Press Releases
Durbin Shares Story Of Good Samaritan In Chicago
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) shared the story of Robert King, a Chicagoan who helped save the lives of two people awaiting organ donation. The Saturday before Easter, King was driving on Lake Shore Drive when he saw a van on the side of the road, and noticed another vehicle had T-boned the van at a stoplight. As other cars passed by, King pulled over and stopped to see if he could help, and he noticed that the man in the van held a … Continue Reading
May 21, 2019
Durbin: Trump Administration Anti-Immigration Policies Are Inhumane & Making Us Less Safe
WASHINGTON - Following reports of the death of a teenager at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility - the fifth child since December to die after being apprehended by CBP - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed the Trump Administration for its anti-immigrant policies and practices, including rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program, separating thousands of children from their parents at the southwest border, and the dire conditions at … Continue Reading
May 21, 2019
Durbin, Scott, Menendez, Young, Duckworth, Kaine, Portman, Smith Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Protect Children From Lead Poisoning
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Todd Young (R-IN), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Tina Smith (D-MN) today introduced the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2019, which would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to update its lead poisoning prevention measures to reflect modern science and ensure that families and children living in federally-assisted housing are … Continue Reading
May 20, 2019
Durbin Statement On The Death Of Chuck Sweeny
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after longtime Rockford Register Star reporter and columnist Chuck Sweeny passed away at the age of 70: Chuck Sweeny was a straight shooter who never pulled a punch. Public officials learned early that Chuck had a long memory and an aversion to political double-talk. Chuck's family has lost someone who truly loved them, the Register Star has lost one of its best journalists, and Rockford has lost one of its … Continue Reading
May 20, 2019
Durbin, Kelly, Duckworth Introduce Legislation To Address Youth Unemployment In High Poverty Areas
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) today introduced two pieces of legislation to expand and increase access to employment opportunities for at-risk youth. The Helping to Encourage Real Opportunity (HERO) for At-Risk Youth Act and the Creating Pathways for Youth Employment Act will increase federal resources for communities seeking to create or grow employment programs and provide tax incentives to businesses … Continue Reading
May 17, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Landmark Election Security Legislation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) to introduced election security legislation that would require backup paper ballots and provide election security grants to states for cyber improvements and audits. The Election Security Act represents the election security portions of H.R.1 and was introduced as standalone legislation in the House of Representatives last week. "The Russian cyberattack on the Illinois … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Durbin Opposes President Trump's Deputy AG Nominee, Jeffrey Rosen
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after voting against President Donald Trump's nominee to be Deputy U.S. Attorney General, Jeffrey Rosen: "At this critical moment, we need a Deputy Attorney General who knows the Justice Department, who has experience in criminal investigations and prosecutions, and who is committed to the Department's role of enforcing the law independently. Mr. Rosen has no experience working in the Justice … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Durbin, Graham Bipartisan Election Interference Bill
WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee today unanimously passed the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act. The bill was introduced by U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in order to prevent foreign governments from exploiting our immigration laws to advance their efforts to undermine our democracy. This bill will make "improper interference in U.S. elections" a violation of U.S. … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi Ask Illinois Colleges And Universities About Efforts To Comply With Student Voter Registration Provision In Federal Law
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), have asked Illinois colleges and universities about their efforts to comply with the student voter registration provision in the Higher Education Act (HEA), which mandates that institutions of higher education make a "good-faith effort" to distribute voter registration forms to students. In letters to Illinois institutions, the members addressed the unique … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Durbin: Why Won't Leader McConnell Bring An Election Security Bill To The Floor?
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Rules Committee, today called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for refusing to bring a comprehensive election security bill to the floor following the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, which showed that Russia was able to successfully attack our democracy in 2016. "At the CIA and intelligence agencies, millions of dollars are being spent to stop the Russians from making a … Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Durbin Gives Pharma Fleece Award To Drug Companies Abusing Patent System
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today on the Senate floor, as part of his new "Pharma Fleece Awards" series of floor speeches highlighting egregious cases of pharmaceutical industry greed, slammed Celgene, Pfizer, and Sanofi for amassing a large number of excessive secondary patents to block generic competition. Many high-cost, brand-name drugs are shielded from competition due to manipulation of the patent system by "evergreening" or filing numerous additional patents to their … Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth, Lipinski, Foster, Schneider, Casten, Underwood Ask EPA To Inspect All Region 5 Facilities Using Ethylene Oxide
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Dan Lipinski (D-IL-03), Bill Foster (D-IL- 11), Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) today called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately conduct inspections of all Region 5 facilities - including Medline Inc. in Waukegan, Illinois, and Vantage Specialty Chemicals Inc. in Gurnee, Illinois, which use ethylene oxide (EtO) for … Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Durbin: FDA Commissioner Refuses To Address Youth E-Cigarette Epidemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless to discuss FDA regulation of kid-friendly e-cigarette and cigar flavorings. During the meeting, Durbin urged Sharpless to use his authority as Acting FDA Commissioner to address the public health epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes, by enforcing the Tobacco Control Act and "deeming rule" and immediately removing kid-friendly flavors from the … Continue Reading
May 14, 2019
Durbin: FDA Commissioner Refuses To Address Youth E-Cigarette Epidemic
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless to discuss FDA regulation of kid-friendly e-cigarette and cigar flavorings. During the meeting, Durbin urged Sharpless to use his authority as Acting FDA Commissioner to address the public health epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes, by enforcing the Tobacco Control Act and "deeming rule" and immediately removing kid-friendly flavors from the … Continue Reading
May 14, 2019
Durbin Meets With Transportation For Illinois Coalition
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the Transportation for Illinois Coalition (TFIC), a group of statewide and regional businesses, organized labor, industry, governmental, and nonprofit organizations that have joined together to support strong transportation investments for Illinois. Durbin discussed his priorities for the upcoming White House negotiations regarding a comprehensive transportation infrastructure bill and his work to secure federal funding for Illinois … Continue Reading
May 14, 2019
Durbin: President Trump's March To War With Iran Is Reckless And Unconstitutional
WASHINGTON - Following a report by the New York Times stating that the White House was briefed on a military plan that envisioned sending as many as 120,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East to counter Iran, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Trump Administration to avoid another reckless war in the Middle East and to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also … Continue Reading
May 14, 2019
Senate Dems Reintroduce Central America Reform And Enforcement Act
WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats today announced the reintroduction of a major legislative proposal to address the root causes of the Central American migrant crisis. The proposal, which was introduced by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), outlines the coordinated regional response needed to effectively manage the … Continue Reading
May 13, 2019
Durbin, Grassley, King, Alexander Introduce Legislation To Codify HHS Rule To Require Disclosure Of Prescription Drug Prices In TV Ads
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), along with Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN), today introduced bipartisan legislation to codify recent regulations from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to require pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. Today's legislation ensures long-term implementation and clarity of this common-sense price transparency … Continue Reading
May 10, 2019
Senators Oppose Defense Department Transfer Of $1.5 Billion To Pay For President Trump's Wall
WASHINGTON - Every Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies today slammed the Department of Defense for its transfer of another $1.5 billion to be used to build part of President Donald Trump's wall on the southwest border. In a letter to Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, the Senators expressed concern that this reprogramming comes at the expense of … Continue Reading
May 10, 2019
Durbin Highlights New Requirement For Drug Companies To List Prices On Advertising
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined leaders from Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, the American Medical Association, and AARP to highlight the newly announced regulation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that will require pharmaceutical companies to disclose prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. This regulation builds upon years of Durbin's legislative progress, and Durbin announced today that he and … Continue Reading