Press Releases
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Latest Judiciary Committee Hearing on Judicial Nominations
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Amir Ali, nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia; Judge Melissa DuBose, nominated to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Rhode Island; Judge Sunil Harjani, nominated to be U.S. District Judge forthe Northern District of Illinois; Robert White, nominated to be U.S. … Continue Reading
February 07, 2024
Durbin Discusses Improving Infrastructure With Illinois Transportation Secretary
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Secretary Omer Osman to discuss improving infrastructure in the state. During their meeting, Durbin and Secretary Osman spoke about the Chicago Hub Improvement Program (CHIP), Amtrak’s portfolio of projects to improve Midwest rail via Chicago Union Station (CUS), for which Durbin has repeatedly urged the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to consider for federal … Continue Reading
February 07, 2024
Durbin, Young Introduce Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN) today introduced their Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act, legislation that extends funding forpublic health efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to improve childhood survival rates, prevent premature death and disability, and increase quality of life for the two-and-a-half million Americans living with congenital heart disease (CHD). Heart defects are the … Continue Reading
February 07, 2024
Durbin Statement on Republicans Voting Against Procedural Motion on the Bipartisan National Security Supplemental & Border Security Deal
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today released the following statement after enough Republicans voted against a procedural motion on the bipartisan national security supplemental and border security deal: “I’m profoundly disappointed. We have a problem facing our nation at the border. Republicans challenged us to address it and Democrats worked in good faith to find a bipartisan … Continue Reading
February 07, 2024
Durbin Slams Republicans on their Inability to Support Meaningful Immigration Reform, Address Urgent National Security Needs
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor condemning his Republican colleagues for their failure to help secure the border and provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Taiwan to meet urgent national security and humanitarian needs. Durbin began his speech by highlighting the Senate’s bipartisan national security supplemental agreement that was … Continue Reading
February 06, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Join Great Lakes Lawmakers to Introduce Legislation to Extend Great Lakes Protections
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), both members of the Great Lakes Task Force, joined U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) and additional Great Lakes lawmakers in introducing the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2024, which extends the critical program for another five years through 2031, and increases annual funding levels from $475 million in 2026 to $500 million from 2027 through … Continue Reading
February 06, 2024
Durbin Statement on GAO Report on BOP's Continued Failure to Eliminate Overuse of Solitary Confinement
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report on the Bureau of Prison’s (BOP) use of solitary confinement, also known as restrictive housing, in federal facilities, which Durbin requested: “Solitary confinement must be a last resort, limited to the briefest term and under the least restrictive conditions possible. We know the overuse … Continue Reading
February 06, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Talk Accessibility of Higher ED, Job Training Programs with Illinois Higher Education Leaders
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today spoke with the leaders and members of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA) and the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities (FIICU), which represents 58 Illinois private, nonprofit colleges across the state. During the meetings, Durbin and Duckworth advocated for doubling the maximum Pell Grant and supporting other federal student aid programs to … Continue Reading
February 06, 2024
Durbin Announces U.S. Service Academy Nominations
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the names of 43 individuals whom he has nominated to attend four of the nation’s service academies for the upcoming school year. “Each year, I have the privilege to nominate some of Illinois’ best and brightest young leaders to our nation’s esteemed service academies,” said Durbin. “I know that they will make their families—and our nation—proud as they continue their education and serve our country.” The academies include U.S. … Continue Reading
February 06, 2024
Durbin Meets with Director of Illinois State Police Brendan Kelly
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with Illinois State Police (ISP) Director Brendan Kelly and Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Association (IDEOA) board members. Durbin and the group discussed the importance of continued federal funding for initiatives related to the intersection of drugs, guns, and human trafficking, including funding for the Byrne-JAG federal grant program, which supports state and local drug … Continue Reading
February 06, 2024
Durbin, Cartwright, Nunn Introduce Legislation to Streamline Collection of Educator Workforce Data
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Matthew Cartwright (D-PA-08) and Zach Nunn (R-IA-03) today introduced bicameral and bipartisan legislation to collect demographic data on public school teachers and principals to improve the accuracy of educator workforce data. The Strengthening Educator Workforce Data Act would establish a permanent, national mechanism to collect teacher and principal data at the school district-level to assist in recruitment … Continue Reading
February 05, 2024
Durbin Delivers Floor Speech on the Bipartisan Agreement on the National Security Supplemental and Border Security
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor regarding the bipartisan agreement on the national security supplemental and border security. During his speech, Durbin praised the inclusion of critical aid to Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Taiwan to meet their urgent national security and humanitarian needs. During his speech, Durbin condemned Republicans’ … Continue Reading
February 05, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce Screening Committee, Application Process for Federal District Court in the Central District of Illinois
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that they will begin accepting applications from those interested in serving as a Federal District Court Judge in the Central District of Illinois. The Senators will be assisted by a screening committee whose task is to review and vet District Court candidates and advise the Senators regarding the candidates’ qualifications and fitness for … Continue Reading
February 05, 2024
Durbin Statement on Bipartisan Agreement on the National Security Supplemental and Border Security
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today released the following statement regarding the bipartisan agreement on the national security supplemental and border security: “Our broken immigration system cannot keep up with the unprecedented numbers of refugees coming to our border. We need an orderly process to restore the integrity of our border, which I believe includes a path to … Continue Reading
February 02, 2024
Durbin Visits Chicago Children's Advocacy Center to Discuss Legislation to Crack Down on Online Child Sex Abuse
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today visited Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center (CCAC) to discuss his Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2023 (STOP CSAM Act), which supports victims and increases accountability and transparency for online platforms. This comes following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Durbin led on Wednesday entitled “Big Tech and the Online Child … Continue Reading
February 01, 2024
RECAP: Senate Judiciary Committee Presess Big Tech CEOs on Failures to Protect Kids Online During Landmark Hearing
WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed the CEOs of Discord, Meta, Snap, TikTok, and X on their failures to protect kids from sexual exploitation online. The landmark, bipartisan hearing marked the first time a group of Big Tech CEOs testified about online child sexual exploitation before Congress, including first-time Congressional appearances from the CEOs of Discord, Snap, and X. “I’ve had the honor of serving in the House and Senate, and now as Chair of … Continue Reading
February 01, 2024
Durbin Introduces Bill to Create Interagency Committee to Improve Oversight Over For-Profit College Industry
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), today reintroduced the Proprietary Education Oversight Task Force Act, legislation that will establish an interagency committee tasked with improving coordination of federal oversight of for-profit colleges to ensure that students are not scammed out of an education and into a mountain of debt. The bill would … Continue Reading
January 31, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth, Quigley Discuss Chicago Hub Improvement Project with Union Pacific
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL-05) today met with Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena to discuss the Chicago Hub Improvement Project (CHIP), Amtrak’s multi-phased project to revitalize Chicago Union Station (CUS) and revolutionize Midwest passenger rail. During the meeting, the congressional leaders and Vena spoke about the importance of CHIP to the Midwest, as the project is critical to the … Continue Reading
January 31, 2024
Durbin, Members of the Baltic Freedom Caucus Host Baltic Leaders in the Senate
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) Co-Chair of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, met with Speakers of the Baltic countries and their ambassadors to discuss continued efforts to strengthen U.S. security cooperation with the Baltics, support Ukraine, and defend against increasing Russian and Chinese belligerence. Durbin was joined by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ). The Senators met with Lauri Hussar, President of the Riigikogu of Estonia; … Continue Reading
January 31, 2024
Durbin Talks Infrastructure Improvements with Rock Island Mayor
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Rock Island, Illinois, Mayor Mike Thoms and former U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos to discuss infrastructure improvements in the region. During the meeting, Durbin, Mayor Thoms, and Bustos spoke about Rock Island’s 11th Street Project, which would redesign the street’s four-lane thoroughfare to create a designated bike lane and pedestrian walkway. “My aim is always to bring Illinois communities the resources they need … Continue Reading