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Currently showing results related to Education
Durbin Talks Youth Mental Health, Education Funding With Illinois Association Of School Boards
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with members of the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) to discuss federal education funding as the Trump Administration aims to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and cut off local school districts from federal resources. During their meeting, Durbin and IASB members addressed the importance of pushing back against the Trump Administration’s cuts by securing strong funding for Title I schools and increasing … Continue Reading
September 04, 2025
Durbin Meets With NIU President As Trump Administration Slashes Research Funding, Restricts Financial Support For Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Lisa Freeman, President of Northern Illinois University (NIU), to discuss the harmful impacts of congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which caps graduate student and Parent PLUS loans and institutes a lifetime borrowing limit that makes higher education increasingly more inaccessible for low and middle-income students. The legislation also places new limitations on Pell … Continue Reading
August 26, 2025
Durbin Joins Ribbon Cutting For National Science Foundation Institutes Hosted By Northwestern University
CHICAGO - Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined a ribbon cutting ceremony for the National Institute for Theory and Mathematics in Biology (NITMB) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Simons AI Institute for the Sky (SkAI), two new institutes hosted by Northwestern University with support from NSF and in partnership with the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois. “Today’s ribbon cutting is an example of the incredible things we can achieve when … Continue Reading
July 28, 2025
Durbin, Hirono, Padilla, Wyden And Booker Introduce Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act To Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness To Adjunct Professors
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today reintroduced the Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2025 to allow part-time faculty at colleges and universities - who are often have high student debt loads and are paid low wages with few benefits - to be eligible to participate in the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The Adjunct Faculty Loan … Continue Reading
July 25, 2025
Durbin Calls Out Cuts To Medicaid, Student Loan Caps For Medical Students At SIU Medical School
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined educators and health care professionals at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine to discuss the Trump Administration’s cuts to Medicaid and medical research, and the impact recent caps to student loans will have on medical students. “Earlier this month, President Trump and Republicans in Congress slashed health care to provide tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans in our nation,” said Durbin. “The … Continue Reading
March 20, 2025
Durbin Statement On Trump Executive Order To Demolish The Department Of Education
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after President Trump signed an Executive Order to demolish the U.S. Department of Education: “President Trump’s dangerous demagoguery knows no bounds. Shredding the Department of Education, a federal agency dedicated to the success of the next generation, is depraved and deeply damaging to the future of this country. “Trump’s formula for American greatness: Eliminate federal aid to … Continue Reading
March 19, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues To Education Secretary: "We Will Not Stand By As You Attempt To Turn Back The Clock On Education In This Country
WASHINGTON - As the Trump administration and Elon Musk attack public education in America by closing offices and laying off 1,300 workers at the Department of Education, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and 35 of their Senate colleagues in a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon expressing outrage at the administration’s reckless and illegal firing of half of the workforce at the U.S. Department … Continue Reading
February 26, 2025
Durbin, King, Smith, Wyden Introduce Legislation To Help Make College Textbooks More Affordable
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) today introduced legislation designed to help students manage costs by making high quality textbooks easily accessible to students, professors, and the public for free. The legislation, known as the Affordable College Textbook Act, would authorize a competitive grant program to support the creation and expansion of open college textbooks—textbooks that are … Continue Reading
February 07, 2025
Durbin, Duckworth Join Colleagues To Demand Answers About Trump's Efforts To Restrict & Undermine NSF-Funded Scientific Research
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), along with 22 of their colleagues, in sounding the alarm over the Trump Administration injecting partisanship into scientific studies, obstructing critical research, potentially derailing the careers of promising American researchers, and attempting to undermine the U.S. scientific research ecosystem. With several major sources of federal research … Continue Reading
August 08, 2024
Durbin Joins Warren To Urge Navient To Reform Flawed Process To Cancel Student Loans Pushed Onto Borrowers Attending Fraudulent, For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), U.S. Representatives Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03), and 30 lawmakers in sending a letter urging student loan servicer Navient to reform its flawed process to cancel the private student loans of borrowers who attended fraudulent, for-profit colleges. The lawmakers argued that ??under the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Holder Rule and due to … Continue Reading
July 23, 2024
Durbin Introduces Legislation To Improve Accountability Of Foreign Medical Schools Receiving Federal Student Aid
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced legislation that would protect students and taxpayers by closing a loophole that gives special treatment to a small number of overseas medical schools. The Foreign Medical School Accountability Fairness Act would require all medical schools outside of the U.S. and Canada to meet the same minimum requirements to receive Title IV student aid dollars. Currently, some overseas medical schools, including those in the … Continue Reading
July 09, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Introduce Bill Expanding Student Loan Refinancing For Service Members
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced the Servicemember Student Loan Affordability Act, legislation that would amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to allow service members to consolidate or refinance student loan debt they had when they entered the military and continue to benefit from the six percent interest rate cap to which they are entitled through the SCRA. A provision in the SCRA protects service … Continue Reading
June 26, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Send Illinois School Counselors Letter Urging Them To Support Students Completing The FAFSA
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today sent a letter to Illinois school counselors to urge them to assist students and their families in filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). After Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act, the U.S. Department of Education rolled out a new FAFSA form in January 2024. However, students, families, and counselors have experienced challenges with the new form. Along with … Continue Reading
June 14, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $14 Million In Grant Funding For Head Start Projects
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that Illinois Head Start programs will receive $14,026,810 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant funding. The federal funding will support Head Start’s mission to offer services for children under the age of five in receiving wrap-around support in early learning and development. “Providing a strong education is one of the greatest gifts we can give the next … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Durbin Meets With Braven And First-Generation College Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) met with Aimée Eubanks-Davis, CEO of Braven, an organization that works with colleges and employers to help underserved students complete college and obtain quality jobs by offering students a class on workforce readiness skills, support in securing paid internships, and holding networking, mentoring, and job skill sessions. First-generation college students from Chicago State University, National Louis University, and Northern … Continue Reading
June 07, 2024
Durbin, Schakowsky Offer Recommendations For New Department Of Education Mentorship Grant Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) today sent a bicameral letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona applauding the inclusion of a Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations bill provision that creates a mentorship grant program that mirrors Durbin and Schakowsky’s Mentoring to Succeed Act. In their letter, the lawmakers highlighted the benefits of mentorship and offered suggestions on developing the mentorship … Continue Reading
May 30, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce That Illinois School Districts Will Receive $48.4 Million In Rebates For EPA Clean School Bus Program
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced that 28 Illinois school districts will receive significant rebates, a combined total of more than $48 million, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2023 Clean School Bus Program (CSBP) rebate competition. The program, a $5 billion effort established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aims to convert the nation’s school bus fleets to low- or zero-emission … Continue Reading
May 29, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth Announce $11.5 Million In Grant Funding For Head Start Projects
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the Carole Robertson Center for Learning in Chicago will receive $11,516,272 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant funding to support the center’s Head Start programming, which offers services for children under the age of five in receiving wrap-around support in early learning and development. “Providing a strong education is one of the greatest gifts … Continue Reading
April 18, 2024
Durbin Joins Colleagues in Pressing Navient to Cancel Loans of Borrowers Scammed by Fraudulent, For-Profit Colleges and Services Misconduct
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and seven of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to David L. Yowan, President and Chief Executive Officer of student loan servicer Navient, urging the servicer to cancel decades-old private student loans pushed onto borrowers attending fraudulent, for-profit colleges. The letter comes as Navient plans to transfer its 2.7 million student borrower loan portfolio to the Higher … Continue Reading
May 03, 2023
Durbin Leads Colleagues In Penning Letter To Departments Of Education, Defense, And Veterans Affairs Warning Against Predatory For-Profit College University Of Phoenix
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), today sent a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough warning the agency leaders about the predatory for-profit college University of Phoenix's (Phoenix) latest tactics to recruit students using … Continue Reading