Durbin Statement on Medical Research Funding in President's Budget

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), co-chair of the Senate's bipartisan NIH caucus and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on funding cuts for federal agencies that conduct medical research included in the President's FY2018 budget request: "America's best scientists and researchers should spend their time finding ways to treat and cure diseases, not worrying about their budgets. President Trump's budget would gut NIH's budget by a whopping… 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), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation today to require open proceedings of the Supreme Court to be televised. The bipartisan Cameras in the Courtroom Act of 2017 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… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on President Trump's Budget Request

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump submitted his first budget request to Congress: "President Trump's budget is terrible economic policy and would be a disaster for America. Slashing funding for the things American families need most, like affordable housing, home heating, early childhood education, roads and bridges, and medical research and development, w… Continue Reading

Durbin: Russia Has Been Refining Its Cyber Warfare Tactics For A Decade, Now It’s Using Them Against America

WASHINGTON - Amidst mounting scrutiny of Russia's interference in the 2016 election, the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held its first hearing of the year to discuss Russia's tactics for undermining democracy around the world. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, a member of the subcommittee, questioned expert witnesses, including Heather Conley, author of "The Kremlin Playbook," on Russia's tactics to hack, spy, and lie their way to global dominance. Durbin pressed the witnesses on how the Uni… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $82,000 In Federal Funding For Rural Community Development Throughout Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $82,000 in federal funding for projects in Williamson, Carroll, Brown, and Massac Counties to support rural community development projects. Today's funding, provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will provide assistance to purchase new police vehicles in Hurst, Illinois, complete handicap accessibility improvements in Lanark, Illinois' city park, purchase a fully-equipped, four-wheel dr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $6 Million For Head Start Programs In Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families has awarded a total of $6,273,956 to support Head Start and Early Head Start programs across Illinois. "The Head Start program is the source of countless success stories in Illinois and around the country-it's a stepping stone children need to succeed from elementary school to college and beyond," said Durbin. "… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Steering Committee Discuss Transparency In A Post-Truth Presidency

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after taking part in a Senate Democratic Steering Committee roundtable discussion on dark money, corruption, and conflicts of interest under the Trump Administration. As part of "Sunshine Week," a national initiative to raise awareness about the importance of open government and freedom of information, Democratic senators heard from policy experts and advocates of open government. "At this pivotal moment in our history… Continue Reading

Durbin Reintroduces Legislation To Preserve American Leadership In Biomedical And Scientific Research

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today reintroduced a pair of bills to preserve America's standing as a leader in scientific discovery and innovation. The American Innovation Act and The American Cures Act would steadily increase funding for biomedical and scientific research conducted at the nation's premier federal research agencies. "These bills will allow America's best scientists and researchers to spend less time worrying about their budgets and more time creating new technolog… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Warn Of Breakdown Of Bipartisan Selection Process For Federal Judicial & U.S. Attorney Nominees Under Shimkus

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called on U.S. Representative John Shimkus (R-IL) to honor the decades-long tradition of bipartisanship in the selection of U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Marshals, and Federal District Court Judges in Illinois. Rep. Shimkus has delayed reestablishing this bipartisan process in order to consult with the Trump Administration-a process that is more urgently needed since last Friday when Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired all sitt… Continue Reading

Durbin: Republican Health Care Repeal Bill Means Tens Of Millions Lose Health Insurance

WASHINGTON - Following the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) blistering analysis of Republicans' plan to repeal health care, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) explained how the proposal would hurt millions in Illinois and across the country, especially seniors and low- and middle-income families. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin slammed the Republican bill for providing tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations in America while increasing out-of-pocket… Continue Reading

Durbin, Rubio Reintroduce Legislation To Promote Education Abroad

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) today reintroduced legislation to expand educational opportunities for the world's poorest children. The Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act addresses barriers to school attendance, retention, and completion in developing countries by leveraging U.S. contributions through collaboration with governments, civil society, and global education initiatives. Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Dave Reiche… Continue Reading

Durbin, Murray, Warren Lead Group Of Senators Calling On Education Department To Explain Delay Of Gainful Employment Rule

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to explain the Department's decision to delay the implementation of the Gainful Employment (GE) rule, which requires career training programs to provide students with reasonable return on their educational investment - good-paying jobs that allow them to repay their student debt. Last week, the Department of Education announced it would postpone the deadline f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge Rauner To Weigh In On Republican Health Care Repeal Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) once again called on Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to explain how Congressional Republicans' plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act will affect Illinois families, health care providers, and the state's economy. The senators expressed concern that a new Republican bill-which is currently being rammed through Congress without appropriate analysis or consideration-would take away health care from millions of Americans, increa… Continue Reading

Senators Call On Deputy Attorney General Nominee Rosenstein To Clarify Stance On Sessions Recusal, Respond To Intel Report On Russian Cyberattacks

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Al Franken (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) today called on Rod Rosenstein, President Trump's nominee to be Deputy Attorney General, to clarify his views on Attorney General Jeff Sessions' partial recusal on Justice Department investigations into the Trump Administration's Russian connections, if he discussed Sessions' recusal with the White House prior to the announcement, and to res… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $3.5 Million In Federal Funding For Prevention Health Services Across Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded the Illinois Department of Public Health $3,622,508 through the Prevention and Public Health Fund. The Prevention Fund was established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to provide $16 billion over 10 years to states and localities to invest in effective and innovative prevention efforts - like childhood obesity prevention and tobacco cessa… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On CBO Analysis Of Trumpcare

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the House Republican health care repeal, which estimates that 14 million people would lose their health insurance by 2018, and cause 24 million people to lose coverage by 2026: The CBO score is in, and 24 million Americans are out. This is the Republicans' answer to health care in America-24 million people without health insurance.… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Work To Bring Fairness To Fema Disaster Declaration Process

WASHINGTON - Following last week's string of severe weather and tornadoes that caused extensive damage and three fatalities across Illinois, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced the introduction of the Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act. The bill would reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) disaster declaration process to make it more transparent and equitable to small and rural communities in larger states like Illinois. Due t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Chicago Delegation Members Meet With Illinois Tollway In Support Of Elgin O’hare Western Access Project

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Danny Davis (IL-07) today met with Illinois Tollway Chairman Bob Schillerstrom to express their support for the Tollway's petition to the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) regarding their ongoing dispute with Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) over the Elgin O'Hare Western Access (EOWA) project. The project creates new western road access … Continue Reading

Durbin, Wicker Introduce Legislation To Promote Study Abroad

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) today introduced the bipartisan Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act, which creates a competitive grant program for institutions of higher education to expand study abroad opportunities for American college students. Study abroad is an important component of a well-rounded post-secondary education, giving students the opportunity to engage with other cultures, enhance foreign language skills, and expand international k… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $4 Million Loan To Expand Broadband Service In Moultrie County

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a $4,000,000 federal loan for the Moultrie Independent Telephone Company (MITCO) to expand broadband service in the Moultrie County area. MITCO will use the funds to make upgrades to fiber service in a portion of its service territory. Today's funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Telecommunications Programs of the Rural Utilities Service. "Without reliable access to broa… Continue Reading