Durbin, Duckworth Receive Update On Coronavirus From The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today received an update on the novel coronavirus outbreak from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Principal Deputy Director Dr. Anne Schuchat. On a call with Dr. Schuchat, the Senators asked about the agency's response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, which originated in Wuhan, China, and asked for information on the steps being taken to keep Illinois families safe. This week, the CDC recommended that tra… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bicameral Congressional Leaders Call On Ninth Circuit To Uphold Protections For Migrant Children In Flores Amicus Brief

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12); U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); and U.S. Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-19), Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), and Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), today led 113 of their colleagues in submitting an Amicus Brief… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Confirmation Of Coronavirus In Chicago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the second case of coronavirus in the United States is in Chicago: "We are monitoring the second confirmed U.S. case of novel coronavirus being treated at a Chicago hospital. First, we commend the Chicago hospital personnel for identifying this quickly. And we commend Mayor Lightfoot and others who chose to monitor… Continue Reading

Durbin Urges Trump Administration To Fund Quincy Bay Restoration And Modernization Of Illinois Locks

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke to Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Civil Works R.D. James, who oversees the Army Corps, to push for funding to restore Quincy Bay, one of the largest natural bays of the Upper Mississippi River, as well as for funding for the much needed modernization of seven locks along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. "We know Quincy Bay is silted up and needs attention and that our Illinois locks are in desperate need of expansio… Continue Reading

Durbin Pushes Trump Administration To Address Climate Change Impacts On Lake Michigan

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke to Assistant Secretary of the Army (ASA) for Civil Works R.D. James, who oversees the Army Corps, to urge the Corps to provide federal funding for two projects that will protect the Chicago Shoreline from the impacts of climate change. The Trump Administration has yet to fully fund the Great Lakes Resiliency Study authorized by Congress and or provide increased funding to reevaluate and expand the Chicago Shoreline project. "We face perh… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Chicago Mayor Lightfoot

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot to discuss Chicago priorities and how they can assist her in the Senate. Durbin, Duckworth, and Lightfoot talked about reducing gun violence, the Chicago HEAL Initiative, the 2020 Census, public housing, transportation infrastructure funding, and cannabis. Durbin and Duckworth hosted Mayor Lightfoot, along with nine other mayors from across Illinois who are in Washington, D.… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Meet With Illinois Mayors

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with a group of Illinois mayors who are in Washington, D.C. for the United States Conference of Mayors' 88th Winter Meeting. Durbin, Duckworth, and the mayors discussed Illinois priorities, including transportation infrastructure, rural broadband, affordable housing, improving Amtrak service throughout Illinois, and marijuana. "Senator Duckworth and I will continue to support our Illinois mayors in any way we c… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Hold E-Cigarette Companies Accountable for the Youth Vaping Crisis

WASHINGTON - This week, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Susan Collins (R-ME), introduced bipartisan legislation to protect children from the dangers of e-cigarettes. The Resources to Prevent Youth Vaping Act would require that e-cigarette manufacturers pay user fees to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help to fund more activity at FDA to conduct stronger oversight of the e-cigaret… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senator McConnell's Impeachment Trial Resolution

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today gave the following remarks at a press conference with Senate Democratic leadership in response to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) Senate impeachment trial resolution proposal: "From the very first day of this impeachment trial, we learned that for Senator McConnell political loyalty to this President is more important than respect for the Constitution, the integrity of the Senate, and common decency. "With this res… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $144 Million In Continued Funding For Local Homeless Assistance Programs

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that a total of $114,704,242 in grants have been awarded to renew support to more than 300 local homeless assistance programs and nonprofits across Illinois. The funding, which is awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Continuum of Care Program (CoC), will support a broad array of interventions designed to assist individuals and families experiencing homelessness, partic… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Bustos Applaud New DOT Initiatives To Protect Roadside First Responders

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), today applauded new U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) initiatives designed to help avoid traffic accidents and save the lives of first responders rushing to aid in emergencies. The new initiatives closely mirror legislation Durbin, Duckworth, and Bustos introduced last year that would establish a new national safety priority within an existing federal grant progr… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On House Passage Of Resolution Overturning DeVos Borrower Defense Rule

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted 231-180 to pass H.J.Res. 76, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval overturning Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' rewritten borrower defense rule that guts essential protections for student borrowers and taxpayers. Six Republicans joined House Democrats to pass the measure. The resolution was introduced by U.S. Representative … Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Senate Passage Of USMCA Trade Deal

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today released the following statement after the Senate voted 89-10 to pass the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), which updates the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Durbin voted in support of the USMCA. "The USMCA will support the economy in Illinois by improving trade relationships with Canada and Mexico, our top trading partners. I'm … Continue Reading

Durbin Continues To Call For Fair And Honest Impeachment Trial Including Key Witnesses & Documents

WASHINGTON - On the day that Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) once again called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to conduct a fair impeachment trial with key witnesses and documents directly related to the Trump Administration's decision-making regarding the delay in military aid to Ukraine and the Administration's requests that Ukraine conduct certain investigations. "As we no… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On GAO Legal Decision Finding Trump Administration Violated Law By Withholding Ukraine Military Aid

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, today released the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a legal decision, which finds that the Trump Administration's order to hold $250 million in defense aid to Ukraine violated the Impoundment Control Act, a law passed by Congress to rein in Nixon-era abuses. The GAO ruling found that a president can only put a hold on congressiona… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Senate Colleagues To Stand Up For Veterans & Students Defrauded By For-Profit Colleges

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today, in a speech on the Senate floor, slammed Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' rewritten borrower defense rule that guts essential protections for student borrowers and taxpayers. Durbin urged his Senate colleagues to support his Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution (S.J.Res. 56) of disapproval overturning the DeVos rule when it comes to the Senate floor for a vote. Durbin cited a letter urging the Senate to overt… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Call On Army To Review Illinois Army Reserve's Handling Of Sexual Assault Claims

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today called on the U.S. Army to review reported mishandling by leaders of the Illinois-based Army Reserve unit, the 416th Theater Engineer Command, of multiple sexual assault claims. In a letter to U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Durbin and Duckworth called for a comprehensive review of the troubling charges brought to light by a recent Associated Press article into handling of sexual assault claims by the 416th. Durbin… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues To Request Meeting With HUD Secretary On Radon Dangers In Public Housing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and a bipartisan group of Senators in requesting a meeting with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to get answers on why the agency has failed to protect tenants living in federally subsidized housing from the cancer-causing dangers of radon and to chart a path forward to resolve this serious health hazard. Despite a federal mandate to "develop an effe… Continue Reading

Durbin, Top Senate Dems Vow Vote To Reverse Trump Decision To Divert Pentagon Funds To Pay For Border Wall

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Vice Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI), and Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Udall (D-NM) today released the following statement on President Donald Trump's plan to divert an additional $7.2 billion… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Illinois Agriculture With U.S. Ambassador To China Terry Brandstad

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, met with U.S. Ambassador to China and former Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad today to discuss Illinois agriculture, including President Trump's recently announced "Phase One" trade deal with China. Durbin shared his concerns with the Trump Administration's haphazard trade approach with China, and how soybean farmers in Illinois previously enjoyed a productive trade market with Ch… Continue Reading