Durbin Calls Out AG Sessions For Attempting To Eliminate Vital Federal Funds From Chicago's Gun Violence Prevention Efforts

WASHINGTON-During today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) assailed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for threatening to cut off Chicago's access to federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne-JAG) funding unless local police forces commit to assist the Department of Homeland Security in its enforcement of federal civil immigration laws. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice placed new and onerous conditions on local law enforcement'… Continue Reading

Durbin: GOP Tax Plan Needs To Look Beyond Board Room And Make Real Investments In The Middle Class

WASHINGTON-In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged his Republican colleagues to put partisanship aside and work with Democrats to craft a fiscally responsible tax reform plan that helps working class families, instead of hurting them. The Republican plan proposes several changes to individual taxes, including eliminating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, a deduction that is used by one-third of all taxpayers to reduce their tax bill. U… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On State AG's Suit Against Secretary DeVos' Failure To Enforce Gainful Employment Rule

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after 18 State Attorneys General, including Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, today filed suit against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for her delay of and failure to enforce the Gainful Employment (GE) rule. The GE rule is meant to ensure that career education programs prepare their students for jobs that allow them to earn enough to pay off the debt they accumulate to attend the program. To deter… Continue Reading

Durbin: Republican Tax Plan Will Hurt Illinois Families

CHICAGO - President Trump and Congressional Republicans' new tax plan would benefit the wealthiest of Americans and corporations while hurting Illinois working families, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today. The plan proposes several changes to individual taxes, including eliminating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, a deduction that is used by one-third of all taxpayers to reduce their tax bill. In 2018 under the Republican plan, half of all tax breaks will go to the top 1% wealt… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Decertifying Iran Nuclear Deal

CHICAGO-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who led the effort to secure the Iran Nuclear Agreement in the Senate in 2015, released the following statement: "Thanks to the Agreement and its inspectors, Iran is further away from a nuclear weapon than at any point in more than a decade. It has agreed to never pursue a nuclear weapon and to continue intrusive inspections around the clock. That's good for America's security and the security of our allies in the Middle East. "President … Continue Reading

Durbin's Statement On Trump's Executive Order On Health Care

CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order further targeting and destabilizing the Affordable Care Act: "Make no mistake-after spending nine months repeatedly trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Trump is sabotaging America's health care system and hurting working families to make a political point. His tactics are well documented: President Trump issued an Executive Order instructing federa… Continue Reading

Durbin Visits Marion VA, Receives Update On Ongoing Investigation

MARION - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited Marion VA Medical Center and met with leadership and concerned staff to discuss the ongoing investigations related to mismanagement and retaliation against whistleblowers, and the potential impact on patient safety and care. Following Durbin's calls for an investigation, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has sent a number of national offices to the Marion VA for a series of reviews, interviews, and briefings. "We owe each and every v… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Administration Immigration Wishlist

CHICAGO-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, released the following statement: The Administration passed the buck to Congress when it announced the end of DACA. There will be time to debate these deeply flawed immigration principles after Congress addresses the DACA crisis that the Administration itself created. Many of these proposals already face bipartisan opposition in the House and Senate and it would be wrong t… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Airlines To Implement Additional Practices To Aid Those Devastated By Hurricanes Maria And Irma

CHICAGO-In the wake of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the passenger and cargo air carrier industry to increase their efforts to ensure they are doing everything they can to aid our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) as they recover from the devastation. Passenger airlines took the first step to cap air fares for direct flights off the islands, but Durbin pressed the passenger carriers to consider additional… Continue Reading

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

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and 18 additional Senate colleagues introduced legislation to close a current loophole that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check is not completed after 72 hours, even if the gun buyer is not legally allowed to purchase a gun. The gap in existing law has allowed thousands of gun sales to prohibited buyers, including the s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Franken Introduce Bill To Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness To Adjunct Professors

WASHINGTON - At a time when adjunct faculty members now make up a majority of higher education instructors nationwide, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Al Franken (D-MN) today introduced legislation that would allow part-time faculty at colleges and universities across the country - who are often paid low wages with few benefits - to be eligible to participate in the federal student loan forgiveness program for public servants. In Illinois, more than half of all faculty at public and non-pr… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Equifax To Protect Consumers By Paying Credit Freeze Fees At The Other Major Credit Reporting Agencies

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), in a letter to Equifax Interim Chief Executive Officer Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., called on the massive credit-reporting agency to assume fees incurred by consumers freezing, temporarily lifting, and unfreezing their credit reports at the two other major credit reporting agencies: Experian and TransUnion. Durbin also pressed Equifax to reimburse consumers who have already paid such fees since Equifax announced the massive breach of its… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform Package

WASHINGTON-A bipartisan group of senators today reintroduced the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2017 to recalibrate prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, target violent and career criminals and save taxpayer dollars. The legislation permits more judicial discretion at sentencing for offenders with minimal criminal histories and helps inmates successfully reenter society, while tightening penalties for violent criminals and preserving key prosecutorial tools for law enforceme… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Call On President Trump To Prioritize Disaster Relief Efforts For Puerto Rican Islands Of Vieques And Culebra

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 14 of his Senate colleagues to call on President Trump to step up disaster recovery efforts on the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra after the islands were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Citing in their letter the remoteness of the islands and reports that residents have been "without running water, power, gasoline or communications for more than a week", the senators wrote to President T… Continue Reading

Durbin Pushes For Quick Action On Bipartisan Dream Act During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On DACA

WASHINGTON - During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, warned his Senate colleagues that the deportation clock is ticking for approximately 800,000 DACA recipients. He also urged them to support the bipartisan Dream Act that he and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have introduced, which would allow immigrant students who grew up in t… Continue Reading

Durbin: Congress Is Complicit In Gun Violence If We Continue This Course Of Inaction

WASHINGTON-Following the tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, that killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) challenged his Senate colleagues to not just be casual observers of gun violence, but to do their job and pass laws that make America safer. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin called on Congress to pass a universal background checks bill and commonsense gun laws to help prevent the next mass shooting. "Gun violence is… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than 790,000 In Federal Funding To Strengthen Math & Science Skills Of Illinois Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Family Centered Educational Agency, Inc., and Carl Sandburg College a total of $791,814 through the Upward Bound Math and Science program. The Upward Bound Math and Science program is designed to strengthen the math and science skills of participating students. The goal of the program is to help students recognize … Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Trump Administration To Extend DACA Deadline

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend the October 5th Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal deadline and encouraged eligible DACA recipients to file their renewal applications as soon as possible to make the deadline. Under the arbitrary deadline set by the Trump Administration, current DACA recipients whose status expires between Sept. 5, 2017, and March 5, 2018 must apply to renew their DACA status by Thurs… Continue Reading

Durbin: We Must Do More For Puerto Rico During Humanitarian Crisis

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with leaders in the Puerto Rican community to hear about local efforts to provide aid and call on President Trump to speed federal assistance to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Earlier this week, Durbin joined a group of Senators in a letter to President Trump calling on his administration to issue a full Disaster Declaration for the entire island of Puerto Rico and take a series of steps to coordinate the federal response in Puerto Rico… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Press AG Secretary To Quickly Provide Puerto Rico With Food Aid

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and five additional colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to request that he use all available resources to swiftly provide Puerto Rico with much needed food aid. In the letter, the senators wrote, "The devastation caused by Hurricane Maria has left behind a humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico, with millions of people without power and many fam… Continue Reading