Durbin Announces Support For FDA Commissioner Nominee Dr. Stephen Hahn

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, announced that he will vote to confirm Dr. Stephen Hahn, President Trump's nominee to be Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Durbin expressed his hope that Dr. Hahn will use the full force of the FDA to take action on the youth vaping epidemic, and work to ban all non-tobacco e-cigarette flavors, including mint and menthol. "Dr. Hahn may find himself in a compromised position… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On DeVos' New Proposed Methodology For Denying Full Relief To Defrauded Student Borrowers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the Department of Education has developed a new methodology using Gainful Employment data for determining the amount of relief defrauded student borrowers should receive for successful borrower defense claims: "This latest scheme by Secretary Betsy DeVos to penalize student borrowers is an outrage. The Department refuses to use Gainful Emplo… Continue Reading

Durbin to First Lady Melania Trump: Don't Abandon E-Cigarette Flavor Ban

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, urging her not to abandon her interest and position on protecting children from the dangers of e-cigarettes. Exactly three months ago on September 11, the First Lady joined President Trump, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and then-Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to announce that the Trump Administration would ban all non-toba… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Send Letter To U.N. Convention And President Trump In Support Of Global Efforts To Combat Climate Change

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), sent a pair of letters today to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to President Trump about the importance of combatting climate change. In the letter to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, the Senators expressed support of its global efforts to thwart climate change. "Failing to address the worsening crisis of climate change will wreak damages on all Americans f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Resolution In Support Of U.S. Commitment To Paris Climate Agreement: "We Are Still In"

WASHINGTON-As international negotiators continue discussions at the 25th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Madrid, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), today joined 13 other Senators in introducing a resolution to express support for the Paris Climate Agreement. The resolution notes the growing scientific urgency around the need for action to combat the climate crisis, and details the bold steps that sta… Continue Reading

Durbin, Blackburn To Burmese State Counsellor: We Urge You To Fully Cooperate With ICJ

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today led a bipartisan group of Senators to express their concerns that Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi will publicly excuse the actions of the Burmese military, or Tatmadaw, at a meeting before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Netherlands. The military likely conducted "genocidal acts" against the Rohingya in 2017, according to Marzukri Darusman, the chairperson of the United Nations Human… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Fall 2019 Recipient Of The Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced Alexis Ryckaert, a college senior from Taylor Ridge, Illinois, as the Fall 2019 recipient of the Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program. This scholarship, open to students from Illinois or those studying in Illinois, is an opportunity for the students to receive financial assistance while obtaining a first-hand experience in Senator Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. The program was created in honor of Durbin's former Chief of Staff who pass… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on DOJ IG's Report On The FBI's 2016 Russia Investigation

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report examining the FBI's 2016 investigation into coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia's election interference efforts: "The non-partisan Inspector General's report concludes that the FBI's 2016 investigation into coordination between the Trump campaign a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues In Urging FCC To Prioritize Rural Broadband

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senators John Thune (R-SD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and a bipartisan group of 44 other Senators in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prioritize sustainable rural broadband networks as the FCC considers new rules in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) proceeding. "If our rural communities are to survive and flourish, our rural constituents need access to services that are on par with tho… Continue Reading

Antioch, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, DC Office

WASHINGTON - Antioch, Illinois, native Teresa Furlong spent this fall interning for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. Each year, close to 50 interns work in Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a stud… Continue Reading

Forsyth, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, DC Office

WASHINGTON - Forsyth, Illinois, native Sam Stogsdill spent this fall interning for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. Each year, close to 50 interns work in Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a stude… Continue Reading

Frankfort, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, DC Office

WASHINGTON - Frankfort, Illinois, native Regan Sandberg spent this fall interning for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. Each year, close to 50 interns work in Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a st… Continue Reading

Quincy, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, DC Office

WASHINGTON - Quincy, Illinois, native Oliver Hart spent this fall interning for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. Each year, close to 50 interns work in Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a student … Continue Reading

Chicago, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, DC Office

WASHINGTON - Chicago, Illinois, native Mariel Turner spent this fall interning for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. Each year, close to 50 interns work in Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a stude… Continue Reading

Arlington Heights, Illinois, Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, DC Office

WASHINGTON - Arlington Heights, Illinois, native Jack Ryan spent this fall interning for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. Each year, close to 50 interns work in Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a… Continue Reading

Channahon, Illinois Student Interns In Durbin's Washington, DC Office

WASHINGTON - Channahon, Illinois, native Antonio Cisneros spent this fall interning for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), working behind the scenes in the Senator's Capitol Hill office as an intern. Each year, close to 50 interns work in Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. "I started my career on Capitol Hill as a college intern for Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois," Durbin said. "I will never forget that day in February of 1966 when he agreed to hire me as an intern to work in his office. As a … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $12.8 Million To Expand Broadband Access In Southern Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invested $12.8 million in high-speed broadband service in Southern Illinois. As part of the USDA's ReConnect Pilot Program, the investment will create or improve e-Connectivity for more than 1,650 homes in Jefferson and Wayne counties. "Without reliable access to broadband internet, rural communities can't fully access the tools and resources they need to s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth To EPA: Newly Proposed Renewable Fuel Standard Blending Targets Will Be Undermined By Abuse Of 'Hardship' Waivers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), led a public comment letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler expressing concern over the proposed supplemental rule establishing the Renewable Fuel Standard's (RFS) 2020 Renewable Volume Obligations and 2021 Biomass-Based Diesel Volumes. The RFS has proven critical to… Continue Reading

Durbin Sends Bipartisan & Bicameral Letter to President Trump Urging For Final E-Cigarette Flavor Ban

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) and Peter King (R-NY-02), led 25 Members of Congress in a bipartisan letter urging President Trump to stick to his promise to ban kid-friendly e-cigarette flavors, including mint and menthol. For years, e-cigarette use among children has skyrocketed nationwide, leading the Trump Administration to finally announce-on September 11, 2019-that it would soon ban all non-tobacco e-cigarette flav… Continue Reading

Durbin: Will Senators Stand With Betsy DeVos Or Defrauded Student Borrowers?

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, slammed Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' rewritten borrower defense rule that guts essential protections for student borrowers and taxpayers. The DeVos borrower defense rule makes it almost impossible for borrowers who are defrauded by their school or harmed by their school's closure to receive the relief to which they are entitled, and which Congress intended, under the Higher Educ… Continue Reading