Press Releases
Illinois Congressional Delegation Urges President Trump To Support State's Request For Federal Assistance From Flood Damage
WASHINGTON - The entire Illinois Congressional Delegation sent a letter to President Donald Trump supporting Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's request for federal assistance for the State of Illinois to help 33 counties recover from severe flooding that occurred from February to July. This year's flooding is the longest flood event to ever occur in Illinois. "Many communities experienced power outages, road closures, and significant damage to homes and businesses. More than 1,694 homes and … Continue Reading
August 28, 2019
Durbin, Klobuchar, Senators Press AG Barr To Rescind Decision To Limit Asylum Due To Family Ties
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 10 of their Senate colleagues to call on Attorney General William Barr to rescind his decision in Matter of L-E-A-, which limits access to asylum for people fleeing persecution abroad because of their family ties. For more than 30 years, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and multiple federal circuit courts have acknowledged that a family group can be a "particular social group" as the … Continue Reading
August 28, 2019
Durbin Statement On Senator Isakson's Decision To Resign
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) announced that he will resign at the end of 2019: "Johnny Isakson's departure from the Senate is the loss of a friend and a brave, constructive voice America desperately needs. Johnny stepped up for sensible immigration reform and defied the fire breathers and haters in his own party. I sent him a series of deserved fan letters. "He gathered warring … Continue Reading
August 27, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $450,000 In Federal Funding To Support Maternal Health In Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has been awarded $450,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Enhancing Reviews and Surveillance to Eliminate Maternal Mortality (ERASE MM) Program. The funding will support IDPH efforts to identify, review, and characterize maternal deaths, and identify prevention opportunities. "No nation as rich and advanced as the United … Continue Reading
August 27, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $30 Million For Cancer Research In Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that three Illinois-based organizations have been awarded nearly $30 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery studies in their communities. "This federal funding will support the important work being done at some of Illinois' best research institutions," Durbin said. "Strong investments in … Continue Reading
August 27, 2019
Durbin Presses FDA To Regulate E-Cigarettes In Aftermath Of Vaping Death And Illnesses
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Dr. Ned Sharpless and Center for Tobacco Products Director Mitch Zeller to get off the sidelines and address the public health epidemic of e-cigarettes, especially among children and young people. In a letter to Sharpless and Zeller, Durbin cited the death of an Illinoisan who had recently vaped, and was hospitalized with severe respiratory illness. According to the … Continue Reading
August 26, 2019
Durbin Calls For An End To Small Refinery Waivers And Restoring Integrity To The Renewable Fuel Standard
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, along with Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), today urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to end the harmful abuse of small refinery hardship waivers under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In a letter sent to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Durbin and his … Continue Reading
August 20, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $17 Million For Metra Improvements
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Metra will receive $17,840,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for rail improvements. The funding will support the construction of a new grade-separated double-tracked rail bridge over Milwaukee Avenue immediately north of the Grayland Metra Station in Chicago. "For many Illinoisans, Metra is the only affordable and accessible transportation option they have," Durbin said. "The … Continue Reading
August 20, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $2 Million To Protect Southern Illinois Families From Lead Hazards
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that two housing authorities in Southern Illinois will receive a total of $1,943,027 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Lead-Based Paint Capital Fund Program. Under this announcement, the East St. Louis Housing Authority (East St. Louis, IL) will receive $943,027 and the Union County Housing Authority (Anna, IL) will receive $1,000,000 to identify and … Continue Reading
August 16, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $113.9 Million In HUD Funding To Support Chicago Housing And Community Development
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Chicago will receive $113,932,060 in federal grant funding through four programs administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In total, Chicago was awarded $78,262,773 through the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) program, $6,695,179 through the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program, $18,935,452 through the HOME Investment Partnerships program, and $10,038,656 … Continue Reading
August 14, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Slam Trump Administration Proposal To Weaken Protections Against Discrimination In Health Care
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 32 of their fellow Democratic senators, have submitted a comment letter for the record to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar criticizing the Trump Administration's proposed rule to weaken critical protections that help address discrimination in health care. The senators outlined several issues with the proposed rule, including how it could harm … Continue Reading
August 14, 2019
Durbin Calls For Investigation Of Trump Admin's Efforts To Use Eminent Domain To Seize Privately Held Land To Build Border Wall
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), have sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro requesting that the U.S. Government Accountability Office investigate the Trump Administration's efforts to exercise the power of eminent domain to seize privately held land to build a border wall at the southern border of the United States. The Senators, who are all opposed to the president's border … Continue Reading
August 13, 2019
Durbin Statement On Prison Understaffing Crisis Following Epstein Death
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the understaffing crisis at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which is receiving heightened attention following the apparent suicide of Jeffrey Epstein. The Bureau of Prisons has not had a permanent director since May 2018, a leadership vacuum that Attorney General William Barr has not addressed in his six months on the job. "Attorney … Continue Reading
August 13, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $1.5 Million In Opioid, Behavioral Health Services For Southern Illinois Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers in Southern Illinois a total of $1,560,000 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, … Continue Reading
August 13, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $1.5 Million In Opioid, Behavorial Health Services For Western Illinois Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers in Western Illinois a total of $1,501,000 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, … Continue Reading
August 13, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $2.1 Million In Opioid, Behavioral Health Services For Central Illinois Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers across Central Illinois a total of $2,169,000 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, … Continue Reading
August 13, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4.5 Million In Opioid, Behavioral Health Services For Chicago Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded community health centers in Chicago, Illinois, a total of $4,503,836 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-quality health care in underserved urban and rural … Continue Reading
August 12, 2019
Durbin, Senators Call Out Partisan 'Project' To Tip Supreme Court In Favor Of NRA-Backed Plaintiffs
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) to file a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case bringing the first major challenge to gun safety laws since 2010. Against the backdrop of shocking gun violence in America, the Senators detail how the National Rifle Association (NRA), the Federalist Society, and other dark money-funded partisan groups have announced … Continue Reading
August 12, 2019
Durbin, Markey, Blumenthal Request Information On Student Data Collection Practices
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today sent letters to numerous education technology (EdTech) companies inquiring about data collection practices on American students. The Senators raised concerns that the learning tools used by these companies could pose a serious risk to students, parents, and educational institutions as a result of the potential for massive amounts of personal information to be stolen, collected, or sold without … Continue Reading
August 12, 2019
Illinois Congressional Democrats Urge Census Bureau To Ensure Full And Fair Count For 2020 Census
WASHINGTON - The Democratic members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation today sent a letter to U.S. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham urging him to ensure a full and fair count of the State of Illinois with the upcoming 2020 Decennial Census. The members expressed concern with administrative and technological changes being made to the upcoming Census, and urged the Bureau to provide Illinois with the necessary resources to count all Illinois residents, especially vulnerable and … Continue Reading