Press Releases
Durbin Statement On Rauner And Trump Administrations' Delay On Notifying Public About Sterigenics Risk
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Chicago Tribune published a story that details how Governor Bruce Rauner's Administration, along with the Trump Administration, chose to not inform the public of serious cancer risks associated with emissions from the Sterigenics plant in Willowbrook, Illinois, for at least eight months after it learned of the risks: This is a downright disgrace. Once again, the Rauner and Trump Administrations prioritize… Continue Reading
10.25.18
Durbin Highlights Key Provisions Included In Major Opioid Legislation Signed Into Law
CHICAGO - Following President Trump's signing of a major legislative package to confront the opioid epidemic, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sat down with advocates and health professionals to discuss key provisions in the bill and what more needs to be done. The legislation, named the SUPPORT for Patients and Families Act, includes several Durbin provisions to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. "Our nation is in the midst of the wors… Continue Reading
10.23.18
Durbin, Leahy, Feinstein, Sanders Call On President Trump To Condemn Murder Of Jamal Khashoggi, Begin Restoring America's Moral Standing Internationally
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee Ranking Member; Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman; Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member; and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member today pressed President Donald Trump to begin restoring America's moral standing by forcefully, without equivocation, condemning Jamal Khashoggi's murder and indicating there will… Continue Reading
10.22.18
Durbin Calls For Expulsion Of Saudi Ambassador
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called for the expulsion of the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid bin Salman, son of King Salman of Saudi Arabia and the younger brother of the Crown Prince, until the completion of a credible third party investigation into the disappearance and murder of noted journalist and critic of the Saudi government, Jamal Khashoggi. On Friday, Saudi Arabia confirmed for the first time that Jamal Khashoggi died in the kingd… Continue Reading
10.18.18
Durbin, Murray, Senators Urge Social Security Administration To Provide Data Needed For Gainful Employment
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today pressed the Social Security Administration (SSA) to enter into a new data sharing agreement with the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to allow the development of debt-to-earnings (D/E) rates under the gainful employment rule. Under the rule, ED is required to use mean and median earnings data generated by SSA to calculate D/E rates. The previou… Continue Reading
10.17.18
Durbin, Duckworth Press For Full Disclosure Of Trump Family Business Ties In Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) and eight other Senate Democrats, wrote to President Donald Trump and to the Trump Organization seeking a full accounting of any financial ties between the Trump Organization and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Senators' letters follow the disappearance and reported killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a resident of the United States and Washington Post journalist, whose whereabouts have … Continue Reading
10.17.18
Durbin Calls On Secretary Devos To Implement & Enforce Obama-Era Borrower Defense Rule
SPRINGFIELD - Upon the Obama-era Borrower Defense rule taking effect, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) called on Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to expeditiously implement and enforce the rule-including provisions providing automatic closed schools discharges to thousands of eligible students and prohibiting schools from using mandatory arbitration. The rule took effect following rulings by a federal judge that the Trump-DeVos Department of Education's delay was illegal and den… Continue Reading
10.16.18
Durbin Presses EPA To Limit Harmful Pollution From Meat-Processing Plants
SPRINGFIELD - Following recent reports by the Environmental Integrity Project and the Chicago Tribune that show that a JBS-owned pork-processing plant in Beardstown, Illinois, released 1,849 pounds of nitrogen a day, on average, into a tributary to the Illinois River, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to thoroughly review its Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Meat and Poultry Products and set new, stricter standards t… Continue Reading
10.15.18
Durbin Statement On JBS Pork-Processing Plant Pollution In Beardstown
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding a Chicago Tribune story that reported a Beardstown, Illinois pork-processing plant, owned by JBS, discharged more nitrogen from animal waste into Illinois waterways than any other slaughterhouse in the country last year: The details outlined in the Chicago Tribune story aren't the first reports we've read on the reckless polluting occurring from this particular plant. Recent reports have stated that… Continue Reading
10.15.18
Durbin Statement On HHS Announcement To Require Disclosure Of Prescription Drug Prices In TV Ads
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcement to issue regulations requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. In November 2017, Durbin introduced the Drug-price Transparency in Communications (DTC) Act that would require the pharmaceutical industry to provide more transparency about the cost of drugs in their advertisem… Continue Reading
10.14.18
Durbin Statement On Disappearance Of Saudi Critic Jamal Khashoggi
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin should cancel his participation in the Saudi investor conference and it's long overdue that the Trump Administration nominate a U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement regarding the disappearance of noted journalist and critic of the Saudi government, Jamal Khashoggi. Yesterday, Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Ambassador to the United States, called Durbin directly fro… Continue Reading
10.12.18
Senate Passes Durbin, Duckworth Resolution Honoring Illinois' Bicentennial
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced today that a resolution celebrating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the State of Illinois has unanimously passed the Senate. The resolution honors and celebrates the State of Illinois and the Illinoisans who have participated in cultivating the rich history of the State. December 3, 2018, will mark the 200th anniversary of the State of Illinois' admittance as the 21st State to the Union. "From president… Continue Reading
10.12.18
Durbin, Boozman, Senators Press President Trump On Decision To Continue Providing Assistance To Countries That Use Child Soldiers
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Boozman (R-AR), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today pressed President Donald Trump for information regarding his recent decision to invoke troublingly broad waivers for continued United States military assistance to countries that use child soldiers-assistance prohibited under the Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2008, which was originally introduced by Durbin and … Continue Reading
10.11.18
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Durbin-Graham Bipartisan Election Interference Bill
WASHINGTON-The Senate Judiciary Committee today unanimously approved the bipartisan Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act, which will prevent foreign regimes from exploiting our immigration laws to advance their efforts to undermine our democracy. Introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in April, this bill will make "improper interference in U.S. elections" a ground of inadmissibility and deportability under U.S. immigration law, and … Continue Reading
10.11.18
Durbin Calls On President Trump And Republicans To Get Tough On Combating Climate Change
WASHINGTON - Following the release of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (UN IPCC) report on Monday, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on President Trump and Congressional Republicans to take immediate action to limit human-induced global warming. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also urged President Trump to rethink his decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement. "Last year, President Trump decided that the United States would step away from th… Continue Reading
10.11.18
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Nominations Of Matha Pacold, Mary Rowland, & Steven Seeger To Serve As U.S. District Judges For Northern District Of Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nominations of Martha M. Pacold, Mary M. Rowland, and Steven C. Seeger to serve as District Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago: "We are pleased that the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced these three Illinoisans. They have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to serve … Continue Reading
10.10.18
Durbin, Blumenthal, Brown, Warren, Hassan Press Secretary Devos To Respond To Troubling Findings At For-Profit Colleges By Accreditor
WASHINGTON-Following the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges' (ACCSC) decision to place for-profit Center for Excellence in Higher Education's (CEHE) Stevens-Henager Colleges, California College San Diego, CollegeAmerica, and Independence University on probation based on a system-wide disregard for addressing the needs of their students, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today pre… Continue Reading
10.10.18
Durbin Meets With HUD Acting Deputy Inspector General About Ongoing Investigations Into Cairo Housing Crisis
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Acting Deputy Inspector General Jeremy Kirkland to receive an update on HUD's Office of Inspector General's (OIG) ongoing investigation into alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by former Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA) officials. The investigation has lasted for more than two years. A photo from today's meeting is available here. "It has been more t… Continue Reading
10.09.18
Durbin Supports Baldwin Resolution To Overturn Trump Administration's "Junk" Health Insurance Plans
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on his Republican colleagues to support Senator Tammy Baldwin's (D-WI) resolution to protect patients with pre-existing conditions by overturning the Trump Administration's expansion of "junk" health insurance plans. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration finalized a rule that would return the health care system to the dark days when insurance companies could refuse to cover people with pre-existing conditions and raise premiums sig… Continue Reading
10.06.18
Durbin Votes Against Judge Kavanaugh, President Trump's Nominee To The Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. In a speech on the Senate floor shortly before the confirmation vote, Durbin thanked Dr. Christine Blasey Ford for her bravery and shining example of civic duty. Durbin also urged those who have bravely shared their own stories of sexual violence and harassment to not be discouraged and to know that t… Continue Reading