Durbin, Grassley Criticize DHS Decision To Expand H-2B Visa Program Without Necessary Reforms

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following joint statement criticizing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decision to release additional H-2B temporary non-agricultural work visas: "We've long expressed concerns that the current H-2B program encourages lower wages and poor working conditions for American and immigra… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Criticize DHS Decision To Expand H-2B Visa Program Without Necessary Reforms

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following joint statement criticizing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decision to release additional H-2B temporary non-agricultural work visas: "We've long expressed concerns that the current H-2B program encourages lower wages and poor working conditions for American and immigra… Continue Reading

Durbin Rebuts Misrepresentations Of Judge Jackson's Record

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today rebutted Senator Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) misrepresentations of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's record, President Biden's nominee to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. Durbin pushed back on Graham's claims that Judge Jackson is "soft on crime," including her sentencing for cases of child pornography and representation of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. … Continue Reading

Durbin, Schumer, Murray, Senators Call On Department Of Education, DOJ To Follow Through On Pledge To Improve Handling Of Student Debt Bankruptcy Claims

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), today led 24 U.S. Senators in sending a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting an update on efforts to improve how the agencies handle undue hardship claims by student borrowe… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Brown To Call On Regulators To Focus On Lending To Main Street

WASHINGTON- U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in leading their colleagues in a letter to the Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, urging them to work with banks and credit unions to ensure small businesses, especially those owned by people of color, women, and veterans, have access to safe and sound credit as Main Street recovers from t… Continue Reading

Senate Committee Advances Durbin, Portman Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (HSGAC), announced that their bipartisan and bicameral legislation, the Post-Disaster Mental Health Response Act, unanimously passed out of HSGAC today. The bill would expand federally funded mental health and trauma support resources for survivors and first responders following Emergency Declarations granted by the Federal E… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Republicans To Join Democrats To Provide New COVID Funds, Stay Ahead Of Virus

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor on the need to pass a bipartisan COVID-19 supplemental funding package. New COVID-19 funds are necessary now to procure additional vaccine booster doses, oral antivirals, and other therapeutics to treat patients who contact a serious case, maintain testing infrastructure at hospitals and health clinics, and more. Durbin said, "We cannot continue this cycle of neglect-and-panic. These pendulum swings harm our … Continue Reading

Durbin Talks Research Funding With University Of Chicago President

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke by phone with University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos about the ongoing development of the University of Chicago and Fermilab's Long Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (LBNF/DUNE). Durbin and President Alivisatos discussed federal funding for the project, including the $189 million for LBNF/DUNE in the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) omnibus appropriations bill Congress passed earlier this month. … Continue Reading

Durbin, Portman, Ukraine Caucus Meet With Members Of The Ukrainian Parliament

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Co-Chairs of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, hosted members of the Ukrainian Parliament to brief members of the Senate Ukraine Caucus on the latest regarding Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and how else the U.S. Senate can support their nation. Ukrainian Parliament members in attendance included Lesia Zaburanna, Yevheniya Kravchuk, Anastasia Radina, and Maria Ionova. Ukrainian Ambassad… Continue Reading

Durbin, Rubio, Bass, Smith Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation To Extend Authorization On Global Basic Education

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), along with Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, and Chris Smith, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa (R-NJ), introduced bipartisan and bicameral legislation to reauthorize the Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development (READ) Act of 2017 for an additional five years to equitably expand access to basic education … Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Legislation To Strengthen Security And Economic Cooperation With The Baltics Amid Russian Aggression

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Co-Chairs of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, introduced the Baltic Defense and Deterrence Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation to effectively codify the Baltic Security Initiative effort and create a complementary initiative at the U.S. Department of State. Jointly, these two efforts will enhance and strengthen U.S. security and economic cooperation with the Baltics amid Russia's continued ag… Continue Reading

Durbin Reaffirms U.S. Relations With Ukraine, Baltics On Senate Floor

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus and the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor highlighting efforts the Senate is taking to strengthen relations with Ukraine and surrounding countries, including the Baltics. Tomorrow, Durbin and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Durbin's Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, are hosting a meeting with members of the Ukrainian Parliament. Durbin said, "Putin's unprovoked and unconsci… Continue Reading

Durbin: We Need To Look To Advanced Technology To Aid FOIA Responses, Increase Government Transparency

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned Bobak Talebian, Director of the Office of Information Policy at the Justice Department, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled "The Freedom of Information Act: Improving Transparency and the American Public's Right to Know for the 21st Century." Durbin started by asking Talebian about a report on FOIA processing during the COVID-19 pandemic that the Government Acc… Continue Reading

Durbin Rebuts Republicans' Misrepresentations Of Judge Jackson's Record

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today rebutted Senate Republicans' misrepresentations of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's record, President Biden's nominee to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. "Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee was busy. We met for over 30 hours to consider the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. During the meeti… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Press FBI On Reports Of Widespread Rule-Breaking In Sensitive Investigations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today requested information and an independent Inspector General review following a newly publicized 2019 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) audit that revealed widespread violations of internal FBI policies governing investigations of political candidates, public officials, religious and political groups,… Continue Reading

Durbin Honors Former Secretary Of State Madeleine Albright On Senate Floor

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor honoring the life and legacy of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve in the position. In his remarks, Durbin spoke about Albright's upbringing as a refugee from Czechoslovakia, and how this experience shaped her as a diplomat and tireless advocate for democracy. "Last week, America and the world lost another trailblazing woman and defender of justice and d… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Legislation To Restore Veteran Education Benefits After Unaccredited, For-Profit College Scams Illinois Veterans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation to give the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) authority to restore benefits under the American Rescue Plan's Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program (VRRAP) to veterans whose education is interrupted by their school's closure or loss of eligibility. The bill, titled the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program Restoration Act, would help more than 300 Illinois veterans who were scammed out of the… Continue Reading

Durbin: The Russian People Will Decide If Putin Stays Or Goes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor on Vladimir Putin's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Last week, the Biden Administration announced another $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian assistance for those affected by Putin's war in Ukraine, along with plans to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia's aggression through a full range of legal immigration pathways, includ… Continue Reading

Durbin: Clarity & Impartiality, That Is Judge Jackson

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today commended Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court, for her clear and thorough explanation of her approach to judicial decision-making during last week's Judiciary Committee nomination hearings. "Clarity and impartiality, that is Judge Jackson. During the hearing, several of my colleagues asked her to describe her judic… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Remarks At Judiciary Committee Markup On Supreme Court Nominee Judge Jackson

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered his opening remarks at the Judiciary Committee markup on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The Committee also considered the nominations of Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Arianna J. Freeman, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; Evelyn … Continue Reading