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

Durbin, Duckworth, Lipinski, Foster, Schneider, Casten, Underwood Ask EPA To Inspect All Region 5 Facilities Using Ethylene Oxide

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Dan Lipinski (D-IL-03), Bill Foster (D-IL- 11), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately conduct inspections of all Region 5 facilities - including Medline Inc. in Waukegan, Illinois, and Vantage Specialty Chemicals Inc. in Gurnee, Illinois, which use ethylene oxide (EtO) for manufac… Continue Reading

Durbin: FDA Commissioner Refuses To Address Youth E-Cigarette Epidemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless to discuss FDA regulation of kid-friendly e-cigarette and cigar flavorings. During the meeting, Durbin urged Sharpless to use his authority as Acting FDA Commissioner to address the public health epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes, by enforcing the Tobacco Control Act and "deeming rule" and immediately removing kid-friendly flavors from the market-flavors … Continue Reading

Durbin: FDA Commissioner Refuses To Address Youth E-Cigarette Epidemic

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless to discuss FDA regulation of kid-friendly e-cigarette and cigar flavorings. During the meeting, Durbin urged Sharpless to use his authority as Acting FDA Commissioner to address the public health epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes, by enforcing the Tobacco Control Act and "deeming rule" and immediately removing kid-friendly flavors from the market-flavors … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Transportation For Illinois Coalition

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the Transportation for Illinois Coalition (TFIC), a group of statewide and regional businesses, organized labor, industry, governmental, and nonprofit organizations that have joined together to support strong transportation investments for Illinois. Durbin discussed his priorities for the upcoming White House negotiations regarding a comprehensive transportation infrastructure bill and his work to secure federal funding for Illinois pr… Continue Reading

Durbin: President Trump's March To War With Iran Is Reckless And Unconstitutional

WASHINGTON - Following a report by the New York Times stating that the White House was briefed on a military plan that envisioned sending as many as 120,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East to counter Iran, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Trump Administration to avoid another reckless war in the Middle East and to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also stated… Continue Reading

Senate Dems Reintroduce Central America Reform And Enforcement Act

WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats today announced the reintroduction of a major legislative proposal to address the root causes of the Central American migrant crisis. The proposal, which was introduced by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), outlines the coordinated regional response needed to effectively manage the endemi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, King, Alexander Introduce Legislation To Codify HHS Rule To Require Disclosure Of Prescription Drug Prices In TV Ads

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), along with Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), today introduced bipartisan legislation to codify recent regulations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to require pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. Today's legislation ensures long-term implementation and clarity of this common-sense price transparency req… Continue Reading

Senators Oppose Defense Department Transfer Of $1.5 Billion To Pay For President Trump's Wall

WASHINGTON - Every Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies today slammed the Department of Defense for its transfer of another $1.5 billion to be used to build part of President Donald Trump's wall on the southwest border. In a letter to Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, the Senators expressed concern that this reprogramming comes at the expense of the… Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights New Requirement For Drug Companies To List Prices On Advertising

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined leaders from Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, the American Medical Association, and AARP to highlight the newly announced regulation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that will require pharmaceutical companies to disclose prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. This regulation builds upon years of Durbin's legislative progress, and Durbin announced today that he and U.S.… Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Durbin-Cosponsored Legislation That Supports Local Law Enforcement

WASHINGTON - At today's Senate Judiciary Committee markup, the Committee voted unanimously in support of two bills cosponsored by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) that support local law enforcement - the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act of 2019 and the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization. The STOIC Act addresses the growing problem of law enforcement officer suicides by reauthorizing a grant program for law enforcement family support services and exp… Continue Reading

Durbin, Young, Senators Introduce Resolution Condemning Brunei For Barbaric Laws

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Todd Young (R-IN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) today introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning the government of Brunei for recently imposing laws that include, among other troubling things, death by stoning for adultery and homosexual relations. Their resolution also calls for the repeal of these barbaric laws and visa bans for anyone involved in their implementation. "These recentl… Continue Reading

Durbin, Warren, Nadler, Katko Introduce Bill Making Bankruptcy Relief Available For Student Loan Borrowers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-01), and John Katko (R-NY-24) today introduced a bicameral bill that would give Americans overwhelmed by student loan debt the option of obtaining meaningful bankruptcy relief. The Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019 would eliminate the section of the bankruptcy code that makes private and federal student loans nondischargeable, allowing these loans to be treated l… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Mayor-Elect Lightfoot

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot to discuss Chicago priorities and how he can assist her in the Senate. Durbin and Lightfoot talked about reducing gun violence, the Chicago HEAL Initiative, the 2020 Census, public housing, and transportation infrastructure funding. "I want to thank Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot for coming by and meeting with the Illinois Congressional Delegation. We spoke about the issues she'll face in her new adminis… Continue Reading

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

WASHINGTON - In today's Senate Judiciary Committee markup, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) voted against President Donald Trump's nominee to be Deputy U.S. Attorney General, Jeffrey Rosen. Durbin argued that Mr. Rosen does not have the qualifications to be Deputy Attorney General given his lack of experience in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and lack of understanding of its basic law enforcement components. "I sat down with Mr. Rosen - a blank slate, I knew nothing about him. … Continue Reading

Durbin: President Trump's Anti-Immigrant Policies Have Made Our Border Less Secure

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, today slammed the Trump Administration for their failure to address the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. During today's hearing, Durbin called out the Administration's failed border security efforts - including the family separation policy, government shutdown, cutting off foreign assistance to the Northern Triangle countries, shutting down the Central Am… Continue Reading

Durbin: We Must Improve Health Outcomes For New Moms And Babies

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor ahead of Mother's Day this Sunday, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged his Senate colleagues to pass the Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA) Act, which he introduced in March, along with U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). The legislation seeks to reduce America's rising maternal and infant mortality rate, especially for moms and babies of color who are significantly more l… Continue Reading