, 2013
Durbin Introduces Legislation to Ensure All Foreign Medical Schools are Held to Same Standards
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation that would close a loophole that has given special treatment to a small number of medical schools in the Caribbean that, last year, took in more than $450 million in U.S. Department of Education Title IV funding. Durbin's Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act would require five Caribbean medical schools - four of which are for-profit institutions - to meet the same minimum requirements that every … Continue Reading
December 11, 2013
Durbin, Warren, Boxer, Reed Introduce Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was joined by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Jack Reed (D-RI) today in introducing legislation to ensure struggling student loan borrowers are treated fairly and understand the full range of repayment options and resources available to them. "Student loan debt has tripled over the last decade," Durbin said. "With student loan debt far outpacing the rise in starting salaries, many borrowers find that … Continue Reading
December 05, 2013
Durbin Visits Carl Sandburg Community College to Discuss Closing "Skills Gap"
[GALESBURG, IL] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) visited Carl Sandburg Community College (CSCC) today to discuss legislation he introduced to help community colleges train workers for high-needs technical jobs, many of which are currently going unfilled due to a lack of qualified employees in the workforce. Durbin toured labs and met with students in CSCC's medical imaging, electrical, and diesel programs. He also talked with representatives from the BNSF Railroad, which has partnered with … Continue Reading
December 03, 2013
Durbin Statement on the CFPB's Announcement It Will Begin Overseeing Nonbank Student Loan Servicers
[CHICAGO] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on today's announcement by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that it would begin supervising nonbank student loan servicers with more than one million accounts: "Today's announcement by the CFPB ensures that millions more student loan borrowers will enjoy the strong consumer protections that come with the scrutiny of this vital agency. Large loan servicers operating outside the banking system will … Continue Reading
December 03, 2013
Durbin Introduces Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights
[CHICAGO] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that when the Senate reconvenes next week he and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will introduce legislation to ensure struggling student loan borrowers understand the full range of repayment options and resources available to them and are treated fairly by the financial institutions servicing their loans. "Student loan debt has tripled over the last decade with more than 40 million borrowers owing … Continue Reading
November 20, 2013
Durbin Meets With University of Illinois Chancellor Phyllis Wise to Discuss Funding and Higher Education Issues
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met today with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Phyllis Wise to discuss the importance of funding student research and innovation. Chancellor Wise was in Washington, DC with a group of national research university leaders, which included Association of Public and Land-grant Universities President Peter McPherson and Association of American Universities President Hunter Rawlings. A photo of today's meeting is available … Continue Reading
November 14, 2013
Durbin, Franken Introduce Legislation to Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Al Franken (D-MN) today introduced legislation designed to help students manage costs by making high quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors and the public for free. This bill, known as the Affordable College Textbook Act, would create a competitive grant program for institutions of higher education, working with professors and other organizations, to create and expand the use of textbooks that can be made available … Continue Reading
November 13, 2013
Durbin-Kirk Bill to Protect Schoolchildren with Allergies Signed Into Law by President Obama
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) celebrated today as President Barack Obama signed into law their bipartisan legislation to encourage schools across the country to maintain access to critical life-saving medication for children with food and other allergies. The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act will encourage states across the nation to improve school access to epinephrine auto-injectors to be used if students have life … Continue Reading
November 06, 2013
Durbin, Harkin, Cohen: Congress Should End Loophole That Encourages For-Profit Colleges To Target Veterans & Servicemembers
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP), today introduced legislation in the Senate that would help put an end to the for-profit industry's predatory marketing campaigns and aggressive recruiting of veterans, servicemembers and their families. The Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act, which U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN) will introduce in the … Continue Reading
September 25, 2013
Durbin Meets with U of I President Bob Easter to Discuss Research Funding and Higher Education Issues
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met yesterday with University of Illinois President Robert Easter to discuss comprehensive immigration reform and the importance of funding student research and innovation. "The University of Illinois is a great institution that plays an important economic and education role for students from Illinois and across the world," Durbin said. "I was pleased to meet with President Easter today. We agree that investing in our students and … Continue Reading
September 25, 2013
Durbin: NFL, NHL, NBA, US Soccer, NCAA Endorse Concussion Safety Bill
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - After receiving endorsements from six national professional and collegiate sports organizations, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation to strengthen K-12 schools' procedures for preventing, detecting, and treating student-athletes who suffer concussions while competing. The National Federation of State High School Associations estimates that about 140,000 students playing high school sports suffer concussions every year though many go unreported. … Continue Reading
September 23, 2013
Durbin Announces $1.4 Million in Funding to Local Colleges to Bridge Supply Chain Management Skills Gap
[CHICAGO] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that William Rainey Harper College and Northwestern University have received a combined $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor supporting a new initiative to train workers for high-demand jobs in the fast-growing, high-need field of supply chain management. The schools are part of a multistate group of twelve colleges working to establish the Leveraging, Integrating, Networking, Coordinating Supplies (LINCS) in Supply … Continue Reading
September 18, 2013
Durbin meets with University of Illinois - Chicago Student Trustees
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met today with the student representatives to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees outside the Capitol building. During the meeting, the group discussed issues in higher education including rising college costs and federal student aid. A photo of today's meeting is available here. "Investing in our students and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow's global economy must be one of our highest priorities," Durbin said. "I was … Continue Reading
September 10, 2013
Durbin to Duncan: Time to Crack Down on For-Profit Medical Schools That Use Offshore Loophole
[WASHINGTON, DC] - In a letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) raised the alarm about foreign medical schools that are not accredited by approved U.S. accrediting bodies, but are still eligible for federal Title IV funds due to a 1992 loophole that allowed a small number of these schools to qualify for federal funding under lower standards than other foreign medical schools. An investigative report that appeared today in Bloomberg Markets Magazine … Continue Reading