As Tensions With Iran Escalate, Durbin Meets With Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today met with Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who President Donald Trump nominated to be Defense Secretary earlier this month. During the meeting, Durbin pressed Acting Secretary Shanahan on the Trump Administration's escalating tensions with Iran, continued military presence at the southwest border, and the reprogramming of $2.5 billion for President Trum… Continue Reading

Durbin: President Trump Has Gone Fishing - Refuses To Work With Congress During Investigation

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today recounted the meeting at the White House, which was originally scheduled to discuss transportation infrastructure, but was instead used as a press opportunity for President Donald Trump to express his frustration with Congressional investigations and oversight. Durbin noted that in light of Congress's role in appropriating funding for the government, Congress has a responsibility to conduct oversi… Continue Reading

Durbin: Trump Admin Should Think Twice About Starting Another Middle Eastern War

WASHINGTON - Following yesterday's briefing by Trump Administration officials about Iran, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called President Donald Trump's policy in Iran "provocative" and "incomprehensible," and warned against another reckless war in the Middle East. "President Trump's policy, at the direction of Mr. Bolton, seems to have only increased regional tensions, incentivized Iran to restart its nuclear program, and fomented a pretext for another Middle Eastern war… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Introduce Resolution Establishing "National Gun Violence Awareness Month"

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) introduced a resolution in the House and Senate establishing the weekend of June 7-9, 2019, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Weekend" and designating June as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month." Every day in America, an average of around 300 men, women, and children are shot, nearly one-third of them fatally. Establishing a month to bring attention to the issue of gun v… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Help Introduce Maternal Care Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) to introduce the Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies (Maternal CARE) Act, legislation to address persistent biases and shortcomings in our nation's medical system that have contributed to the ongoing maternal mortality crisis impacting Black women. The United States is one of only thirteen countries in the world where the rate of maternal mortality is now worse than it wa… Continue Reading

Durbin, Davis Call For Increased Support For Children Traumatized By Violence Following Gao Report Findings

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Danny Davis (D-IL-07) today called for increased support, workforce training, and services for children who have experienced trauma after a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study they requested revealed that states face challenges in identifying and supporting children who experience trauma. Next month, Durbin and Davis will introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation that seeks to address the challenges in today's study… Continue Reading

In Aftermath Of Child Migrant Deaths, Durbin, Senators Call For Investigating Detention Facilities At Southwest Border

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, today led 24 Senators in calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Inspector General to immediately investigate DHS Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detention facilities at the southwest border, in particular the conditions for minors, family units, and other vulnerable individuals. The … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Iran Briefing By Trump Administration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after receiving a classified briefing on the latest regarding Iran: "The Trump Administration's confrontational policy with Iran runs the risk of escalation to deadly levels. Talking tough on a tweet is easy. Living with the grim reality of war is not."… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge Treasury To Issue Carbon Capture Tax Credit Guidance

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have joined a bipartisan group of Senators in requesting guidance from the Department of Treasury for the implementation of the carbon capture utilization and storage tax credit program under the FUTURE Act. In a letter to Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the Senators requested that Treasury issue an interim rule to allow carbon capture projects, which often have a long lead-time, to get underway and assign more staff to the develo… Continue Reading

Durbin Shares Story Of Good Samaritan In Chicago

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) shared the story of Robert King, a Chicagoan who helped save the lives of two people awaiting organ donation. The Saturday before Easter, King was driving on Lake Shore Drive when he saw a van on the side of the road, and noticed another vehicle had T-boned the van at a stoplight. As other cars passed by, King pulled over and stopped to see if he could help, and he noticed that the man in the van held a cooler. … Continue Reading

Durbin: Trump Administration Anti-Immigration Policies Are Inhumane & Making Us Less Safe

WASHINGTON - Following reports of the death of a teenager at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility - the fifth child since December to die after being apprehended by CBP - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed the Trump Administration for its anti-immigrant policies and practices, including rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program, separating thousands of children from their parents at the southwest border, and the dire conditions at the… Continue Reading

Durbin, Scott, Menendez, Young, Duckworth, Kaine, Portman, Smith Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Protect Children From Lead Poisoning

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Todd Young (R-IN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Tina Smith (D-MN) today introduced the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2019, which would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to update its lead poisoning prevention measures to reflect modern science and ensure that families and children living in federally-assisted housing are pr… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On The Death Of Chuck Sweeny

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after longtime Rockford Register Star reporter and columnist Chuck Sweeny passed away at the age of 70: Chuck Sweeny was a straight shooter who never pulled a punch. Public officials learned early that Chuck had a long memory and an aversion to political double-talk. Chuck's family has lost someone who truly loved them, the Register Star has lost one of its best journalists, and Rockford has lost one of its gr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kelly, Duckworth Introduce Legislation To Address Youth Unemployment In High Poverty Areas

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today introduced two pieces of legislation to expand and increase access to employment opportunities for at-risk youth. The Helping to Encourage Real Opportunity (HERO) for At-Risk Youth Act and the Creating Pathways for Youth Employment Act will increase federal resources for communities seeking to create or grow employment programs and provide tax incentives to businesses an… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Landmark Election Security Legislation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to introduced election security legislation that would require backup paper ballots and provide election security grants to states for cyber improvements and audits. The Election Security Act represents the election security portions of H.R.1 and was introduced as standalone legislation in the House of Representatives last week. "The Russian cyberattack on the Illinois electronic… Continue Reading

Durbin Opposes President Trump's Deputy AG Nominee, Jeffrey Rosen

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after voting against President Donald Trump's nominee to be Deputy U.S. Attorney General, Jeffrey Rosen: "At this critical moment, we need a Deputy Attorney General who knows the Justice Department, who has experience in criminal investigations and prosecutions, and who is committed to the Department's role of enforcing the law independently. Mr. Rosen has no experience working in the Justice Dep… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Durbin, Graham Bipartisan Election Interference Bill

WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee today unanimously passed the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act. The bill was introduced by U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in order to prevent foreign governments from exploiting our immigration laws to advance their efforts to undermine our democracy. This bill will make "improper interference in U.S. elections" a violation of U.S. i… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi Ask Illinois Colleges And Universities About Efforts To Comply With Student Voter Registration Provision In Federal Law

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), have asked Illinois colleges and universities about their efforts to comply with the student voter registration provision in the Higher Education Act (HEA), which mandates that institutions of higher education make a "good-faith effort" to distribute voter registration forms to students. In letters to Illinois institutions, the members addressed the unique challenges … Continue Reading

Durbin: Why Won't Leader McConnell Bring An Election Security Bill To The Floor?

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Rules Committee, today called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for refusing to bring a comprehensive election security bill to the floor following the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, which showed that Russia was able to successfully attack our democracy in 2016. "At the CIA and intelligence agencies, millions of dollars are being spent to stop the Russians from making a mess … Continue Reading

Durbin Gives Pharma Fleece Award To Drug Companies Abusing Patent System

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 industry greed, slammed Celgene, Pfizer, and Sanofi for amassing a large number of excessive secondary patents to block generic competition. Many high-cost, brand-name drugs are shielded from competition due to manipulation of the patent system by "evergreening" or filing numerous additional patents to their pro… Continue Reading