Press Releases
Durbin Marks 10th Anniversary Of Hadiya Pendleton’s Death, Calls Out Republicans For Attempts To Dismantle Existing Gun Safety Laws
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed outside a park on the South Side when she was only 15 years old. Stressing that gun deaths like Hadiya's are far too common in America, Durbin went on to denounce Republican efforts to weaken gun safety laws. "It was ten years ago roughly when the … Continue Reading
June 06, 2023
Durbin Calls On The Administration To Grant Tps To Recent Venezuelan Migrants
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor urging the Biden Administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for recent Venezuelans fleeing dire conditions in their home country. Last month, Durbin met with opposition leader and former interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaidó, who recently fled Venezuela for his and his young family's safety. Durbin noted the extreme conditions that Venezuelans, including those he recently met in … Continue Reading
June 06, 2023
Durbin, Duckworth, Democratic Members Of Illinois Delegation Again Urge Census Bureau To Correct Illinois Undercount In Its Ongoing Population Estimates
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with the 14 Democratic members of the Illinois delegation, today sent a follow-up letter to U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos urging him to account for the estimated undercount of Illinoisans in the 2020 Decennial Census as the Census Bureau prepares to release its annual Population Estimate. In the Census Bureau's Post-Enumeration Survey (PES) that was released last May, Illinois … Continue Reading
June 06, 2023
Durbin, Whitehouse Statement On Harlan Crow’s Continued Refusal To Provide Key Information Regarding Gifts And Travel Given To Justice Thomas
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, released the following statement after receiving a letter from a law firm representing Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow refusing to share key information regarding gifts and travel given to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The … Continue Reading
June 05, 2023
Durbin, Duckworth, Garcia, Ramirez Announce $8 Million For Rail Safety In Franklin Park
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Representative Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-4), and U.S. Representative Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL-3) today announced $8 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program for Franklin Park, Illinois, to complete project development and final design for a grade separation of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and Kansas City … Continue Reading
June 05, 2023
Durbin, Duckworth, Budzinski Announce $16 Million For Rail Safety In Decatur
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) today announced $16 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program for Decatur, Illinois, to improve rail connectivity by supporting construction activities to upgrade 1.21 miles of Brush College Road. This project will create a new grade separation structure, permanently close two … Continue Reading
June 05, 2023
Durbin, Hospital Leaders Release Year 4 Report on Chicago HEAL Initiative to Address Gun Violence
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined hospital leaders and the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) to unveil the four-year reportof the Chicago HEAL Initiative. Launched in 2018 by Senator Durbin and 10 of the largest hospitals serving Chicago, the HEAL Initiative is a collaboration to address the root causes of gun violence through economic, health, and community projects in 18 of Chicago’s neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence, poverty, and health … Continue Reading
June 02, 2023
Durbin, Kelly, Duckworth Introduce Bicameral “Wear Orange” Resolution In Observance Of National Gun Violence Awareness Month
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), along with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), introduced theWear Orange Resolution, which supports the designation of June 2, 2023, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and June 2023 as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month." Each year, more than 43,000 people in the United States are killed, and 76,000 are injured by gun violence. June … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin Votes For Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Agreement To Avoid First Ever Default On Our Nation’s Debt
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act-preventing the first-ever default on our national debt. The legislation now heads to the President's desk for his signature. "Thankfully, Congress has once again performed its constitutional duty and prevented a first-ever default on our national debt. Defaulting on our national debt is … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin Statement On Senate Vote To Overturn President Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate voted in favor of H.J. Resolution 45, which would overturn President Biden's student debt relief plan to cancel up to $10,000 for non-Pell-eligible borrowers and up to $20,000 for Pell-eligible borrowers: "Tens of millions of Americans are plagued by student loan debt. Working families, particularly in communities of color, are buried in so much student debt that they can't … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Ahead Of Debt Limit Vote, Durbin Continues To Call For Closure Of Guantanamo Bay
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about the importance of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Durbin began his speech by highlighting the unnecessary cost Guantanamo Bay has forced American taxpayers to fund. During his speech, Durbin called out Republicans for their message of "fiscal responsibility" ahead of the debt limit vote, but their unwillingness to close Guantanamo Bay, which … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin: Senate Must Quickly Pass Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Agreement To Avoid First Ever Default On Our Nation’s Debt
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today urged his colleagues to perform their constitutional duties by quickly passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act and preventing a first-ever default on our national debt. The bipartisan agreement avoids a default on our national debt, maintains funding for clean energy incentives, protects student debt relief for millions of borrowers, and beats back … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin Urges Military Leaders To Extend Recruitment Efforts To DACA Recipients
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today participated in a Subcommittee hearing entitled "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request for the National Guard and Reserve." During the hearing, Durbin questioned the witness, General Daniel R. Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, on the Guard's recruitment efforts as the military as a whole faces recruitment and retention issues and … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Bipartisan Bill To Protect Children From Online Sexual Exploitation
WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the REPORT Act, a bipartisan bill by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) that would strengthen the CyberTipline run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to report online child sexual exploitation, which received over 32 million reports last year. On today's vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: "I've said since the … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin Urges FDA To Address Shortage Of Life-Saving Drugs For Cancer Patients
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to use the Agency's authority to immediately address the ongoing shortage of critical cancer drugs that are threatening the lives of patients nationwide. In the letter, Durbin cites two chemotherapy drugs, carboplatin and cisplatin, that are used to successfully treat hundreds of thousands of cancer patients each year in the United States. Both of these … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin: Putin’s Legacy Will Be A War Criminal And A Failed Leader Who Weakened Russia
WASHINGTON - Following Memorial Day, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor highlighting democratic nations' commitment to defend peace and freedom as Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war in Ukraine continues. Durbin said, "On Memorial Day, we remember those who gave their lives for this country. And on this Memorial Day, we were reminded, once again, that the struggle to defend freedom is never over. The peace and … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin: Not Paying Our Bills Will Result In A Loss Of Trust In The Stability In The United States
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today spoke on the Senate floor highlighting the need to avert a debt ceiling crisis so the United States remains a stable, global leader. During his speech, Durbin addressed Senator Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) call for even higher defense spending than what is specified in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a bipartisan deal on the debt ceiling that … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Department Of Transportation For Implementing Key Provisions Of Their Protecting Roadside First Responders Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for implementing a key provision of their Protecting Roadside First Responders Act by proposing a rule to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) on all new light and heavy vehicles. The provision, which was passed in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aims to reduce the number of traffic fatalities and injuries. … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin, Menendez, Booker Lead Oversight Effort To Hold Companies Accountable For Contracting With Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. Which Unlawfully Employed Migrant Child Labor
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), alongside several Senate colleagues, sent letters to nine companies that contracted with Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. (PSSI), which the Department of Labor (DOL) found was unlawfully employing migrant child labor at these host companies' facilities. In the letters, the Senators asked each host company to describe the changes to … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Immigrant Workers, Agriculture, And Need For Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "From Farm to Table: Immigrant Workers Get the Job Done." The hearing highlighted how immigrant workers are essential to put food on our tables, the need for immigration reform to help American farms and businesses, and the importance of protections and fair wages for both domestic and immigrant workers. Durbin … Continue Reading