Press Releases
Durbin Votes For Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Agreement To Avoid First Ever Default On Our Nation’s Debt
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act-preventing the first-ever default on our national debt. The legislation now heads to the President's desk for his signature. "Thankfully, Congress has once again performed its constitutional duty and prevented a first-ever default on our national debt. Defaulting on our national debt is … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin Statement On Senate Vote To Overturn President Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate voted in favor of H.J. Resolution 45, which would overturn President Biden's student debt relief plan to cancel up to $10,000 for non-Pell-eligible borrowers and up to $20,000 for Pell-eligible borrowers: "Tens of millions of Americans are plagued by student loan debt. Working families, particularly in communities of color, are buried in so much student debt that they can't … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Ahead Of Debt Limit Vote, Durbin Continues To Call For Closure Of Guantanamo Bay
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about the importance of closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Durbin began his speech by highlighting the unnecessary cost Guantanamo Bay has forced American taxpayers to fund. During his speech, Durbin called out Republicans for their message of "fiscal responsibility" ahead of the debt limit vote, but their unwillingness to close Guantanamo Bay, which … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin: Senate Must Quickly Pass Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Agreement To Avoid First Ever Default On Our Nation’s Debt
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today urged his colleagues to perform their constitutional duties by quickly passing the Fiscal Responsibility Act and preventing a first-ever default on our national debt. The bipartisan agreement avoids a default on our national debt, maintains funding for clean energy incentives, protects student debt relief for millions of borrowers, and beats back … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin Urges Military Leaders To Extend Recruitment Efforts To DACA Recipients
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, today participated in a Subcommittee hearing entitled "A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request for the National Guard and Reserve." During the hearing, Durbin questioned the witness, General Daniel R. Hokanson, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, on the Guard's recruitment efforts as the military as a whole faces recruitment and retention issues and … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances Bipartisan Bill To Protect Children From Online Sexual Exploitation
WASHINGTON - Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the REPORT Act, a bipartisan bill by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) that would strengthen the CyberTipline run by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to report online child sexual exploitation, which received over 32 million reports last year. On today's vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: "I've said since the … Continue Reading
June 01, 2023
Durbin Urges FDA To Address Shortage Of Life-Saving Drugs For Cancer Patients
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to use the Agency's authority to immediately address the ongoing shortage of critical cancer drugs that are threatening the lives of patients nationwide. In the letter, Durbin cites two chemotherapy drugs, carboplatin and cisplatin, that are used to successfully treat hundreds of thousands of cancer patients each year in the United States. Both of these … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin: Putin’s Legacy Will Be A War Criminal And A Failed Leader Who Weakened Russia
WASHINGTON - Following Memorial Day, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, spoke on the Senate floor highlighting democratic nations' commitment to defend peace and freedom as Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war in Ukraine continues. Durbin said, "On Memorial Day, we remember those who gave their lives for this country. And on this Memorial Day, we were reminded, once again, that the struggle to defend freedom is never over. The peace and … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin: Not Paying Our Bills Will Result In A Loss Of Trust In The Stability In The United States
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today spoke on the Senate floor highlighting the need to avert a debt ceiling crisis so the United States remains a stable, global leader. During his speech, Durbin addressed Senator Lindsey Graham's (R-SC) call for even higher defense spending than what is specified in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a bipartisan deal on the debt ceiling that … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin, Duckworth Applaud Department Of Transportation For Implementing Key Provisions Of Their Protecting Roadside First Responders Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for implementing a key provision of their Protecting Roadside First Responders Act by proposing a rule to require automatic emergency braking (AEB) on all new light and heavy vehicles. The provision, which was passed in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aims to reduce the number of traffic fatalities and injuries. … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin, Menendez, Booker Lead Oversight Effort To Hold Companies Accountable For Contracting With Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. Which Unlawfully Employed Migrant Child Labor
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), alongside several Senate colleagues, sent letters to nine companies that contracted with Packers Sanitation Services, Inc. (PSSI), which the Department of Labor (DOL) found was unlawfully employing migrant child labor at these host companies' facilities. In the letters, the Senators asked each host company to describe the changes to … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Immigrant Workers, Agriculture, And Need For Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "From Farm to Table: Immigrant Workers Get the Job Done." The hearing highlighted how immigrant workers are essential to put food on our tables, the need for immigration reform to help American farms and businesses, and the importance of protections and fair wages for both domestic and immigrant workers. Durbin … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin Joins NAFSA Annual Conference To Talk About Study Abroad Programs And Immigration
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined NAFSA: Association of International Educators for its annual conference to discuss his longstanding support for international education opportunities for Americans, as well as making an American education more accessible to international students seeking higher education. Durbin delivered remarks at the conference, noting the importance of legislation like his bipartisan Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Program Act, which … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Immigrant Workers, Agriculture, And Need For Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled, "From Farm to Table: Immigrant Workers Get the Job Done." The hearing will highlight how immigrant workers are essential to put food on our tables, the need for immigration reform to help American farms and businesses, and the importance of protections and fair wages for both domestic and immigrant … Continue Reading
May 31, 2023
Durbin, Luján, Risch, And Blackburn Announce New Senate National Labs Caucus
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), James Risch, (R-ID) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today announced the creation of a new Senate National Labs Caucus. The National Lab Network conducts cutting-edge research to advance and deploy technologies that are critical to maintaining sustainable economic growth in the U.S. and safeguarding our national security. The Senate National Labs Caucus will coordinate with its … Continue Reading
May 30, 2023
Durbin: Chief Justice Roberts Should Strengthen Supreme Court Ethics Standards Before The Court’s Summer Recess
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about the need for stronger Supreme Court ethics standards before the Court recesses for the summer. Durbin's calls come after ProPublica reporting that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted and failed to disclose years' worth of luxury travel and lodging from prominent Republican donor Harlan Crow, much of which took place during the Court's summer recesses. Durbin … Continue Reading
May 30, 2023
ICYMI: Durbin, Whitehouse Sent Follow Up Letter To Harlan Crow Seeking Full Information On Gifts, Travel, And Access Given To Supreme Court Justices
WASHINGTON - Last Friday, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, sent a follow up letter to Republican megadonor Harlan Crow seeking to identify the full extent of Mr. Crow's gifts of travel and lodging to Justice Clarence Thomas, which other individuals were able to gain personal and private access … Continue Reading
May 22, 2023
Durbin Releases Plan to Address Health Care Workforce Shortages in Rural Illinois
LINCOLN - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a news conference with Illinois health care leaders to release his "Roadmap to Grow Illinois' Rural Health Workforce." The partnership with hospitals, community health centers, medical and nursing schools, community colleges, dentists, physicians, and nurses will organize efforts and provide new funding to address health care workforce shortages and staffing crises in rural Illinois. The full Roadmap report can be viewed here. "The COVID … Continue Reading
May 19, 2023
Durbin Meets With Northwestern Researcher Who Led Breakthrough In Brain Cancer Treatment
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Dr. Adam Sonabend, Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, to discuss a major breakthrough in research into treating glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that is diagnosed in about 12,000 Americans annually, including former U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). Glioblastoma is difficult to treat as the tumor often cannot be completely … Continue Reading
May 19, 2023
Durbin Meets with Northside Refugee & Asylum Seeker Coalition
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met with the Northside Refugee & Asylum Seeker Coalition (NRASC) to discuss ways to provide the Coalition with the necessary resources to assist the large number of refugees and asylum seekers in the Chicago area. This meeting comes amid Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s inhumane practice of busing migrants from Texas to Chicago. “Chicago and Illinois have shown humanity and compassion to … Continue Reading