Press Releases
Durbin, Schakowsky Offer Recommendations For New Department Of Education Mentorship Grant Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) today sent a bicameral letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona applauding the inclusion of a Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations bill provision that creates a mentorship grant program that mirrors Durbin and Schakowsky’s Mentoring to Succeed Act. In their letter, the lawmakers highlighted the benefits of mentorship and offered suggestions on developing the mentorship … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin, Capito, Booker Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Enhance Reentry Programs, Promote Public Safety
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2024 to reauthorize critical reentry grant programs from the Second Chance Act of 2008, which was most recently reauthorized as part of Durbin’s First Step Act in 2018. The legislation would reauthorize critical programs to … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin Meets With Social Security Administration Commissioner
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Martin O’Malley to discuss the agency’s service performance and budget. During their meeting, Durbin and Commissioner O’Malley spoke about the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request, and how the SSA’s budget has not kept pace with the increase in beneficiaries served—which can pose challenges for timely benefit processing and eligibility determinations. “Millions of … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Voting Against The Right To Contraception Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted against the Right to Contraception Act. This bill, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, would protect the rights of patients to access and use contraception and of health care providers to provide contraception and information about contraception. It would codify the right to contraception that the Supreme Court first recognized in … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin, Rounds Introduce Legislation To Protect Rural Postal Processing Facilities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) today introduced legislation that would require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to protect mail processing centers in rural communities by mandating a study on the consequences of downsizing or closing these facilities, which is already required before the closure of a storefront post office, but not for Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DCs). The Postal Processing Protection Act would ensure … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin Questions District Court Nominees In Latest Judiciary Committee Nominations Hearing
WASHINGTON - During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Adam Abelson, nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland; Joseph Saporito Jr., nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; and Meredith Vacca, nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York. Before questioning the second panel of nominees, Durbin first … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Latest Judiciary Committee Hearing On Four Judicial Nominations
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 on the nominations of Embry J. Kidd, nominated to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit; Joseph Francis Saporito Jr., nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; Adam Abelson, nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland; and Meredith Vacca, nominated to be … Continue Reading
June 05, 2024
Durbin Talks High Prescription Drug Prices, Children's Online Safety With FTC Chair Lina Khan
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with Lina Khan, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The two discussed their efforts to prevent Big Pharma from exploiting patent policy to inflate its profit margins at the expense of delivering affordable and accessible medications to Americans. Pharmaceutical companies often improperly list patents the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Orange Book in an attempt to delay FDA … Continue Reading
June 04, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $11 Million In Federal Funding For Multiuse Cycling Trail In Energy, Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded $11.145 million in federal funding to the Crab Orchard Greenway Multimodal Network at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The grant, funded through the Fiscal Year 2023 National Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program, will go toward supporting the construction of 12 miles of a multiuse cycling trail … Continue Reading
June 04, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Federal Approval Of Illinois As Participant In Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Medicaid Demonstration Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the federal approval of Illinois as a participant in the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Medicaid Demonstration Program. This program, created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provides sustainable funding to reimburse through Medicaid the full cost of services that … Continue Reading
June 04, 2024
Durbin Statement On President Biden's Southern Border Executive Action
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding President Biden’s executive action on the southern border: “Nearly four months ago, Congress had an opportunity to help secure the border with the bipartisan border bill. Instead, in a stunning reversal, my Senate Republican colleagues opposed this bipartisan agreement, refusing to address these pressing issues, completely disregarding their … Continue Reading
June 04, 2024
Durbin Urges His Colleagues to Support the Right to Contraception Act Ahead of Vote on Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - During the week marking the 59th anniversary of the landmark Griswold v. Connecticut decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled that all married Americans have a constitutional right to use contraception, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support the Right to Contraception Act when it comes before the Senate tomorrow. This bill, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, would protect the rights of patients to … Continue Reading
June 04, 2024
Durbin Urges His Colleagues To Support The Right To Contraception Act Ahead Of Vote On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - During the week marking the 59th anniversary of the landmark Griswold v. Connecticut decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled that all married Americans have a constitutional right to use contraception, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to support the Right to Contraception Act when it comes before the Senate tomorrow. This bill, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, would protect the rights of patients to … Continue Reading
June 03, 2024
Durbin Addresses The Supreme Court's Ethical Crisis In A Speech On The Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, addressed the Supreme Court’s ethical crisis and cautioned that we cannot afford further erosion of public confidence in our courts. Durbin’s speech follows Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s refusal to recuse himself from cases concerning the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection. The justice’s refusal comes in response to a letter Durbin and … Continue Reading
June 03, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth, Rep. Kelly Introduce Bicameral Resolution In Observance Of National Gun Violence Awareness Month
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) in introducing a resolution to designate June 07, 2024, as “National Gun Violence Awareness Day” and June 2024 as “National Gun Violence Awareness Month.” Each year, more than 43,000 people in the United States are killed and 76,000 are injured by gun violence, depriving many of a promising future. Designating both a specific day and month … Continue Reading
May 31, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Democrats To Call On DOJ To Immediately Launch Full Court Press Against Big Oil To Prevent And Prosecute Collusion And Price Fixing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and 20 Democratic Senators in sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to use every tool at its disposal to prevent and prosecute collusion and price fixing in the oil industry. The letter follows a Federal Trade … Continue Reading
May 30, 2024
Durbin Statement On Trump Guilty Verdict By Manhattan Jury
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the conviction of former President Donald Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records: “No one is above the law—not even a former president. Consistent with the rule of law, a jury of his peers found the former president guilty on all counts. Today’s verdict is another reminder that Donald Trump is unfit for public service.” … Continue Reading
May 30, 2024
Durbin Applauds Illinois State Legislature On Passing Budget That Contains Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the Illinois state legislature’s passage of a state budget that included the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act. This legislation, which—like Durbin’s Credit Card Competition Act—aims to curb the outrageous swipe fees on electronic transactions will prohibit credit card companies and financial institutions from charging merchants interchange fees on sales and excise taxes, as well as gratuities, added to electronic … Continue Reading
May 30, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce That Illinois School Districts Will Receive $48.4 Million In Rebates For EPA Clean School Bus Program
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that 28 Illinois school districts will receive significant rebates, a combined total of more than $48 million, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2023 Clean School Bus Program (CSBP) rebate competition. The program, a $5 billion effort established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aims to convert the nation’s school bus fleets to low- or zero-emission … Continue Reading
May 29, 2024
Durbin Responds To Justice Alito's Refusal To Recuse Himself In 2020 Election Cases
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito refused to recuse himself from cases concerning the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection. The justice’s refusal comes in response to a letter Durbin and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, sent to Chief Justice John Roberts last week imploring the … Continue Reading