Durbin, Duckworth Lead Members Of Chicago Delegation In Letter To DOT, OMB To Encourage Full Support Of The Red Line Extension

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL-04), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OM… Continue Reading

Durbin, Padilla Request Biden Admin Consider Recommendations To Recently Announced Migrant Initiative At Southwest Border

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, today sent a letter to President Joe Biden to offer suggestions regarding the Administration's recently announced initiative to give migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela a safe and orderly pathway to the United States, and to surge resources to humanely pr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Blumenthal, Brown, Reed, Feinstein Call On Department Of Labor To Regulate Child Labor On Tobacco Farms

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Deputy Secretary Julie Su urging them to use the rulemaking process to protect child workers from the dangers of working in tobacco fields. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, children at the age of 12 can begin working unlimited hours on tobacco farms with parental per… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On President Biden’s State Of The Union Address

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on President Biden's State of the Union Address: "Thanks to President Biden and Congressional Democrats, we have made tremendous progress over the past two years. In February 2021, we were in the throes of a global pandemic and reckoning with a deadly insurrection in the Capitol that had taken place just one month earlier. Two years later, we have seen record-breaking job creation, new roads and bridge… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With His State Of The Union Guest, U.S. Ambulances For Ukraine Founder Chris Manson

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today met with Chris Manson, his guest for President Biden's State of the Union Address. Chris, who is Vice President of Government Relations for OSF HealthCare in Peoria, Illinois, and founder of U.S. Ambulances for Ukraine, has helped deliver 28 ambulances and one fire engine to Ukraine and works with volunteers across Illinois to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of medical supplies, … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Illinois Higher Education Leaders

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with the leadership and members of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA), which represents 48 community colleges across Illinois, and the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities (FIICU), which represents 56 private nonprofit colleges across Illinois. During their meetings, the Senators spoke about the rising cost of higher education and improving … Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Remarks At NRHA’s 34th Rural Health Policy Institute Conference

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered remarks at the National Rural Health Association's (NRHA) 34th Rural Health Policy Institute conference. Durbin highlighted the importance of rural health care; the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural hospitals; and bipartisan legislation Durbin is working on in Congress, such as the Rural Hospital Closure Relief Act-legislation to update Medicare's "Critical Access Hospital" designation. Durbin also spoke about hi… Continue Reading

Durbin Talks Health Care Workforce Shortages With Rural Illinois Health Care Providers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Illinois members of the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) to discuss the challenges hospitals and health care providers in rural communities face. During their meeting, Durbin heard more about how the health care workforce shortages are impacting hospitals' ability to adequately meet the needs of patients. In 2020, it was estimated that Illinois will have a shortage of 15,000 registered nurses by 2025, a discrepan… Continue Reading

Durbin To Host U.S. Ambulances For Ukraine’s Chris Manson For President Biden’s State Of The Union Address

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, will host Chris Manson as his guest for President Biden's State of the Union Address. Chris, who is Vice President of Government Relations for OSF HealthCare in Peoria, Illinois, and founder of U.S. Ambulances for Ukraine, has helped deliver 28 ambulances and one fire engine to Ukraine and works with volunteers across Illinois to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of medical supplies, clo… Continue Reading

Durbin, Collins Introduce Siren Reauthorization Act To Support EMS Agencies In Rural Communities

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today introduced the SIREN Reauthorization Act, legislation that would extend funding through SIREN Act grants to rural fire and EMS agencies nationwide. The funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which was created through Durbin's Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act, goes toward supporting EMS agencies in training and recruiting staff, c… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues In Introducing Legislation To Ban Marketing Of Firearms To Children Through FTC Rulemaking

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) in introducing the Protecting Kids from Gun Marketing Act, legislation that directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe rules that prohibit the marketing of firearms to children. The legislation comes as Americans suffered 52 mass shootings and 3,700 gun-related deaths across the United States in the fi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Foster, Underwood Introduce Resolution To Name Fermilab Research Center After Renowned Physicist Dr. Helen Edwards

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, and U.S. Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL-11) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) introduced a bicameral resolution to rename Fermilab's Integrated Engineering Research Center (IERC) after the late Dr. Helen Edwards, who worked at Fermilab as a particle physicist for 40 years. The IERC will be home to new office and lab space that will host an intersection of scientific disciplines. "Dr. Helen Edwards was an … Continue Reading

Durbin: Let’s Get To Work To Ensure Access To Paid Leave For All American Workers

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act(FMLA), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke on the Senate floor highlighting the significant strides we have made for workers and the work that still needs to be done. During his speech, he praised President Biden's leadership for navigating us through the COVID-19 pandemic and one of the most daunting economic challenges since the Great Depression. Despite the progress made, Durbin noted we are, "Not… Continue Reading

In Amicus Brief, Durbin And Colleagues Call On Seventh Circuit To Reject 3M’s Attempt To Use Bankruptcy To Evade Accountability To Military Veterans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led a group of Senate and House Democratic colleagues in submitting an amicus brief in a bankruptcy case before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in support of 231,000 military veterans who are seeking restitution from 3M and its subsidiary Aearo Technologies for allegedly manufacturing defective earplugs. The company and its subsidiary attempted a complex maneuver similar to the infamous "Tex… Continue Reading

Ahead Of The 30th Anniversary Of FMLA, Durbin, Hayes Introduce Legislation To Expand Family Leave Protections

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on February 5, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05) introduced legislation that would modernize FMLA for the 21st Century. The Caring for All Families Act will guarantee small necessities leave and make important updates to the definition of family to ensure a broader range of caregiving relationships are covered by FMLA's protections. A 2021 study found … Continue Reading

Senate Judiciary Committee Advances 15 Judicial Nominees With Bipartisan Support

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced fifteen judicial nominations, the first series of judicial nominations to go to the full Senate in the 118thCongress. All fifteen advanced with bipartisan support. "Today, we advanced highly qualified nominees who are bringing diversity and impartiality to our justice system," said U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "The Judiciary Committee is riding historic momentum from the 117th C… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Bill To Improve Concussion Safety In School Sports

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act to strengthen elementary and secondary school procedures for preventing, identifying, and treating student-athletes who sustain concussions. While athletics are important to helping students learn team-building skills and connect with their peers, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, participating in school sports is not without risk. The National Federation of S… Continue Reading

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