Senate Passes Durbin Amendment Ensuring Full Funding For La Grange Lock & Dam In Senate Energy & Water Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that full funding will be available for the much-needed rehab of Illinois' La Grange Lock & Dam in Versailles, Illinois. Durbin cosponsored a bipartisan amendment to the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funding bill with Senator John Thune (R-SD), which will free up enough funding in the Inland Waterways Trust Fund (IWTF) to ensure La Grange receives the $28.8 million in funding needed to mo… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Ruling On Internet Tax Loophole

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to overturn a 1992 ruling that had given internet-only retailers an unfair advantage over Main Street businesses by prohibiting states from requiring remote retailers to collect taxes already owed the same way local businesses do. "This is good news for main street businesses in Illinois and across America. This ruling clears the way for our retailers to compete on a… Continue Reading

Durbin: Trump Executive Order On Child Separation Calls For Locking Up Children And Their Families Indefinitely

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate Floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) blasted President Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and the Trump Administration's cruel policy of separating children from their parents who arrive at the Southern border of the United States seeking protection from horrific violence in the Northern Triangle region of Central America. Durbin criticized the President's Wednesday Executive Order that doubles down on his "zero-tolerance" policy and cr… Continue Reading

Durbin Announces Summer 2018 Recipients Of The Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced Karla Robles, a rising college senior at Loyola University Chicago, and Ivy Lyons, a rising college senior at Greenville University, as the summer 2018 recipients of the Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program. This scholarship, open to students from Illinois or those studying in Illinois, is an opportunity for the students to receive financial assistance while obtaining a first-hand experience in Senator Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. Th… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump Order To Continue 'Zero Tolerance' & Detain Children Indefinitely

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after President Trump signed a new executive order attempting to overturn the Flores Settlement, a 1997 court order that set minimum standards for the detention, housing, and release of non-citizen children who are detained by the U.S. government, and requires the government to pursue a general policy of releasing children. Repealing the Flores Settlement was a key component of President Trump's own immigr… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Republicans In Congress To Tell Trump To End Family Separation Today

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today called on Senate Republicans to have the courage to speak up against the Trump Administration's policy of separating children from their parents at the border. Durbin made remarks with other members of the Democratic Leadership outside the Senate chamber. President Trump will huddle with Congressional Republicans on Capitol Hill later today. "The President with his lying tweets. The Attorney General hiding behind his Bible. The Sec… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls for Additional Action to Address Skyrocketing Prescription Drug Costs

PEORIA - As the costs of prescription drugs continue to rise, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined leaders and doctors at OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois to discuss new efforts to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable and lower prices for consumers. Durbin has introduced legislation to require disclosure of prices in prescription drug advertising to consumers and has co-sponsored a bipartisan bill, approved yesterday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, to combat abusive delay tact… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Justice Dept. Inspector General Report On FBI Handling Of Clinton Investigation

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the release of a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz that examined the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) handling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails during the 2016 presidential campaign: This report makes clear that FBI Director Comey and FBI personnel failed to follow the rules, and in doing so, hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign and helped Donald Tr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Call On Trump Administration To Protect Americans' Health Care, Halt Expansion Of 'Junk' Health Insurance Plans

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined 45 other Senators in a letter urging the Trump administration to halt the implementation of a health care proposal that could threaten access to quality, affordable care for Americans and raise health care costs, especially for older Americans and those with pre-existing conditions. The proposal would mean the expansion of previously limited short-term health insurance plans to year-long "junk plans" that can exclud… Continue Reading

Durbin, Murray: Inspector General Reveals New Details About Failure Of DeVos, Trump Admin To Provide Debt Relief To Defrauded Student Borrowers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA) today slammed the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for findings revealed in a letter from the Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) showing the Department's blatant actions to avoid providing student loan relief to borrowers who were defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges, relief that students are entitled to under the law. In their letter, the OIG reveals that then-Acting Under… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Republicans To Stand Up And Stop Trump Policy Of Family Separation At The Border

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump Administration's cruel policy of separating children from their parents who arrive at the Southern border of the United States seeking protection from horrific violence in the Northern Triangle region of Central America. "Some mothers were told, 'we're going to give your child a bath. Oh, we're going to give your child a meal,' and then the child was snatched away. That is the of… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Trump's Meeting With North Korean Dictator

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement on the meeting in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un: It is better for the leaders of nations with nuclear weapons to exchange positive words than hurl insults. But the meeting in Singapore did not produce an agreement, nor any credible plan to remove the nuclear threat from the Korean Peninsula. The press opportunity has passed. Now the American people and our allies … Continue Reading

Durbin Questions Trump Admin On Efforts To Stop Future Election Interference

WASHINGTON-At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed members of the Trump Administration on their efforts to thwart future election interference by the Russians or any adversary of the United States. In 2016, Russia successfully hacked into the Illinois State Board of Elections' voter registration system and targeted at least 20 other states with similar attacks. "We do know that Special Counsel Mueller has aggressively gone after Russian interferen… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Army Corps FY18 Work Plan & Funding For Completion Of McCook Reservoir

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced their Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Work Plan, which includes $44.352 million for McCook Reservoir to complete construction, $10 million for LaGrange Lock and Dam to move forward on a major rehabilitation, and $1.2 million for various Cook County infrastructure projects: The Army Corps of Engineers' work is critically important for water qu… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Highlight Illinois Priorities Included In Transportation, Housing And Urban Development FY19 Funding Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) applauded the inclusion of several of their priorities for Illinois in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) fiscal year 2019 funding bill. The bill was passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee and now heads to the Senate floor for consideration. Illinois priorities in the bill include funding for Core Capacity grants, Amtr… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Statement On Nomination Of Martha Pacold, Mary Rowland & Steven Seeger To Serve As U.S. District Judges For The Northern District of Illinois

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the White House announced the nominations of Martha M. Pacold, Mary M. Rowland, and Steven C. Seeger to serve as District Judges on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, based in Chicago: "We are pleased that the President has nominated these three Illinoisans. They have the qualifications, integrity, and judgment to serve with distinction as district court jud… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, 38 Senators Call On Trump To End Policy Of Separating Children From Their Parents At The Border

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), and 38 of their Democratic colleagues to call on the Trump administration to stop further traumatizing children and end Trump's inhumane policy of separating innocent boys and girls from families who cross the Southwest border seeking asylum in the United States. Citing the American Academy of Pediatrics, the senators stressed the short- and long-term damage … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth, Senate Dem Caucus Press Speaker Ryan To Immediately Schedule Vote To Restore Net Neutrality

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and the entire Senate Democratic Caucus today urged House Speaker Paul Ryan to schedule a vote on the Senate Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) disastrous decision to repeal the agency's 2015 net neutrality rules. Despite the resolution's bipartisan passage in the Senate 21 days ago, Speaker Ryan has failed to bring the resolution to the House floor for a vote.… Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces Resolution To Reaffirm America's Support For NATO

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced a resolution that would reaffirm America's commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Durbin spoke on the floor about the Trump Administration's contempt for, and undermining of, the organization that includes some of our most important allies in modern history. "In the face of Russian aggression today, instead of fortifying our alliance and coming together in common cause, I'm sorry to report that this… Continue Reading

Durbin Blasts Trump Administration Policy Of Separating Children From Their Families At The Border

WASHINGTON-In a Senate floor speech, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today blasted the Trump Administration's cruel policy of separating children from their parents who arrive at the Southern border of the United States seeking protection from horrific violence in the Northern Triangle region of Central America. "In March, we learned in my office in Chicago about a seven-year-old girl and her mother, who came from the Democratic Republic of Congo…they were separated for f… Continue Reading