Durbin, Kirk, Costello, Shimkus Urge President to Include Levees in Efforts to Improve National Infrastructure

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Congressmen Jerry Costello (D-IL) and John Shimkus (R-IL) sent a letter to President Obama urging him to include levees and water infrastructure improvements in efforts to improve the nation's infrastructure. Noting the President's recent emphasis on infrastructure development as a key component in economic growth, they reinforced the need to include repairing and improving America's levees as a part of this pr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Lautenberg ask MLB Commissioner to Ban Tobacco Use

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Citing the recent announcement by Washington Nationals pitcher Steven Strasburg about the dangers of smokeless tobacco in Major League Baseball (MLB), U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) today called on the Commissioner of the MLB, Bud Selig, and the MLB Players Association to ban the use of tobacco products on the field, in the dugout, and in the locker rooms at MLB venues. "It has been 28 years since the MLB ended tobacco use in its mino… Continue Reading

Durbin Expresses Support For Cape Air

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today expressed his support for Cape Air's application to provide long-term service at Quincy Regional Airport that would likely lead to the airline moving maintenance and other associated work to the region - a prospect that could add good paying jobs to Western Illinois. Late last week, the City of Quincy Aeronautics Committee voted unanimously to support Cape Air's proposal and the Mayor of Quincy, John Spring, relayed that support i… Continue Reading

Durbin Continues to Set the Record Straight on Interchange Fees

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the American Bankers Association today, a week after it penned a letter to its membership and to members of Congress which continued the banking industry's practice of misleading, distorting, and using scare tactics when discussing the new interchange law. The Durbin-authored law directed the Federal Reserve to establish standards to ensure that debit interchange fees are "reasonable and proportional" to th… Continue Reading

Durbin: President Obama's Budget Will Help Create Jobs and Put Us On a Path Towards Reducing Our Debt

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) said the budget that President Obama delivered makes tough choices to get us back on a stable financial footing while investing in programs that encourage Americans to out-build, out-educate and out-innovate our rivals. Durbin, a member of the President's bipartisan fiscal commission, has been working with Senators from both parties to develop a responsible plan for reducing our debts in the future while promoting desperate… Continue Reading

Durbin: VA Suspends GI Bill Benefits From Some For-Profit Colleges

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today asked the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a list of colleges and universities from which it has suspended or withdrawn GI Bill and education benefits after discovering questionable recruiting practices used by these institutions. In a response to a December 2010 letter from Durbin, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki explained that the VA had taken these measures after compiling information about erroneous, deceptive or misleading practi… Continue Reading

Durbin To Announce Nominees for Service Academies

[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the names of young men and women whom he has nominated to attend the nation's four service academies."I look forward to announcing my service academy nominations every year because the young men and women are some of their generation's most promising leaders in the State of Illinois," Durbin said. "This year's group meets that standard. I have no doubt that they will serve their country honorably and make their families proud."The a… Continue Reading

Durbin to Chair New Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights Subcommittee

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) made the following statement today after Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) announced the creation of the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights Subcommittee and named Durbin as its Chairman: "Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt reminds us that many will risk their lives for the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. As Chairman of this subcommittee, I will do my best to honor the Constitution wi… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces New Legislation to Ensure Long-Term Viability of Unemployment Insurance Program

[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - To ensure that Illinois and other cash-strapped states are able to continue providing a critical lifeline to struggling families as they search for work, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced today that he will introduce legislation in the Senate this week to revamp the unemployment insurance program and ensure its long-term solvency. The Unemployment Insurance Solvency Act will solidify the program's finances while giving states greater flexibility in managing the… Continue Reading

Durbin Praises Record Breaking Attempt of Lincoln "Farewell Address" Reading

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) commended the efforts of organizers in Springfield, Illinois who are kicking off the national Civil War Sesquicentennial observation by reading President Abraham Lincoln's "Farewell Address" on the 150th anniversary of its original delivery. In a statement submitted for the record in the U.S. Senate, Durbin said: "I urge my fellow Senators to join me in recognizing the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's first inauguration, even… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on the Situation in Egypt

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned, handing power to Vice President Omar Suleiman and Egypt's military: "For more than two weeks, tens of thousands of Egyptians have been peacefully calling for a voice in choosing a representative government. Today, with the departure of Mubarak, those calls have been heard. Egypt's future is now in the hands of the Egyptian people. … Continue Reading

Durbin and Kirk Statement on Five-Day Delay of O'Hare Lawsuit

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk (R-IL) today released a statement following an announcement that a five-day delay has been approved in the lawsuit that United Airlines and American Airlines against the City of Chicago. The agreement to ask for a delay was reached during meetings between representatives of the airlines and city officials. "Today's agreement on a temporary delay of the lawsuit is a positive development in the negotiations between the City of … Continue Reading

Durbin Announces More Than $600,000 in FEMA Grant Funding 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 six grants totaling $638,587 to fire departments and municipalities throughout Illinois. "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 tools possibl… Continue Reading

Durbin and Kirk Statement on the O'Hare Modernization Program Meeting in Washington

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk (R-IL) today released a statement following a meeting between United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek, American Airlines CEO Gerard Arpey, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "After meeting with the CEOs of United Airlines and American Airlines two weeks ago, we felt confident that there was room for common ground in the dispute over the O'Hare Modernization Program. We asked the airli… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $360,000 in Funding to Accelerate Implementation of Electronic Health Records

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $360,000 in funding to the Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center, located at Northern Illinois University, to provide support and assistance to hospitals so they can quickly implement electronic health records systems. The funding will be distributed to 60 Illinois hospitals and rural health centers around the state - each facil… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces $840,000 in USDA Funding to Create Jobs in Mattoon

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $100,000 in grant and $740,000 in loan funding to the Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative, located in Mattoon, Illinois, through the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. The Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative intends to use today's funding for the modernization and renovation of the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center hospital, a… Continue Reading

Durbin Asks for Meeting With Consumer Product Safety Chairman to Discuss Faulty Pool Drain Covers

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Prompted by a Chicago Tribune investigation, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Inez Tenenbaum, to request a meeting to discuss existing rules and regulations regarding pool safety, specifically steps taken to prevent entrapments due to pool and spa drains and drain covers. "The issues highlighted by the Tribune story are very concerning and raise serious questions, not only about dangerou… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Administration Plan to Reform the Housing Market

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the Obama Administration announced a plan to dramatically reform the nation's housing markets and to end Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government controlled financing agencies: "The Administration's proposal for reforming America's housing finance market is the right step and one that is desperately needed. But two years after the housing market collapsed and plunged the nat… Continue Reading

Senators Call on VA to Stop Dragging Its Feet in Getting Family Caregivers Critical Benefits

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and 16 other Senators from both sides of the aisle, in writing to Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Jack Lew, to urge the Administration to carry out the law and begin providing supportive services to caregivers of wounded veterans. The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Heal… Continue Reading

Illinois and Missouri Delegation Members Press VA on Quality Control at John Cochran VAMC

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - After learning that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) suspended all surgeries at the John Cochran Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Louis, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) joined members of the Illinois and Missouri Congressional Delegations in asking the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain the circumstances surrounding this latest potential equipment contamination. Other Members of Congr… Continue Reading