Durbin Questions CFTC Chairman At Agriculture Committee Hearing on Crypto Amid FTX Collapse

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), today, in a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing, questioned the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam about the recent collapse of FTX. On November 11, FTX-one of the world's largest crypto trading platforms-filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, resigned. "How long will it take to unpack the FTX mess to understand what happened and where it stands," Durbi… Continue Reading

Following White House Briefing On Ukraine, Durbin Reiterates The Need To Support Our Ally

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, urged his colleagues to continue to support Ukraine amid Putin's unjustified and unprovoked war. During his speech, Durbin reiterated our commitment to Ukraine and emphasized that the NATO alliance is stronger than ever. Yesterday, Senate leadership and key Committee Chairs and Ranking Members were briefed by the White House about Russia's ongoing invasion o… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations of Three Circuit Court Judges & Nine District Court Judges

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Anthony Devos Johnstone, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit; Maria Araújo Kahn, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; and Julie Rikelman, to be United States Circuit Judge for the First Circuit. The Committee also advanced the nominations of Daniel J. Calabretta, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California; Matthew L. Garcia, to be United St… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement on Senate Judiciary Committee Advancing Nomination of Lindsay Jenkins to Serve As District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Lindsay C. Jenkins' nomination to serve as a District Court Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Based on recommendations made by the screening committee the Senators established in the Northern District, Durbin and Duckworth forwa… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With NAACP Legal Defense Fund President

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF). During today's meeting, Durbin and Ms. Nelson discussed the Committee's efforts to confirm both demographically and professionally diverse judges, as well as Durbin's continued efforts on criminal justice reform and other topics. "It was great to meet with Janai Nelson today, who has a connection t… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Legislation To Create Interagency Committee To Improve Oversight Over For-Profit College Industry

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tina Smith (D-MN), today introduced the Proprietary Education Interagency Oversight Coordination Improvement Act, legislation that will establish an interagency committee tasked with improving coordination of federal oversight of for-profit colleges to ensure that students are not scammed out of an education and into a mountain of debt. The bill would require the committee to publish a… Continue Reading

Durbin Raises Concerns Over Cryptocurrency Amid FTX Collapse

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor highlighting the dangers of cryptocurrency, especially after the recent collapse of FTX. Durbin began his speech by recounting the implosion and resignation of FTX's CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, as well as the chaos it's created for FTX users like Nick Howard, who was scammed by the cryptocurrency exchange. "In the moments after the FTX platform collapsed, one of the first steps the company took was freezing its us… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Hearing On District Court And Assistant Attorney General Nominations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Jonathan James Canada Grey, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan; Julia E. Kobick, to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts; Rita F. Lin, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of California; Ramon Ernesto Reyes, J… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Potential Rail Strike

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the need for Congress to pass legislation to avert a potential railroad strike: "I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to support the labor agreement President Biden helped broker between labor unions and railroad companies, as well as the separate bill that would increase paid sick leave for union rail workers, and send these bills to the Senate as quickly as possible so we can t… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Witnesses At Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing on the Impact of the Proposed Kroger-Albertsons Merger

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Protection hearing titled, "Examining the Competitive Impact of the Proposed Kroger-Albertsons Transaction." Durbin questioned Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen about the impact this merger will have on rural America. "I think of my hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois, Kroger has been in t… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of Respect for Marriage Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement on Senate passage of the bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act: "Today, the U.S. Senate stood up to Justice Clarence Thomas' radical, regressive vision for America with passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. This bill ensures that the federal government must always recognize a marriage between two individuals if the marriage was valid in the state where it … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $116 Million for Public Health Infrastructure in Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $116,754,640 to public health departments in Illinois through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Public Health Infrastructure Grant Program. This funding was made available from President Biden's American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed in 2021 without a single Republican vote. This first-… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges USDA to Update Standards for Commercial Dog Breeding Facilities

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) led 23 of his Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack urging him to update standards for commercial breeding facilities regulated under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). In the letter, Durbin calls on Secretary Vilsack to implement the strong standards for veterinary care, housing, and breeding of dogs suggested in Durbin's Puppy Protection Act. "We write to request that the United Sta… Continue Reading

Durbin, Blumenthal, Scanlon Introduce Corporate Crime Database Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05) today introduced the Corporate Crime Database Act, bicameral legislation that requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to collect, aggregate, analyze, and publish comprehensive data on federal corporate criminal enforcement actions. Currently, there is no comprehensive national data collection on corporate crime and no centralized database of fede… Continue Reading

Durbin: Congress Must Act in the Lame Duck Session to Protect Dreamers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Dream Act, spoke on the Senate floor about the urgency of passing the Dream Act before the end of the year to protect Dreamers from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed hundreds of thousands of Dreamers to thrive in the United States. They are protected from deportation for now, but due to lawsuits by extreme MAGA Republicans, their … Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Amtrak to Restore Passenger Service Between Quincy and Chicago

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to Amtrak leadership vocalizing his concern over Amtrak's recent decision to suspend morning train service between Quincy and Chicago until January 16 and replace it with bus service. In his letter, Durbin emphasized that the suspension of service has serious economic consequences for Illinois constituents, many of whom are now left without transportation to and from their jobs. "I am concerned by Amtrak's recent decis… Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Colleagues in Urging OMB to Follow Through on CHIPS Act Authorizations For Department of Energy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) led 17 of his Senate Democratic colleagues in urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure that the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science is given the full amount of authorized funding allocated by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget request. In their letter, the Senators emphasize that properly funding DOE will demonstrate the U.S.' commitment to remaining a leader in global research. "As… Continue Reading

After FTX Collapse, Durbin, Warren, Smith Continue to Press Fidelity On Bitcoin Exposure to Retirement Funds

CHICAGO - In light of the recent implosion of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), and U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tina Smith (D-MN) again urged Fidelity Investments to reconsider their decision to allow 401(k) plan sponsors to offer plan participants exposure to Bitcoin, a highly volatile and risky digital asset. Fidelity is one of the largest 401(k) providers with more than 32 million Americans and 22,000 employers who trust Fidelity Inve… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on New York Times Report Alleging Leak of Hobby Lobby Decision

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding a report by the New York Times that alleges that the outcome of the Supreme Court's decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores was leaked to Rob Schenk, then a prominent anti-abortion leader, "weeks before it was announced," which allowed him "to prepare a public relations push" and tip off the President of Hobby Lobby: "The Senate Judiciary Committee … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on the Justice Department's Appointment of a Special Counsel to Oversee Trump Investigations

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Special Counsel Jack Smith to oversee two ongoing criminal investigations involving former President Donald Trump, including his role in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and his improper retention and mishandling of sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida home: "By appointing well-respect… Continue Reading