Durbin Questions Witnesses During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Ensuring The Safety And Well-Being Of Unaccompanied Children

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "Ensuring the Safety and Well-Being of Unaccompanied Children." Today's hearing examined the exploitation of unaccompanied non-citizen children in the United States, existing protections under the law, and the need to ensure that the United States protects these vulnerable children. Durbin first questioned Venus Bradl… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Supreme Court Ethics Reform

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights hearing entitled "Ensuring an Impartial Judiciary: Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023." Today's hearing is the third hearing the Senate Judiciary Committee has held this year on the topic of judicial ethics. "It was February 2012 when… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Ensuring The Safety And Well-Being Of Unaccompanied Children

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Ensuring the Safety and Well-Being of Unaccompanied Children." Today's hearing will examine the exploitation of unaccompanied non-citizen children in the United States, existing protections under the law, and the need to ensure that the United States protects these vulnerable children. Key quotes: "During t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce Legislation To Cut Taxes For Illinois Workers & Families

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in reintroducing the Working Families Tax Relief Act. At a time when costs are higher than ever for parents and wages have failed to keep up with inflation, the Working Families Tax Relief Act would cut taxes for workers and families by expanding the Child Tax Credit … Continue Reading

Senate Passes Durbin, Cruz Bill To Rename Cuban Embassy Street After Murdered Dissident Oswaldo Payá

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) praised the Senate's unanimous passage of bipartisan legislation they authored to rename the street outside of the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C. as "Oswaldo Payá Way" after the Cuban dissident leader who was murdered by the Cuban dictatorship. Earlier this week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released its findings in the suspicious death of Payá that confirmed the Cuban gover… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witness During Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Artificial Intelligence And Human Rights

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law hearing entitled, "Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights." After highlighting the Judiciary Committee's work unanimously reporting five bills designed to stop the exploitation of kids online, Durbin questioned Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology, about his Strengthen… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Remarks Honoring Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney As She Receives Paul H. Douglas Award For Ethics In Government

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered remarks at the University of Illinois award ceremony for the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government and introduced this year's honoree, former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney. In his remarks, Durbin praised Congresswoman Cheney's efforts to hold former President Donald Trump accountable for the incitement of the Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021, despite pushback from the Republican Party. Durbin began his… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witnesses During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Oversight Of Section 702 Of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Related Surveillance Authorities." Today's hearing examined the privacy and civil liberties impact of Section 702 and related surveillance authorities as Section 702's sunset approaches. The witnesses included Matt Olsen, Assistant Attorney Gene… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing On Oversight Of Section 702 Of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "Oversight of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Related Surveillance Authorities." Today's hearing will examine the privacy and civil liberties impact of Section 702 and related surveillance authorities as Section 702's sunset approaches. "Today, the Judiciary Committee will focus o… Continue Reading

Durbin, Bipartisan Senators Statement Following Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Findings in Oswaldo Paya Death

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) along with Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) released the following statement after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights released its findings in the suspicious death of Cuban pro-democracy leader Oswaldo Payá: "At last, we have a clear verdict on what was suspected all along. After years of petty and cowardly harassment of… Continue Reading

Durbin Advocates For Federal Funding For Illinois’ Southwest Connector Project To Expand Southern Illinois Highways

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor applauding the Biden Administration's commitment to creating jobs while investing billions in federal funding into local infrastructure projects, including in Illinois. During his speech, Durbin expressed his hope that the Southwest Connector-a project that would expand Illinois State Highways 127, 154, and 3 from two to four lanes and create a… Continue Reading

Durbin: Ukraine’s Future Is In The European Union And The Nato Alliance

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor highlighting Ukraine's future as a member of the European Union and the NATO alliance. Durbin began his speech by reflecting on D-Day and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley's trip to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France last week. Durbin said, "In the audience were veterans-some over 100 years old-who storm… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce High Speed Rail Service From Chicago To St. Louis

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the Illinois Department of Transportation’s new schedule changes for Amtrak’s Lincoln Service trains following the successful implementation of the Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed rail project.  Having supported the testing and implementation of high-speed rail for more than two decades, Durbin secured roughly 80 percent of the project’s nearly $2 billion… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce High Speed Rail Service From Chicago To St. Louis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the Illinois Department of Transportation's new schedule changes for Amtrak's Lincoln Service trains following the successful implementation of the Chicago-to-St. Louis high-speed rail project. Having supported the testing and implementation of high-speed rail for more than two decades, Durbin secured roughly 80 percent of the project's nearly $2 billion cost, including $1.66 billio… Continue Reading

On World Day Against Child Labor, Durbin, Delauro Introduce Bill to Ban Child Labor on Tobacco Farms

WASHINGTON - In observation of World Day Against Child Labor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today reintroduced legislation to protect child workers from the dangers of exposure to tobacco plants, including nicotine poisoning. The Children Don't Belong on Tobacco Farms Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco fields and coming into direct contact with tobacco plants or dr… Continue Reading

On World Day Against Child Labor, Durbin, Delauro Introduce Bill To Ban Child Labor On Tobacco Farms

WASHINGTON - In observation of World Day Against Child Labor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today reintroduced legislation to protect child workers from the dangers of exposure to tobacco plants, including nicotine poisoning. The Children Don't Belong on Tobacco Farms Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco fields and coming into direct contact with tobacco plants or dr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Boyle Introduce Bicameral Legislation To End Cycle Of Republican Default Brinkmanship

WASHINGTON - After Republicans manufactured another near catastrophic default crisis, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-02) introduced the Debt Ceiling Reform Act, legislation to permanently end the weaponization of the debt ceiling while protecting Congress's oversight responsibilities. The Debt Ceiling Reform Act authorizes the Treasury Department to continue paying t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Boyle Introduce Bicameral Legislation To End Cycle Of Republican Default Brinkmanship

WASHINGTON - After Republicans manufactured another near catastrophic default crisis, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and House Budget Committee Ranking Member Brendan F. Boyle (D-PA-02) introduced the Debt Ceiling Reform Act, legislation to permanently end the weaponization of the debt ceiling while protecting Congress's oversight responsibilities. The Debt Ceiling Reform Act authorizes the Treasury Department to continue paying t… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Indictment By The Justice Department In Classified Documents Case

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the indictment of former President Donald Trump by the Department of Justice on his alleged mishandling of classified documents he took when leaving office and then obstructing the government's efforts to reclaim them: "While this historic and very serious case continues to play out, Special Counsel Smith must be allowed to continue his investigation … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Indictment By The Justice Department In Classified Documents Case

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the indictment of former President Donald Trump by the Department of Justice on his alleged mishandling of classified documents he took when leaving office and then obstructing the government's efforts to reclaim them: "While this historic and very serious case continues to play out, Special Counsel Smith must be allowed to continue his investigation … Continue Reading