Durbin Introduces American Cures Act and American Innovation Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced two pieces of legislation to restore the United States' commitment to breakthrough scientific and biomedical research. The American Cures Act and the American Innovation Act would create mandatory funds to provide steady, predictable funding for breakthrough research at America's top research agencies, allowing the United States to remain a leader in development and discovery for decades to come. Durbin is sponsoring bot… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Postmaster General DeJoy's 10 Year USPS Service Plan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Postmaster General Louis DeJoy released the United States Postal Service's (USPS) "Delivering for America" 10-Year Plan, which drastically cuts hours and raises prices for USPS service: "There's no DeJoy in the Post Office tonight. Postmaster General DeJoy's plan to raise costs and cut services is designed to sink the postal service, not save it." Since taking control of USPS, DeJoy's polici… Continue Reading

Durbin, Cassidy, Grassley, Hirono, Coons, Tillis Introduce Bill to Ensure Greater Transparency for Third-Party Sellers of Consumer Products Online

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today introduced legislation to combat the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and dangerous consumer products by ensuring transparency of high-volume third-party sellers in online retail marketplaces. The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act would direct online retail marketplaces that include third-party sellers of consumer products to authenticate th… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witnesses on Trauma & Background Checks During Judiciary Committee Hearing on Proposals to Reduce Gun Violence

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today asked questions of witnesses during a Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence". Durbin first asked Dr. Selwyn Rogers, Jr., Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at University of Chicago Medicine, to explain how trauma perpetuates a cycle of gun violence in Chicago. "We face two realities, certainly from a Chicago perspective, tha… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Remarks in Hearing on Proposals to Reduce Gun Violence

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Constitutional and Common Sense Steps to Reduce Gun Violence". Durbin recognized the victims of the recent mass shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado, which claimed 18 lives in total. Durbin also argued that gun violence is an epidemic in our country and that it requires urgent action from Congress… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls for the Release of Political Prisoners Languishing in Jails Around the World

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today shared the stories of political prisoners languishing in jails around the world for nothing more than advocating for human rights and political freedoms, and called for their immediate release. Durbin noted that these brave souls - journalists, activists, opposition politicians - are often cruelly led to believe they or their efforts to push for freedoms are forgotten, which Durbin wanted to ensure … Continue Reading

Durbin Previews Judiciary Committee Hearing on Common Sense Solutions to Gun Violence in America

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, discussed the recent mass shooting in Atlanta where a gunman murdered eight people-six of whom were Asian-American women-in what appears to be an act of domestic terrorism. Durbin also previewed a hearing the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold tomorrow on gun violence in America and advocated for passage of common sense gun violence prevention measures. … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on COVID Relief Program for Live-Event Businesses

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that the $16.25 billion Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grant program would start accepting applications on April 8 from live-event businesses, such as music clubs, theatres, concert venues, and museums that have been affected by the pandemic: "Illinois' music venues, theatres, and other live-event spaces have been hit hard by this pandemic. T… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Democrats Introduce Bill to Save Public Infrastructure Projects Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and a group of Senate Democrats to introduce the Public Transit Capital Investment Relief Act of 2021. The legislation would provide relief for public transportation agencies through the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program by increasing the federal cost share of the total project cost for qualifying projects that are under construction or near completion. Durbin and Murray were joined by U.S. Se… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More than $380 Million for Illinois Schools for COVID-19 Testing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $381.6 million in federal funding for the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago to support COVID-19 screening testing for teachers, staff, and students to assist schools in re-opening safely for in-person instruction and to support essential worker testing. With funding provided through the American Rescue Plan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded $300.5 million to the… Continue Reading

Ahead of House Vote on Immigration Legislation, Durbin Calls on the Senate to Act

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the House of Representatives vote on the American Dream and Promise Act, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, today called on the Senate to take up the legislation after the House passes it. TheAmerican Dream and Promise Act would establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). Durbin also spoke in strong sup… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on House Passage of the Dream and Promise Act & Farm Workforce Modernization Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the original sponsor of the Dream Act, today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the American Dream and Promise Act, the House companion to the Dream Act. These bills will establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers, immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and migrant… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bill to Put Cameras in the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation today to require open proceedings of the Supreme Court to be televised. The bipartisanCameras in the Courtroom Act would require the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court, unless the Court decides, by a majority vote of the Justices, that doing so would… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on DNI Assessment on Threat Posed By Domestic Violent Extremists

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), on behalf of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), released its assessment of the threat posed by domestic violent extremists. Specifically, the IC assesses that "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists"-a category consisting largely of white supremacist extremists-are most likely to co… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Judiciary Committee Members to Support Monaco and Gupta Nominations for Justice Department

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his Senate colleagues in the Judiciary Committee to support the nominations of Lisa Monaco to be U.S. Deputy Attorney General and Vanita Gupta to be U.S. Associate Attorney General. Durbin argued that Monaco and Gupta are the experienced and dedicated leaders we need to restore integrity and independence to the Department of Justice. The Judiciary Committee is set to vote on thei… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce For the People Act to Strengthen Democracy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined their colleagues in introducing S.1., the For the People Act-a sweeping package of comprehensive reforms that would end special interest corruption of our politics and make government work for the people. The introduction comes as Republican lawmakers in 43 states continue to use unfounded election conspiracies regarding the 2020 presidential election to push to restrict Americans' access to … Continue Reading

Durbin, Deutch Introduce Legislation to Create Bond Program to Fund Efforts Combating Climate Change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL-22) today introduced the Climate Change Resiliency Fund for America Act, a bicameral bill that would authorize the U.S. Department of Treasury to issue from $200 million up to $1 billion in state and local tax-exempt "climate bonds" annually for any American to purchase and contribute to the government's efforts to combat the impacts of climate change. The legislation would set up a system similar to the war bo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Deutch Introduce Legislation to Create Bond Program to Fund Efforts Combating Climate Change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (D-FL-22) today introduced the bicameral Climate Change Resiliency Fund for America Act. The bill would authorize the U.S. Department of Treasury to issue from $200 million up to $1 billion in state and local tax-exempt "climate bonds" annually for any American to purchase and contribute to the government's efforts to combat the effects of climate change. The legislation would mirror the national war bon… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with the League of Conservation Voters

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with the League of Conservation Voters to discuss environmental protection and climate change priorities. Durbin and the group discussed key land and water conservation priorities, centering equity and justice in environmental work, and the importance of confirming a diverse set of judges who respect science. Durbin also discussed the importance of Senate Judiciary Committee ov… Continue Reading

Durbin: to the People of Atlanta and the AAPI Community, I am Standing with You

WASHINGTON - Following a shooting in Atlanta where a gunman murdered eight people-six of whom were women of Asian descent-in what appears to be an act of domestic terrorism, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke out against hate crimes targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also advocated for passage of his Domestic Terrorism Prev… Continue Reading