Senators Press Defense Department For Answers Following Transfer of $1 Billion In Military Personnel Funding To Pay For President Trump's Wall

WASHINGTON - Following notification from the Department of Defense that it transferred $1 billion in military personnel funding to the Drug Interdiction and Counter-narcotics Activities account to be used to build part of President Donald Trump's wall on the Southwest border, even though it was not approved by Congress, every Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Ag… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Special Counsel Mueller's Report

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election being sent to U.S. Attorney General William Barr: "Now that Special Counsel Mueller has submitted his report, it is essential that Attorney General Barr make the full report public and that he provide its underlying evidence to Congress. It is also imperati… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On AG Barr's Report To Congress

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding U.S. Attorney General William Barr's submission to Congress of a summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election: "Attorney General Barr has the authority to make the full Mueller findings public with minimal redactions. He must do so as quickly as possible. The 'summary' document he provided… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions FAA Safety Approval Process For Boeing 737 Max Series Planes

WASHINGTON-In the wake of the two recent Boeing 737 Max series plane crashes, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for answers following a New York Times report yesterday that detailed how a previously optional safety feature will now be added as a standard feature on all 737 Max series planes. In a letter to FAA Acting Administrator Daniel Elwell, Durbin asked why such safety features were not originally required by the FAA to be included on a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $5 Million In Federal Funding To Help Improve Infant Health Outcomes And Reduce Racial Disparities In Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded five organizations in Illinois a total of $4,990,000 in federal funding to help reduce racial disparities in infant health. Today's funding, awarded through HHS's Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health program, will seek to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy, and reduce racial and ethni… Continue Reading

Durbin Informs Illinois Religious Institutions Of Nonprofit Security Grant Funding

CHICAGO - Following the massacre at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent letters to religious institutions and houses of worship across Illinois to make them aware of an important federal funding opportunity for nonprofit organizations to ensure they have the necessary resources to improve their security. Durbin helped secure $60 million in nonprofit security grant funding for the Depart… Continue Reading

Bipartisan Senate Leaders Condemn Arrest Of Interim Venezuelan President Guaido's Chief Of Staff

WASHINGTON - Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today called for the immediate and unconditional release of Roberto Marrero, Interim Venezuela President Juan Guaidó's chief of staff. Marrero was abducted by Venezuelan secret police early this morning in a desperate attempt by criminal elements of the outgoing regime to intimidate members of the internationally recognized government. The inflammatory move came as Venezuelans are endur… Continue Reading

Durbin On Marine Corps Memo: President Trump Is Endangering Our Troops To Build His Wall

PEORIA - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the Los Angeles Times published a memo from the Marine Corps regarding the danger being created by diverting excess Department of Defense funding to President Trump's border wall rather than Marine Corps priorities, such as repairs at Camp Lejeune and training. Last week, the Senate voted to reject President Trump's emergency declaration… Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Drug Pricing Bills To Tackle Big Pharma, Lower Costs For Patients

PEORIA -- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined doctors and patients at UnityPoint Hospital to discuss recent legislation he has introduced to combat the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs for American patients, providers, and taxpayers. This year, Durbin has introduced new legislation to help prevent sudden, outrageous price hikes for prescription pharmaceuticals, as well as a bipartisan bill to save billions in wasted spending due to oversized drug packaging. Durbin also highlight… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Call On Saudi Arabia To Release Political Prisoners

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today called on the King of Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release a number of prisoners held by the Saudi government, many of them on dubious charges related to their activism. These include writer Raif Badawi, human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-K… Continue Reading

Durbin, Leahy, Schatz Statement On DOD List Of Military Projects On The Chopping Block For President Trump's Wall

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense; Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Defense sent Congress a list of military construction projects that could be delayed in order to pay for Presiden… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kelly Announce Legislation To Lower The Nation’s Rising Maternal And Infant Mortality Rates

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today announced the reintroduction of their legislation to help lower America's rising maternal and infant mortality rates and reduce racial disparities in health outcomes. The Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA) Act, which will be formally introduced by Durbin and Kelly in the House and Senate next week, aims to improve care women receive before, during, and after pregnancy. "No … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On President Trump's Veto Of Congress' Emergency Declaration Rebuke

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump vetoed the resolution of termination regarding his national emergency declaration to build a wall at the southern border. Yesterday, the Senate voted to reject President Trump's emergency declaration by a bipartisan vote of 59-41. "Yesterday, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate chose the Constitution over th… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On New Zealand Mosque Massacre

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after at least 49 people were killed in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand: "The massacre at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, was spawned by white supremacy and hatred of Muslims and immigrants. My heart goes out to the victims of this devastating attack, their families, and the communities affected. We must all stand together in solidarity with the Muslim co… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Bill Will Require Supreme Court To Allow Cameras In The Courtroom

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reintroduced legislation today to require open proceedings of the Supreme Court to be televised. The bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act 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 would constitute a violation of the d… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate's Bipartisan Rejection Of President Trump's Emergency Declaration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the Senate voted to reject President Donald Trump's emergency declaration in order to fulfill his campaign promise of building a wall at the southern border: "Today, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate chose the Constitution over the President's so-called 'national emergency' declaration. The Senate must continue to reject any e… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With The Illinois Farm Bureau To Discuss USDA Cuts In President's Budget, Agriculture Priorities

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with the Illinois Farm Bureau to discuss the importance of continuing to support and invest in Illinois' agricultural communities. Durbin discussed the potential impact of President Trump's proposed 15 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including a 31 percent cut to the Farm Bill, and a $26 million cut to crop insurance. The group also discussed how the President's trade war with China is affecting business relationships abr… Continue Reading

Durbin Asks CDC To Assist With Ethylene Oxide Emissions In Illinois

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today asked Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield to assist in efforts to protect residents of Illinois from ethylene oxide (EtO) emissions-a known carcinogen-especially those that live near the Sterigenics medical sterilization facility in Willowbrook. Currently, Sterigenics is under a seal order from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for unacceptably high EtO emissions. Director Redfield said he had been … Continue Reading

Durbin: Pharma Fleece From Drug Vial Waste Must End

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today on the Senate floor, as part of his new "Pharma Fleece Awards" series of floor speeches highlighting egregious cases of pharmaceutical greed, slammed Takeda, Eisai, Merck, and Genentech, four pharmaceutical companies that sell cancer drugs in excessively large vials that contain dramatically more medicine than the average patient needs. As a result of these pharmaceutical industry decisions, billions of dollars are spent each year on medications… Continue Reading

Durbin Votes For Bipartisan Resolution To Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today voted for the bipartisan joint war powers resolution, of which he is a cosponsor, to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The resolution passed the Senate 54-46. It will go back to the House of Representatives for a vote before heading to the White House. The White House had issued a veto threat ahead of today's Senate vote. "Not only was this war never authorized by the elected representativ… Continue Reading