Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Justice and Civil Rights
Durbin Statement On President Biden Recognizing Ratification Of The ERA
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after President Biden announced his position on the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which enshrines gender equality into the Constitution: “The Equal Rights Amendment is literally a century in the making, and over the years, generations of Americans have done their part to move it forward. They’ve marched on Washington, they’ve met with … Continue Reading
January 17, 2025
Durbin Statement On President Biden Commuting Sentences Of Nearly 2,500 Non-Violent Drug Offenders
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after President Joe Biden announced the commutation of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses: “I authored the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act because I believe in second chances. Far too many incarcerated people are serving excessively long sentences for non-violent drug convictions, despite demonstrating good behavior … Continue Reading
January 15, 2025
Pam Bondi Associates With Extremists
Pam Bondi has a history of surrounding herself with many troubling individuals who have either been accused of various criminal wrongdoings or have made extreme statements disparaging opponents of Donald Trump, Democratic Party members, and Jewish people. Matt Schlapp was accused of groping a Republican campaign staffer without consent, which was later investigated along with two other incidents of sexual misconduct. Pam Bondi took to social media to defend Schlapp. Paula White is a … Continue Reading
January 14, 2025
Durbin Urges OPM To Approve Special Pay Rate For BOP Employees To Address Critical Staffing Shortages At BOP Facilities Nationwide
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to Rob Shriver, Acting Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to request that OPM approve the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) recently-transmitted special pay rate request for critical employees nationwide. “I write to request that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) act swiftly to approve the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) recently … Continue Reading
January 13, 2025
Durbin Outlines Concerns Regarding Pam Bondi, Trump's Attorney General Pick, Ahead Of Nomination Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor ahead of this week’s nomination hearing for President-elect Donald Trump’s Attorney General pick, Pam Bondi. The speech follows a meeting between Durbin and Bondi last week. Durbin began by underscoring the importance of the Attorney General’s role to the daily lives of the American people, saying: “The significance of the Attorney General cannot be … Continue Reading
December 17, 2024
Durbin Celebrates Sixth Anniversary Of The First Step Act On Senate Floor
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, celebrated the sixth anniversary of the First Step Act—bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation designed to make our justice system fairer and our communities safer by reforming sentencing laws and providing opportunities for those who are incarcerated to prepare to re-enter society successfully. The First Step Act was signed into law by then-President … Continue Reading
October 25, 2024
Durbin Applauds President Biden's Formal Apology To Native Communities For Federal Government's Role In Native American Boarding Schools
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded President Biden’s formal apology for the U.S. government’s actions in establishing and running hundreds of Federal Indian Boarding Schools: “Today, President Biden is taking a major step forward in our nation’s reckoning with the deeply painful history of Native boarding school policies that caused irreparable damage to Native communities. The scars of these unjust, hateful actions—the federal government’s attempts to … Continue Reading
October 10, 2024
Durbin Joins 1908 Springfield Race Riot National Monument Commemoration
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) last night attended a ribbon cutting ceremony to designate the 1908 Springfield Race Riot site as a National Monument alongside U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13). This designation ensures the historic site will be preserved to tell the story of the Springfield Race Riot of 1908—a critical event in American history that spurred the creation of the National Association for the … Continue Reading
September 25, 2024
Durbin, Duckworth, Ramirez, Underwood Celebrate Senate Passage Of Resolution Honoring Wadee Alfayoumi
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03) and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) celebrated Senate passage of a resolution honoring Wadee Alfayoumi, a six-year-old Palestinian American boy who was murdered as a victim of a hate crime in Plainfield, Illinois, on October 14, 2023. The lawmakers introduced the resolution earlier this year. “Wadee … Continue Reading
September 17, 2024
Durbin Questions Witnesses During Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing On Stemming The Rise Of Hate Crimes
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 “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America.” The hearing examined the threats facing marginalized communities and how the federal government can better protect the civil rights and safety of all Americans, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim Americans. Building on the Committee’s … Continue Reading
September 17, 2024
Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Senate Committee On Rise Of Hate Crimes In America
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing entitled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America.” The hearing will examine the threats facing marginalized communities and how the federal government can better protect the civil rights and safety of all Americans, including Jewish, Arab, and Muslim Americans. Building on the … Continue Reading
July 18, 2024
Durbin Statement On Sonya Massey
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement in response to the announcement of charges in the death of Sonya Massey: “My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Sonya Massey during this difficult time. Our law enforcement officers are called on to protect and serve their communities with honor and courage, but any who fail to follow the high standards they have sworn to uphold must be held … Continue Reading
June 25, 2024
Durbin Statement On Surgeon General Advisory Highlighting Firearm Violence As Urgent Public Health Issue
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement on a new U.S. Surgeon General Advisory calling the American people’s attention to firearm violence as an urgent public health issue that demands response: “The Surgeon General’s advisory sounds the alarm on gun violence, a uniquely American crisis. I’ve worked with doctors treating gunshot victims, spoken with survivors about the physical and emotional scars … Continue Reading
June 24, 2024
On The Two-Year Anniversary Of The Dobbs Ruling, Durbin Recommits To Protecting Women's Reproductive Freedom
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court: “For the past two years, the Dobbs ruling has sown chaos, fear, and division. Abortion is now completely banned in 14 states, leaving large swaths of the country without care. Some statewide bans include jail time for health care providers who perform … Continue Reading
June 21, 2024
Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Ruling In United States v. Rahimi
SPRINGFIELD - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling today in United States v. Rahimi, which ruled that when an individual has been found by a court to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another, that individual may be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment: “Today, the Court reaffirmed that the Second Amendment is not limitless and rejected … Continue Reading
June 20, 2024
In Speech On Senate Floor, Durbin Applauds President Biden's Executive Actions For Undocumented Immigrants
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded President Joe Biden’s executive actions to offer relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including allowing undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens to seek protection and streamlining the process for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) holders and other immigrants to change their immigration status. In March, Durbin led a group … Continue Reading
June 14, 2024
Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Bump Stocks Ruling
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling today in Garland v. Cargill, which ruled a bump stock does not convert a rifle into a machine gun: “This ruling is deeply disappointing. Like Justice Sotomayor notes in her dissent: ‘When I see a bird that walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.’ A bump stock effectively turns a … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Durbin Reveals Omissions Of Gifted Private Travel To Justice Clarence Thomas From Harlan Crow
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released exclusively obtained information from Harlan Crow on his gifts of free luxury travel to Justice Clarence Thomas, which was omitted from Justice Thomas’ financial disclosure, despite last week’s amendment to his 2019 financial disclosure report. A report on the Senate Judiciary Committee Majority’s Supreme Court ethics investigation will be released later this summer. In documents … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Durbin Delivers Floor Speech Calling On His Colleagues To Protect IVF Access Ahead Of Right To IVF Act Vote
WASHINGTON - Ahead of the Right to IVF Act vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke on the Senate floor urging his colleagues to vote for this crucial legislation. The legislation, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, establishes a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide, or cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) services and other assisted reproductive technologies. It also expands insurance coverage for such care. During … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Durbin Statement On Senate Republicans Voting Against The Right To IVF Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after Senate Republicans voted against the Right to IVF Act. The legislation, which Durbin is a cosponsor of, establishes a clear and enforceable nationwide right to receive, provide, or cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) services and other assisted reproductive technologies. It also expands insurance coverage for such care. “Whether, when, and how to … Continue Reading