Press Releases
In Central Illinois, Durbin Touts Legislation that will Support Rural EMS Agencies
FLANAGAN - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined officials at the Flanagan-Graymont Fire Protection District to discuss his bipartisan legislation, Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act, which would reauthorize a federal grant program that directly supports rural emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in training and recruiting staff, conducting courses to satisfy certification requirements, and purchasing equipment, for everything from naloxone and first aid kits, to po… Continue Reading
08.07.18
Durbin Visits Olmsted Lock & Dam Project
OLMSTED-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the Olmsted Lock and Dam project, which replaced 1920's-era infrastructure and will allow for much easier navigation of commerce on the Ohio River. The Olmsted Lock and Dam is one of the busiest stretches of Illinois' inland water system for commercial navigation. Durbin has helped secure federal funding for this project over the years. "The Olmsted Lock and Dam is critical to the flow of local commerce, and was in dire need of investment… Continue Reading
08.07.18
Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Democrats To Condemn Trump Administration For Rescinding Civil Rights Guidance Promoting Diversity In Education
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and 17 other Senate Democrats in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos condemning their decision to rescind civil rights guidance promoting diversity in education. Last month, Attorney General Sessions and Secretary DeVos rescinded guidance that clarifies to schools how to promote diversity and open doors of oppo… Continue Reading
08.07.18
Durbin Meets With Cairo Public Housing Residents
CAIRO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) residents to discuss the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) response to the housing crisis that has forced hundreds of residents out of their housing units due to uninhabitable living conditions. Durbin was joined by Joseph Galvin, Regional Administrator of HUD's Midwest Regional Office, at Durbin's invitation. "Cairo is 'Exhibit A' for mismanagement in Washington and locally. HUD… Continue Reading
08.06.18
Durbin Statement On President Trump's Decision To Re-Impose Sanctions On Iran
ST. LOUIS-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after President Trump announced that he will re-impose nuclear-related sanctions on Iran that were lifted in connection with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement. In May 2018, President Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement. In 2015, Durbin led the effort in the Senate that ultimately allowed the Iran Nucle… Continue Reading
08.03.18
Durbin, Murray, Warren, Blumenthal, Brown, Duckworth Press Secretary Devos To Assist Students In The Wake Of National College Closures
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to take immediate steps to assist students harmed by the closing of colleges owned by Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH), including many of the Art Institutes (Ai), Argosy University, and South University campuses around the country. Specifically, the senators ur… Continue Reading
08.01.18
Durbin Host Bipartisan Senators, NATO & Non-NATO Partner Ambassadors, Reaffirms America's Support In Face Of Russian Aggression
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today hosted a group of bipartisan senators and Ambassadors from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and non-NATO partner nations to discuss U.S.-NATO relations and ongoing Russian aggression, as well as reaffirm America's commitment to our allies and to transatlantic cooperation. U.S. Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) co-hosted the meeting with Durbin, and Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Susan C… Continue Reading
07.31.18
Durbin Statement On Completion Of Internal Investigation Of Heartland Alliance Into Allegations Of Physical & Emotional Abuse At Chicago Facility
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Heartland Alliance, an Illinois-based social services agency, announced that their internal investigation found no evidence to support reported allegations of physical and emotional abuse made by children who were recently cared for at Casa Guadalupe, a Chicago shelter run by Heartland: I'm pleased that Heartland Alliance took my call for a timely internal investigation seriously. The alleg… Continue Reading
07.31.18
Durbin Calls On DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen To Step Down In Wake Of Failure To Reunite "Deleted" Families
WASHINGTON-During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Trump Administration's incompetent family reunification efforts, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the architect of this humanitarian disaster, to resign. "Incredibly, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen claimed, 'We do not have a policy of separating families at the border. Period.' But it was on her watch and under her lea… Continue Reading
07.30.18
Durbin To E-Cigarette Industry: Gummy Bear-Flavored Liquid Nicotine Helps Adults Quit Smoking? Prove It
CHICAGO - As the use of e-cigarettes among youth continues to rise dramatically, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today unveiled bipartisan legislation to crack down on kid-friendly flavorings in highly-addictive e-cigarettes and cigars. Durbin's Stopping Appealing Flavors in E-Cigarettes for Kids (SAFE Kids) Act will place strong restrictions on e-cigarette flavorings and ban cigar flavorings altogether. "We have made great progress in convincing kids not to start smoking cigarettes. They know… Continue Reading
07.27.18
Durbin Statement On Republican Refusal To Request Critical Kavanaugh Documents
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dismissed the need for the Committee to review records from Judge Brett Kavanaugh's three-year tenure as White House Staff Secretary. Judge Kavanaugh served as Staff Secretary to President George W. Bush from 2003 to 2006. The American people expect the Senate Judiciary Com… Continue Reading
07.27.18
Durbin Joins Colleagues In Calling On State Department To Reconsider Dangerous 3D Gun Settlement
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined his colleagues in calling on the State Department to prevent the publication of online blueprints for untraceable, three-dimensional (3D) printable firearms. In a stunning reversal of course last month, the State Department and the Justice Department agreed to a settlement with Defense Distributed that would allow anyone, including criminals and even terrorists, to download blueprints for the 3D printing of firearms like the … Continue Reading
07.27.18
Durbin, Duckworth Press HUD To Implement IG Reccomendations To Improve Oversight & Administration Of Public Housing Authorities
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to quickly implement the HUD Inspector General's (IG) recommendations to improve HUD's oversight and administration of public housing authorities as outlined in the report that was released yesterday exposing HUD's inadequate oversight of Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA). The report makes a number of recommendations to improve and clarify its procedu… Continue Reading
07.27.18
Durbin Statement On Republican Refusal To Request Critical Kavanaugh Documents
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dismissed the need for the Committee to review records from Judge Brett Kavanaugh's three-year tenure as White House Staff Secretary. Judge Kavanaugh served as Staff Secretary to President George W. Bush from 2003 to 2006. The American people expect the Senate Judiciary Com… Continue Reading
07.26.18
Durbin Presses Senate To Support Bipartisan Amendments Requiring Drug Companies To Disclose Prices In Direct-To-Consumer Advertising
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced two bipartisan amendments to the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies funding bill - part of the "minibus" appropriations package being considered this week by the Senate - to clarify current law and provide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with $1 million to implement rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices of thei… Continue Reading
07.26.18
On Deadline Day To Reunite Separated Families, Durbin & Senators Call For DOJ Investigation of "Zero Tolerance" Immigration Policy
WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 30 other senators, sent a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz calling for an investigation into DOJ's role in the creation and implementation of the Trump Administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General are conducting reviews of the zero-to… Continue Reading
07.25.18
Durbin Statement On Trump-DeVos Rewrite Of Borrower Defense Rule
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced a proposed rule rewriting the 2016 Obama Borrower Defense Rule. Under the Borrower Defense to Repayment provision of the Higher Education Act, the Department of Education has the legal authority to provide cheated and defrauded students with complete, immediate, and automatic relief from their federal student loans. 'Stu… Continue Reading
07.25.18
Durbin: Now Is The Time For The Senate To Help Families Buried In Student Loan Debt
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government bill - part of the "minibus" appropriations package being considered this week by the Senate - to make it easier for some struggling student loan borrowers to receive discharge of their student loans in bankruptcy under the "undue hardship" exception. "It is time for the Senate to get serious about the student loan crisis in America," Dur… Continue Reading
07.24.18
Durbin Calls On Senate Republicans To Support Election Security Funding For States
WASHINGTON-In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged his Republican colleagues to support an amendment that would offer an additional $250 million in election security grants for states to protect their election systems. The amendment, which was prepared by U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), is being offered to the appropriations legislation the Senate is considering this week. "Every member of this chamber will have … Continue Reading
07.24.18
Durbin Releases Shocking New Data On Department Of Education's Borrower Defense Application Backlog
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called out the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for findings revealed in a response to Durbin's Questions for the Record (QFR) from June 12, 2018, that show the Department's blatant actions to avoid providing student loan relief to borrowers who were defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges. Under the Borrower Defense to Repayment provision of the Higher Education Act, the Department of Education has the… Continue Reading