Press Releases
Durbin Calls For Congressional Hearings On Trump Immigration And Refugee Bans
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, is calling for hearings on President Donald Trump's executive orders cracking down on immigrant communities and banning all refugees, immigrants, and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. "These executive orders, which have dramatic implications for our immigration system, are inconsistent with America's heritage as a nation of immigrants and a safe haven for … Continue Reading
February 09, 2017
Durbin Statement On Reports Of Conflict Minerals Executive Order
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after reports that the Trump Administration is considering an executive order rolling back a rule requiring companies registered in the United States to disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) what they are doing to mitigate sourcing from conflict mines in and around the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). "This law was passed to help save the lives of the children, women, and men who were being … Continue Reading
February 09, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Join Call For Review Of Cost And Impact Of Trump’s Harmful Travel Ban, Mass Deporation Scheme, And Border Wall
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined a group of senators calling on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the actions and costs associated with President Donald Trump's recent executive orders to establish a mass deportation force, construct a wall on the Southern border, and ban refugees and immigrants from certain Muslim-majority nations."Each of these executive orders will likely require significant new action on the part of … Continue Reading
February 09, 2017
Durbin To Oppose HHS Nominee Rep. Price
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced on the Senate floor that he will oppose President Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Representative Tom Price (R-GA). Senator Durbin stressed that on issue after issue-from Congressman Price's support for privatizing Medicare, to his attempts to slash funding for the Medicaid program, to his long-standing goal of repealing of the Affordable Care Act, to his misguided efforts to restrict … Continue Reading
February 09, 2017
Durbin Statement On Unanimous Ruling Freezing Trump Travel Ban
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision suspending the Trump Administration's travel ban on refugees and targeting travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries: This unanimous decision by the Ninth Circuit continues to block the Executive Order of President Trump restricting the travel of immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The Court explicitly … Continue Reading
February 08, 2017
Durbin Opposes Ag Nominee Sen. Sessions
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after voting against President Trump's nominee for U.S. Attorney General. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 52-47-1. On issue after issue, Senator Sessions has said that, as Attorney General, he would simply "follow the law." But it is also the duty of our nation's chief law enforcement officer to use his discretion to choose when to enforce the law and when to stand up to the … Continue Reading
February 08, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Demand Answers About Outrageous Price Hike For Lifesaving Anti-Opioid Drug
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are among a group of 31 Senators that are demanding answers from a leading pharmaceutical company about the dramatic price hike for a life-saving medication used to respond to opioid overdoses. Recent reports unveiled that drug maker Kaléo Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures an easy-to-use injector device containing the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, raised its price from $690 in 2014, to $4,500 currently. … Continue Reading
February 08, 2017
Durbin: Sen. Sessions’ Record On Voting Rights Should Not Be Whitewashed
WASHINGTON-Following Senate Republicans' move to silence the words of the late Coretta Scott King in the Senate chamber last night, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today underscored the importance of reviewing the civil rights record of President Donald Trump's Attorney General nominee in the context of recent state efforts aimed at making it more difficult for minority communities to vote. Durbin also noted that Republicans delayed the confirmation of Loretta Lynch, a long-time Justice Department … Continue Reading
February 08, 2017
Senators Meet With Baltic And Polish Ambassadors To Discuss Russian Aggression In The Region
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jack Reed (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) met today with Lithuanian Ambassador to the U.S. Rolandas Kriš?i?nas, Latvian Ambassador to the U.S. Andris Teikmanis, Estonian Ambassador to the U.S. Eerik Marmei, and Polish Ambassador to the U.S. Piotr Wilczek, to discuss Russian aggression in the region, the importance of maintaining transatlantic unity, and support for NATO and … Continue Reading
February 08, 2017
Durbin Joins Group Of 27 Senators To Reintroduce Family Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and 25 other senators to reintroduce the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, or FAMILY Act, legislation that would create a universal, gender-neutral paid family and medical leave program. "Your bank account balance should not determine your ability to care for a loved one when illness strikes. Yet for millions of Americans, caring for an elderly parent or sick child means losing a day's wages, or … Continue Reading
February 07, 2017
Durbin: Sessions Is Not The Right Person To Stand Up To President Trump
WASHINGTON - As the Senate debates the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to be U.S. Attorney General, Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor about why he cannot support Sessions becoming the country's chief law enforcement officer. Durbin stressed the need for an independent Attorney General and questioned Sessions' ability to stand up to President Trump if his actions are unlawful. In light of the Attorney General's vast authority and discretion over how the … Continue Reading
February 07, 2017
Durbin Meets With OSF Healthcare To Discuss Damaging Impact Of Health Care Repeal On Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Robert Sehring, Chief Operating Officer of OSF Healthcare System, to discuss Congressional Republicans' efforts to repeal health care without any replacement plan and the impact this would have on OSF's hospitals and providers across Illinois. During the meeting, Durbin and Mr. Sehring also discussed how the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs contribute to premium increases and place a substantial burden on hospitals statewide. … Continue Reading
February 07, 2017
Durbin Opposes Betsy DeVos As Education Secretary
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin issued the following statement after voting against Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education. DeVos was confirmed by a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote. "More than 50 years ago, Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law, guaranteeing every child a free and equal, quality public education. By confirming Betsy DeVos, Senate Republicans have entrusted our children's success to an … Continue Reading
February 06, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Announce More Than $4 Million In Federal Funding For Rural Community Development In Southern Illinois
CHICAGO - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $4,198,600 in federal funding for projects in Clay, Crawford, Edgar, Marion, Moultrie, Richland, and Pulaski Counties to support rural community development projects. Today's funding, provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Community Development Initiative Grant, will provide assistance to benefit public safety, water infrastructure, local VFWs, mental health facilities, and more. "This … Continue Reading
February 06, 2017
Durbin to Oppose Nomination of Scott Pruitt to Lead EPA
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that he will oppose the nomination of Scott Pruitt to become the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Halting the catastrophic effects of climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. But instead of debating the best way to do it, President Trump and his EPA nominee want to debate whether or not the science itself is real. In fact, Scott Pruitt has spent much of his career in office working to … Continue Reading
February 03, 2017
Senators To Mattis: President Trump’s Muslim Ban Degrades Our Ability To Defeat ISIS, Undermines Our National Security
WASHINGTON - As Secretary of Defense James Mattis begins a thirty-day, government-wide review of the United States' existing strategy to defeat ISIS, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) pressed him to assess the impact of President Trump's Muslim ban on the U.S. strategy to defeat ISIS and our broader national security interests. Prior to this executive order, the sixty-six nation coalition dedicated to defeating … Continue Reading
February 02, 2017
Durbin: President Trump’s First Days Show America Needs An Independent Supreme Court
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. After dozens of legal immigrants were detained at airports over the weekend solely because of their country of origin and Monday's unprecedented firing of an Attorney General for refusing to defend President Trump's unlawful executive order in court, President Trump moved up his Supreme Court announcement to try to … Continue Reading
February 02, 2017
Durbin Hosts Illinois Members At Delegation Luncheon
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today hosted members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation at the first Illinois Congressional Delegation Luncheon of the 115th Congress. Started by the late U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon, the Illinois Delegation Luncheon has been held regularly in Washington, D.C. at no expense to the federal taxpayer for more than 25 years. A photo of today's luncheon is available here. The luncheon today was attended by 11 members of the Illinois Congressional … Continue Reading
February 01, 2017
Durbin Opposes Confirmation of Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after voting against Rex Tillerson, President Trump's nominee for Secretary of State: Election Day 2016 is a day that will live in cyber infamy-the result of a hostile foreign power intentionally attacking our democracy to influence the outcome of the presidential election. I have said repeatedly that this act of cyber warfare must not go unanswered, so I was deeply disturbed that Mr. Tillerson showed so little … Continue Reading
February 01, 2017
Durbin Meets With STB In Support Of Elgin O’Hare Western Access Project
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) Member and former Chairman Daniel Elliot to express his support for the Illinois Tollway's petition to the STB regarding their ongoing dispute with Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) over the Elgin O'Hare Western Access (EOWA) project. The project creates new western road access to O'Hare International Airport along with a new western bypass around the airport. "Years in the making, the EOWA … Continue Reading