Press Releases
Durbin Statement On SCOTUS Decision On Trump Travel Ban
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released the following statement after the Supreme Court decision to hear a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. The Court will hear arguments in the lawsuit against the Administration during its October term. For the President of the United States to be forced to defend his travel ban before the Supreme … Continue Reading
June 26, 2017
Durbin, Senate Colleagues Press U.S. Army & Sanofi For Affordable Zika Vaccine
WASHINGTON - Amid reports that Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical company, is refusing to commit to a licensing agreement that would ensure a reasonable and affordable price for a Zika vaccine that is being developed largely with taxpayer funding, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Angus King (I-ME) today pressed the U.S. Army to convene a public hearing regarding its Zika vaccine candidate licensing … Continue Reading
June 23, 2017
Durbin Statement On Discovery Of Asian Carp Near Lake Michigan
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the discovery of an adult Silver Carp near the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam in the Calumet River: "I'm deeply concerned by today's announcement that an adult Silver Carp was discovered a mere nine miles from Lake Michigan. If this invasive species reaches the Great Lakes, it could cause significant economic losses and irreversible damage to the ecosystem, and threaten the drinking water of 30 million Americans. … Continue Reading
June 23, 2017
Durbin, Senators Call For Review By Accreditors Of EDMC's Sale Of For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON - In a letter to the heads of several regional college accreditors, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) called for close scrutiny of the proposed sale of the Education Management Corporation's (EDMC) for-profit college chains to The Dream Center Foundation. The proposed sale would allow EDMC's schools, including Argosy University, South University, and the Art Institutes - … Continue Reading
June 23, 2017
Durbin: NIH At The Heart Of Research That Improves American Lives
WASHINGTON - At a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) highlighted the critical role of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in conducting the important medical research that leads to new cures and treatments for disease and conditions impacting families worldwide. In response to the drastic cuts to medical research, as proposed in President Trump's FY2018 budget, Durbin … Continue Reading
June 22, 2017
Durbin Meets With Acting Director Of Bureau Of Prisons To Discuss Thomson Prison Activation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Acting Director Tom Kane to discuss the activation of the Thomson, Illinois federal prison and federal prison policies under the Trump Administration. "Thomson prison is an important component of the Department of Justice's plan to tackle major challenges faced by our prison system and to promote economic growth in the region," said Durbin. "Today, Acting Director Kane … Continue Reading
June 22, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues to Trump: Act On Russian Cyber Intrusions to U.S. Energy Infrastructure
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Senate colleagues today sent a letter to President Trump urging the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct an analysis of Russian capabilities with respect to cyber-attacks on U.S. energy infrastructure. In the letter, the members request that President Trump, "direct the Department of Energy, in consultation with other relevant agencies, to within 60 days conduct a … Continue Reading
June 22, 2017
Durbin: Senate Health Care Repeal Bill Is Still A Mean Dog
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed Senate Republicans for repackaging the health care repeal bill passed by House Republicans, which kicks millions of Americans off their insurance to give huge tax cuts to big corporations and the wealthiest individuals, and keeping the legislation hidden from the American public in an effort to rush it to a vote. "[T]here's not much of a change between the House of Representatives effort and the Senate effort. You … Continue Reading
June 22, 2017
Durbin Statement on Senate Trumpcare
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after Senate Republicans finally released their secret health care repeal bill: Now we know why Senate Republicans kept this bill a secret for so long-it will take health insurance away from millions of Americans, and increase costs for Illinois seniors and families. The deep cuts to Medicaid are a disaster for downstate and Chicagoland areas as well. We need to stop this Republican health care … Continue Reading
June 22, 2017
Durbin Joins Bill To Increase Voter Participation
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), introduced legislation to modernize the nation's voter registration systems and make it easier for all Americans to vote and participate in our democracy. The Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2017 would streamline the voter registration process, allow citizens to register online, and require states to automatically register eligible voters when they apply for a driver's … Continue Reading
June 21, 2017
Durbin Meets with Illinois Board of Elections Director to Discuss Election Security
WASHINGTON - Amid House and Senate Intelligence Committee public hearings on Russia's efforts to meddle in the 2016 presidential election, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Steve Sandvoss, the executive director of the Illinois Board of Elections to discuss preventive measures that should be taken to address election security. Mr. Sandvoss testified at the public Senate Intelligence Committee hearing today. "Russia has been refining its tactics of cyber warfare against … Continue Reading
June 21, 2017
Durbin: All It Takes Is Three Republican Senators to Step Up and Stop Secret Health Care Repeal Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed Senate Republicans to stand up for the American people and call on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to draft health care legislation in a bipartisan and transparent manner. Durbin noted that if just three out of the 52 Republican Senators refuse to vote for the secret health care repeal bill, it would force Leader McConnell to go back to the drawing board. "Why are we in this position when ten days before changing the … Continue Reading
June 21, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Warn of Illinois Transportation Shut Down if State Budget Agreement Isn't Reached
WASHINGTON - As Illinois rapidly approaches the end of the state's fiscal year, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed Governor Bruce Rauner and Illinois state legislative leaders to reach a budget agreement in order to avoid an unnecessary transportation shut down that could cost tens of thousands of jobs across the state. In a letter to Governor Bruce Rauner, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, Illinois Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, … Continue Reading
June 20, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Join Lawsuit Against Trump for Foreign Conflicts of Interest
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined 194 Members of Congress in filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trump alleging that he has violated the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause, one of its most important anti-corruption provisions. The suit, filed in federal district court in the District of Columbia, alleges that the President has received numerous benefits from foreign states without first seeking or obtaining … Continue Reading
June 19, 2017
Durbin, Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Help Families of Wounded Warriors
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) today introduced bipartisan legislation to help make certain wounded warriors and their families are fully aware of the services available to them through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) caregiver program. The Caregiver Program Information Improvement Act of 2017 would require the caregiver program to be added to the list of statutorily-mandated counseling items for service members pending separation from the … Continue Reading
June 19, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth, LaHood & Bustos Urge President Trump to Scrap Plans to Close Peoria Ag Lab
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representatives Darin LaHood (R-IL-18) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today pressed President Trump to scrap plans to close the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR) in Peoria, Illinois. The Trump Administration's fiscal year 2018 budget proposed closing 17 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service (ARS) laboratories, including the NCAUR in Peoria. "For nearly … Continue Reading
June 16, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $2 Million in Federal Funding to Provide Maternal & Child Health Services in Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded the Illinois Department of Public Health with $2,135,940 in federal funding to improve access to and the quality of health care for mothers, children, and their families, especially for those with low-incomes or limited availability of care, throughout Illinois. This funding is provided through the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) … Continue Reading
June 15, 2017
Durbin, Hastings Work to Strengthen Illinois' Election Systems From Future Acts of Cyberwarfare
WASHINGTON - Amid reports that Russia's cyberattack on the U.S. electoral system leading up to the 2016 election was far more widespread than had been publicly revealed, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois State Senator Michael E. Hastings (D-IL-19) are working with 110 local Illinois election authorities to assess the current state of Illinois' election system's cybersecurity and to see how the federal and state governments might best assist their efforts to strengthen the … Continue Reading
June 15, 2017
HHS Secretary Price to Durbin: I Have Not Seen Senate Republicans' Plan to Repeal Health Care
WASHINGTON - In a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price admitted to U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) that he has not seen the Senate Republicans' secret plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act and rip away health care from millions of Americans. For the past few weeks, a group of 13 male Republican senators have been … Continue Reading
June 14, 2017
Durbin Statement on This Morning's Shooting
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement: Our hearts go out to the victims of a tragic shooting this morning. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the United States Capitol Police who put their lives on the line this morning and each and every day to keep members, staff, and visitors … Continue Reading