Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Campaigns and Elections
Durbin Statement On Passing Of U.S. Representative Paul Findley
DECATUR - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the passing of former U.S. Representative Paul Findley, who represented Illinois' 20th Congressional District from January 3, 1961 - January 3, 1983: "Paul Findley was my political opponent, but he was also my friend. In 1982, I prevailed in the election over twenty-two year incumbent Congressman Paul Findley. Over the years, our infrequent conversations increased in number and a friendship emerged. I was hon… Continue Reading
07.31.19
Durbin Calls On McConnell To End Legislative Graveyard & Protect Our Elections From Foreign Interference
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee, today called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to end his legislative graveyard and bring comprehensive election security bills to the floor. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin noted that one of the most important takeaways from Special Counsel Mueller's report is that Russia was able to successfully attack our democracy in 2016. Page one of the Mueller report … Continue Reading
07.31.19
Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Democratic Caucus To Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined the entire Senate Democratic Caucus to introduce the Democracy for All Amendment, a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) and other disastrous court decisions, help get big money out of politics, and put power back in the hands of the American people. "I was proud to preside over a hearing and lead the markup of this amendment as the chair of the Senate Judiciary S… Continue Reading
07.24.19
Durbin Introduces Fair Elections Now Act
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 24 Senate colleagues, today introduced the Fair Elections Now Act, which would dramatically change the way U.S. Senate elections are financed. Under the legislation, qualified Senate candidates would earn grants, matching funds, and television vouchers to run competitive campaigns based on small-dollar contributions, rather than rely on funding from wealthy donors and corporate special interests. The Fair Elections Now Act w… Continue Reading
07.24.19
Durbin, Duckworth Discuss Election Security With State Board Of Elections Chair Chuck Scholz
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Illinois State Board of Elections Chairman Chuck Scholz to discuss election security and how the federal government can assist the state in protecting its elections from foreign interference. Durbin and Duckworth discussed their efforts in the Senate to push Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to bring bills to the floor that would help ensure safe and secure elections. "This week, the FBI Direct… Continue Reading
07.11.19
Durbin Statement On Administration Briefing Regarding Election Security
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Rules Committee, today released the following statement after an all-Senators briefing by the Trump Administration on election security: "Our intelligence agencies are spending millions of dollars to stop the Russians from making a mockery of the 2020 election. Unfortunately, Leader McConnell is blocking critical, comprehensive election security legislation that would help to assure every vote will be counted."… Continue Reading
06.04.19
Senate Passes Durbin, Graham Bipartisan Election Interference Bill
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act, which 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, the first Senate Judiciary Committee legislation to pass the Senate in response to Russia's attack on our dem… Continue Reading
05.17.19
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
05.16.19
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
05.16.19
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
05.07.19
Durbin: Special Counsel Report Is Far From "Case Closed"
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pushed back on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's argument that the Mueller report is a "closed case" and renewed his call for U.S. Attorney General Barr to recuse himself from the 14 ongoing referred criminal investigations identified in Special Counsel Mueller's report. Durbin also argued that as Senate Republican Leader, Senator McConnell did little to nothing to acknowledge the threat of… Continue Reading
05.06.19
Durbin, Graham Reintroduce Bipartisan Election Interference Bill
WASHINGTON-Following the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) today reintroduced the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act, which will 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. immig… Continue Reading
04.18.19
Durbin Statement On Special Counsel Mueller's Report To Congress
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russia's interference in the 2016 election being sent to Congress: "The Special Counsel's findings paint a very different picture than what the President and his Attorney General would have the American people believe. Special Counsel Mueller has provided a detailed and sobering r… Continue Reading
04.02.19
Durbin, Schatz, Feinstein, Gillibrand Introduce Constitutional Amendment To End Undemocratic Electoral College
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) today introduced a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College system and restore democracy by allowing the direct election of presidents through popular vote alone. "Before the 2000 election, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to amend the Constitution and create a system of direct election for presidents. And I still believe today as I did then that the El… Continue Reading
02.28.19
Illinois Meets With Illinois State Board Of Elections Director To Discuss Election Security Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Rules Committee, today once again met with Steve Sandvoss, the Executive Director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, to discuss continued federal funding for election security. Last year, Illinois received $13.2 million in new federal funding to strengthen its election security systems, part of the Fiscal Year 2018 federal omnibus spending bill that provided $380 million to the Electi… Continue Reading
02.26.19
Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues To Introduce Voter Empowerment Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and six of their Democratic colleagues to introduce the Voter Empowerment Act. This legislation would help protect the voting rights of people across the country by ensuring equal access to the ballot for every eligible voter, modernizing voter registration, and helping to eliminate deceptive practices that deter people from voting. Companion legislation was introduced in the… Continue Reading
01.03.19
Durbin Statement on Swearing-In Of New Illinois Representative
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after U.S. Representatives Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-IL-04), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) were sworn in as new U.S. Representatives: It is an honor to welcome these three talented new Representatives as they are sworn-in as members of Congress in Washington. In particular, Representative Underwood's arrival is historic as she is the youngest African American woman ever in Congress. Her car… Continue Reading
11.14.18
Durbin Meets With Illinois Representatives-Elect
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Jesus "Chuy" Garcia and Sean Casten, U.S. Representatives-elect from Illinois, to congratulate them and discuss their goals for the 116th Congress. "It's an honor to welcome these newly-elected Representatives to Washington and congratulate them on their victories. They each bring a unique perspective and new energy to our efforts to address the issues facing Illinoisans and our nation, and I look forward to working with them in the ne… Continue Reading
11.14.18
Durbin Re-Elected Senate Democratic Whip For 116th Congress
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after being unanimously re-elected as the Senate's second-highest ranking Democrat, the Senate Democratic Whip, for the 116th Congress by his Senate Democratic colleagues this morning. Durbin has served in the number two role in the caucus since 2005. I am honored that the Senate Democratic Caucus has again supported me to serve as Whip. Our party is more diverse than ever, our Congress is divided, and the challenges… Continue Reading
10.11.18
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Durbin-Graham Bipartisan Election Interference Bill
WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee today unanimously approved the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act, which will prevent foreign regimes from exploiting our immigration laws to advance their efforts to undermine our democracy. Introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in April, this bill will make "improper interference in U.S. elections" a ground of inadmissibility and deportability under U.S. immigration law, and … Continue Reading