Durbin Questions Latest Circuit & District Court Nominees To Come Before Judiciary Committee

WASHINGTON - During today's Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Myrna Pérez, nominee to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit. Durbin asked Ms. Pérez about her thoughts on the right to vote, which has been under assault in recent years. "Speak to me, if you will though, about the right to vote. That is the central issue we are discussing in so many aspects. A group of Texa… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Allow Sexual Assault & Harassment Survivors To Seek Justice & Accountability

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), along with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17), Morgan Griffith (R-VA-9), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7) to announce the bipartisan, bicameral Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault & Harassment Act to empower sexual assault and harassment survivors. The legislation would stop perpetrators from being able to … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $21.9 Million In American Rescue Plan Funding To Support Head Start Programs In Illinois

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $21.9 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to support the return to fully operational, in-person Head Start services for the children under the age of five most impacted by inequities exposed by the pandemic in Illinois. The funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families. "This Head Start funding is an example of th… Continue Reading

Durbin, Senators Introduce Bill To Protect Consumers From Shady, High Cost Lending

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced legislation that would cap fees and interest on consumer loans at an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 36 percent-the same limit currently in place for loans marketed to military service members and their families. Studies show that while lenders today offer easy credit, these transactions often come with high interest rates, steep… Continue Reading

Durbin Gives Remarks In Judiciary Committee Hearing For Circuit & District Judicial Nominees And Executive Nominee

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement during the nominations hearing for Myrna Pérez, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit; Jia M. Cobb, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; Sarah A.L. Merriam, to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut; Florence Y. Pan, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; Ka… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets With Mexican Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with Mexican Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma to discuss U.S.-Mexico relations, migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, the need for immigration reform in the U.S., and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Durbin and Ambassador Moctezuma talked about Durbin and Vice President Kamala Harris' recent trip to the southern border and discussed the need to address the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle. The Senator also… Continue Reading

Durbin Presses For Increased Transparency And Competition To Lower Prescription Drug Prices

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned witnesses during a Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Protection hearing titled, "A Prescription for Change: Cracking Down on Anticompetitive Conduct in Prescription Drug Markets." During his questioning, Durbin discussed his longstanding efforts to bring transparency and competition to the pharmaceutical industry in order to lower drug prices f… Continue Reading

Durbin: Congress Has A Responsibility To Gather A Full Accounting Of What Happened On January 6

WASHINGTON - Days after the fence around the U.S. Capitol building was removed and six months after the January 6 insurrection, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today once again slammed Senate Republicans' refusal to support the bipartisan January 6 commission, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and applauded Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats for creating a select committee to investigate both the security failing… Continue Reading

Durbin Meets Virtually With Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today met virtually with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to speak on continued cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine. On the call, Durbin and Yatsenyuk discussed ongoing acts of Russian aggression towards Ukraine, U.S.-Ukraine security cooperation and assistance, and concerns with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Durbin also expressed his continued support for strong bipartisan Con… Continue Reading

Durbin Responds To Cornyn, Tillis Letter On Dream Act Proposal

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and lead author of the Dream Act, today responded to a July 6, 2021, letter from U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) requesting a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting to consider legislation, which apparently has not yet been introduced, to "offer permanent legal status to only currently enrolled and active participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)… Continue Reading

Durbin: Congress Must Address Gun Violence In Chicago And Across The Country

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today spoke on the Senate floor about President Biden's Gun Crime Prevention Strategy and what must be done to help prevent mass shooting tragedies in Chicago and across the country. "Did you hear that? This year, 23,000 gun violence deaths in America…Sadly, virtually every weekend is a mass shooting in the City of Chicago," Durbin said. "No other nation on Earth experiences this massive c… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Department Of Education Approving 1,600 Borrower Defense Claims For Former Westwood College Students

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Education announcing that it has approved 1,600 borrower defense claims from former Westwood College students, amounting to $53 million in relief. Of the 1,600 claims discharged, 488 belonged to Illinoisans, totaling $16 million in relief. In 2012, then-Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a suit against Westwood College for using deceptive marketing in violation of… Continue Reading

Durbin: Prescription Drug Advertisements Should Disclose Prices

SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today held a virtual news conference with A.J. Wilhelmi, President and CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA), and Rosanna Marquez, State President of AARP Illinois, to discuss bipartisan legislation he introduced last month to address the high cost of medicines by requiring price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs. "Over the course of the pandemic, many Americans spent more time at home watching television. And … Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Urge SBA To Support State's Request For DuPage County Disaster Declaration

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman supporting Illinois Governor JB Pritzker's request for a Disaster Declaration for DuPage County in Illinois as a result of a tornado that touched down on June 21, 2021. The damage assessment conducted this month by the SBA found that 79 properties either incurred damage or were destroyed as a result of the t… Continue Reading

Durbin, Duckworth Announce $2 Million In Federal Funding To Address Violence, Support Trauma-Informed Care In Chicago

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced a total of $2 million in federal funding to help address trauma and the cycle of violence in Chicago. The funding, which was awarded by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), will support four Chicago initiatives aimed at expanding and improving trauma-informed care for youth who have been exposed to community violence. "Too many kids in Chicago carry the burden of trauma and too often, there'… Continue Reading

Durbin, Murray, Colleagues Submit Public Comment On Rulemaking To Department Of Education, Urge Accountability Of For-Profit Colleges

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), led a group of 10 Senators in sending a public comment to the U.S. Department of Education regarding the Department's upcoming accountability rulemaking related to improving program integrity, oversight accountability, and consumer protection for institutions of higher education that receive taxpayer-funded federal financia… Continue Reading

Durbin Calls On Justice Department To Reconsider Its Approach To Ongoing Detention At Guantanamo Bay

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today urged Attorney General (AG) Merrick Garland to ensure that the Department of Justice's (DOJ) approach to ongoing detention at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay reflects the values of our nation. In a letter to AG Garland, Durbin argued that indefinite detention is antithetical to the ideals of liberty that the United States was founded upon and called on Garland to reconsider DOJ's approach to… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Assassination Of Haitian President Moise

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement on the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse: "The criminal assassination of Haitian President Moïse will only further the country's political and security crises. I'm calling on the UN and OAS to hold emergency meetings on the situation in Haiti this week and establish a peacekeeping force to help stabilize the nation and create conditions for an overdue election. The U.S. shoul… Continue Reading

Durbin Statement On Build Back Better Event With President Biden

CRYSTAL LAKE - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement today after joining President Biden during his trip to Illinois, including an event at McHenry Community College in which the President discussed his "Build Back Better" agenda to help working families in Illinois and around the country: "President Biden's American Families Plan would make education more affordable and provide economic security to Illinois families. Universal access to high-quality Pre-… Continue Reading

Durbin, Colleagues Call On Inter-American Commission On Human Rights To Complete Investigation Of Death Of Cuban Political Reformer Oswaldo Paya

WASHINGTON - Ahead of the ninth anniversary of Cuban political reformer Oswaldo Payá's suspicious death, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Ted Cruz (R-TX), urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to advance its efforts on this case without further delay. In 2013, Durbin sent a letter to previous Commission Executive Secretary Emilio Icaza originally urging the C… Continue Reading