In Speech on Senate Floor, Durbin Calls Out Corruption Of For-Profit College Industry

WASHINGTON -Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) delivered a speech on the Senate floor, criticizing the for-profit college industry for their continued abuse and manipulative tactics to lure students into a lifetime of debt in exchange for a near-meaningless degree. In his remarks, Durbin emphasized that for-profit colleges have been running this scam for years while the Department of Education has continued to provide billions in federal support to the industry. "For-profit col… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on January 6 House Select Committee Referral of Former President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the January 6 House Select Committee’s decision to refer former President Donald Trump to the Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution on several counts related to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021:“No man, not even a President, is above the law. The anger and resentment Donald Trump stoked with his ‘Big Lie’ cr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Tout Illinois Wins Secured in Water Resources Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)-Chair of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife as well as founding Co-Chair of the Senate's first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus-highlighted several critical provisions they successfully included in the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022 which passed the Senate last night. These provisions will help bring envi… Continue Reading

Durbin Pushes Elon Musk on Twitter's Efforts to Eradicate Online Child Sexual Exploitation

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, about the apparent disconnect between Mr. Musk's statements about eradicating online child sexual exploitation on Twitter and his company's actual efforts to do so. In his letter, Durbin noted that while Twitter certainly had room for improving online child safety before Mr. Musk acquired it, reports indicate that Twitter's approach to child safet… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of Short Term Continuing Resolution

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement on Senate passage of the Continuing Resolution (CR), which will fund the federal government through December 23, 2022: "The short term CR that passed the Senate today is essential to keeping the government funded through December 23. But now, Congress must roll up its sleeves and pass a government funding bill next week that adequately addresses our… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of NDAA

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today released the following statement after voting for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes an authorization of nearly $858 billion for national defense, including authorizations for military construction projects in Illinois and a 4.6 percent pay raise for service members and the Department of Defense (DoD) civilian workforce: "T… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Bop Director Peters

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a lead author of the landmark First Step Act, today met with Colette Peters, Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). During their meeting, Durbin and Peters discussed the urgent need to advance significant reforms at BOP-including the continued implementation of the First Step Act and reducing the overuse of restricted housing; and Durbin emphasized that BOP must cooperate with the Ju… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Atf Director Dettelbach

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Director Steve Dettelbach, to discuss efforts to address the gun violence epidemic and protect public safety. They discussed the need to ensure that the ATF Chicago Field Division is working vigorously to address illicit gun trafficking in the Chicago area, and also discussed the importance of ensuring coordination between different A… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Sinai Health CEO Dr. Ezike

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the new CEO of Sinai Chicago System and former Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. During their meeting, Durbin and Dr. Ezike discussed bolstering health care resources in Illinois for violence prevention, closing racial and ethnic health disparities, and addressing workforce shortages in hospitals. Durbin and Dr. Ezike also talked about new goals for the Chicago HEAL Initiative, includin… Continue Reading

Durbin Marks Tenth Anniversary of Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered remarks on the Senate Floor on the tenth anniversary of the devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Durbin spoke about the important progress that was made this year with passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years, but also noted that more needs to be done, including banning military-style assault weapons f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kennedy Urge Dea To Continue Reining In Big Pharma’s Excessive Opioid Production

WASHINGTON - In a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged DEA to apply its authorities to prevent and limit the pharmaceutical industry's excessively high opioid production levels. Today's letter comes after the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that fatal drug over… Continue Reading

Durbin, Kennedy Urge DEA to Continue Reining In Big Pharma's Excessive Opioid Production

WASHINGTON - In a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged DEA to apply its authorities to prevent and limit the pharmaceutical industry's excessively high opioid production levels. Today's letter comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that fatal drug ove… Continue Reading

Durbin Talks Gun Violence Prevention With Highland Park Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with members of Highland Park Strong, an organization started by high school students following the mass shooting at the Highland Park 4th of July parade where seven community members were killed and 48 people were injured. During their meeting, Durbin and the students discussed gun safety reform, including banning assault weapons from civilian use. "After the July 4th mass shooting, H… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions District Court Nominees And Director Of Violence Against Women Office Nominee In Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee nominations hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Andrew G. Schopler, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California; P. Casey Pitts, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of California; Gordon P. Gallagher, to be United States District Judge for the District of Colorado; and Arun Subramanian, to be United States District J… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Members Of Lithuania’s Parliament

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus, met with members of Lithuania's parliament, Žygimantas Pavilionis and Laurynas Kas?i?nas, to discuss the continued congressional support for the Baltic States, as well as ongoing Russian aggression and interference in the region. During the meeting, Durbin offered support to Lithuania as the nation stands firm with Ukraine and faces economic bullying from China for improving their dip… Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Judge Douglas To The Fifth Circuit Court Of Appeals

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate confirmed the nomination of Judge Dana Douglas to serve on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by a bipartisan vote of 65-31: "Born and raised in New Orleans, Judge Douglas's passion forthe law and public service was inspired by her family's background in law enforcement. After law school, she began her legal career clerking for the Honorab… Continue Reading

Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Hearing On District Court And Director Of Violence Against Women Office Nominations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Gordon P. Gallagher, to be United States District Judge for the District of Colorado; P. Casey Pitts, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of California; Andrew G. Schopler, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California; Arun Subramanian, to be U… Continue Reading

Durbin Honors Work Of IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson Ahead Of His Retirement

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today delivered a speech on the Senate floor recognizing IBEW President Lonnie Stephenson's dedication to the labor movement. Stephenson, a Quad Cities native, is set to retire from his post at the end of this year. "Lonnie started off as an apprentice wireman, and even then, he knew the value of a union," said Durbin. "He rose through the ranks of IBEW Local 145, becoming vice president before taking over as business manager in 1991. Al… Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Justice Montgomery-Reeves To The Third Circuit Court Of Appeals

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Senate confirmed the nomination of Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to serve on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals by a bipartisan vote of 53-35: "Justice Montgomery-Reeves has significant experience as both a litigator and a judge. In recognition of her exceptional legal acumen, the Committee has received many letters of support from her colleag… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley, Feinstein, Padilla Press DOJ For More Information On Sexual Misconduct At BOP

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), today sent a follow-up letter to Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco seeking additional information about sexual misconduct by Bureau of Prisons (BOP) personnel and reiterating that the Department o… Continue Reading