Durbin Presses Judge Kavanaugh To Call For FBI Investigation Into Allegations Of Sexual Assault; Judge Kavanaugh Refuses

WASHINGTON - During today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) pressed Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, to call for an independent FBI investigation into the serious and credible allegations of sexual assault against him. "You have clearly and unequivocally denied that you assaulted Dr. Ford. With that statement, you must believe that there is no credible evidence or any credible witness that could pr… Continue Reading

Durbin To Dr. Blasey Ford: For Every Scurrilous Charge & Pathetic Tweet, There Are Thousands Of Americans Who Believe You, Support You, And Thank You For Your Courage

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today shared his support for and admiration of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about her allegation of sexual assault by Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court. In the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Dr. Blasey Ford told Durbin, with 100% certainty, that it was Brett Kavanaugh who sexually assaulted… Continue Reading

Durbin, Feinstein, Murray, Senators To HHS And DHS Secretaries: Family Detention Is Morally Wrong, Harmful To Children And Parents, Inconsistent With Fundamental Values

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate's Immigration Subcommittee; Senator Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, led 29 Senators today in a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen imploring th… Continue Reading

Durbin Brings Nauvoo Paramedic To Rural Summit, Discusses Support For Rural EMS Agencies

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Mark Kennedy, a Critical Care Transport Service Paramedic for the Fire Protection District in Nauvoo, Illinois, to discuss how to address rural health challenges. Mr. Kennedy worked closely with Durbin to craft the Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act, a bipartisan bill that reauthorizes a federal grant program at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to directly support public and non-profit rural EMS… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Latest Sexual Assault Allegations Against Judge Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court Nominee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement on the latest sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee: The White House and Senate Republicans must choose: either immediately call for the FBI to conduct an investigation into the multiple allegations of sexual assault by Judge Kavanaugh or withdraw his nomination. These women had every r… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Accept Letter Signed By More Than 1,400 Women & Men Who Attended D.C.-Area Schools In Support Of Dr. Blasey Ford

WASHINGTON - One day before Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) accepted a letter signed by over 1,400 women and men who attended school in the greater Northwest D.C. / Maryland area - including Dr. Blasey Ford's and Judge Kavanaugh's alma maters - to show support for and solidarity with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. "Dr. Blasey Ford had every… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Submit Testimony At Hearing On Cairo Public Housing Crisis

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today submitted joint testimony to the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance for the committee's hearing on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General (IG) report released this July on HUD's oversight of Alexander County Housing Authority (ACHA). In May 2017, Durbin and Duckworth requested the IG to conduct an evaluation of HUD's oversight of ACHA. Following the report's… Continue Reading

Durbin: No One Is Entitled To A Seat On The Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on Senate Republicans to support a nonpartisan, independent FBI investigation into the serious and credible sexual assault allegations against President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Brett Kavanaugh. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin pushed back on claims made by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that the sexual assault allegations against Judge K… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce Nearly $15 Million For Regional Airports Throughout Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that 10 Illinois regional airports will receive a total of $14,774,459 in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) State Block Grant Program. "Investing in our regional airports is key to our state's economic success," said Durbin. "This funding will help modernize our aviation infrastructure and improve experience for travelers. I will continue working with Senator Duckworth to ensure Illin… Continue Reading

Durbin, Brown Urge Purdue University Board To End Practice Of Mandatory Arbitration For Enrollment At Global University

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today urged the Board of Trustees at Purdue University - which purchased the predatory for-profit Kaplan University, now Purdue University Global - to end the for-profit college industry practice of forcing students to sign pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses and class action bans as a condition of the new entity. Mandatory arbitration clauses prevent students from bringing suit against a school in a court of law when … Continue Reading

Durbin And Bustos Highlight Key Provisions In Fight Against Opioid Epidemic

ROCK ISLAND - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos today discussed their work to address the opioid epidemic. The Senate passed an opioid package on Monday and the House passed similar legislation in June. These bills both include critical legislative provisions that Senator Durbin and Congresswoman Bustos fought to include to prevent addiction, help survivors, and save lives. The measures will now be negotiated to reconcile differences between the House and Senate-passe… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth: Defense, Labor, Health, Education Appropriations Package Provides Critical Funding For Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Vice Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), today released the following statements on Senate passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Department of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations package - which provides $674.4 billion for the Department of Defense and $178.1 billion for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies. The legi… Continue Reading

Durbin, King, Smith Secure $5 Million For Competitive Grants Supporting Open Textbooks In FY19 Funding Bill

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN) today applauded the inclusion of a provision allocating $5 million in additional funding for the continued implementation of the Open Textbooks Pilot in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Department of Defense, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Education Appropriations package. The Open Textbooks Pilot, based on the Senator's Affordable College Textbook Act, is a competiti… Continue Reading

Durbin: FBI Must Complete An Investigation Into Serious & Credible Sexual Assault Allegation Against Judge Kavanaugh Before Hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on the Trump White House to request that the FBI's career professionals conduct an independent investigation into the serious and credible sexual assault allegation against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that the FBI needs to interview witnesses, review all of the evidence, and report their findings … Continue Reading

Durbin Introduces New Compromise Legislation To Lift IMD Exclusion, Help More Americans Get Treatment For Addiction

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Ben Cardin (D-MD), today introduced new bipartisan legislation to expand Americans' access to treatment for opioid addiction by lifting the Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD) exclusion. The IMD exclusion is an arcane, decades-old policy that prohibits states from using federal Medicaid dollars to pay for treatment at residential mental health or substance abuse… Continue Reading

Durbin, Feinstein Statement on Trump Administration Decision To Slash Refugee Resettlement Goal For Second Year In A Row

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after the Trump administration announced that it will aim to admit 30,000 refugees to the U.S. in the coming year, down from the current level of 45,000: The Trump administration has once again dropped America's moral standing to a new low by setting the refugee ceil… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $3.2 Million In Funding To Support Low-Income Illinoisans With Disabilities

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded nine Illinois communities a total of $3,291,834 to provide affordable housing to people with disabilities. The funding is awarded through HUD's Section 811 Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program, which helps individuals with disabilities live as independently as possible in the communities with access to supportive services. "Thi… Continue Reading

Durbin Applauds Senate Passage Of Bipartisan Bill To Fight Opioid Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded Senate passage of a bipartisan opioid legislative package to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. The legislative package includes major provisions from Durbin's bipartisan bill to strengthen the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) ability to adjust quotas determining the number of opioid drugs allowed to be produced in the United States each year, and his bil… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Sexual Assault Allegation Against Judge Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court Nominee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding the allegation of sexual assault against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee: We cannot meet our constitutional responsibility of advice and consent without a fair and careful review of the serious and credible allegations made by Dr. Ford. The Thursday Judiciary Committee vote must be postponed and the FBI … Continue Reading

Durbin Highlights Successes In Senate's Bipartisan Opioid Package

CHICAGO - As the Senate prepares to vote on a major legislative package aimed at addressing the opioid crisis, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today outlined several key initiatives he included in the bill to help address both causes and effects of the nation's worst-ever drug overdose epidemic. The legislative package, which is expected to pass the Senate on Monday, includes major provisions from Durbin's bipartisan bill to strengthen the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) ability to adju… Continue Reading