Members of Congress: More and More Children Being Exposed To E-Cigarette Marketing Are Picking Up Habit

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Thirteen Members of Congress today called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take immediate action to protect young people from predatory e-cigarette marketing and distribution tactics that are straight out of big tobacco's playbook. According to the journal Pediatrics, the number of children aged 12 to 17 years exposed to e-cigarette marketing increased by 256% between 2011 and 2013. This increased exposure has coincided with a dramatic rise in the use of e-cigare… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Passing of Gene Callahan

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the passing of Gene Callahan: "Gene Callahan was my trusted friend. I never made an important decision in my political life without calling Gene. He was totally honest, painfully candid, and completely loyal. You knew that if the world turned on you, Gene would be the last person standing by your side. "I lost my top spot in his political hierarchy when his daughter, Cheri Bustos, was elected to Congress. His prid… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Passing of Former White House Press Secretary James Brady

[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the passing of former White House Press Secretary James Brady: "Jim Brady of Centralia, Illinois never let an assassin's bullet stop his smile or his determination to make America a safer nation. "Jim and Sarah Brady played a key role in my 1996 campaign and appeared with me around the state. Jim was a proud Republican but he strongly supported my position calling for background checks before firea… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds Passage of Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act

CHICAGO - The nation's veterans will have faster and easier access to health care under legislation designed to repair the overwhelmed Veterans Health Administration, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today. The Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, which was approved across party lines in the Senate on Thursday night, begins to fix some of the problems identified by the Inspector General investigation of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities earlier this year. The $17 bi… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More Than $28,000 In Federal Funding For Rural Development Project In Central Illinois

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development division has awarded a grant totaling $28,600 to the Village of Kane, Illinois in Greene County. The funding used in this announcement will support water and waste infrastructure construction projects. "This federal investment will help Kane in its effort to continue to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community's residents," Durbin said. To… Continue Reading

Durbin, Rockefeller, Nelson, Pryor, Coons, Markey, Introduce America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) John D. (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV), IV, Bill Nelson (D-FL), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Ed Markey (D-MA), today introduced the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014. The bill builds on the goals and successes of the America COMPETES Act of 2007 and its reauthorization in 2010. The Senators' bill would authorize stable and sustained increases in federal research and development (R&D) funding for the National Science Foundati… Continue Reading

Durbin, Reed Take Action To Help Address Drug Overdose Epidemic

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Seeking to combat the growing national drug overdose epidemic, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jack Reed (D-RI) today introduced the Overdose Prevention Act. This legislation would expand access to naloxone, as well as drug overdose prevention programs that have been proven to save lives. The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ed Markey (D-MA). Drug overdose death rates in the U.S. have more than tripled since 1… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces A $2.25 Million Investment To Support Behavioral Health Services Across Illinois

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded grants totaling $2,250,000 to help expand behavioral health services at existing community healthcare centers across Illinois. This funding - made available through the Affordable Care Act - will help expand mental health services and increase the coordination, collaboration, and integration of primary and behavioral health … Continue Reading

Durbin: Amtrak On-Time Performance Suffering From CN Obstructions & Delays

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - With both Amtrak delays and blocked rail crossings reaching record levels on Canadian National's (CN) rail lines, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) invited Surface Transportation Board (STB) Members to visit Illinois and observe firsthand the results of CN's failure to meet its obligations to local communities. This week, Durbin met with STB Chairman Dan Elliot to discuss these and other ongoing issues resulting from CN's 2009 acquisition of the EJ&E Railway. A photo of Du… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Bill To Expand Student Loan Forgiveness Program to Adjunct Professors

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - As the reliance on part-time faculty grows at colleges and universities across the country, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation that would allow part-time faculty - who are often paid low wages with few benefits - to be eligible to participate in the federal student loan forgiveness program for public servants. In Illinois, more than half of all faculty at public and non-profit colleges and universities work on a part-time basis, which often makes them ine… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Donnelly, Kirk and Great Lakes Senators Urging Action on Asian Carp Threat

[WASHINGTON, DC.] - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), along with other Great Lakes Senators, sent a letter to White House Council on Environmental Quality Asian Carp Director John Goss expressing their continued commitment to practical, immediate solutions to the threat of Asian carp and other invasive species to the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basin. "While disagreements about prevention measures remain, the Asian carp threat persists, a… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls For Action On Gun Reform At Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Protecting Women From Gun Violence

[WASHINGTON, DC] - During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on protecting women from gun violence, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin thanked Elvin Daniel, of McHenry, Illinois, who testified in support of common sense gun reform legislation. Daniel's sister, Zina, was shot and killed by her estranged and abusive husband in Wisconsin in 2012. The restraining order placed on Zina's husband did not stop him from purchasing a weapon through an internet site, where he was not subject to a background check.… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces A More Than $417,000 Investment in Illinois First-Responder Capabilities

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has awarded $417,325 in grants to five communities throughout Illinois. Today's funding will support and improve the capability of each department to respond to fires and other types of emergencies. "This federal funding will ensure that when fires or other emergencies occur in our communities, our nation's firefighters and fi… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Committee Report Revealing Questionable Business Practices In For-Profit College Industry

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released a statement after reviewing a new report by the majority staff of Chairman Tom Harkin's (D-IA) Senate HELP Committee shows that for-profit colleges are collecting billions of taxpayer dollars from veterans using their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. The report found that although overall student enrollment has decreased at each of the eight top for-profit Post-9/11 GI Bill beneficiaries, their enrollment of veterans has dramaticall… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Shaheen, Senate Democrats To Introduce Legislation To Expand Access To Contraception For Military Women, Dependents

(Washington, DC) - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Senate Democrats to introduce legislation, the Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014, which would overhaul current Department of Defense's policy on contraceptive coverage and family planning counseling. The bill would bring health care provided by the military in line with current law for civilian populations by ensuring that all women who receive health care … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Passage of Highway Trust Fund Extension

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made the following statement after the Senate passed a bill to finance the Highway Trust Fund through December 19, 2014. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration. "I am pleased this bill will help us continue work on the construction projects around Illinois that are creating jobs and improving our roads, bridges, highways and mass transit. The Senate bill includes sufficient funding to avoid a transpo… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With FutureGen Alliance CEO Ken Humphreys

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with FutureGen Alliance CEO Ken Humphreys today to discuss the status of the FutureGen 2.0 project. The FutureGen Industrial Alliance is a non-profit membership organization that includes some of the largest coal producers, coal users, and coal equipment suppliers in the world. A photo of today's meeting is available here. "The FutureGen 2.0 project has the potential of making a lasting reduction in carbon dioxide while still using coal to generate energy. I … Continue Reading

Durbin Statment on the Confirmation of Robert McDonald to be VA Secretary

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Robert McDonald to be Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): "Bob McDonald is a veteran, a West Point grad, and he is from Arlington Heights, Illinois," Durbin said. "I met with Bob soon after he was nominated for this position and there is no doubt he is eager to take on the task of seeing that the VA honors its promise to the men and women who ser… Continue Reading

Durbin & Leading Congressional Democrats Introduce the No Federal Contracts For Corporate Deserters Act

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Leading Democrats from both chambers of Congress - Senators Dick Durbin and Carl Levin and Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Lloyd Doggett - today introduced the No Federal Contracts for Corporate Deserters Act. The legislation would bar contracts from going to businesses that incorporate overseas, are majority-owned by shareholders of the old U.S. corporation, and do not have substantial business opportunities in the foreign country in which they are incorporating. "With… Continue Reading

Durbin: State of Illinois Takes Decisive Action to Protect Students

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today praised the decisive action taken by the Illinois Board of Higher Education which ordered Corinthian Colleges - owner of six "Everest College" campuses in Illinois - to immediately stop all sales, advertising, marketing and enrollment activities in Illinois. Durbin has been warning Illinois students and calling for an end to enrollments since the Department of Education increased scrutiny of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. on June 20, 2014 … Continue Reading