Durbin Joins 32 Members Of Congress In Introducing Bill To Stem Student Debt Relief

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and 31 other members of Congress in introducing the Debt-Free College Act, legislation that will reverse the growing student debt crisis in the United States. The bill restores a path to affordable college by providing states incentives through matching grants to increase investments in public higher education and provide students with debt-free college. According to estimates, Illinois would be one of ten st… Continue Reading

Ahead Of Senate Vote On War Powers, Durbin Calls On Congress To Halt Unauthorized U.S. Military Involvement In Yemen

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the Senate to pass a bipartisan joint war powers resolution to end unauthorized U.S. military involvement in Yemen. The Senate is expected to vote on the matter this afternoon. "The obvious question to ask is, in the 16 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and other places in the world, how many other times have the United States Senate and House of Representatives come together to debate the wisdom of a decision about co… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On New White House War On Drugs

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement: We cannot arrest our way out of the opioid epidemic-we tried that and ended up with an even bigger addiction problem and the world's largest prison population. Everyone from doctors to law enforcement understands that addiction is a disease, not a moral failing that can be beaten simply by getting 'tough on crime.' The war on drugs didn't work in the 80's, and it won't work now by reviving failed dete… Continue Reading

For Second Year In A Row, Durbin Duckworth, LaHood & Bustos Call On President Trump To Support Peoria Ag Lab And Scrap Plans To Shut Its Doors

CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL-18) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today to call on President Donald Trump to once again scrap plans to close the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Illinois - also known as the Peoria Ag Lab. The Trump Administration's fiscal year 2019 budget proposed closing 12 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service (ARS) laboratorie… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues In Calling On Key Senate Committee To Take Action On Legislation To Fund Gun Violence Research At CDC

CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and 25 other Senators in calling on leaders of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to immediately act on legislation to fund gun violence prevention research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A Republican appropriations rider, first authorized by then-Congressman Jay Dickey (R-AR) in 1996, prohibits the CDC from using federal funds to advocate or promote gun contro… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With CDC, Continues To Press For Swift Action At IVH Quincy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Anne Schuchat, Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to get an update on the Legionnaires' disease outbreak at the Illinois Veterans Home (IVH) Quincy. Given the failure by the Rauner Administration to adequately address this ongoing crisis, Durbin, along with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), pressed CDC to take a greater leadership role in helping to address the public health crisis at IVH Quincy i… Continue Reading

Durbin, Hassan Call On Ashford University To Halt New GI Bill Enrollments Amid Questions Of Eligibility

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today called on Bridgepoint Education - Ashford University's parent company - to immediately halt new GI Bill enrollments at Ashford until their eligibility is resolved with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). With its future GI Bill eligibility in doubt, Ashford University announced on November 14, 2017, that it would voluntarily "suspend new enrollment of veteran students utilizing GI Bill benefits." Stunningly, accord… Continue Reading

Durbin: President Trump And Congressional Republicans Should Listen To Students, Majority Of Americans And Finally Act To Help Prevent Gun Violence

WASHINGTON-As thousands of students across the United States walked out of their classrooms to demand action on gun violence, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to finally stand up to the gun sales lobby and act to help prevent gun violence and mass shootings in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. The hearing was held in response to the February 14, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Pa… Continue Reading

Durbin: With Dreamers' Future Uncertain, Senate Must Pass Dream Act Now

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today again came to the Senate floor to call on Republican leaders in Congress to pass the bipartisan Dream Act now. As of March 5, 2018 - the arbitrary deadline that President Trump set for expiration of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program - hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States as children, known as Dreamers, faced losing their work permits and being deported to countries they barely re… Continue Reading

Durbin. Kennedy, Feinstein, Grassley Introduce Opioid Quota Reform Bill To Strengthen DEA's Ability To Prevent Opioid Diversion And Abuse

WASHINGTON - In the midst of a prescription opioid, heroin, and fentanyl crisis that is devastating communities of all sizes in every state, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Kennedy (R-LA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced the Opioid Quota Reform Act of 2018. This narrow, bipartisan legislation will enhance the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) existing opioid quota-setting authority by improving tran… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Press Canadian National Railway For Update On Implementation Of Positive Train Control Safety Technology

WASHINGTON-Following reports that Canadian National (CN) Railway may not meet the statutory deadline to implement positive train control (PTC) safety technology, which could force Amtrak to shut down operations on CN's tracks, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed for an update on CN's current progress on implementing PTC in Illinois as well as an update on what efforts CN is making to improve Amtrak's on-time performance in the state. Shutting down Amtrak se… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Tariffs On Steel And Aluminum

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on President Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum: President Trump wants to put China on notice for their abusive trade practices that hurt American workers and industries. I support that. The sweeping tariffs announced today are like dropping a bomb on a flea. Launching an all-out trade war will alienate the allies we need to actually solve the problem of steel dumping, and coul… Continue Reading

Durbin, Dem Senators Push For Student Loan Measures In Banking Bill

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced an amendment to the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155) that would improve consumer protections for federal and private student loans. Included in Durbin's amendment is a Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights to improve federal and private student loan servicing, restoration of private student loan dischargeability in bankruptcy, protections for service members and veterans, and protections… Continue Reading

Durbin: Why Hasn't The Gun Violence Debate Reached The Senate Floor?

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Republican leaders to bring the debate over gun violence to the floor of the U.S. Senate. "97% of the American people believe in universal comprehensive background checks to keep guns out of the hands of those who would misuse them: convicted felons, mentally unstable people," Durbin said. "97%. The overwhelming majority of gun owners feel exactly the same way. So why-why in God's name have we not taken that up since the… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Utah Wilderness Coalition About Trump's Plans To Shrink Bears Ears & Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments

WASHINGTON-Following a recent New York Times article that highlighted internal U.S. Department of Interior documents showing that efforts to reduce the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah were motivated by a desire to increase oil and natural gas development in the region and to allow additional coal and mineral mines, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the Utah Wilderness Coalition to express his continued support for maintaining the monume… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth To Rauner: We Need More Than Vague Assurances That Next Steps Are Coming At IVH Quincy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today once again urgently requested Governor Bruce Rauner's detailed plan of action for ensuring the safety of residents, family, and staff at the Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy. They also pressed Rauner's Administration to accept the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) offer of technical assistance-including a site visit to IVH Quincy-in tandem with ongoing VA financial support as well as expert assistance tha… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Wells Fargo To Halt Any Plans To Expand Presence On College Campuses

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan that urged the bank to halt any plans it may have to expand its financial footprint on college campuses until the Federal Reserve lifts its recently announced sanctions on the bank. In February, the Federal Reserve announced it would takes steps to stop the growth of Wells Fargo and hold the bank accountable for years of "pervasive and persistent misconduct" until it "sufficiently improves its … Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Dreamers To Renew Their DACA

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to immediately file applications to renew their DACA status, which is permitted by two nationwide federal court injunctions blocking the Trump Administration's repeal of DACA. This morning, Durbin spoke with Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, who personally assured him that Dreamers with pending DACA renewal applications will NOT be deported, even if the… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With MWRD To Express Continued Support For McCook Reservoir, Brandon Road Project

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to express his continued support for the construction and funding of the McCook Reservoir Project. Last month, Durbin, along with Senator Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Dan Lipinski (D-IL-03), Peter Roskam (R-IL-06), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), and Bobby Rus… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Nominations For U.S. Marshal For Central And Southern Districts Of Illinois

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after President Donald Trump announced his nominees for the United States Marshal for the Central District of Illinois, Brendan O. Heffner, and the United States Marshal for the Southern District of Illinois, Bradley A. Maxwell. "Through many years of service to Illinois, Brendan Heffner and Bradley Maxwell have demonstrated strong qualifications to serve as United States Marshals. We … Continue Reading