Durbin Named Top Democrat On Senate Immigration Subcommittee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he was appointed Ranking Member of the Immigration Subcommittee: "It was 20 years ago that I began my service in the Senate, on the Judiciary Committee, and on the Immigration Subcommittee. Though our bipartisan efforts to fix our broken immigration system have been blocked time and again, we must continue working to ensure that our immigration laws are wo… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Vote Against CIA Director Nominee Rep. Mike Pompeo

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement: "Today, I voted against Rep. Pompeo's confirmation as Director of the CIA. His changing statements on the use of torture leave me no choice. His written answers to the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying that he will consult with CIA experts as to whether the methods in the U.S. Army Field Manual are sufficient, and if they aren't, work with legal experts and congressional overseers to make changes, are extremely al… Continue Reading

Durbin Hears from Hospital Leaders on Local Impact of Republican Plan to Repeal Affordable Care Act

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with hospital CEOs-including four from federally-designated Critical Access Hospitals - to discuss the local impact of congressional Republicans' plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This month, Republican leaders took the first step in repealing the law by approving a budget that allows for major provisions of the ACA to be eliminated by simple majority vote. On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order giving federal age… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses Secretary Of State Nominee Rex Tillerson On Russia Ties, U.S. Foreign Policy Under Pres.-Elect Trump

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson. Durbin pressed Mr. Tillerson about his role in carrying out U.S. foreign policy under President-elect Trump, particularly given his recent dismissal of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as obsolete. "The first thing I asked Mr. Tillerson was how he thought he could be an effective Secretary of State, dealing with a President who regularly tweets dramatic reversals of American foreign p… Continue Reading

Senators Demand Answers After DEA Avoids Query On Enforcement Efforts Against Wholesale Opioid Distributors

WASHINGTON - After the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) failed to answer critical questions about enforcement efforts against wholesale opioid distributors that are violating DEA rules intended to prevent legal controlled substances from entering the illicit market, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and five other senators reiterated their call for a detailed response. The Senators noted alarming new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that dis… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Consumer Watchdog Agency And Illinois Attorney General Lawsuits Against Delinquent Student Loan Servicer

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced lawsuits against Navient, the country's largest servicer of federal and private student loans, for mishandling accounts and misinforming borrowers about their eligibility for income-based repayment. "Student loan servicers, as contractors of the U.S. Department of Education, have an obligation to provide borrowers w… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Judiciary Democrats To Jeff Sessions: Don’t Block Russia Hack Investigation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and all committee Democrats today called on Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), nominee for attorney general, to allow investigations of Russia hacking to proceed and to recuse himself from those proceedings. The letter poses two questions to Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the nominee to become attorney general: 1. "Will you commit not to impede or shut down any FBI or Jus… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Results Of DOJ Investigation Of Chicago Police Department

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released the results of a 13-month civil rights investigation into the policies and practices of the Chicago Police Department. Durbin joined Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan in requesting the investigation. "Following the shocking video of the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, I wrote Attorney General Lynch urging her to open an investigation … Continue Reading

Durbin, Menendez Praise Final Hud Lead Safe Housing Rule

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today praised the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) final Lead Safe Housing Rule (LSHR), which revises the definition of "elevated blood lead levels" and strengthens protocols by which the Department identifies and investigates lead exposure in federally-assisted housing. Under the new rule, HUD will lower its threshold for blood lead levels requiring Department intervention from 20 micrograms per dec… Continue Reading

Durbin Praises Education Department Progress On Debt Relief For Students Defrauded By For-Profit Colleges

CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) praised the U.S. Department of Education's continued progress in providing federal student loan debt relief through the defense to repayment process for defrauded students of for-profit colleges. Today, the Department announced that former students of Massachusetts-based American Career Institute will receive automatic discharges of their federal loans and that it has approved additional claims filed by former students of Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Quigley Announce $1 Million In Federal Funds For Additional Safety Indicators At CTA’s Control Center

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL-5) today announced that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), has awarded the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) $1,078,300 to fund their Operations Control Center Safety Enhancements Project. The project would add additional safety indicators to the CTA's Control Center (CC) and better integrate critical information col… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Over $4.5 Million For Illinois Community Health Centers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded four community health centers in Illinois a total of $4,884,191 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program. Community health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services. Community healt… Continue Reading

Graham, Durbin Reintroduce BRIDGE Act to Protect Undocumented Youth from Deportation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today reintroduced bipartisan legislation to protect undocumented young people brought to the United States as children should the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program be discontinued under the next Administration. The Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act, which was first introduced in the Senate late last year, would provide temporary relief from deportation and work author… Continue Reading

Durbin: Repealing Americans’ Health Care Without Replacement Would Be Total Chaos

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called out congressional Republicans for initiating the process to repeal our health care system without any replacement plan to protect all Americans' access to quality health insurance. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin described how at least five Republican Senators have publically stated that repeal of our health care law should happen simultaneously with a replacement, but that Republicans in Congress have no replacement plan and have… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Further Reports Of Russian Interference In The United States, Changing Context Of Sessions Hearing

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin released the following statement on reports that the U.S. intelligence community briefed President Obama and President-elect Trump on Russian efforts to collect "personally and financially compromising" information on the President-elect. On Friday, Durbin reviewed classified and unclassified versions of the U.S. intelligence community's assessment of Russia's cyberattack on the 2016 election. "The American people need to know the credibility of these allegati… Continue Reading

Durbin And Duckworth Meet To Discuss Legislative Priorities For Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met to discuss priority issues for the state of Illinois. During the meeting, Durbin and Duckworth discussed short- and long-term goals and priorities for Illinois, including ways to create jobs, invest in infrastructure and grow the state's economy. "Senator Duckworth's journey to the Senate is an inspiration to me and people across America. She brings new energy, ideas and a unique experience in public service to address … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Illinois Community Health Center Representatives Amid Health Care Debate

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with representatives from community health centers across Illinois to discuss the impact these centers have around the state and what could happen should Republicans in Congress repeal health care. According to Illinois Community Health Centers, repealing health care would result in Illinois community health centers seeing a 54 percent increase in uninsured patients and a loss of $83 million - leading to a 10 percent reduction in health cent… Continue Reading

Durbin Grills Sessions On Immigration, Criminal Justice

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today raised concerns regarding the civil rights record of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who is nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney General, during the first day of his confirmation hearings. During his remarks, Senator Durbin recognized two guests who personify the most pressing issues facing our country's top law enforcement officer: former DREAMer and U.S. veteran Oscar Vazquez and Chicagoan Alton Mills, w… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill To Require President And Vice President To Fully Divest Personal Financial Conflicts Of Interest

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Democratic members of Congress, introduced the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017 in the United States Senate and House that would require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest any potential financial conflicts of interest. It also would require presidential appointees to recuse themselves from any specific matters involving the President's financial conflicts of interest tha… Continue Reading

Durbin To IDOT: Continue Working With Community To Address Concerns For Increased Service On Amtrak’s Hiawatha Line

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today encouraged the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to continue to work with community leaders and area residents as planning moves forward for increased Amtrak service on the Hiawatha line between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. IDOT recently extended the proposal's public comment period to allow additional time for the consideration of surrounding communities' concerns. "Reducing any negative local impact of the proposed … Continue Reading