Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce Safe Gun Storage Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) to introduce legislation directing the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish safety standards for firearm locks and firearm safes. "Too many families and friends have mourned a loved one lost to gun violence. Congress must step up and finally address this issue for what it is - an epidemic," said Durbin. "With this l… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Water And Mobility With USAID Administrator Power

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke with Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs hearing about the success of the Paul Simon Water for the World Act. Durbin said that over the last 11 years, USAID helped provide approximately 57 million people with either improved or first time access to clean water and more than… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Introduce Resolution Establishing "National Gun Violence Awareness Day"

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a resolution in the Senate establishing June 4, 2021, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and designating June as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month." U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) has introduced a companion resolution in the House. Last year was one of the deadliest years on record for the United States, with an estimated 19,300 individuals killed in gun homi… Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Nominees To Lead ATF And DEA In Judiciary Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - During the Senate Judiciary Committee's sixth nominations hearing of the 117th Congress, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned David H. Chipman, nominee to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Anne Milgram, nominee to be Administrator of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Durbin noted that Mr. Chipman's nomination is already facing baseless attacks from the political fringe… Continue Reading

Durbin Gives Opening Remarks In Judiciary Committee Hearing For Judicial & Executive Nominees

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered his opening statement during the nominations hearing for Tiffany P. Cunningham, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit; Margaret Irene Strickland, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Mexico; David H. Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Serv… Continue Reading

Durbin, Scott Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Protect Children From Lead Poisoning

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) today introduced the Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2021, which would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to update its lead poisoning prevention measures to reflect modern science and ensure that families and children living in federally-assisted housing are protected from the devastating consequences of lead poisoning. "Children continue to be at risk from lead poisoni… Continue Reading

Durbin Receives Update On Cook County Drug Court And Veterans Treatment Court From Judges

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with Cook County Court Judge Neera Walsh, who presides over Cook County Access to Community Treatment (ACT) Drug Court; and Cook County Court Judge Michael Hood, who presides over the Cook County Veterans Treatment Court; to receive an update on the courts' programming and services to provide individualized, evidence-based treatment and recovery support to defendants. During th… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With University Of Illinois Presidents Executive Leadership Program Participants

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with University of Illinois Presidents Executive Leadership Program (PELP) participants to discuss public policy at the forefront of higher education, including textbook affordability, student debt, and passing the Dream Act. During the meeting, Durbin also spoke about the need to transform the American economy to remain competitive in the 21st Century after the COVID-19 pandemic. This week, the Senate is considering … Continue Reading

Durbin Meets Virtually With Ukrainian Ambassador To United States

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Ukraine Caucus, met virtually today with the new Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova. During their meeting, Durbin discussed the latest on tensions with Russia and reiterated his support for Ukraine. Durbin has a strong record of support for Ukraine, including several visits to the country and supporting security and development assistance. Durbin and the Ambassador also discussed… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Completion Of Investigation At Illinois Army Reserve Unit

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat Veteran and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement on the completion of the investigation into the mishandling of sexual assault allegations at the 416th Theater Engineering Command (TEC), an Army Reserve unit in Darien, Illinois: "Sexual misconduct and pervasive problems that led to the mishandling of cases at the 416th TEC in Darien ar… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces New Bill To Expand Lincoln Home Historical Site

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Lincoln Home National Historic Site Boundary Modification Act, new legislation that would expand the boundary of the Lincoln Home National Historic site to include a replica 1844 Lincoln cottage and the Elijah Iles home. The bill would also require the National Park Service to increase the height of the road in front of the Lincoln home and at the intersection of 8th and Jackson to provide greater accessibility within… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On One Year Anniversary Of Murder Of George Floyd

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement on the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd: "His name was George Floyd. He was a 46-year-old Black man. He was a father, a brother, a son, a friend. He died on the streets of Minneapolis with the knee of a police officer on his neck-an image that haunts me to this day. The injustice of his killing is undeniable. And so is the fact that syst… Continue Reading

Senate Confirms Kristen Clarke To Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division

WASHINGTON - On the first anniversary of George Floyd's murder, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden's nominee to be Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, by a bipartisan vote of 51-48. Ms. Clarke will be the first Senate-confirmed woman and woman of color to lead the Civil Rights Division. Ahead of her confirmation vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ar… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Senate To Support Bipartisan U.S. Innovation And Competition Act

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today encouraged his Senate colleagues to support the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, the broader competitiveness package and substitute amendment to the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act. The legislation represents the largest investment in U.S. science and technology leadership since the Apollo era. It will authorize more than $100 billion over five years to support breakthrough s… Continue Reading

Following Arrest Of Belarusian Activist From Airline, Durbin & Rubio Urge Pres. Biden To Direct FAA To Prohibit U.S. Aircraft From Entering Belarus' Air Space

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the administration to prohibit U.S. airlines from entering Belarus airspace following the reckless actions of Belarus' despotic dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Yesterday, under false pretenses, Lukashenko forced a passenger plane, en route to Lithuania f… Continue Reading

Durbin, Padilla, Judiciary Democrats Press Department Of Justice To Support Immigration Judges

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 led a group of nine Judiciary Committee Democrats in urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reverse the Trump Administration's attacks on the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) and the independence of immigration judges more broadly. In a letter … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud DOT's Expansion Of Local Hire And Workforce Development Pilot Programs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) decision to expand construction hiring and workforce development pilot programs. The programs, which will be managed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), will give contracting agencies expanded flexibility to use hiring preferences to enhance workforce development opportunities for those in economically or sociall… Continue Reading

Durbin, Klobuchar, Colleagues Introduce Legislation To Ban Pre-Checked Recurring Donation Boxes

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, will introduce legislation to ban political campaigns from using pre-checked recurring donation boxes. The legislation follows the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) unanimous, bipartisan vote recommending that Congress ban political campaigns from automatically opting donors into recurring contributions throu… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On DHS Report on Trump Administration's Family Separation Policy

SPRINGFIELD-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on the Trump Administration's family separation policy, the latest in a series of investigative reports which Durbin requested in March 2018. The report found that under the Trump Administration's policy, "ICE removed separated parents without their children even… Continue Reading

Durbin To Reintroduce Measure To Combat Lead In Federally Assisted Housing; Discusses Funding In American Jobs Plan To Replace Lead Pipes

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin today held a news conference to draw attention to several efforts at the federal level to combat lead exposure and contamination in Illinois and across the country. Next week, Durbin will be reintroducing bipartisan legislation to protect children living in federally assisted housing from lead poisoning. Durbin is also pushing for the passage of President Biden's American Jobs Plan, which includes $45 billion to replace 100 percent of the nation's lead pipe… Continue Reading