Senator Rick Scott Blocks Durbin, Lee Compromise To Protect Immigrant Workers & Children In The Green Card Backlog

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, today attempted to pass legislation to protect immigrant workers and children who are stuck in the green card backlog. Durbin accepted a compromise proposal from Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), which would make several key reforms that were not in Lee's original Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, including: Early filing to protect immi… Continue Reading

Durbin To Esper: Justify Why Troops Will Be Removed From Germany

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today pressed Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to provide a coherent, definitive justification for President Trump's decision to remove nearly 12,000 American service members from Germany. In a letter to Secretary Esper, Durbin said the policy argument to remove troops from Germany - a NATO ally - seems to be counterproductive grudge to punish Germany for the size of its military bud… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Create National Heritage Area In Chicago's Bronzeville Community

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a bill that would create a National Park Service (NPS) National Heritage Area in the greater Bronzeville community of Chicago. The Bronzeville-Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Act would create a National Heritage Area from 18th Street to the North, 71st Street to the South, Lake Michigan to the East, and Canal Street to the West-approximately five miles south of downtown. This area would tell the st… Continue Reading

Durbin: Russian Interference In Our Elections Is A Threat To Our Democracy

WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation: Day 2," which featured former Deputy Attorney General (AG) and Acting AG Sally Yates, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) slammed Michael Flynn's inappropriate behavior and communications with Russia both before and after the 2016 election. Durbin also warned about ongoing attempts to interfere in the upcoming 2020 general election. Last month, American intell… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Call On Trump Administration To Deliver Remaining Economic Impact Payments To Illinoisans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today, in a letter to Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig, called for the delivery of remaining Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) to Illinois constituents as soon as possible. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, as many as 392,000 adults and children in Illinois will not receive their EIP automatically, amounting to $401 million in unclaimed … Continue Reading

Durbin Slams President Trump & Senate Republican Proposal Conditioning Federal Funds To Schools On Reopening In-Person

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), today during a speech on the Senate floor, slammed President Trump and Senate Republicans for attempting to condition education funds in the next coronavirus relief package on the reopening of elementary and secondary schools for in-person instruction. Durbin instead urged his colleagues to pass the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act, which provides $175 billion to elementary and secondary schools to help meet technology, cleaning, staf… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Joint Resolution To Enshrine Right To Vote In U.S. Constitution

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the 55th anniversary of the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Rules Committee, introduced a joint resolution that would finally enshrine an explicit, individual right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, and protect all Americans who seek to exercise this fundamental right. Specifically, Durbin's amendment would: Provide an affirmative right to vote for every American ci… Continue Reading

Durbin: Instead Of Focusing On Real Threat Posed By White Supremacist Violence, Trump Admin Continues To Try To Vilify Protestors

WASHINGTON - Following the one year anniversary of the racist and anti-immigrant attack at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, by a white supremacist, who killed 23 people and wounded another 23, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed Ken Cuccinelli, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), and Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and C… Continue Reading

Durbin: Republicans' Priority In Coronavirus Legislation Is Clear - Corporations Over Struggling Families

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed Senate Republicans’ and President Donald Trump’s proposed partisan coronavirus response legislation and their dithering and delay, which allowed the $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit to expire last week.  Republicans finally released their proposal last week – ten weeks after the House passed the Heroes Act.  Nationwide, as many as 30 million Americans are relying on enhanced unemp… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Support School-Based Mentoring Programs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced the Mentoring to Succeed Act, legislation that increases support for school-based mentoring programs in order to help at-risk youth thrive in their schools, careers, and life. The bill would invest in mentoring programs that help students overcome adversity and trauma and develop the workforce skills employers are seeking. Specifically, the Mentoring to Succeed Act would establish a five-year, competitive … Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Bill To Rename Will County Post Office In Honor Of Larry Walsh Sr.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation to rename the U.S. Post Office facility located at 303 E. Mississippi Ave. in Elwood, Illinois, after former Will County Executive Lawrence M. "Larry" Walsh Sr. Walsh, who passed away at the age of 72 on June 3, 2020, after a brave fight with prostate cancer, began his career in public service at the age of 21. For the next 50 years, Walsh served on the school board, in the Illinois State Senate, and as Will County execut… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Call For Safe Release And Return Of Mark Frerichs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today, in a letter to President Donald Trump, called for the timely and safe release and return of American citizen Mark Frerichs, who was abducted earlier this year in Afghanistan. Frerichs, originally from Illinois and a Veteran of the U.S. Navy, has spent nearly ten years living in and working as an independent contractor in Afghanistan. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Frerichs was abducted on or… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Resignation Of Principal Deputy Under Secretary Of Education Diane Auer Jones

WASHINGTON- Following the release of a report from the House Education and Labor Committee on its investigation into the Department of Education's handling of Dream Center Education Holding's (DCEH) accreditation misrepresentation at its Illinois Institute of Art and Colorado Art Institute campuses, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement calling for the resignation of Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Education Diane Auer Jones: "Under Secretary Jones, a former… Continue Reading

Durbin, Hirono, Colleagues To McConnell: Immigrants Are Essential & Deserve Support In COVID-19 Relief Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and 24 of his Senate colleagues in a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to support tax-paying immigrant families who have Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITIN) by ensuring they have access to economic relief payments provided in the CARES Act and any future coronavirus relief package. An estimated 20 million immigrants work in essential industries. Many o… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Urge Senate To Reject Conditioning Federal Funds To Schools On Reopening In-Person

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 29 of his Senate colleagues, today urged Senate leadership to reject the Trump Administration's desire to condition education funds in the next coronavirus relief package on the reopening of elementary and secondary schools for in-person instruction. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Appropriations Vice Chairman … Continue Reading

Durbin, Kennedy Urge DEA To Use Authority To Reduce Excessive Opioid Production Quotas

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John Kennedy (R-LA) today urged the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to apply its authorities to prevent and limit the pharmaceutical industry's excessively high opioid production levels. Durbin and Kennedy were authors of the 2018 legislation that enhanced DEA's opioid quota-setting authority by improving transparency and enabling DEA to adjust quotas to prevent opioid diversion and abuse while ensuring an adequate supply for legitimate me… Continue Reading

Durbin: I Reject Notion That $600 A Week Keeps People From Going Back To Work

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed Senate Republicans' and President Donald Trump's proposed partisan coronavirus response legislation, and the lack of Senate action to save expanded federal unemployment benefits which are set to expire tomorrow. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin called out Republicans' plan to cut the $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit to $200 per week. "There are people prepared to go back to work. And I happen to believe th… Continue Reading

Durbin Slams Trump Administration Decision To Remove 12,000 Troops From Germany

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today slammed the Trump Administration's decision to remove 11,900 American troops from Germany. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin shared his concern of both the classified and unclassified versions of this plan, concerns over the differences in the classified briefing he received compared to the public announcements, and President Donald Trump's continued actions … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Discuss COVID-19 Response With Senior Living Facility Represenatives

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke with CEOs of numerous Illinois senior living facilities to discuss safety and care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Durbin and Duckworth discussed improving the nation's testing and contact tracing efforts and access to personal protective equipment (PPE) for those working and living in senior living facilities. "It is inexcusable that, more than five months into this pandemic, we still cannot ensure adequate te… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses COVID-19 Relief With Illinois Mayors

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke by phone with Illinois mayors from cities on the coast of the Mississippi River about the Heroes Act and its provisions to support local governments in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic's economic impact. With Illinois expecting to lose more than $10 billion in revenue by next summer, Durbin spoke about the $1 trillion in fiscal relief funding for states and localities that the Heroes Act would provide to replace lost revenues. The Rep… Continue Reading