Durbin, Colleagues To Azar: Trump Administration's Health Care Sabotage Undermines Coronavirus Response

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in leading 36 other Democratic Senators in calling on Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar to take immediate action to reverse the Trump Administration's health care sabotage, which has undermined our preparedness for and ability to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. Specifically, the Senators asked Secretary Azar to commit to making any potential coronavirus vaccine afforda… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Judiciary Committee Hearing On Bombshell Report On President Trump's Child Separation Policy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today called for the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a stunning new report on the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (ORR) Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program and the Trump Administration's cruel and inhumane zero-tolerance policy. The Senate Judiciary… Continue Reading

Durbin Votes For Coronavirus Supplemental Funding Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after he voted for the bipartisan coronavirus emergency response supplemental funding bill. The bill provides $7.8 billion to respond to and prevent coronavirus, including funding for patient monitoring, lab testing, acquisition of test kits and protective equipment, and research into vaccines and therapeutics. The Illinois Department of Public He… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Bloomington-Normal One Voice

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of Bloomington-Normal One Voice, who represent local government, labor, education, and business. Durbin discussed transportation priorities, including the recently announced $13 million federal BUILD grant for a new underpass in Normal. Durbin also discussed rural broadband and the new Rivian vehicle manufacturing plant in Normal. Amazon plans to purchase 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian by 2030. "It was great to s… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Chicago Army Corps Commander To Discuss Shoreline Protection

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Colonel Aaron Reisinger, Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, to discuss funding to help address the impacts of climate change on the Chicago lakeshore. The Trump Administration did not fund the Great Lakes Resiliency Study or a reevaluation of the Chicago Shoreline Project in their Fiscal Year 2020 Corps Work Plan and Fiscal Year 2021 Budget request. In the meeting, Durbin urged the Corps to push the Trump Admin… Continue Reading

Durbin: What Are We Doing To Prevent Election Interference From China?

WASHINGTON - During a Senate Judiciary Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee hearing titled "Dangerous Partners: Big Tech and Beijing," U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) raised the issue of potential election interference in the 2020 campaign by China. There is no evidence that China has engaged in cyber warfare targeting our election system yet, in contrast to Russia. However, China has waged influence campaigns online in a local Taiwanese election and in response to the protests in H… Continue Reading

Durbin, Murray, Senators Call on HHS & DHS IGs to Investigate Reported "Weaponizing" of Confidential Therapy Sessions to Deport Children

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA) led 20 of their Senate colleagues in pressing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General to review the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement's (ORR) reported disclosure of confidential information from children's therapy sessions to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for use in efforts to deport these children, as well a… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With ArcelorMittal USA CEO About Pollution Violations At Burns Harbor Facility

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged ArcelorMittal USA CEO John Brett to take responsibility for its Burns Harbor facility's leaking of toxic chemicals into the Little Calumet River and Lake Michigan, and pressed them on a reported attempt to cover it up. In a meeting with Mr. Brett, Durbin asked whether ArcelorMittal is planning to install new pollution control technologies and procedures to mitigate any further harm to the environment and if they are cooperating with the U… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Coronavirus Supplemental Funding Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement on the bipartisan coronavirus emergency response supplemental funding bill. The bill provides $7.8 billion to respond to and prevent coronavirus, including funding for patient monitoring, lab testing, acquisition of test kits and protective equipment, and research into vaccines and therapeutics. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is e… Continue Reading

Durbin: Energy Bill Must Address Scientific Research And Climate Change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, urged his colleagues to support an amendment he has introduced to the American Energy Innovation Act that would provide more than $43 billion over five years for basic research in energy technology. The bill is being considered by the Senate this week. "We need more robust support for basic science research, the kind of research that costs too much and takes too long for private companies to unde… Continue Reading

Durbin: Energy Bill Must Address Scientific Research And Climate Change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, urged his colleagues to support an amendment he has introduced to the American Energy Innovation Act that would provide more than $43 billion over five years for basic research in energy technology. The bill is being considered by the Senate this week. "We need more robust support for basic science research, the kind of research that costs too much and takes too long for private companies to unde… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses Guard & Reserve Chiefs On President's Diversion Of Funding To Border Wall

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today pressed the Chiefs of the National Guard and the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Forces Reserve about the Trump Administration's short sighted and dangerous transfer of $1.3 billion from the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA) to be used to build part of President Donald Trump's ineffective wall on the southwest border. This funding diversion was… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Rock Island Army Corps Commander To Discuss Quincy Bay

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Colonel Steven Sattinger, Commander and District Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, to discuss funding to restore Quincy Bay, one of the largest natural bays of the Upper Mississippi River. Durbin also discussed funding for the much needed modernization of seven locks along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. "The environmental need for the restoration of Quincy Bay is obvious," said Durbin. "F… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kaine Bill To Support Family Caregivers Passes Senate

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today announced that major components of their Supporting America's Caregivers and Families Act, a bill that would increase funding, training, and support for the more than 34 million family caregivers in America, passed the Senate unanimously as part of the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020. Each year, caregivers provide more than $470 billion worth of unpaid care-more than the entire federal Medicaid budget. The average … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Chief Of National Guard To Discuss Trump Admin Diversion Of Funding To Border Wall

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today met with General Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, to discuss the Department of Defense's (DoD) short sighted and dangerous transfer of $1.3 billion from the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account (NGREA) to be used to build part of President Donald Trump's ineffective wall on the southwest border. This funding diversion was part of the rece… Continue Reading

Durbin: We Must Safeguard America's Medical Supply Chain Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

WASHINGTON - Amid the coronavirus outbreak, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, during a speech on the Senate floor, previewed legislation he will be introducing this week to safeguard America's medical supply chain and address shortages due to the United States' dependence on foreign-made medical equipment. Approximately 40 percent of finished drugs and 72 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients are manufactured overseas-primarily from China and India. The ongoing coro… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $13 Million For Pullman Junction Rail Improvements

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Cook County has been awarded $12.9 million in federal funding for the CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) Program's Pullman Junction project on Chicago's South Side. Today's investment, awarded through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant program, will support improvements to increase the effi… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Humanitarian Crisis In Idlib, Syria

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement in regards to the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Idlib, Syria: "The renewed violence directed at the civilians in Idlib by the Assad regime and its Russian enablers is an affront to our common humanity. It is long overdue that the Trump Administration step up, along with our European allies, to foster a credible ceasefire and sustained access to humanitarian aid. "President Trump … Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Bill To Expand Coverage For Seniors' Kidney Transplant Drugs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), introduced legislation to ensure that seniors who receive kidney transplants under the Medicare Part B program are able to access life-saving anti-rejection medications. U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Todd Young (R-IN) joined as cosponsors of the legislation. "Our bill ensures that kidney transplant patients can afford the medication they need … Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Blast Facebook's Continued Failure To Monitor And Enforce Gun Sales Ban

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Ed Markey (D-MA), along with 10 of their Senate colleagues, in calling out Facebook for its continued failure to enforce and monitor its own ban on guns sales, pointing to a recent report that shows sellers and buyers have simply moved their transactions to private Facebook groups in order circumvent the social media giant's own ban. "[D]espite Facebook's ban of gun sales on its platforms, users are nonetheles… Continue Reading