Press Releases
Durbin Presses Agriculture Secretary Perdue On Food Stamps, Trade, Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in the first Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee hearing of the 116th Congress, pressed U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue about access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the elderly and those with disabilities, how President Trump's trade war with China is hurting the price of soybeans in Illinois, and whether he would support comprehensive immigration reform for more than … Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Durbin Statement On President Trump's Second Summit With Kim Jong Un
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un collapsed: Diplomacy can be a long and difficult path. Following this experience, I hope that the President finally has an appreciation for the diplomatic achievements - such as the JCPOA and Paris Climate Agreement - that came before him, a better understanding of the limits of photo-ops, and a realization of … Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Illinois Meets With Illinois State Board Of Elections Director To Discuss Election Security Funding
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Senate Rules Committee, today once again met with Steve Sandvoss, the Executive Director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, to discuss continued federal funding for election security. Last year, Illinois received $13.2 million in new federal funding to strengthen its election security systems, part of the Fiscal Year 2018 federal omnibus spending bill that provided $380 million to the … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Durbin Statement On For-Profit Agrosy University Losing Title IV Funding
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Department of Education announced that Argosy University, a for-profit college, will no longer receive Title IV funding: The downfall of Argosy University has been a long time coming-from its days as part of the predatory for-profit Education Management Corporation, to its mismanagement under Dream Center and the federal receivership, and the Department's complicity at every step. About … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Durbin Opposes Andrew Wheeler, President Trump's Nominee To Head The EPA
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after voting against President Trump's nominee to be U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Andrew Wheeler: We need someone leading the EPA who will put the health and well-being of the people of this country above the profits of corporate polluters. We need someone who is willing to protect families and communities from toxic chemicals in our air and water by fully enforcing the … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Chicagoland Lakefront Protection Project
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a Chicagoland Lakefront Protection project to help protect shorelines under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) Beneficial Use of Dredged Material pilot program. Public beaches and shorelines in Evanston, Glencoe, Lake Bluff and North Chicago will receive sand dredged from Waukegan Harbor to better protect nearby homes and businesses. The new pilot program will also provide federal resources to plant … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Durbin: Republicans Must Work With Democrats To Tackle Climate Change Crisis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called out his Republican colleagues for continuing to deny the science behind climate change and refusing to work with Democrats on a bipartisan basis to tackle this mounting crisis. Just this week, scientists wrote that evidence showing human activity is the cause of global warming has reached a "gold standard" level of certainty and that "humanity cannot afford to ignore such clear standards." "For the four years the … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Durbin: Pharma Fleecing Of Insulin Must End
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today on the Senate floor announced a new series of awards he will be presenting regularly to the most egregious cases of pharmaceutical greed. The first "Pharma Fleece Award" was given to Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi, the three pharmaceutical companies that manufacture insulin, which has experienced a price increase of more than 600 percent over the past two decades in the United States. The United States represents only 15 percent of the … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues To Introduce Voter Empowerment Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and six of their Democratic colleagues to introduce the Voter Empowerment Act. This legislation would help protect the voting rights of people across the country by ensuring equal access to the ballot for every eligible voter, modernizing voter registration, and helping to eliminate deceptive practices that deter people from voting. Companion legislation was introduced in … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Durbin Host Governor Pritzker, Illinois Members For Delegation Dinner
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) hosted Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) and a bipartisan group of members from the Illinois Congressional Delegation for a reception and dinner last night to discuss Illinois priorities in the 116th Congress. Photos of the dinner are available here. The event with Governor Pritzker was attended by 16 members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, including: U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Robin … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Durbin Honors Victims & Injured Police Of Aurora Shooting
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today in a speech on the Senate floor honored the victims of this month's shooting at the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, Illinois, in which a gunman killed Trevor Wehner, Clayton Parks, Russell Beyer, Vicente Juarez, and Josh Pinkard, and injured Aurora Police Officers Adam Miller, Marco Gomez, John Cebulski, James Zegar, Reynaldo Rivera, and Diego Avila. Looking toward a poster with the faces of the victims, Durbin said, "Look at those faces. … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Durbin, Portman Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Tackle Pharma Waste In Oversized Prescription Drug Packaging
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced a bipartisan bill that would reduce the egregious wasted spending on discarded medications that are the result of excessively large, single-use drug vials. The Recovering Excessive Funds for Unused and Needless Drugs (REFUND) Act would enable Medicare to recoup money from drug companies who were paid for wasted medications, and provide savings to seniors enrolled in Medicare. "Too many drug companies … Continue Reading
February 19, 2019
Durbin & Delauro Call For OIG Investigation Into Department Of Education's Handling Of Dream Center Transaction, Possible Misuse Of Federal Funds
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) called on the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to immediately investigate reports that millions in federal Title IV funds have not been paid to students attending Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH) schools operated by a court-appointed receiver and that additional federal funds may have disappeared as a result of questionable sales, consummated with the Department's … Continue Reading
February 19, 2019
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Seal Order Of Sterigenics
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's (IEPA) decision to issue a Seal Order on Willowbrook, Illinois-based Sterigenics, Inc.: We support the IEPA taking strong action. Ethylene oxide emissions from Sterigenics and the lack of oversight by the U.S. EPA have created a public health emergency that threatened the well-being and safety of Willowbrook, the surrounding … Continue Reading
February 15, 2019
Durbin & Duckworth Voice Concerns About Trump Administration Siding with Predatory Payday Loan Sharks Over Consumers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined a group of 47 Senators in opposing the latest attempt under Trump Administration leadership to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) payday lending rule. In a letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, Durbin and Duckworth outlined how eliminating the key protections of the rule will allow the payday lending industry to prey on vulnerable American consumers. The letter was signed by every member … Continue Reading
February 15, 2019
Durbin, Schakowsky, Krishnamoorthi Introduce Legislation To Expand Access To Health Care By Creating Public Option
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-08-IL) joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Representative Ben Ray Luján (D-NM-03) to introduce the State Public Option Act to create a Medicaid-based public health care option to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and provide Americans with a new high-quality, low-cost health care choice that will move our system toward universal coverage. "In the last nine … Continue Reading
February 15, 2019
Durbin Statement On President Trump's Emergency Declaration
WASHINGTON-Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in order to circumvent Congress and access funds to build a wall on the southern border: President Trump's national emergency declaration serves one purpose and one purpose only: to fulfill his campaign promise to build a big, beautiful wall. While the President claims he … Continue Reading
February 14, 2019
Durbin Statement On Bipartisan Agreement To Fund The Government
WASHINGTON-Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the bipartisan, bicameral conference committee on Homeland Security, today released the following statement after voting for the bipartisan agreement negotiators reached to fund the nine remaining federal departments and their agencies. The bipartisan package rejects President Trump's demand for $5.7 billion for a border wall and makes responsible investments in border security long supported by Democrats. For 35 days, we said … Continue Reading
February 14, 2019
Durbin Opposes William Barr For Attorney General
WASHINGTON-Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after voting against President Trump's nominee to be U.S. Attorney General, William Barr. He was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 54-45. I respect Mr. Barr and his family, many of whom also have chosen public service careers. But I carefully reviewed Mr. Barr's record and I concluded that I could not support his nomination. When it comes to Special … Continue Reading
February 14, 2019
Following FDA Warning, Durbin, Whitehouse, Blumenthal, Brown, & Reed Once Again Urge Pharmacies To Stop Selling Tobacco Products
WASHINGTON - On the heels of an announcement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that some of our nation's largest health pharmacies have been illegally selling tobacco products to minors, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Jack Reed (D-RI), today sent letters to Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, and Dollar General urging them to stop selling tobacco products. Last week, the FDA announced that Walgreens was the … Continue Reading