Durbin, Reed, Blumenthal, Warren: Congress Should End Loophole That Encourages For-Profit Colleges to Target Veterans & Servicemembers

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today introduced legislation in the Senate that would help put an end to the for-profit industry's predatory marketing campaigns and aggressive recruiting of veterans, servicemembers and their families. The Protecting Our Students and Taxpayers (POST) Act would prohibit for-profit colleges and universities from receiving more than 85% of their revenue from the federal g… Continue Reading

Grassley, Durbin Push for H-1B, L-1 Visa Reforms

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin, Assistant Democratic Leader, today are introducing bipartisan legislation that would reform the H-1B visa program, consistent with Congress's original intent, by ensuring that qualified American workers are given the first opportunity at high-skilled job opportunities. The legislation makes reforms to increase enforcement, modify wage requirements and ensure protection for American workers as w… Continue Reading

Durbin Honors Illinois World War II Veteran & POW on the Senate Floor

[WASHINGON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate Floor to honor a Skokie, Illinois veteran, Tony Gargano, who served with the United States Navy during World War II and spent three years as a prisoner of war. Tony and his family connected with Durbin's office after he visited Washington, DC, with Honor Flight Chicago last month. During that trip, Tony also shared his story with the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, a program that collects the personal a… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on 5th Circuit Ruling Against Immigrant Children & Families

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling to uphold an injunction against President Obama's executive actions for immigration last year: Republicans, who have a majority in the House and Senate, refuse to even consider legislation to fix our broken immigration system. Instead, they file lawsuits to stop the President from using his authority to make these limited reforms. The Supreme Court has been… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More Than $443,000 in Federal Funding to Assist Homeless Veterans in Illinois

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that both the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have awarded a total of $443,453 in grants and vouchers to communities in Illinois that will be used to expand supportive services and housing for Illinois veterans. "Last night, in Illinois alone, more than 1,200 homeless veterans were on the street. This country can do better-and must do better-for the brave men a… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Rejection of Keystone XL Pipeline Permit

CHICAGO-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the Obama Administration announced that it would reject the permit for the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline project: "The Senate spent a great deal of time looking at this project, and by every measure it came up short. While the project would have been a boon to one well-connected company in Canada, it wouldn't have moved our country one step closer to energy independence. On top of that, the pipeline posed a t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Madigan Call for Federal Debt Relief for Former Everest College Students

[CHICAGO] - At the invitation of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Joseph Smith, Special Master appointed by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to oversee the federal student debt relief process for former Corinthian students, met today with several students who attended the school's Illinois campuses and remain buried in federal student loan debt. Smith is responsible for advising ED on issues related to Corinthian and will help develop a broader system to… Continue Reading

Durbin: Improving Air Quality at Union Station Must be Top Priority

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new study showing dangerously high levels of air pollution on train platforms at Union Station "The results of the EPA's air quality study are alarming and unacceptable. I will be calling on the EPA to install 24-hour monitoring equipment, which will improve our ability to assess the scope of the problem and possible remedies," Durbin said.… Continue Reading

Durbin, Casey Introduce Senate Bill to Increase Congenital Heart Defect Research

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bob Casey (D-PA) today introduced legislation to reauthorize Durbin's Congenital Heart Futures Act, which expired earlier this year. The bipartisan legislation - introduced in the House today by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) - raises awareness of the continuing impact congenital heart defects have throughout patients' lifespans, promotes more research at NIH, and encourages the development of lifelong, speci… Continue Reading

Durbin: The For-Profit College Model Not Sustainable

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today said that the decline of the for-profit college industry over the last five years has shown that Wall Street is downgrading these for-profit colleges and universities because they believe this model is flawed and can't be sustained. Durbin joined his colleagues - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) - in dis… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Booker, Senators in Calling on CFPB to Protect Formerly Incarcerated from Predatory Prison Prepaid Cards

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and sixteen other Senators in sending a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging them to address the predatory behavior in the prepaid card market that impacts formerly incarcerated people. Other Senators signing on to today's letter include: U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Richard Blume… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $67 Million in HUD Funding for Illinois Housing and Community Development

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that communities in Illinois will receive a total of $67,050,654 in grant funding through four programs administered by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help develop urban communities. "This federal investment will give local development agencies across Illinois the ability to offer affordable housing and homeless assistance to the people in their community who need it most," said Durbin. Community… Continue Reading

Illinois Congressional Delegation Backs Chicago Medical Network as Regional Treatment Center for Ebola Virus

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - The entire Illinois Congressional Delegation urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Chicago Ebola Response Network (CERN) - a network of high-quality volunteer healthcare leaders, practitioners and first responders - as a regional treatment center for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) to enable them to better support the national response to Ebola and access resources for emergency preparedness and biocontamination. "Throughout the Ebola v… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $754K in Federal Funding for UIS Innocence Project

[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the University of Illinois Springfield's Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) has been awarded a $753,958 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. IIP will use the grant funds to perform investigations and DNA testing in additional cases where inmates have a credible claim of innocence, with a particular focus on Latino inmates who have often faced additional barriers to pursuing innocence claims due to language and o… Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Senators Calling for Expanded Availability of Life-Saving Drug on School Campuses

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Nearly one-quarter of high school students have used, sold, or been offered drugs on a school property, and reports of students overdosing on campus are growing in frequency. To better equip emergency personnel on the front lines of this crisis, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) led a group of nine Senators in writing to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell urging the agency to expand the availability of naloxone on school campuses. Today's le… Continue Reading

Durbin & Kirk: Gilmore Confirmed by Senate as U.S. Marshal for Illinois' Northern District

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) today announced that the Senate has unanimously confirmed Edward Gilmore to serve as U.S. Marshal in the Northern District of Illinois. "Through many years of service to Illinois, Edward Gilmore has established a reputation for responsibility and professionalism in the law enforcement community," said Durbin. "He will bring a wealth of knowledge and managerial experience to the position of U.S. Marshal in… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Bipartisan Effort to Save Student Loan Program

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Robert Casey (D-PA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) in a bipartisan letter, cosigned by a majority of the Senate, to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid urging them to take up and pass legislation to reauthorize the Perkins Loan Program. This critical lifeline for many low-income students expired on September 30, despite receiving a unanimous one-year, no-cost e… Continue Reading

Eleven Senators Commend Defense Department for Enforcement Actions Against University of Phoenix

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, eleven U.S. Senators today commend the recent actions by the Department of Defense to enforce its Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Phoenix in order to protect servicemembers and taxpayers. Earlier this month, after its own investigation into allegations raised by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Defense Department placed the University of Phoenix on probation and prohibited the company … Continue Reading

Durbin: Budget Deal Pulls Economy Back from the Brink, Will Allow for Increase in Medical Research Funding

WASHINGTON-Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced his support today for the two-year bipartisan budget agreement in a Senate floor speech. "We have before us a deal that removes the threat of catastrophic sequestration budget cuts for two years and allows our country to meet our financial obligations," said Durbin. "I will support it when it comes to the Senate floor." Durbin announced his support for the deal in a speech on the Senate Floor highlighting the … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Judge's Decision to Require Corinthian Colleges to Pay Restitution

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after learning that a federal district court judge has ordered the bankrupt Corinthian Colleges, Inc. to repay $531 million - including more than $400 million in student loans - to the now-shuttered school's former students. "Corinthian Colleges, Inc. - a for-profit college - defrauded students and taxpayers out of more than $500 million," said Durbin, who was the first to ask for an investigation i… Continue Reading