Press Releases
Durbin: Nothing Ordinary About Investigation Into Russian Connection
WASHINGTON - With newly-confirmed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions facing mounting scrutiny over previously undisclosed contact with Russian officials, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today grilled Deputy Attorney General nominee Rod Rosenstein regarding the Justice Department's investigation into Russia's cyber act of war against the 2016 U.S. presidential election. If confirmed, Rosenstein would oversee any Justice Department inves… Continue Reading
03.07.17
Durbin Statement On Republican Health Care Repeal Plan
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after House Republicans released their health care repeal legislation: "The Republican health care repeal plan would cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance. It increases costs for seniors and middle-class families and cuts benefits. It would end Medicaid as we know it-hurting seniors, children, people with disabilities, as well as shifting costs onto already-stretched state budg… Continue Reading
03.07.17
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4 Million In HUD Funding For Illinois Affordable Housing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the State of Illinois will receive $4,310,055 in grant funding through the Housing Trust Fund (HTF), a federal grant program administered by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The HTF program seeks to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including homeless families. HTF funds may be used for… Continue Reading
03.07.17
Durbin Reintroduces Bill To Give Students Defrauded By For-Profit Colleges Their Day In Court
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has reintroduced legislation designed to strengthen students' ability to hold for-profit colleges accountable in court for their misconduct. The Court Legal Access & Student Support (CLASS) Act prohibits any school receiving Title IV student aid funding from placing restrictions on students' ability to pursue legal claims, individually or with others, against higher education institutions in court. The CLASS Act aims to end the strategic use of ma… Continue Reading
03.06.17
Durbin, Casey Reintroduce Bill To Support Congenital Heart Defect Research
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bob Casey (D-PA) reintroduced legislation to promote federal research on congenital heart defects (CHD) and raise awareness of the impact these health problems have throughout patients' lives. The Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act also helps states collect data on the prevalence of CHD and understand trends and disparities among those living with CHD. Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced its companion … Continue Reading
03.06.17
Durbin Statement On New Trump Travel Ban
CHICAGO - Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after President Trump signed a revised executive order banning travel from certain Muslim-majority countries and all refugees. "No amount of relabeling will change the fact that President Trump's travel ban is unconstitutional and un-American. Wasting taxpayer dollars and unnecessarily inflicting pain on innocent families isn't going to change that. Trump'… Continue Reading
03.03.17
Durbin Calls Out President Trump’s Failure To Put American Workers First
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, is calling out President Donald Trump for failing to deliver on his campaign promise to put American workers first by cracking down on H-1B visa abuse. In a letter to President Trump, Senator Durbin slammed the Administration's decision to pursue "cruel and un-American policies that harm our economy, do not make us safer, and are inconsistent with our heritage as a nation of immigr… Continue Reading
03.03.17
Durbin Calls Out President Trump's Failure to Put America Workers First
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, is calling out President Donald Trump for failing to deliver on his campaign promise to put American workers first by cracking down on H-1B visa abuse. In a letter to President Trump, Senator Durbin slammed the Administration's decision to pursue "cruel and un-American policies that harm our economy, do not make us safer, and are inconsistent with our heritage as a nation of immigr… Continue Reading
03.02.17
Durbin And Duckworth Host First Illinois Constituent Coffee Of 115th Congress
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today hosted the first Illinois Constituent Coffee of the 115th Congress is Washington, D.C. The tradition was started by U.S. Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) in 1985 and has continued with Senator Durbin hosting with then-Senators Carol Moseley Braun, Peter Fitzgerald, Barack Obama, Roland Burris, and Mark Kirk. "In 1985, my mentor, Senator Paul Simon, launched the Illinois Hospitality Breakfast series. For one hour, every Thu… Continue Reading
03.02.17
Department Of Defense Fiscal Year 2017 Appropriations Bill
WASHINGTON-The Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations Act, 2017 provides $577.9 billion in base and Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO) funding, compared to $572.8 billion enacted in fiscal year 2016 and $576.5 billion in the President's budget request. The base budget appropriation is $516 billion, with $61.8 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations of the Department of Defense. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Department of Defense Subcommittee, said: "This bill s… Continue Reading
03.02.17
Durbin Statement On Sessions False Testimony On Russian Connection
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding Attorney General Jeff Sessions: At Senator Sessions' confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee, I called on him to commit to recuse himself from Justice Department investigations into the Trump campaign's illegal dealings with the Russian government. During that hearing, Sessions said, "I have not had any communications with the Russians." That is false, and he said it under oath. The P… Continue Reading
03.01.17
Durbin, Duckworth, Quigley Press Army Corps To Approve Funding For McCook Reservoir
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL) pressed the Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) for strong and continued support for the construction of the McCook Reservoir Project in a letter to Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Douglas Lamont. An allocation of additional funding by the Corps is necessary to meet the December 31, 2017 deadline for completion of Stage 1 of the McCook Reservoir, which is required by the p… Continue Reading
03.01.17
Durbin Opposes Rep. Ryan Zinke For Interior
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after voting against President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior. Representative Ryan Zinke was confirmed by a vote of 68-31. America has a proud record of protecting our National Parks and historic treasures-Teddy Roosevelt would be proud. It's the Interior Secretary's job to preserve these valuable resources for future generations. Nothing in Congressman Zinke's record suggests he appr… Continue Reading
03.01.17
Durbin: Biggest Omission Of President Trump’s Address: Russia
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke on the Senate floor about President Donald Trump's decision to ignore the topic of Russia in his first address to Congress despite mounting evidence that members of his Administration may have been compromised by the hostile foreign government. Senator Durbin also renewed his call for an independent, transparent investigation of Russia's efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election. "I listened carefully, as did every… Continue Reading
03.01.17
Durbin Meets With Intel Director Nominee Sen. Dan Coats
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after meeting with President Trump's nominee to be Director of National Intelligence, Senator Dan Coats of Indiana: I've known and respected Dan for decades as a person of integrity-the challenges facing our intelligence community, both foreign and domestic, call for a leader like him. In our meeting, Senator Coats pledged to provide information and cooperate with investigations of Russia's cyberattacks on… Continue Reading
02.28.17
Durbin Statement on Trump Address to Congress
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on President Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress: Tonight, President Trump continued to make big promises but didn't offer any real plans to achieve them. He has yet to propose a concrete strategy to create jobs in America, which jeopardizes the historic job growth of the past eight years. The policies he has put forward have already had tragic human costs-tearing families apart and threateni… Continue Reading
02.28.17
Durbin: Investigate Trump Administration’s Russian Connection And 2016 Election Cyber-Attack
WASHINGTON - Following recent travel to meet with U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) again called on Senate Republicans to support an independent, transparent investigation into Russia's cyberattacks on the 2016 presidential election, as well as alleged contacts between Trump campaign officials and the Russian government. "Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a cyber-attack of war on the United States and its democracy. November 8, 2016 is a day that w… Continue Reading
02.28.17
Durbin Meets With Undocumented Medical Student Who Will Be His Guest For President Trump’s Address
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, today met with Illinois DREAMer Aaima Sayed, who will be his guest for President Donald Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress. Aaima, who has temporary legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is a third-year medical student at the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago. "Our country is stronger thanks to the contribution… Continue Reading
02.27.17
Durbin To Host Undocumented Medical Student For President Trump’s Address
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, will host Illinois DREAMer Aaima Sayed as his guest for President Donald Trump's address to a Joint Session of Congress. Aaima, who has temporary legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is a third-year medical student at the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago. "Our country is stronger thanks to the contributions of Dreame… Continue Reading
02.24.17
Durbin Joins 26 Senators In Calling For A Full Account Of The Election Assistance Commission’s Efforts To Address Russian Cybersecurity Threats
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined a group of 26 senators in calling for a full account of the Election Assistance Commission's (EAC) efforts to address Russian cybersecurity threats. The EAC played a crucial role before the 2016 general election by working with state and local election officials, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to coordinate an appropriate response to cybersecurity threats to our democracy. In a letter to Commissi… Continue Reading