World Water Day

Yesterday, countries around the world celebrated World Water Day. This is a day to celebrate the progress we have made protecting this most important resource and to reflect on the many challenges we still face in providing clean, safe water to the world's poor. I was heartened to see that Secretary of State Clinton spoke at the National Geographic World Water Day event on Monday. She and others at the Department of State and USAID are doing a great job stepping up U.S. leadership on… Continue Reading

Durbin: Senate Approves Durbin Amendment to Study Partnerships Between Air and Rail Travel

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - The U.S. Senate today approved an amendment authored by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study ways to increase coordination between air and passenger rail travel. Durbin's amendment was approved as part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act. The amendment specifically identifies codeshare agreements as one way that airlines and… Continue Reading

Latinos and Healthcare Reform

Senator Dick Durbin March 19, 2010 Latinos and Healthcare Reform Prepared Remarks In March of 1927-over 80 years ago-one of the greatest civil rights leaders was born. Cesar Chavez had the rarest kind of courage-moral courage-and he had great faith in the promise of America. During times like this, it is good to ask ourselves: "What would Cesar Chavez say if he were here today?" I think he would be encouraged to see how far we have come in bridging some of the old racial divi… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More than $15 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Rural Water Projects in Illinois

[WASHINGTON, D.C] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $15,700,500 in loans and grants funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for four rural Illinois water system improvement projects. Today's announcement is part of a nationwide announcement of $159 million in funding for water and environmental projects that will help provide safe drinking water and protect the environment in r… Continue Reading

Durbin, Other Senators Press Commonwealth Nations on Case of Missing Journalist

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter today to Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Nations, urging him to launch an investigation into the case of Chief Ebrima Manneh, a Gambian journalist who has been held incommunicado and without charge for almost four years. "Mr. Manneh's disappearance and the Gambian Government's ongoing refusal to account for his whereabouts are in direct contradiction of the strong human rights… Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Bipartisan Group of Senators in Effort to Resolve Issues with FEMA Flood Maps

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led a bipartisan group of Senators in calling for a coordinated effort to resolve issues with regard to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)'s Flood Map Modernization Program. In a letter to the Administrator of FEMA, Craig Fugate, and the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Senators asked for a meeting to discuss concerns expressed by constituents including: a lack of communication,… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Legislation to Stem the "Brain Drain" of Health Care Workers from World's Poorest Nations

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Global Healthcare Cooperation Act¸ a bill designed to stem the "brain drain" of skilled healthcare workers who emigrate from developing countries to the United States. The bill will also bolster the ranks of healthcare workers serving in developing countries by enabling American legal permanent residents to assist with overseas public health emergencies. "The brain drain of talented health care… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More than $350,000 in FEMA Grants to Illinois Fire Departments

[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 6 grants totaling $353,282 to fire departments throughout Illinois for operations and safety. "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens," Durbin said. "As these brave men and women put themselves in harm's way, we must ensure that they are equipped with the best too… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces a More than $600,000 VA Grant for Quincy Veterans Facility

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a $643,500 grant to the State of Illinois. This funding will be used to assist the construction of a bus and ambulance garage at the State Veterans Home in Quincy, Illinois. The Quincy State Veterans Home, founded in 1886, is the largest and oldest of Illinois' Veterans Homes. The Home provides a broad range of facilities and services including… Continue Reading

Durbin, Specter Bill Seeks to Get Fugitives Off the Street

[Washington, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL.) and Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), have introduced legislation that seeks to increase the number of State and local fugitives who are arrested and prosecuted. The Fugitive Information Networked Database Act of 2010 (FIND Act) is designed to coordinate state and local data on warrants into the national database, increase the number of extraditions of fugitives caught in other states and to ascertain whether pretrial… Continue Reading

Durbin: New Report Shows Foreclosure Crisis Has Rising Impact on Middle Class

[CHICAGO, IL] - More homeowners across Chicago find themselves at risk of foreclosure as property values drop and families struggle with unemployment, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today at a news conference to release National People's Action's 2009 Chicago Foreclosure Report. "Foreclosures are no longer being driven primarily by predatory lending," Durbin said. "Most of those homes, sadly, are already gone. The crisis has now evolved into an 'underwater' problem and an unemploy… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More Than $1 Million in Grant Funding for Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport

[WASHINGTON, DC] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded a $1,079,000 grant to the Springfield Airport Authority. This funding will be used to acquire new land for aircraft approaches, rehabilitate a runway, and improve safety and security at the Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois. "The Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is a critical transportation link for the Springfield area," sa… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces a More than $10,000 FEMA Grant for Addison Fire Protection

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has awarded a $10,563 grant to the Addison Fire Protection District #1 in Addison, Illinois for fire prevention and safety. "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens," Durbin said. "As these brave men and women put themselves in harm's way, we must ensure that they are equipped with t… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Nearly $550,000 in FEMA Grants to Illinois Fire Department

[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 12 grants totaling $543,216 to fire departments and municipalities throughout Illinois for operations and safety. "Our nation's firefighters are called upon day after day to protect America's citizens," Durbin said. "As these brave men and women put themselves in harm's way, we must ensure that they are equipp… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Reports Durbin's Fair Sentencing Act

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - A bipartisan bill to curtail the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine was unanimously reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee today by a vote of 19-0. The Fair Sentencing Act, introduced by Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) was amended by the Judiciary Committee and will reduce the current 100:1 sentencing disparity to roughly 20:1. "Drug use is a serious problem in America and we need tough legislation to combat it. But i… Continue Reading

Durbin: Senate Approves Legislation that Would Bring $600 Million in Medicaid Assistance to Illinois

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the United States Senate approved legislation that would bring an additional $600 million in funding for the Medicaid program in Illinois. The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 would extend the increased Medicaid federal match rate - or federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) - made available to states under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The bill will now be s… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets with Blommington-Normal Officials to Discuss Economic Development Priorities

[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today met with leaders from the Bloomington-Normal area who were in Washington, DC as part of the fourth annual One Voice trip. Durbin and members of the group discussed the region's economic development and federal funding priorities for 2011. "One Voice does a great job of coming together to promote a unified agenda for the entire Bloomington-Normal region," said Durbin. "I was happy to meet with members of the group today and look forward… Continue Reading

Durbin, Costello: Time for Federal Government to Take Responsibility and Fully Assess Risk of Metro East Flood

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello (D-IL) today called on the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Craig Fugate, and the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Jo-Ellen Darcy to produce information that led to the determination that levees in the Metro East area could not be certified. Both Fugate and Darcy pledged to investigate the recent lack of information, work with local officials to assemble an adequate amount of… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $750,000 in Recovery Act Funding for Rock Island Disaster Recovery

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has invested $750,000 in the Bi-State Regional Commission's Disaster Recovery Project, which operates in Rock Island, Illinois. This investment, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will create a new revolving loan fund to serve small businesses in Mercer County, Illinois, and Muscatine County, Iowa and is expected to create 64 jobs and… Continue Reading

Durbin: Insurance Company Premiums--and Profits--Soar at Families' Expense

[CHICAGO, IL] - Illinoisans are facing up to a 60 percent increase in health insurance premiums this year at the same time that insurance companies are benefiting from some of the highest profits in their history, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said today a news conference to highlight the need for healthcare reform."Families are facing skyrocketing costs," Durbin said. "Emergency rooms are overflowing. Health centers are struggling to meet the increasing demand. Yet insurance companies continue to ra… Continue Reading