Press Releases
Durbin, Duckworth Help Introduce Health Care Bill Of Rights
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Jeff Merkley and 14 of their Senate Democratic colleagues to introduce a new resolution supporting a "health care bill of rights" for all Americans. Durbin and Duckworth introduced the health care bill of rights on the first day of oral arguments in Texas v. United States-a lawsuit brought by 18 Republican states Attorneys General, and endorsed by President Trump's Administration, that seeks to elimin… Continue Reading
07.09.19
Durbin Statement on Trump Administration Lawsuit Against The Affordable Care Act
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the first day of oral arguments in Texas v. United States-a lawsuit brought by 18 Republican state attorney generals, and endorsed by President Trump's Administration, that seeks to eliminate the entire Affordable Care Act, including important protections for people with pre-existing conditions. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 20 million Americans gained health insurance - including more than … Continue Reading
07.09.19
On All-Star Game Day, Durbin Continues Push For Fan Safety At MLB Parks
WASHINGTON-Today, in a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) urged Major League Baseball (MLB) to require extended protective netting to the right and left field corners at all 30 major league ballparks. Durbin also thanked the MLB teams, including the Chicago White Sox, who proactively announced netting extensions this year. "The increasing number of fans hit by balls makes it clear that new safety standards are needed at ballparks. This week, we will all see Major League… Continue Reading
07.08.19
Illinois Congressional Delegation Urges USDA To Support State's Request For Disaster Declaration
WASHINGTON - The entire Illinois Congressional Delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue supporting Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's request for a disaster declaration from the USDA for eligible counties in Illinois impacted by significant damage done to crops by ongoing flooding since March 2019. This season has been the second-wettest spring on record for Illinois-and the wettest in 30 years-with the State receiving 16.36 inches through late May. … Continue Reading
07.03.19
Durbin Calls On Congress To Protect And Strengthen The ACA, Not Undermine It
CHICAGO - With health care once again under attack, U.S Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today stood with advocates and individuals who have been helped by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to address the Trump Administration's latest lawsuit seeking to dismantle the health law and call on Congress to strengthen the ACA, not undermine it. Next week, oral arguments will be heard in the case of Texas v. United States-a lawsuit over the constitutionality of the entire ACA. If the Trump Administration and 20… Continue Reading
07.02.19
Durbin, Senators Press Pompeo On Determination To Exclude Saudi Arabia From List Of Countries Known To Recruit & Use Child Soldiers
WASHINGTON-Following a Reuters report that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo excluded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the State Department's list of countries known to recruit and use child soldiers in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, despite State Department experts' findings that should have led to its inclusion on such list, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron W… Continue Reading
06.28.19
Durbin Statement On Senate Vote To Prohibit Funds For Military Operation Against Iran
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today released the following statement after voting for a bipartisan measure to prohibit funds from being used for military operations against Iran without explicit authorization from Congress. Durbin is a cosponsor of this measure. It failed to pass the Senate by a final vote of 50-40. "President Trump's policy, at the direction of Mr. Bolton and Secretary Pompeo, se… Continue Reading
06.28.19
Durbin, Duckworth: Census Should Stay On Schedule, Omit Citizenship Question
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and 26 of their Senate colleagues in calling for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to meet the Administration's previously set deadline of July 1 to begin printing materials for the 2020 Census and move forward without adding a politically motivated question about citizenship. Their call comes a day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration's rationale for addi… Continue Reading
06.28.19
Durbin, Duckworth, Davis, Bustos, LaHood, Bost Urge Air National Guard To Assign Flying Mission To 183d Wing In Springfield
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL-13), Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Darin LaHood (R-IL-18), and Mike Bost (R-IL-12), today sent a letter to the National Guard urging for a flying mission for the 183d Wing of the Illinois Air National Guard in Springfield. In their letter, the members stated that transitioning the 183d back to flying status could be a key component towards reaching the Air Force's goals of incr… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Durbin, Duckworth Demand Trump Administration Reverse Course And Uphold Protections Against Discrimination In Health Care
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and 28 Senate Democrats, denounced the Trump Administration's efforts to allow health care discrimination, which would affect millions of people across the country. A recent rule proposed by the Trump Administration could scale back protections from an Obama-era civil rights law that protects communities who have historically faced discrimination. In a letter to Department of… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Durbin Statement On Senate Passage Of NDAA
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today released the following statement after voting for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a Durbin amendment to speed up the long process that the U.S. Department of Defense has for developing and fielding new weapons systems, as well as proposals to extend lease authorities at Arsenal's, and a streamlining of the honorary… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Decision Regarding Citizenship Question On 2020 Census
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the Supreme Court's ruling on the Trump Administration's request to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census: "Recent revelations have made it clear that the individuals who worked to add a citizenship question to the census were motivated by partisan politics. Today, the Supreme Court recognized that the Trump Administration's stated rationale for adding this question 'seems to ha… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Durbin, Duckworth Urge MLB To Extend Safety Netting To Right And Left Field Corners At All Ballparks
WASHINGTON-After recent incidents of Major League Baseball (MLB) fans being hit by foul balls, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today wrote to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, urging him to push for an extension of the protective netting to the right and left field corners at all 30 major league ballparks. "Clearly, more needs to be done to put the safety of fans first," wrote Durbin and Duckworth. "Players are hitting balls with a velocity of more than 100 miles per h… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Durbin Reintroduces Food Safety Act
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) introduced the Safe Food Act of 2019, which would create a single, independent food safety agency. Currently, food safety oversight is split up among 15 different federal agencies that administer at least 30 laws to regulate food safety. This fragmentation results in a patchwork system where no single voice guides industry, retailers, and consumers. "Our food safety system is fragmented, outdated, and in d… Continue Reading
06.27.19
Durbin Warns Against Another Reckless War In The Middle East
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today warned the Trump Administration against another reckless war in the Middle East. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that the U.S. Constitution is clear that the power to declare war is an explicit power of the Congress. Durbin is a cosponsor of a bipartisan amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which would prohibit … Continue Reading
06.26.19
Durbin Meets With Illinois Department Of Corrections To Discuss Prison Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Rob Jeffreys, Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, and John Wetzel, President of the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA), to discuss the Trump Administration's implementation of the recently-enacted Grassley-Durbin First Step Act, the overuse of solitary confinement, and the need for further criminal justice reform efforts at the state and federal levels. In today's meeting, Durbin also received an aw… Continue Reading
06.26.19
Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos, Underwood Meet With FEMA Acting Administrator Gaynor
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), today met with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Acting Administrator Peter T. Gaynor to push his agency to do everything in its power to help Illinois recover from and prepare for disasters. The members also urged Gaynor to improve the state application process for Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program (PDM) funding. "Illinoi… Continue Reading
06.26.19
Durbin Statement On Senate Passage Of Humanitarian Aid To Southwest Border
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today voted for a bipartisan funding agreement to address the humanitarian crisis that President Donald Trump has created at our southwest border. The bill includes funding to alleviate overcrowding at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities and provide food, supplies, and medical care to mig… Continue Reading
06.25.19
Durbin Meets With Officials From Springfield & Sangamon County in Washington
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) met today with officials from Springfield, Illinois, and Sangamon County to discuss local priorities including the Illinois Air National Guard's 183rd Wing and transportation and infrastructure improvements. Durbin discussed progress on the Springfield Rail Improvement Program (SRIP) and various road and highway improvement projects the city is hoping to get federal support for. "Springfield is my hometown, and it's always great to welcome Mayor La… Continue Reading
06.25.19
Durbin: President Trump Has Created A National Embarrassment At The Border
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, today slammed the Trump Administration for the inhumane conditions at the southwest border and called on the Senate to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin detailed recent press reports that describe detestable and unacceptable conditions at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Clint, Texas, which was holding mo… Continue Reading