Press Releases
Durbin: President Trump Must Solve The Crisis He Created & Support The Bipartisan Dream Act Now
WASHINGTON-Following a federal court ruling yesterday that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program protections must stay in place, 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 DACA program - hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came to the United States as … Continue Reading
April 24, 2018
Durbin Statement On FDA Announcement Of New Enforcement Actions To Protect Youth & Teens From Using JUUL & Other E-Cigarettes
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to issue new enforcement actions on JUUL Labs, Inc. and other e-cigarette companies, in order to better protect children and teens from using addictive and dangerous e-cigarettes: "Today, the FDA heeded my call and announced positive initial steps to protect our kids from the dangers of tobacco products like the JUUL … Continue Reading
April 23, 2018
Durbin Enlists Illinois High School Educators To Sound The Alarm On For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON - With high school seniors making decisions about their educational futures, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is enlisting the help of Illinois high school principals, counselors, and teachers to warn college-bound students and their families about the risks associated with attending for-profit colleges. In today's letter, Durbin calls on educators to give students "accurate and up-to-date information about their post-secondary education options, including the risks associated with … Continue Reading
April 23, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues In Calling On Trump Administration To Halt New Regulation That Would Raise Health Insurance Premiums, Deny Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and 42 other Senators today to call on the Trump Administration to halt a proposed regulation that would create junk health insurance plans that would return us to the days when insurance companies could refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions and raise premiums significantly for older Americans. The Senators expressed their … Continue Reading
April 20, 2018
Durbin, Democratic Senators Introduce Bill To Limit Use Of Solitary Confinement
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today introduced legislation to reduce the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) use of solitary confinement and improve conditions for inmates separated from the general prison population. The Solitary Confinement Reform Act limits solitary confinement to the briefest term and under the least restrictive conditions possible, improves access to mental health … Continue Reading
April 19, 2018
Durbin Statement On 7th Circuit Upholding Injunction Against Sessions Threat To Chicago Violence Prevention Funding
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal injunction blocking an attempt by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants ("Byrne-JAG") to communities that refuse to cooperate with the Trump Administration's deportation agenda: "The Trump Administration exceeded its legal authority by trying to cut off the federal funds our police use to fight gun … Continue Reading
April 19, 2018
Judiciary Committee Unanimously Approves Nominations Of Michael Scudder & Amy St. Eve For The 7th Circuit Court Of Appeals
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance the nominations of Michael Y. Scudder, Jr. and U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve to serve as Circuit Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, based in Chicago: "Judge St. Eve and Mr. Scudder have the experience, integrity, and judgment that we look for in federal judges, and we expect them to serve with … Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Durbin Meets With DOT Secretary Chao
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after meeting with U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao to discuss transportation projects important to Illinois: Investing in our transportation infrastructure creates jobs, revitalizes neighborhoods, and grows small businesses across Illinois. While transportation agencies in Illinois are working hard to improve their infrastructure and services, Washington must also do its part. … Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Durbin Grills Justice Department On Politicization Of Immigration Courts
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), ranking member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today grilled a Justice Department official at a hearing entitled, "Strengthening and Reforming America's Immigration Court System," about the Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions politicizing America's immigration court system at the expense of due process for immigrants. The Justice Department last week halted the Legal Orientation Program (LOP). Created by the Bush … Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Authors Of Open Textbooks Pilot Press Secretary DeVos To Properly Implement New Program
WASHINGTON - The authors of the Open Textbooks Pilot included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 spending bill today pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to properly implement this new competitive grant program. The Open Textbooks Pilot was based on the Affordable College Textbook Act (S. 1864 and H.R. 3840), which would create a competitive grant program to support the creation and expand the use of open college textbooks-textbooks that are available under an open license, allowing professors, … Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Durbin, Quigley, Duckworth Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation To Map Urban Flooding & Help FEMA Better Assess Risks
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-02) and John Culberson (R-TX-07) today introduced the bipartisan, bicameral Flood Mapping Modernization and Homeowner Empowerment Pilot Program Act of 2018 to enhance the mapping of urban flooding to prevent associated damage. The legislation will help give cities and towns the tools they need to address flooding in a local … Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Durbin & Senators Press JUUL Labs, Inc. For Answers On Marketing Addictive E-Cigarette Vaping Product To Teens, Urge FDA To Take Swift Action
WASHINGTON - Today, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with 10 of his Senate colleagues, sent two letters to JUUL Labs, Inc. and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about JUUL e-cigarette vaping products. In the letter to Juul Labs, Inc. Durbin and his colleagues ask a series of questions about how the product is marketed to children and teens, what ingredients are in the flavorings that accompany these devices, and requests that the company take a series of important … Continue Reading
April 17, 2018
Durbin On Tax Day: GOP Tax Bill Exploded Nation's Deficit To Provide Benefits To Large Corporations & Millionaires
WASHINGTON-On Tax Day, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called out the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans for pushing through their partisan tax bill last year outside of regular order and without committee hearings or the ordinary amendment and vote process. Last week, a new, non-partisan analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated that the Republican tax bill will add over $300 billion more to the deficit than the disastrous $1.5 trillion … Continue Reading
April 17, 2018
Durbin Questions National Guard Chief On Troop Deployment To The Border
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, today questioned General Joseph Lengyel, Chief of the National Guard, on the Trump Administration's deployment of National Guard troops to the Southwest border. At the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, Durbin pressed General Lengyel on the financial costs of the deployment as well as the impact on readiness. "Many of us were also taken aback when the President … Continue Reading
April 16, 2018
Durbin Warns Trump Administration Against Newsprint Tariffs
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on the U.S. Department of Commerce to consider the impact on local newspapers of a preliminary plan to impose tariffs on newsprint paper imported from Canada. "I support the Administration's efforts to combat illegal trade practices and ensure American companies are able to operate on a level playing field with their international competitors. However, I am concerned that tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper from Canada … Continue Reading
April 16, 2018
Durbin Questions FCC On Sinclair Dictating Content To Local News Stations While It Weighs Proposed Mega-Merger With Tribune
CHICAGO-Following reports that Sinclair Broadcast Group (Sinclair) required local news anchors at Sinclair-owned television stations across the country to deliver a scripted promotional message on-air, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to carefully consider Sinclair's conduct and the significant harm it poses to the public interest as he weighs the proposed merger between Sinclair and Tribune Media Company … Continue Reading
April 14, 2018
Durbin Statement On Airstrikes In Syria
SPRINGFIELD-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the airstrikes in Syria announced by President Trump: White House Chief of Staff John Kelly called me personally before the President's announcement, and last Tuesday, Defense Secretary Mattis briefed me on the early planning and involvement of our allies, Great Britain and France. I supported President Obama's decision to retaliate when Assad first used chemical weapons. The Senate Foreign … Continue Reading
April 13, 2018
FDA Answers Durbin, Brown, Blumenthal Call to Ban Deadly Powdered Caffeine
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will act to ban the retail sale of pure and highly concentrated bulk caffeine products in both powder and liquid forms. In guidance issued earlier today, the FDA has clarified that dietary supplements containing pure or highly concentrated caffeine in powder or liquid forms are unlawful when sold in bulk quantities directly to consumers. Given the … Continue Reading
April 13, 2018
Durbin, Bustos Discuss Impact of Proposed Tariffs with Local Agricultural Leaders
PEORIA - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today met with local agricultural leaders to discuss how President Trump's threats of a trade war would impact Illinois farmers and rural communities. In response to President Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs announced last month, China has announced plans for tariffs on many U.S. commodities, including products that are critical to the Illinois economy, such as soybeans and pork. Illinois is consistently … Continue Reading
April 13, 2018
Durbin, Bustos Announce New Guidance from Army to Improve Rock Island Arsenal Competitiveness
ROCK ISLAND - U.S Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today announced new guidance from the Army that will help manufacturing at the Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) remain competitive with the private sector and maintain a reliable workload. The new guidance will ensure that the RIA is given fair consideration for every Army acquisition purchase and require all private sector companies to look at the RIA's Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center (JMTC) as a … Continue Reading