Durbin Urges Army Secretary To Hold Illinois Army Reserve Leaders Accountable & Protect Sexual Assault Victims

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke to U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy to receive an update on the status of an ongoing investigation into the mishandling of sexual assault allegations at the 416th Theater Engineering Command (TEC), an Army Reserve unit in Darien, Illinois. Following an Associated Press article in January, Durbin and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote to the Army calling for a comprehensive investigation into the handling of such claims as well as a revi… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Klobuchar To Call On Senate To Pass Legislation To Protect Elections During COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Rules Committee, today joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on the Senate floor to call on Senate Republicans to act on legislation to protect the right to vote amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act allocated $400 million to help states prepare for the 2020 election cycle through increasing the ability to vote by mail, vote early, register online, open more voting facilities, and hire more poll-workers. Illin… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce NDAA Amendment To Increase National Production Of Testing Supplies And PPE As COVID-19 Cases Rise

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to introduce an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 (NDAA) that would require President Trump to unlock the full authority and power of the Defense Production Act to scale up nation-wide production of the testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and medical equipment needed at the local level to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. "We can't take o… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Entire Senate Dem Caucus To Trump Administration: Don't Rip Away Health Care For Millions During Public Health Crisis

WASHINGTON - As the Trump Administration moves full-steam ahead to dismantle the Affordable Care Act that provides coverage for millions of Americans, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus today to introduce a resolution condemning the Administration's reckless effort, demanding the Department of Justice (DOJ) to defend existing law in court and halt its efforts to repeal the health care protections fo… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues To Introduce Series Of NDAA Amendments To Protect Service Members And Veterans From Predatory For-Profit College Practices

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to file a series of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to protect service members and veterans from predatory higher education practices. The Senators' amendments come as for-profit colleges have seen an uptick in enrollment due to the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, making it more important than ever to hold predatory i… Continue Reading

As COVID-19 Cases Spike Across The Country, Durbin Calls On Senator McConnell To Bring House-Passed Heroes Act To The Floor

WASHINGTON - As COVID-19 cases spike across the country, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for continuing to delay to bring the House-passed Heroes Act to the floor in the Senate. The House passed the Heroes Act more than six weeks ago. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also highlighted how Senator McConnell has been solely focused on confirming federal judicial nominees instead of addressing the ongoing public h… Continue Reading

Durbin, Menendez, Reed Seek Details On Pompeo's, Esper's Awareness Of Russian Bounties On U.S. Troops

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL); Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to detail their knowledge of and actions resulting from the U.S. intelligence community's discovery that a Russian intelligence unit offered to pay militants in Afghanistan to target U.S. tr… Continue Reading

Senate Passes Durbin Resolution To Reaffirm U.S. Commitment To Global Effort To Find COVID-19 Vaccine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) praised the unanimous passage of his resolution encouraging U.S. engagement with the international community on the COVID-19 response to research, develop, and distribute vaccines and therapeutics. The resolution, led by Durbin and supported by 39 of his Senate colleagues, noted the historic international effort to eradicate smallpox as an example of why concerted global collaboration and coordination is needed for the COVID-19 pandemi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues To Introduce "No Check, No Sale" Bill To Close Loophole Allowing Gun Sales Without A Completed Background Check

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the five-year anniversary of the funeral service for the victims of the mass shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to introduce legislation with 18 of their Senate colleagues to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 … Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Durbin, Lee Inspector General Access Act

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today on a 21-1 vote reported the Inspector General Access Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) that would expand the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (IOG) to include alleged DOJ attorney misconduct. Currently, the DOJ Inspector General (IG) has no authority to investigate professional misconduct by DOJ lawyers. DOJ is the only agency whose IG has s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Nadler: Corporations Must Give Workers And Retirees Fair Treatment In Bankruptcy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10) today introduced a bicameral bill to curb abuses that deprive employees and retirees of their earnings and retirement savings when businesses file for bankruptcy. The Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act would make reforms to rebalance the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, which has increasingly given corporate executives preferential treatment while … Continue Reading

Durbin Presses HHS Secretary Azar On Illinois Hospital Funding

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), on a call with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, urged HHS to address COVID-19 relief funding shortfalls at safety net hospitals, including children's hospitals, in Illinois. Durbin discussed how the latest round of $10 billion in Provider Relief Fund missed some of the most prominent safety net hospitals in Illinois, and how many are urging for more assistance in order to stay financially viable during the pand… Continue Reading

Following Landmark Supreme Court Decision On DACA, Durbin Calls On Senate To Protect Dreamers

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee and author of the Dream Act, called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to bring to the Senate floor the bipartisan House-passed American Dream and Promise Act, which will establish a path to citizenship for Dreamers and immigrants with TPS or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). Last week, in a landmark decision, the Supreme Co… Continue Reading

Durbin Commemorates Pride Month, Calls For Senate To Step Up During Moment Of Change In America

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today commemorated Pride Month and urged his Senate colleagues to continue to work for equal justice under the law during this historic moment of change in America. Durbin urged his colleagues to finally pass the Equality Act, speak out against efforts to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans, and recognize the importance of the racial justice movement by imple… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Administration Decision TO End Federal Support At Two Illinois COVID-19 Testing Sites

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding reports that the Trump Administration would end federal funding and support on June 30, 2020, for 13 coronavirus testing sites currently located in five states, including Illinois: "Just yesterday, the U.S. recorded its third highest coronavirus case count since this pandemic began. So today, the Trump Administration announces that it will cut off federal funding to operate COVID-19 testing sites in … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4 Million For Southern Illinois Mass Transit Districts

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that two mass transit districts in Southern Illinois will receive more than $4 million in federal funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding, awarded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and appropriated through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act¸ will go to Rides Mass Transit District (RMTD) and Jackson County Mass Transit District (JCMTD). "This fundi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Doggett Introduce Bill To Prevent Tax Dodging Corporation From Receiving COVID-19 Relief

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-35) today introduced the American Assistance for American Companies Act¸ a bill to ensure that inverted corporations cannot benefit from federal COVID-19 financial assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. For years, the tax inversion loophole has allowed large multinational corporations to do a paper shift of their corporate citizenship from the United States to … Continue Reading

Durbin Votes Against Motion To Proceed To Republican Police Reform Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after voting against the motion to proceed to the Republican police reform bill, the JUSTICE Act: "Senate Republicans' proposal on police reform fails to meet this historic moment with the real change that the young people on the streets are calling for. We owe it to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and all of the Black and Brown lives we… Continue Reading

Durbin Votes Against Cory Wilson's Nomination To The Fifth Circuit Court

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after voting against the nomination of Cory Wilson to the Fifth Circuit Court: "For the second week in a row, Senate Republicans have confirmed a Circuit Court nominee with a record of strident hostility toward the Affordable Care Act. Even in the midst of one of the greatest public health crises in our nation's history, Republicans just won't let go o… Continue Reading

Durbin, Rubio Introduce Bill To Expand Health Care Workforce To Meet Nationwide Challenges Highlighted By COVID-19

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced bipartisan legislation to provide a historic investment in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), Nurse Corps, and National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) programs to bolster health emergency surge capacity and restore the pipeline of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals to address existing health workforce shortages throughout our country.  The COVID-19 pandemic has expos… Continue Reading