Press Releases
Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Bring Fairness To FEMA Disaster Declaration Process
WASHINGTON - Following a stretch of severe weather events in Illinois - such as flooding and tornadoes - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced the introduction of the Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act. The bill would reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) disaster declaration process to make it more transparent and equitable to small and rural communities in larger states like Illinois. Due to FEMA's … Continue Reading
July 15, 2021
Durbin Highlights American Rescue Plan's Impact, Blasts Republican Opposition
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for referring to President Biden's American Rescue Plan as a 'grand socialist experiment.' In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin walked through the key components of the American Rescue Plan-which passed Congress in March without a single Republican vote-including funding for COVID-19 vaccines and distribution, small businesses, and working families. "So what was in this … Continue Reading
July 15, 2021
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Latest Slate Of Circuit & District Court Nominations
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Eunice C. Lee, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; Veronica S. Rossman, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Tenth Circuit; David G. Estudillo, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; Lauren J. King, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; and Tana Lin, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Following Meeting With Biden, Durbin Speaks On Protecting Voting Rights
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about defending the right to vote for every American. Durbin commended President Biden for speaking forcefully about protecting voting rights yesterday and urged Congress to step up to end the assault on voting rights in states across the country. "Sixty years later I'm afraid, Jim Crow is still around," Durbin said. "We are witnessing a coordinated, relentless, … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Following Meeting With Biden, Durbin Speaks On Protecting Voting Rights
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about defending the right to vote for every American. Durbin commended President Biden for speaking forcefully about protecting voting rights yesterday and urged Congress to step up to end the assault on voting rights in states across the country. "Sixty years later I'm afraid, Jim Crow is still around," Durbin said. "We are witnessing a coordinated, relentless, … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Durbin: We Need David Chipman, Nominee To Lead ATF, To Help Enforce Nation's Gun Laws & Reduce Crime
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voiced his strong support for David Chipman, President Biden's nominee to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin said Mr. Chipman would be essential in helping the nation enforce the gun laws already on the books and helping reduce gun crime. The ATF has been without a Senate-confirmed Director since … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Durbin, Grassley Announce Senate Judiciary Committee To Hold Hearing This Month On Ransomware Attacks
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced that on July 27, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the growing wave of ransomware attacks affecting businesses, non-profits, and local governments across the nation. Durbin and Grassley have asked the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Durbin Questions Latest Circuit & District Court Nominees To Come Before Judiciary Committee
WASHINGTON - During today's Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Myrna Pérez, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. Durbin asked Ms. Pérez about her thoughts on the right to vote, which has been under assault in recent years. "Speak to me, if you will though, about the right to vote. That is the central issue we are discussing in so many aspects. A group of … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Allow Sexual Assault & Harassment Survivors To Seek Justice & Accountability
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), along with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7) to announce the bipartisan, bicameral Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault & Harassment Act to empower sexual assault and harassment survivors. The legislation would stop perpetrators from being able … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $21.9 Million In American Rescue Plan Funding To Support Head Start Programs In Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $21.9 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to support the return to fully operational, in-person Head Start services for the children under the age of five most impacted by inequities exposed by the pandemic in Illinois. The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families. "This Head Start funding is an example of … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Durbin, Senators Introduce Bill To Protect Consumers From Shady, High Cost Lending
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced legislation that would cap fees and interest on consumer loans at an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 36 percent-the same limit currently in place for loans marketed to military service members and their families. Studies show that while lenders today offer easy credit, these transactions often come with high interest rates, … Continue Reading
July 14, 2021
Durbin Gives Remarks In Judiciary Committee Hearing For Circuit & District Judicial Nominees And Executive Nominee
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during the nominations hearing for Myrna Pérez, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; Jia M. Cobb, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; Sarah A.L. Merriam, to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut; Florence Y. Pan, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; … Continue Reading
July 13, 2021
Durbin Meets With Mexican Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with Mexican Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma to discuss U.S.-Mexico relations, migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, the need for immigration reform in the U.S., and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Durbin and Ambassador Moctezuma talked about Durbin and Vice President Kamala Harris' recent trip to the southern border and discussed the need to address the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle. The Senator … Continue Reading
July 13, 2021
Durbin Presses For Increased Transparency And Competition To Lower Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Protection hearing titled, "A Prescription for Change: Cracking Down on Anticompetitive Conduct in Prescription Drug Markets." During his questioning, Durbin discussed his longstanding efforts to bring transparency and competition to the pharmaceutical industry in order to lower drug prices … Continue Reading
July 13, 2021
Durbin: Congress Has A Responsibility To Gather A Full Accounting Of What Happened On January 6
WASHINGTON - Days after the fence around the U.S. Capitol building was removed and six months after the January 6 insurrection, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today once again slammed Senate Republicans' refusal to support the bipartisan January 6 commission, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and applauded Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats for creating a select committee to investigate both the security … Continue Reading
July 13, 2021
Durbin Meets Virtually With Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today met virtually with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to speak on continued cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine. On the call, Durbin and Yatsenyuk discussed ongoing acts of Russian aggression towards Ukraine, U.S.-Ukraine security cooperation and assistance, and concerns with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Durbin also expressed his continued support for strong bipartisan … Continue Reading
July 13, 2021
Durbin Responds To Cornyn, Tillis Letter On Dream Act Proposal
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead author of the Dream Act, today responded to a July 6, 2021, letter from U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) requesting a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting to consider legislation, which apparently has not yet been introduced, to "offer permanent legal status to only currently enrolled and active participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals … Continue Reading
July 12, 2021
Durbin: Congress Must Address Gun Violence In Chicago And Across The Country
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy and what must be done to help prevent mass shooting tragedies in Chicago and across the country. "Did you hear that? This year, 23,000 gun violence deaths in America…Sadly, virtually every weekend is a mass shooting in the City of Chicago," Durbin said. "No other nation on Earth experiences this massive … Continue Reading
July 09, 2021
Durbin Statement On Department Of Education Approving 1,600 Borrower Defense Claims For Former Westwood College Students
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Education announcing that it has approved 1,600 borrower defense claims from former Westwood College students, amounting to $53 million in relief. Of the 1,600 claims discharged, 488 belonged to Illinoisans, totaling $16 million in relief. In 2012, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a suit against Westwood College for using deceptive marketing in violation … Continue Reading
July 09, 2021
Durbin: Prescription Drug Advertisements Should Disclose Prices
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a virtual news conference with A.J. Wilhelmi, President and CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA), and Rosanna Marquez, State President of AARP Illinois, to discuss bipartisan legislation he introduced last month to address the high cost of medicines by requiring price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs. "Over the course of the pandemic, many Americans spent more time at home watching television. … Continue Reading