Durbin Calls On Pentagon To Clarify Administration Policy For Transgender Individuals In the Military

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) pressed the Department of Defense to clarify the Administration's policy with regard to transgender individuals serving openly in the U.S. military, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the U.S. government will no longer accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity. In a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Durbin requested that Sec. Mattis provide him with the revised service accession plans, an explanation of the poli… Continue Reading

Durbin: Last Night Was A Victory For Illinois

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement: Last night's defeat of the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act was a victory for our state. One million Illinoisans would have lost their health insurance under the GOP's various plans. Our state's outstanding hospitals would have lost between 60,000 and 95,000 good paying professional jobs. More than three million Illinoisans-twenty percent of people in our state-depend on the Medicaid p… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Health Care Repeal Vote

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after a Republican plan to repeal health insurance coverage for 16 million Americans failed to pass the Senate: "While American families slept last night, Senate Republicans made the latest attempt to strip health insurance from tens of millions of Americans. Because of three courageous Republican Senators, they failed. Now is the time to start anew in the Senate with a bipartisan effort to strengthen our… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Mentoring To Succeed Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced the Mentoring to Succeed Act, legislation that builds on their efforts to reduce gun violence in Chicago and across the nation. Specifically, the Mentoring to Succeed Act helps address the crisis facing at-risk students by: Creating a grant program to help school districts, schools, and local governments establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs to help at-risk students succeed; Pro… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Duckworth, Bost Press HUD OIG To Complete Investigation Into Cairo Housing Crisis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-IL-12) today called on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to complete its investigation into the mismanagement at the Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) in Cairo, Illinois as soon as possible and make its findings public. In a bipartisan letter to Acting … Continue Reading

Durbin, Schumer, Democratic Senators Call On President Trump To Protect Dreamers

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 40 of their Democratic Senate colleagues today asked President Donald Trump to use his executive authority to the greatest extent possible to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary relief from deportation to immigrant students who arrived in the United States as children if they register with the government, pay a fee, and pass crimina… Continue Reading

Durbin Pushes For Protection Against Harmful Pollution In Southeast Chicago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and S.H. Bell to address petroleum coke (pet coke) and manganese pollution concerns in Southeast Chicago. Pet coke is a byproduct of refining crude oil into fuels such as gasoline and diesel. While the Clean Air Act clearly directs the EPA to protect human health, there are no current standards in place to guard against particulates specifically… Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed, and Brown Introduce Bills To Stop Corporate Inversions & Put Money Back Into The Pockets Of Working-Class Families

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced two pieces of legislation that aim to stop business practices known as inversions - corporate deals that allow U.S. companies to shift their corporate citizenship from the United States to a low-tax foreign jurisdiction, even while keeping their executives and headquarters in the United States. This is accomplished by merging with a foreign company that can be as little as 1/5 of the size … Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed, And DeLauro Introduce American Business For American Companies Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today introduced the American Business for American Companies Act, which would extend the year-to-year government-wide ban on federal contracts for inverted corporations by moving it out of the annual appropriations process and into permanent law. It also eliminates loopholes in the current law that have allowed inverted corporations to bid for, and win, federal contracts, despite … Continue Reading

Durbin: End Partisan Health Care Repeal Crusade Now, Work On Bipartisan Basis To Strengthen System For Everyone

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor during debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) called on his Senate Republican colleagues to end the secret, partisan effort to repeal health care for tens of millions of Americans and instead work in a bipartisan, public manner to strengthen the health care system for all Americans. Referencing remarks made by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) before the full Senate last night, Durbin slammed Senate Republicans for… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Fair Elections Now Act

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 23 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 would help reduce… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On DOJ Threat Top Chicago Violence Prevention Funding

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today issued the following statement after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will attempt to deny Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants ("Byrne-JAG") to communities that refuse to cooperate with the Trump Administration's deportation agenda: "Attorney General Sessions now threatens to stop the federal funds our police use… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On President Trump Reinstating Ban On Transgender People Serving In U.S. Military

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. government will no longer accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military: "The bedrock principle of our all-volunteer military is to evaluate every individual on the basis of their willingness and ability to serve. The president's announcement this morning banning transgender individuals from serving our military ironically fall… Continue Reading

Durbin To Senate Republicans: Real Lives Are At Stake, End Secret Health Care Repeal Once And For All

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) slammed Senate Republicans for voting to proceed to a secret health care repeal bill that no one - Congress and the American public alike - has seen. The various health care repeal proposals put forth by Senate Republicans thus far would result in anywhere from 22 to 32 million people losing health insurance, undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and raise costs on older Americans and those in… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Health Care Repeal Vote

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after Senate Republicans voted to proceed with repealing health care from tens of millions of Americans, despite not informing the public what bill the Senate would be proceeding to: "Today, Senate Republicans voted to start debate on a secret bill - a bill so secret that the Republicans don't even know what's in it. What we do know is that all of their proposals so far would take health insurance… Continue Reading

Durbin: Every Republican Proposal To Repeal Health Care Would Be A Massive Step Backwards For America

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) blasted Senate Republicans for forcing a health care repeal vote - as early as this afternoon - on a bill that Senators and the American public have not yet seen. He also called on at least three of his Republican colleagues to stand up and vote no on the secret health care repeal measure, in order to save health care for tens of millions of Americans. "None of the bills proposed by the Senate or House Republicans wo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Servicemember Student Loan Affordability Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced the Servicemember Student Loan Affordability Act to fix a provision in the federal law that unintentionally discourages members of the military from consolidating or refinancing pre-service student loans and taking full advantage of all student benefits provided to servicemembers. "Loan refinancing and consolidation is a practical, effective way to manage student loan debt," said Durbin. "Congress did not… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Bipartisan Dream Act

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today discussed The Dream Act of 2017, a bipartisan measure that would give young immigrants-more commonly known as Dreamers-a chance to earn lawful permanent residence and citizenship. Durbin was joined by Dreamers who shared their personal stories at a news conference at Harold Washington Community College. "It was 16 years ago - in 2001 - that I first introduced the Dream Act to give undocumented students who grew up in this country a chance to earn … Continue Reading

Durbin Secures Funding For Peoria Ag Lab In Senate Appropriations Bill

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that funding for the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Illinois was included in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies fiscal year 2018 funding bill. The Trump Administration's budget proposed closing 17 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service (… Continue Reading

Durbin: Senate Affordable Care Act Repeal Bills Would Be Disastrous For Illinois

Calls on Republicans to Drop Secret Repeal Effort, Work in Bipartisan Manner to Strengthen ACA SPRINGFIELD - With a vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expected early next week, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today stood side-by-side with health care professionals at Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation and urged his Senate Republican colleagues to drop the disastrous health care repeal efforts and get to work on strengthening the ACA. "Congressional Republicans have put forwa… Continue Reading