Press Releases
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Durbin-Graham Bipartisan Election Interference Bill
WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee today unanimously approved the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act, which will prevent foreign regimes from exploiting our immigration laws to advance their efforts to undermine our democracy. Introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in April, this bill will make "improper interference in U.S. elections" a ground of inadmissibility and deportability under U.S. immigration law, and … Continue Reading
10.11.18
Durbin Calls On President Trump And Republicans To Get Tough On Combating Climate Change
WASHINGTON - Following the release of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (UN IPCC) report on Monday, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on President Trump and Congressional Republicans to take immediate action to limit human-induced global warming. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also urged President Trump to rethink his decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement. "Last year, President Trump decided that the United States would step away from th… Continue Reading
10.11.18
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Matha Pacold, Mary Rowland, & Steven Seeger To Serve As U.S. District Judges For Northern District Of Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nominations of Martha M. Pacold, Mary M. Rowland, and Steven C. Seeger to serve as District Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago: "We are pleased that the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced these three Illinoisans. They have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to serve … Continue Reading
10.10.18
Durbin, Blumenthal, Brown, Warren, Hassan Press Secretary Devos To Respond To Troubling Findings At For-Profit Colleges By Accreditor
WASHINGTON-Following the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges' (ACCSC) decision to place for-profit Center for Excellence in Higher Education's (CEHE) Stevens-Henager Colleges, California College San Diego, CollegeAmerica, and Independence University on probation based on a system-wide disregard for addressing the needs of their students, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today pre… Continue Reading
10.10.18
Durbin Meets With HUD Acting Deputy Inspector General About Ongoing Investigations Into Cairo Housing Crisis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Deputy Inspector General Jeremy Kirkland to receive an update on HUD's Office of Inspector General's (OIG) ongoing investigation into alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by former Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) officials. The investigation has lasted for more than two years. A photo from today's meeting is available here. "It has been more t… Continue Reading
10.09.18
Durbin Supports Baldwin Resolution To Overturn Trump Administration's "Junk" Health Insurance Plans
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on his Republican colleagues to support Senator Tammy Baldwin's (D-WI) resolution to protect patients with pre-existing conditions by overturning the Trump Administration's expansion of "junk" health insurance plans. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration finalized a rule that would return the health care system to the dark days when insurance companies could refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions and raise premiums sig… Continue Reading
10.06.18
Durbin Votes Against Judge Kavanaugh, President Trump's Nominee To The Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. In a speech on the Senate floor shortly before the confirmation vote, Durbin thanked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford for her bravery and shining example of civic duty. Durbin also urged those who have bravely shared their own stories of sexual violence and harassment to not be discouraged and to know that t… Continue Reading
10.05.18
Durbin Votes Against Moving Forward With Judge Kavanaugh's Nomination To The Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted against moving forward with the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that if there are serious questions about a nominee's temperament, credibility, or judgment-as there clearly are for Judge Kavanaugh-then the Senate should give the benefit of the doubt to protecting the integri… Continue Reading
10.04.18
Senate Passes Durbin, Portman Resolution Commemorating 85th Anniversary Of The Holodomor
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rob Portman (R-OH)-who co-chair the Senate Ukraine Caucus-announced that their resolution to commemorate the anniversary of the Holodomor and recognize the Soviet Union's role in perpetrating this genocide has passed the Senate. "Ukraine's famine is an ugly chapter in world history, in which millions of civilians died at the hands of the Soviet Union's cruel policies," Durbin said. "As a co-chair of the Senate's Ukraine Caucus, I am proud … Continue Reading
10.04.18
Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Investigation Into Rauner Administration's Response To Legionnaires' Outbreaks At IVH Quincy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced that her office has opened a criminal probe into the Rauner Administration's response to the multiple Legionnaires' disease outbreaks at Illinois Veterans' Home (IVH) Quincy since 2015: It appears that the Governor and his administration deliberately postponed announcing an outbreak of deadly Legionnaires' disease at IVH Quincy fo… Continue Reading
10.03.18
Durbin Applauds Passage of Bipartisan Opioid Legislation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the final Senate passage of a major bipartisan legislative package aimed at addressing the opioid crisis. The bill, named the SUPPORT for Patients and Families Act, includes several key initiatives Durbin included to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. "Our nation is in the midst of the worst drug overdose epidemic in its history-there is no town too small, and no suburb too wealthy… Continue Reading
10.03.18
Durbin: Secretary Nielsen Must Be Held Accountable For Family Separation Crisis & Resign
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today in a speech on the Senate floor called on U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to resign for her failed leadership in the Trump Administration's disastrous family separation policy. Nearly 2,700 children were forcibly separated from their parents at our border, with at least 136 kids still not reunited today. "I believe Secretary Nielsen shoul… Continue Reading
10.02.18
Durbin Statement On DOJ Investigation Into Trump Administration's Family Separation Crisis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate's Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General announced that it will initiate a review of the Justice Department's implementation of the Trump Administration's zero-tolerance policy. Durbin and 30 of his Senate colleagues called for this investigation in a letter to DOJ Inspector General Horowitz in July. This … Continue Reading
10.02.18
Durbin: Senate Republicans And White House Should Allow FBI To Follow The Facts In Investigating Sexual Assault Allegations Against Judge Kavanaugh
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on Senate Republicans and the White House to allow the FBI to follow the facts where they lead and hold off on scheduling a vote on Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court until Congress and the American people learn what the FBI uncovers. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also called out Republicans who have been calling Dr. Blasey Ford's allegations of se… Continue Reading
10.02.18
Durbin Statement On DHS IG Investigation Into Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate's Immigration Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Inspector General released a report on the Trump Administration's zero-tolerance policy. The report, which Durbin and 23 of his Senate colleagues requested in March, found that "DHS was not fully prepared to implement the Administration's Zero Tolerance Policy or to deal with some … Continue Reading
10.02.18
Durbin, Murkowski Urge FDA To Immediately Ban Kid-Friendly E-Cigarette Flavors, Restrict Online Sales
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today, in a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urged the agency to immediately ban kid-friendly e-cigarette flavorings and restrict online sales of the addictive nicotine products. Durbin and Murkowski's letter comes on the heels of the FDA's announcement last month that-due to a public health "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette use-it would issue new enforcement actions on e-cigarette companies' use of kid-a… Continue Reading
10.01.18
Durbin And Major Chicago Hospitals Join Forces On Community Initiative To Reduce Violence
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined hospital and community leaders to announce a groundbreaking new initiative bringing together 10 of the largest hospitals serving Chicago aimed at reducing violence and improving health in Chicago's most underserved neighborhoods. The Chicago HEAL (Hospital Engagement, Action, and Leadership) Initiative is a collaboration between major Chicago hospitals, convened and supported by Durbin, to make tangible commitments to reduce gun violence, h… Continue Reading
09.28.18
Durbin, Duckworth, Illinois Congressional Delegation Introduce Resolution Honoring Illinois' Bicentennial
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and the entire Illinois House delegation introduced a bipartisan resolution in the House and Senate celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the State of Illinois. The resolution honors and celebrates the State of Illinois and the Illinoisans who have participated in cultivating the rich history of the State. December 3, 2018, will mark the 200th anniversary of the State of Illinois' admittance as the 21st State t… Continue Reading
09.28.18
Durbin: I Believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Will Oppose Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Nominee To The Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee markup, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that he will oppose Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. "Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was credible, cooperative, and resolute. When I asked her directly, under oath, the degree of certainty that she had that she was assaulted by Brett Kavanaugh, she responded, '100 percent.' "This woman, who … Continue Reading
09.27.18
Durbin Presses Judge Kavanaugh To Call For FBI Investigation Into Allegations Of Sexual Assault; Judge Kavanaugh Refuses
WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) pressed Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, to call for an independent FBI investigation into the serious and credible allegations of sexual assault against him. "You have clearly and unequivocally denied that you assaulted Dr. Ford. With that statement, you must believe that there is no credible evidence or any credible witness that could pr… Continue Reading