Press Releases
Durbin, Duckworth Help Veteran Receive Benefits After Being Denied Assistance
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Congressman Dan Kildee (D-MI-05), today announced that a Flint-native and decorated Navy veteran, retired Senior Chief Russell Dotson, will receive tens of thousands of dollars of G.I. Bill higher education benefits owed to his family after the U.S. Navy denied this assistance because of a bureaucratic paperwork mistake. The acting Secretary of the Navy, Thomas Modly, has indicated to Durbin, Duckworth, Kildee, … Continue Reading
December 17, 2019
Durbin, Maloney Introduce Legislation To Expand Family Leave Protections
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY-12), Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, today introduced legislation that would bring the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) into the 21st Century. The Family Medical Leave Modernization Act will guarantee small necessities leave and make important updates to the definition of family to ensure a broader range of caregiving relationships are covered by FMLA's … Continue Reading
December 17, 2019
Durbin: We Need A Comprehensive, Smart, And Effective Approach To Opioid Addiction
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing addressing the opioid epidemic, slammed the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for inadequate oversight and accountability of Big Pharma's role in fueling the nation's worst drug epidemic in history. Durbin called on the DEA to use its new authorities-passed into law by Durbin and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) last year-to improve its monitoring of opioid shipments across the country and reduce the … Continue Reading
December 16, 2019
Durbin Introduces Legislation To Improve Accountability Of Foreign Medical Schools Receiving Federal Student Aid
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation that would protect students and taxpayers by closing a loophole that gives special treatment to a small number of overseas medical schools. U.S. Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX-26) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives earlier this year. The Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act would require all medical schools outside of the U.S. and Canada to meet the same minimum requirements to receive … Continue Reading
December 16, 2019
Durbin Introduces Bill To Protect America's National Parks & Monuments
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the America's Red Rock Wilderness Act, a bill to protect 8.2 million acres of land in Utah that is rich in archaeological resources and home to numerous rare plant and animal species. These landscapes are also the access point for many national parks and offer research, educational, and recreational opportunities for scientists, educators, outdoor enthusiasts, and American families. "These lands are threatened by fossil fuel … Continue Reading
December 16, 2019
Durbin Announces Legislation To Expand Family Leave Protections
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a news conference to announce legislation that would bring the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) into the 21st Century. The Family Medical Leave Modernization Act will guarantee small necessities leave and make important updates to the definition of family to ensure a broader range of caregiving relationships are covered by FMLA's protections. Approximately 40 percent of today's workforce is not eligible for leave under FMLA. In 2015, … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
Durbin And Krishnamoorthi Announce Bipartisan Bill To Create Youth-Vaping Prevention Programs In Schools
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-8) held a press conference today to announce the introduction of the Providing Resources to End the Vaping Epidemic Now for Teenagers (PREVENT) Act, a bipartisan and bicameral bill with Congressman Peter King (R-NY-2) that will create youth vaping prevention programs in schools and provide resources to help teachers and administrators combat skyrocketing youth e-cigarette use. "With more than five million … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
Durbin, Bennet, Duckworth, Gardner To DeVos: Extend Closed School Discharge Eligibility For Illinois, Colorado Students
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Cory Gardner (R-CO) today sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to extend the closed school discharge eligibility lookback period for Dream Center Education Holding's (DCEH) Illinois Institute of Art and Art Institute of Colorado students who attended or withdrew on or after January 20, 2018. In November, the Department announced it would cancel the loans taken out by … Continue Reading
December 12, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On CDC Report Of Ethylene Oxide Exposure In Waukegan
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report showed higher levels of cancer-causing ethylene oxide (EtO) found in people living near Medline Industries in Waukegan, Illinois. Medline uses EtO to sterilize medical products: "For months, we've urged the U.S. EPA to conduct inspections for ethylene oxide in Region 5 facilities, including Medline in Waukegan. For … Continue Reading
December 12, 2019
Durbin: For Defrauded Student Borrowers, Secretary DeVos Is Secretary Scrooge
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, slammed Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' new methodology using Gainful Employment data for determining the amount of relief defrauded student borrowers should receive for successful borrower defense claims. This methodology would deny full relief to defrauded student borrowers. Durbin shared stories of three students who were defrauded by for-profit colleges, buried in … Continue Reading
December 12, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues To Urge Passage Of Bipartisan Resolution To Recognize Critical Role Of Census, Importance Of Safe And Accurate Count
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in introducing a bipartisan resolution to ensure the 2020 Census is fair and accurate. The resolution encourages individuals, families, and households across the United States to take part in the Census so that all communities can be counted. According to Forefront's 'IL Count Me In 2020' initiative, Illinois stands to lose at least $1,800 per year for each … Continue Reading
December 12, 2019
Durbin, Lee Introduce Bill To Allow Nonviolent Elderly Prisoners Eligible For Release To Home Confinement To Benefit From Good Time Credit
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), both original sponsors of the landmark First Step Act of 2018, today introduced bipartisan legislation that amends the Elderly and Family Reunification for Certain Non-Violent Offenders Pilot Program reauthorized by the First Step Act. The First Step Act reauthorized and expanded a pilot program under the Second Chance Act to place eligible elderly and terminally ill inmates in home confinement. The law allows the Bureau of … Continue Reading
December 12, 2019
Durbin Honors Chicago Civil Rights Icon Rev. Clay Evans On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) honored the life of Rev. Clay Evans who passed away on November 27 at the age of 94. Rev. Evans was highly regarded as a Gospel legend and civil rights icon. "If you ever had the good fortune to witness the Rev. Clay Evans preach, you were lucky. With his rousing sermons, his soulful baritone voice, and the 'Ship' choir behind him, Rev. Evans was memorizing," Durbin said. "My wife Loretta and I … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Durbin: DOJ IG Report Is Clear - The FBI's 2016 Russia Investigation Was Not Influence By Political Bias
WASHINGTON- In today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) confirmed that IG Horowitz found no evidence that the FBI's 2016 Russia investigation was influenced by improper motivation or political bias against President Trump in his report released on Monday. Durbin also called for IG Horowitz to report what the DOJ IG has learned about leaks from the FBI New York … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On MLB Announcement Of Extended Netting
WASHINGTON-Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) teams will extend protective netting next season: "With more foul balls being hit at high speeds into the stands than ever before, it was imperative for MLB to address ballpark safety at the Winter Meetings. Extending protective netting well beyond the end of each dugout will make the ballpark a … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Durbin Announces Support For FDA Commissioner Nominee Dr. Stephen Hahn
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, announced that he will vote to confirm Dr. Stephen Hahn, President Trump's nominee to be Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Durbin expressed his hope that Dr. Hahn will use the full force of the FDA to take action on the youth vaping epidemic, and work to ban all non-tobacco e-cigarette flavors, including mint and menthol. "Dr. Hahn may find himself in a compromised … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Durbin Statement On DeVos' New Proposed Methodology For Denying Full Relief To Defrauded Student Borrowers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced the Department of Education has developed a new methodology using Gainful Employment data for determining the amount of relief defrauded student borrowers should receive for successful borrower defense claims: "This latest scheme by Secretary Betsy DeVos to penalize student borrowers is an outrage. The Department refuses to use Gainful … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Durbin to First Lady Melania Trump: Don't Abandon E-Cigarette Flavor Ban
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, urging her not to abandon her interest and position on protecting children from the dangers of e-cigarettes. Exactly three months ago on September 11, the First Lady joined President Trump, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and then-Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to announce that the Trump Administration would ban all … Continue Reading
December 10, 2019
Durbin, Colleagues Send Letter To U.N. Convention And President Trump In Support Of Global Efforts To Combat Climate Change
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), sent a pair of letters today to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to President Trump about the importance of combatting climate change. In the letter to UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, the Senators expressed support of its global efforts to thwart climate change. "Failing to address the worsening crisis of climate change will wreak damages on all Americans … Continue Reading
December 10, 2019
Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Resolution In Support Of U.S. Commitment To Paris Climate Agreement: "We Are Still In"
WASHINGTON-As international negotiators continue discussions at the 25th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Madrid, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), today joined 13 other Senators in introducing a resolution to express support for the Paris Climate Agreement. The resolution notes the growing scientific urgency around the need for action to combat the climate crisis, and details the bold steps that … Continue Reading