Press Releases
Durbin Visits Metrolink, Discusses Future Of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
ROCK ISLAND - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the Rock Island County Metropolitan Mass Transit District's (MetroLINK) Bus Depot to learn about their electric bus fleet and charging infrastructure and call for an increased federal investment in electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. MetroLINK's electric bus expansion has been funded by nearly $10 million in federal funding, including a $2.9 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration that Durbin helped secure last year. … Continue Reading
June 29, 2021
Durbin, Grassley, Judiciary Committee Members Press BOP For Answers On Inmate Trust Accounts
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 led a bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members on a letter to Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Michael Carvajal requesting answers to reports that BOP's inmate Trust Fund/Deposit Fund program operates with little oversight, enables federal inmates to avoid paying child support … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Durbin Joins Legislation To Restore And Modernize National Labs For The 21st Century
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) to introduce the Restore and Modernize Our National Labs Act, a bill that would invest $30 billion in deferred maintenance projects and infrastructure improvements at America's National Labs. Argonne and Fermi National Laboratories, based in DuPage County and Kane County respectively, would stand to benefit from this legislation. As leaders in the artificial intelligence, quantum … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Durbin Statement On DOJ Lawsuit Against Georgia Voting Law
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement today after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it would file a lawsuit against the state of Georgia over its new voting law: "I applaud the Department of Justice challenging the new Georgia law restricting the right to vote, particularly for communities of color. We have battled this form of discrimination for decades. It should have no place in our … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Durbin Statement On Visit To El Paso, Texas, With Vice President Harris
EL PASO, TX - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after visiting the southwest border at El Paso, Texas, with Vice President Kamala Harris, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16): "I was last in El Paso two years ago. What I saw at the El Paso Del Norte Processing Center on that day has haunted me ever since. Simply put, the … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $60 Million In Federal Funding For Illinois Rural Communities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $59,193,800 in federal loans and grants for rural communities in Illinois. The funding, awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program, will go to ten communities in Illinois to rebuild and modernize essential services. "These loans and grants will help rural communities throughout Illinois expand economic opportunities and … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Durbin Speaks In Support Of President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor to discuss President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy. Durbin shared his support for the President's initiative and discussed the deadly toll gun violence has had in Chicago, Illinois. Durbin also called on the Senate to pass background check legislation to prevent guns from ending up in the hands of criminals and mentally unstable people and to confirm David … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Durbin, Grassley Bill To Put Cameras In Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 15-7 to advance the bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act, introduced by 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. The bipartisan bill 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 … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Senate Confirms Candace Jackson-Akiwumi To The Seventh Circuit
WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate confirmed Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit by a bipartisan vote of 53-40. U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on her confirmation: "Ms. Jackson-Akiwumi has devoted her life to defending the rule of law, including spending ten years as a federal public defender-representing hundreds of indigent clients at every stage of the legal … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Durbin, Grassley, King Introduce Bill To Require Price Transparency In Prescription Drug Advertisements
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and US. Senator Angus King (I-ME) today introduced the Drug-price Transparency for Competition (DTC) Act, a bill that would require price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs, in order to empower patients and reduce spending on medications. Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report - requested by Durbin and Grassley - which found direct-to-consumer (DTC) … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Durbin Speaks With CDC Director On Public Health Priorities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke by phone with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky about his public health priorities, including ways to reduce community violence and address children's exposure to trauma, funding to improve maternal health, restricting tobacco companies from marketing e-cigarettes to children, and improving health outcomes for individuals with congenital heart defects. On the call, Durbin … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Chipman To Lead ATF, Jaddou To Lead USCIS, And Strickland To The District Of New Mexico
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Margaret Irene Strickland, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico; David H. Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Ahead of the votes, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support all … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Chipman To Lead ATF, Jaddou To Lead USCIS, And Strickland To The District Of New Mexico
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Margaret Irene Strickland, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico; David H. Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Ahead of the votes, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support all … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Durbin Statement On Biden Administration's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy: "Too many Chicagoans endure the daily stress and fear of gunfire, and too many Monday mornings start with devastating news headlines of the weekend's toll of shootings in our streets and neighborhoods. This violence is heartbreaking, traumatic, and impacting innocent families and children. Addressing the gun … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth, Schakowsky, Garcia, Trahan Introduce Mentoring To Succeed Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL-4), and Lori Trahan (D-MA-3), introduced the bicameral Mentoring to Succeed Act to provide a strong, sustainable support system through mentorship to ensure that children who experience barriers like poverty, inadequate schooling, disability, adverse childhood experiences, or drug or alcohol abuse, can … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
Durbin, Duckworth Call On President Biden To Extend Pause On Student Loan Payments
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and U.S. Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), and Joe Courtney (D-CT-2), to send a bicameral letter to President Biden calling on him to extend the pause on federal student loan payments until at least March 31, 2022. "The scheduled resumption of student loan payments in October could create a significant drag on our … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Durbin: The Fight For Voting Rights Did Not End With Yesterday's Republican Filibuster
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today slammed Senate Republicans for filibustering the For The People Act, a bill that would strengthen voting rights, secure our elections, reform our broken campaign finance system, and combat corruption through improving ethics laws for federal government officials. "Welcome back to the fight to preserve voting rights that has never ended. It didn't start on … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Durbin Calls For Unanimous Passage Of Bipartisan & Bicameral Legislation To Sustain Crime Victims Fund
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today on the Senate floor requested unanimous consent to pass the bipartisan VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act, which would strengthen the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) by fixing how the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is funded. Specifically, the bill would redirect monetary penalties from federal deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements into the CVF to increase funding for state … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Durbin Calls On His Senate Colleagues To Support Judicial Nominations Of Candace Jackson-Akiwumi & Deborah Boardman
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his colleagues to support two judicial nominees who are being considered on the Senate floor this week: Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, nominated to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and Judge Deborah Boardman, nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. "Ms. Candace Jackson-Akiwumi spent ten years as a federal public … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
Durbin: Any Vaping Product That Increases Youth Use Must Be Rejected By FDA
WASHINGTON-U.S Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today testified at a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy hearing entitled, "An Epidemic Continues: Youth Vaping in America." Today's hearing focused on the role of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in regulating e-cigarette products. After years of delay, the agency is in the process of determining which, if any, e-cigarettes will be allowed stay on the market. All e-cigarette manufacturers … Continue Reading