Durbin Discusses COVID-19 Response & Detection Of PFAS Near Scott Air Force Base With Air Force Chief Of Staff

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today had a call with U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at Scott Air Force Base (AFB), as well as an update on the detection of the two main types of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) - PFOS and PFOA - during site inspections at Scott AFB in February. "General Goldfein had high praise for the work being done a… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $4.9 Billion In State And Local COVID-19 Funding For Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive $4.9 billion in state and local stabilization funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help offset the significant increased costs that state and local governments are facing from the COVID-19 pandemic. "I'm glad the Senate was able to come together on a bipartisan basis to pass the CARES Act, which amo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Warren, Colleague Urge Senate To Protect COVID-19 Relief Funds From Predatory For-Profit College Industry

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with 15 of their Senate colleagues, today urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Senate Appropriations Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), to explicitly direct any additional emergency funding specifically for institutions of higher education to public and private, nonprofit institutions. I… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $108 Million For Illinois Emergency Education Block Grants

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive $108,497,757 in federal funding to ensure education continues for students of all ages impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is a flexible emergency block grant designed to enable governors to decide how best to meet the needs of students, schools, posts… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses COBRA Assistance And DACA With American Federation Of Teachers President Randi Weingarten

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on teachers and students with Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Durbin discussed his letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) last week urging for the next COVID-19 relief package to include funding to allow people who lose their jobs to remain on their employers' health plans through COBRA. "This crisis has forced tens of millions of Americans to … Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Advocate For Dedicated, Flexible State And Local Government Emergency Funding

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and 32 Senate colleagues, wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to urge for state, local, and tribal governments to receive dedicated, flexible funding in the next COVID-19 emergency funding package. While Illinois has received $4.9 billion for state and local governments to support their COVID-19 pandemic response, state and local governments need m… Continue Reading

Durbin, Harris, Booker, Colleagues Call For Law Enforcement Training To Combat Racial Profiling During COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), today sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray calling for racial profiling training for all law enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter comes after reports of African American men being targeted by law enforcement based on the CDC's guidance to wear f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Bicameral Letter Urging Trump Administration To Ensure That Minority-Owned Small Businesses Are Not Shut Out Of Paycheck Protection Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY-05) in leading Democratic lawmakers in calling for the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department to ensure that minority-owned businesses are not shut out of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The lawmakers also called for the Administration to amend guidance on PPP, to… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Press For Robust Federal COBRA Subsidies In The Next COVID-19 Legislation

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) led 17 Senators in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to ensure that any forthcoming COVID-19 legislation include robust federal subsidies so that individuals who lose their job as a result of this pandemic can maintain their employer-sponsored health coverage. One option for Americans who lose their jobs, or drop below the hours necessary to be eligible for emp… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Press USDA To Provide Financial Relief For Illinois Pork And Beef Producers During COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide immediate and direct financial assistance to help family pork and beef producers in Illinois. In a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, the Senators said such financial assistance would help with stabilizing cash flow and mitigate marketplace disruptions in the wake of the economic emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the recently enacted Corona… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses COVID-19 Response With FEMA Midwest Region Administrator

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed the COVID-19 pandemic response in Illinois with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 5 Administrator James Joseph. Durbin asked about FEMA's progress on the Alternate Care Facility (ACF) at McCormick Place, as well as ensuring Illinoisans have access to much-needed resources including sufficient medical staff, personal protective equipment, sterilizing equipment, pharmacy caches, and additional Intensive Care Units (I… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Urge HHS To Change Formula For CARES Act Health Provider Funding

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with seven of their Senate colleagues, today expressed concern to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) about the front-line health providers and settings that were excluded from, or inadequately supported through, the $30 billion first round of CARES Act funding. In a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, the Senators urged the Department to alter the methodology for the next round of the CARES Act's total… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Selection To Congressional Task Force On Re-Opening America In The Wake Of COVID-19

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after being asked by President Donald Trump to serve on a bipartisan task force, comprised of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, with the purpose of providing counsel to the President on the re-opening of America in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: "I am honored to be asked to serve on this bipartisan Presidential task force to prepare for reopening our economy. We still hav… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Democratic Leaders Offer Roadmap to Dramatically Expand Testing Capacity Nationwide

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to outline Democrats' proposals to address the Trump Administration's failure to rapidly expand testing capacity for COVID-19 on a press call. On the call, the Senators discussed a series of steps outlined in a new policy white paper, "A Roadmap to Reopening by Ensuring a Speedy and Ubiquitous Lab Testing System (RESULTS)," as well as a new DPCC report, which… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Klobuchar, Colleagues Urge Administration To Increase Number Of Doctors Available To Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Representatives Tom Cole (R-OK-04), Abby Finkenauer (D-IA-01), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), and colleagues in both the House and Senate, wrote to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urging the Trump Administration to waive restrictions that prevent doctors on certain employment-based visas from providing medical care at locations or in specialties other than those spec… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Impact of COVID-19 With Illinois Agricultural Leaders

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today discussed the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on Illinois agriculture with leaders from Illinois agricultural groups. During the call, Durbin heard concerns about the need for immediate and direct financial assistance for family farm and livestock operations, the importance of maintaining stability in both agricultural markets and the food supply chain, and recommendations for additional policy changes… Continue Reading

Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Durbin, Senators Press President Trump To Automatically Extend Work Authorizations For DACA & TPS Recipients

SPRINGFIELD - As our nation continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today led 37 Senators in a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to automatically extend work authorizations for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and other impacted immigrants. More than 200,000 DACA recipients are working in occupational are… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $376 Million to Support O'Hare and Midway Airports Amid COVID-19

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports will receive a total of $376,743,810 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address the COVID-19 crisis. These funds - which were authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act - will help airport operators meet ongoing needs and to manage current construction projects as revenues have plummeted. "The aviation industry is fac… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $70 Million to Support Illinois Airports Amid COVID-19

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that airports throughout Illinois will receive a total of $69,995,370 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address the COVID-19 crisis. These funds - which were authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act - will help airport operators meet ongoing needs and to manage current construction projects as revenues have plummeted. "The aviation industry is facing the s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Telehealth Funding Available to Health Care Providers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau is now accepting applications for the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The program will provide $200 million in funding, which was appropriated by Congress as part of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to help health care providers deliver services to patients at their homes or mobile locations … Continue Reading