Durbin, Duckworth To Pharmacies: How Can Congress Support Efforts To Improve Access To Reproductive Health Care?

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a letter to Rosalind Brew, CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance; Karen Lynch, President and CEO of CVS Health; and Elizabeth "Busy" Burr, Interim CEO of Rite Aid Corporation, commending the pharmacies for publicly committing to seek certification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to dispense medication abortion pills to those with a prescript… Continue Reading

Durbin, Schneider Introduce Legislation To Reduce Gun Violence From Stolen Firearms

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) today introduced bicameral legislation aimed at reducing gun violence by preventing the theft of firearms from federally-licensed gun dealers (FFLs). The Safety Enhancements for Communities Using Reasonable and Effective (SECURE) Firearm Storage Act would address the problem of "smash and grab" gun store burglaries by requiring all firearms to be s… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Senate Judiciary Committee Advancing Nomination Of Lindsay Jenkins To Serve As District Court Judge For The Northern District Of Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Lindsay C. Jenkins' nomination to serve as a District Court Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Based on recommendations made by the screening committee the Senators established in the Northern District, Durbin and Duckworth forwa… Continue Reading

Durbin: Cryptocurrency Rips Off Millions Of Hardworking Americans To The Tune Of Billions Of Dollars

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor highlighting the dangers of cryptocurrency and emphasizing his continued skepticism. During his speech, Durbin outlined the collapse of various crypto firms such as FTX, which imploded and led to the resignation of CEO Sam Bankman-Fried a few months ago. "It's been called 'new money,' 'digital cash,' and even the way of the future. I have another name for it: reckless, predatory, foolish, dangerous. I'm refe… Continue Reading

Durbin, Wicker, Bipartisan Group Of Senators Meet With Ukrainian Prosecutor General

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, hosted Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin to receive an update on Putin's unprovoked war in Ukraine, and specifically on reports of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Russians. Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, and President of Ukraine's Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, were also in attendance. Durbin was joined by Senat… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Meet With President Of Loyola University Chicago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Dr. Mark Reed, President of Loyola University Chicago, to discuss funding for educational institutions in Illinois. The Senators and Dr. Reed also spoke about Loyola University Chicago's efforts to serve low-income students and student of color and boosting federal funds for Pell Grants to mitigate financial barriers for those seeking an education. Durbin expressed his support for… Continue Reading

Durbin Deems New Department Of Justice Solitary Confinement Report “Deeply Disturbing,” Announces Legislative Actions

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on today's troubling Department of Justice report on the use of solitary confinement in federal facilities: "Rehabilitation - and preparing adults in custody for successful reentry into society - is the ultimate goal of our criminal justice system. Today's deeply disturbing report by the Department of Justice highlights the Bureau of Prison's failure to accomplish … Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Prosecutor General Of Ukraine At Georgetown Law To Demand Justice For Ukraine

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered remarks at Georgetown Law Center's event titled, "Justice for Ukraine: A Conversation with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin." In addition to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Kostin, Durbin was joined by Ambassador Beth Van Schaack, U.S. Department of State Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. Durbin, Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus and a graduate of G… Continue Reading

Durbin Leads Bipartisan Group Of Senators Urging HHS To Address Repeated Failures At FDA To Regulate E-Cigarettes

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today led a bipartisan letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra condemning the delays by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate e-cigarettes, failure to enforce the law and take action against companies marketing illegal vaping products, and the harm to children's health from the agency's inaction. FDA is currently 16 months past a court-ordered deadline to finish reviewing e-cigare… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Padilla Meet With BOP Director Peters

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), met with Colette Peters, Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to discuss sexual misconduct by BOP personnel and the Department of Justice's (DOJ) efforts to root out staff misconduct at BOP. The meeting followed letters that Durbin, Grassley, Padilla, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) sent to DOJ seeking information … Continue Reading

Durbin, Shaheen, Boozman, Coons, Cassidy Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Increase U.S. Exports To Africa

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Boozman (R-AR), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) today introduced bipartisan legislation to improve America's competiveness throughout the African continent and in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Increasing American Jobs through Greater Exports to Africa Act will force better coordination between U.S. government agencies and departments, establish comprehensive strategic goals… Continue Reading

Durbin Joins Colleagues To Unveil Resolution Affirming Ratification Of The Equal Rights Amendment

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today joined U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AR) and U.S. Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), Cori Bush (D-MO-01), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) to announce the introduction of a bicameral, joint resolution to affirm the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment… Continue Reading

Durbin Slams Speaker Mccarthy, House Republicans For Inadequate Solutions To Address The Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today took to the Senate floor to slam Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and House Republicans for using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip at the expense of federal programs that Americans rely on. In his remarks, Durbin explained that Republicans' lackluster solutions to the budget deficit will only harm constituents by cutting social security or slashing medical research funding. "To…finally become Speaker, Kevin McCarthy made… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses The Justice Department To Investigate And Curb Child Sexual Exploitation On Twitter

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice to take all appropriate actions to investigate, deter, and stop reported child sexual exploitation on Twitter's platform. Durbin's letter builds on his efforts to hold Twitter accountable for the platform's deteriorating protections to ensure child safety, which he asked Mr. Musk about in December - a letter … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Davis Announce $7.2 Million for Illinois State Board of Education And Chicago Public Schools For Student Mental Health Services

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Danny Davis (D-IL-07) today announced the awarding of two federal grants totaling $7.2 million to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and Chicago Public Schools for increasing student mental health and trauma-informed care services in schools across the state. These grants were awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) through th… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds Appellate Court Ruling In Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder Case

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement regarding the Third Circuit Court of Appeals' rejection of the bankruptcy filing by a shell company created by Johnson & Johnson to dodge nearly 40,000 legal claims related to harm caused by its talc products: "Today's ruling is a step towards justice for the tens of thousands of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma victims who have been denied their day i… Continue Reading

Durbin, DeLauro Urge FDA Commissioner Califf to Implement Reforms At The Agency's Human Foods Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf urging him to make critical reforms within FDA's Human Foods Program. This follows the Reagan-Udall Foundation's recent external evaluation and report, which outlined various flaws at FDA including their slow response to foodborne illness outbreaks, particularly with infant formula, and lack of implementing t… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Reported Abuses by Special Counsel Durham

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding a bombshell New York Times report about alleged misconduct by Special Counsel John Durham: "These reports about abuses in Special Counsel Durham's investigation-so outrageous that even his longtime colleagues quit in protest-are but one of many instances where former President Trump and his allies weaponized the Justice Department. "The Justice… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Tyre Nichols

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the killing of Tyre Nichols by five former Memphis police officers and the subsequent investigation: "First and foremost: my thoughts are with the family of Tyre Nichols and the Memphis community. As those who were blessed to call Mr. Nichols a family member, friend, or neighbor mourn, we must commit to pursuing justice for his death, which feels… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues In Calling On FTC To Investigate Continued Marketing To Kids Of The JR-15 Rifle By Wee 1 Tactical

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), along with Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Alex Padilla (D-CA), to call on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate the continued marketing to children of the "JR-15" rifle by Illinois-based company Wee 1 Tactical. While children under age 18 ca… Continue Reading