Durbin, Colleagues Call for Transformative Investment in Affordable Housing in Build Back Better Infrastructure Package

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15) in urging the Biden Administration to include major investments in affordable housing in the upcoming infrastructure package. In their letter to President Biden, the members noted that without affordable housing investments, there is no path for an equitable recovery and long term financial stability for low and middle income American families. "Wi… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on First Slate of White House Judicial Nominations

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the White House announced its first slate of judicial nominations: Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals; Tiffany P. Cunningham, Federal Circuit Court of Appeals; Regina Marie Rodriguez, District of Colorado; Judge Florence Y. Pan, District Court for the District of Columbi… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses State and Local Funding in American Rescue Plan with Illinois Mayors

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke today with members of the Illinois Municipal League's Executive Committee and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus's Executive Board to discuss the state and local funding included in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The legislation includes $13.7 billion in state and local funding for Illinois. "Many government entities throughout Illinois faced major budget cuts due to the financial impact of the pandemic," Durbin said. "The American Rescue Plan wi… Continue Reading

Durbin Discusses Mail Delays With USPS Great Lakes and Central Region Leadership

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke today with leaders from the United States Postal Service's (USPS) Great Lakes and Central Region to discuss changes by the Postal Service that have resulted in significant mail delays. Last month, USPS Great Lakes put out a call to mail carriers in five surrounding states asking for letter carriers to come to Illinois to help deliver a huge backlog of undelivered packages and envelopes. They also asked mail carriers in the five col… Continue Reading

Durbin, Davis Introduce Bill To Make Broadband And Computer Technology More Affordable

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL-07) today announced introduction of their Computer and Internet Access Equity Act. The bill would connect American families and students to the internet by making broadband and computer technology more affordable. "Broadband and computer technology are necessities in America today, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for too many, these services are a luxury," Durbin said. "My b… Continue Reading

Durbin, Cornyn, Leahy, Young, Coon, Collins Introduce Bipartisan Bill Addressing Shortage of Doctors, Nurses

WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide a temporary stopgap to quickly address our nation's shortage of doctors and nurses. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would recapture 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley: Bipartisan Legislation to Extend CARES Act Bankruptcy Relief Provisions Heads to President

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today applauded final passage of the COVID-19 Bankruptcy Relief Extension Act, bipartisan legislation they introduced to temporarily extend COVID-19 bankruptcy relief provisions enacted as part of the March 2020 CARES Act. The bill now heads to President Biden for signature. "Extending these temporary bankr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Grassley Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Advance the First Step Act's Goals

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, the lead sponsors of the landmark First Step Act (FSA), introduced the bipartisan First Step Implementation Act, legislation that aims to further implement the FSA and advance its goals. The First Step Act is bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation designed to make our justice system fairer and our communi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Comprehensive Plan to Address Plastic Pollution Crisis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA-47) to introduce the bicameral Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act-the most comprehensive plan ever introduced in Congress to address the plastic pollution crisis that is poisoning our air, water, and land, and disproportionately impacting communities of color and low-income Americans. "For years, large corporations have shifted the burden of addressi… Continue Reading

Durbin, Lee Introduce Smarter Sentencing Act

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation that would modernize federal drug sentencing polices by lowering certain mandatory drug sentences. The Smarter Sentencing Act gives federal judges the authority to conduct individualized reviews to determine the appropriate sentences for certain nonviolent drug offenses. "Mandatory minimum… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senate Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Provide Legal Cannabis Businesses Access to Critical Financial Services

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) to introduce the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would provide legal cannabis businesses access to critical banking services. Most state legal medicinal or recreational cannabis businesses are denied access to the banking system because banks fear they may be prosecuted under federal law given the on… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement on Senate Passage of Extension of Paycheck Protection Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate passed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extension Act of 2021, which extends the PPP through June 30, 2021. The bill now heads to the President's desk for signature: "The extension of the PPP will keep Illinoisans employed and allow small businesses to survive. We must do everything we can to support this economy as we recover from the devastation caused by this pandemic." Tod… Continue Reading

Durbin, Boozman, Inhofe, Booker, Cardin Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase U.S. Exports to Africa

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR), James Inhofe (R-OK), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) today introduced bipartisan legislation to improve America's competiveness throughout the African continent by forcing better coordination between U.S. government agencies and departments, establishing comprehensive strategic goals, countering anticompetitive measures by China, and marshaling private investments to improve U.S. exports to… Continue Reading

Judiciary Committee Advances Monaco and Gupta Nominations

WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nomination of Lisa Monaco to be U.S. Deputy Attorney General by a unanimous voice vote and the nomination of Vanita Gupta to be U.S. Associate Attorney General by a vote of 11-11. Under the provisions of S. Res. 27, Leader Schumer may now file a discharge motion on Ms. Gupta's nomination to place her on the executive calendar. Ahead of the votes, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee,… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $5.5 Million for Illinois Veterans' Homes to protect Against COVID-19 And Other Infectious Diseases

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $5.5 million in federal grant funding to the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) for upgrades to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. This funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and appropriated by Congress though the CARES Act. The funds will reimburse the state for upgrades and improvements to air purification, ventilation, and other mecha… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce More than $71 Million in FEMA Reimbursement Funding for Illinois COVID-19 Response

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois has been awarded a total of $71.9 million in federal grant funding to offset costs related to COVID-19 testing and response. The funding, provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), covers the costs of the collection of COVID-19 tests, equipment rentals, and supplies procured by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) from January 20, 2020 through August 31, 2020. "This… Continue Reading

Durbin Reintroduces Legislation to Combat Rising Domestic Terrorism Threat

WASHINGTON-Following the continued rise in horrific incidents of domestic terrorism and hate crimes targeting religious and ethnic minorities and communities of color, as well as the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reintroduced legislation to address the growing domestic terrorism threat. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021 would enhance the federal government's efforts to pre… Continue Reading

Durbin: To State That The Filibuster Has No Racial History Is To Ignore the Obvious

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pushed back against an argument that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made yesterday when he stated, "[the filibuster] has no racial history at all. None." Durbin reminded his colleagues that the filibuster has been used, going back as far as the early 19th century, to block civil rights laws by segregationists. It was used for decades to block measures meant to protect African Amer… Continue Reading

Durbin: Saving Lives From Gun Violence Is Not Theatre

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, discussed the hearing he held yesterday on constitutional and common sense steps to reduce gun violence in America. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing came on the heels of two mass shootings within a week of each other in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado, which claimed the lives of 18 Americans including one police officer. During his floor speech,… Continue Reading

Durbin, Meeks Statement on GAO Report on U.S. Firearms Trafficking to Mexico

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY-05), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statements after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an update of its January 2016 report on efforts to combat firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico. Today's report found that trafficking of U.S.-sourced firearms into Mexico is a "national sec… Continue Reading