Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Health Care
Durbin Brings Nauvoo Paramedic To Rural Summit, Discusses Support For Rural EMS Agencies
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Mark Kennedy, a Critical Care Transport Service Paramedic for the Fire Protection District in Nauvoo, Illinois, to discuss how to address rural health challenges. Mr. Kennedy worked closely with Durbin to craft the Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act, a bipartisan bill that reauthorizes a federal grant program at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to directly support public and non-profit rural … Continue Reading
September 19, 2018
Durbin And Bustos Highlight Key Provisions In Fight Against Opioid Epidemic
ROCK ISLAND - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos today discussed their work to address the opioid epidemic. The Senate passed an opioid package on Monday and the House passed similar legislation in June. These bills both include critical legislative provisions that Senator Durbin and Congresswoman Bustos fought to include to prevent addiction, help survivors, and save lives. The measures will now be negotiated to reconcile differences between the House and … Continue Reading
September 19, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth: Defense, Labor, Health, Education Appropriations Package Provides Critical Funding For Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), today released the following statements on Senate passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Department of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations package - which provides $674.4 billion for the Department of Defense and $178.1 billion for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies. The … Continue Reading
September 18, 2018
Durbin Introduces New Compromise Legislation To Lift IMD Exclusion, Help More Americans Get Treatment For Addiction
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Ben Cardin (D-MD), today introduced new bipartisan legislation to expand Americans' access to treatment for opioid addiction by lifting the Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion. The IMD exclusion is an arcane, decades-old policy that prohibits states from using federal Medicaid dollars to pay for treatment at residential mental health or substance … Continue Reading
September 17, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $3.2 Million In Funding To Support Low-Income Illinoisans With Disabilities
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded nine Illinois communities a total of $3,291,834 to provide affordable housing to people with disabilities. The funding is awarded through HUD's Section 811 Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program, which helps individuals with disabilities live as independently as possible in the communities with access to supportive … Continue Reading
September 17, 2018
Durbin Applauds Senate Passage Of Bipartisan Bill To Fight Opioid Epidemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded Senate passage of a bipartisan opioid legislative package to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. The legislative package includes major provisions from Durbin's bipartisan bill to strengthen the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) ability to adjust quotas determining the number of opioid drugs allowed to be produced in the United States each year, and his … Continue Reading
September 14, 2018
Durbin Highlights Successes In Senate's Bipartisan Opioid Package
CHICAGO - As the Senate prepares to vote on a major legislative package aimed at addressing the opioid crisis, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today outlined several key initiatives he included in the bill to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. The legislative package, which is expected to pass the Senate on Monday, includes major provisions from Durbin's bipartisan bill to strengthen the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) ability to … Continue Reading
September 12, 2018
Durbin Highlights Bipartisan Amendment To Take On Big Pharma, Require Disclosure Of Drug Prices In TV Ads
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital to tout his bipartisan Senate-passed amendment requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. The amendment helps to empower patients, promote transparency, and lower prescription drug costs, and it was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Angus King (I-ME). The provision was included in the Senate's Labor-Health and … Continue Reading
September 12, 2018
Durbin Statement On FDA Announcement of New Enforcement Actions On Kid-Friendly E-Cigarette Flavors
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to issue new enforcement actions on e-cigarette companies' use of kid-appealing flavors, in order to better protect children and teens from using addictive and dangerous e-cigarettes: "We have seen an increase in children using e-cigarettes and vaping of 75 percent this year - and 12 percent of kids are vaping in America today. … Continue Reading
September 10, 2018
Durbin, Bustos, Kinzinger, and Mayor McNamra Announce $450,000 In Federal Funding To Help Victims Of Domestic Violence And Sexual Assault In Rockford
ROCKFORD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL-16) today joined Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara to announce that the City of Rockford has received $449,870 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women. The funding will allow Rockford to establish a Family Justice Center, which will provide comprehensive services to aid victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human … Continue Reading
September 06, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Join New Effort To Protect Seniors And Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and 41 other Democratic Senators on legislation to overturn the Trump Administration's expansion of "junk health insurance plans." As of today, 44 Senators have cosponsored the resolution of disapproval of the Trump Administration's final "junk health insurance plan" rule, which only needs the support of 30 Senators to force a vote. These year-long "junk plans" can exclude basic … Continue Reading
August 24, 2018
Senate Passes Funding Bill That Includes Durbin Priority Of Increased Medical Research Funding
CHICAGO - The U.S. Senate passed the Defense-Labor-HHS-Education appropriations "minibus" package yesterday, which included a $2 billion, or 5.4 percent, increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. Over the past five years, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) has worked to provide NIH with $10 billion in increased funding, a 34 percent increase. Within this amount, the bill provides an increase for every NIH Institute and Center, … Continue Reading
August 23, 2018
Senate Passes Durbin-Grassley Amendment To Take On Big Pharma, Require Disclosure Of Drug Prices In Tv Ads
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Senate passed a bipartisan amendment introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to the Defense-Labor-HHS-Education appropriations "minibus" package that provides the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with $1 million to implement rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. The amendment helps to empower patients, promote transparency, … Continue Reading
August 21, 2018
Durbin Applauds Bipartisan Passage Of Amendments Establishing Firefighters Cancer Registry
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) applauded passage of a bipartisan amendment that will help fund and establish the Firefighter Cancer Registry, which is a specialized national cancer registry to improve collection and research activities related to monitoring and studying cancer incidence among firefighters. The amendment passed last night by a vote of 85-0 for inclusion in the Labor Health and Human Services FY19 appropriation bill being considered by the … Continue Reading
August 16, 2018
Durbin, Kennedy Applaud DEA For Lowering Opioid Quotas For Third Year In A Row
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John Kennedy (R-LA) today praised the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) proposal to reduce production quotas for nearly all Schedule II prescription opioids by an average of 10 percent for next year. The DEA is responsible for establishing annual quotas determining the exact amount of each opioid drug that is permitted to be produced in the U.S. each year. After two decades of dramatic increases to the volume of opioids allowed to come … Continue Reading
August 14, 2018
As Big Pharma Rakes In Profits At Patients' Expense, Durbin Calls For Action On Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Cost
CENTREVILLE - As the costs of prescription drugs continue to soar for patients under the Trump Administration, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called for action on several pieces of legislation that would hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable, curb price hikes, and bring much-needed transparency to price setting for prescription drugs in the U.S. Durbin was joined by officials from SIHF Healthcare, Touchette Regional Hospital, and a patient who has struggled with rising … Continue Reading
August 08, 2018
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 … Continue Reading
July 30, 2018
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 … Continue Reading
July 26, 2018
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 … Continue Reading
July 23, 2018
Durbin Calls for Action on Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Costs
CHICAGO - As the costs of prescription drugs continue to soar under the Trump Administration, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called for action on several pieces of legislation that would hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable, curb price hikes, and bring much-needed transparency to price setting for prescription drugs in the U.S. "Health care is too expensive for too many working families, and the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs is only exacerbating the problem, … Continue Reading