In The News

September 20, 2024

Kangaroo leather ban introduced in US Senate

by Lara Ewen

Dive Brief: The Kangaroo Protection Act of 2024 was introduced to the U.S. Senate on Thursday, according to a release posted by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., one of the bill’s sponsors. Co-sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., the bill would ban the sale and manufacturing of products made from kangaroo skin, as well as the sale of kangaroo skin itself, in the U.S. The legislation is designed to prevent the use of kangaroo leather, also known as k-leather, in commercial products, notably … Continue Reading


September 18, 2024

Democrats' bill to protect IVF fails again: Why Republicans blocked it

by Kinsey Crowley
Source: USA TODAY

Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked a bill protecting access to in-vitro fertilization as the fight over reproductive rights and having children heats up in the 2024 election. IVF, a treatment for infertility, has increasingly become a political issue after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in Februrary gave embryos fertilized through IVF the same legal rights as children, causing many providers to temporarily halt treatment in the state. The Right to IVF Act, sponsored by Sen. Tammy … Continue Reading


September 17, 2024

Duckworth slams Trump, GOP after 2nd failed attempt to pass IVF protections

by Eric Stock

For the second time, the U.S. Senate on Tuesday failed to advance a bill to enshrine protections for in-vitro fertilization [IVF]. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois proposed the measure that the Senate blocked in June. The measure failed to reach 60 votes again on Tuesday in a mostly party-line vote. It was not expected to pass. Duckworth used the fertility treatment to have her two children. She's concerned that a conservative U.S. Supreme Court that struck down Roe v. Wade … Continue Reading


September 17, 2024

'I'm not even sure he can spell IVF': Tammy Duckworth doubts Trump on reproductive rights

by David Edwards
Source: RAW STORY

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) blamed former President Donald Trump for undermining families' access to in vitro fertilization (IVF). At a press conference on Tuesday, Duckworth promoted a bill that would establish a nationwide right to IVF and lower costs for the procedure. Duckworth noted that she used IVF treatments to start a family after being injured in combat. "It's a miracle, because after ten years of struggling with infertility, after being wounded in combat, I was only able to have … Continue Reading


September 17, 2024

For Duckworth, Preserving I.V.F. Access Is Personal

by Maya C. Miller

When Senator Tammy Duckworth put off having children to prioritize her military career, the risk of losing her fertility because of combat injuries never crossed her mind. But after she lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down in Iraq, Ms. Duckworth struggled for more than a decade with infertility — a condition her doctor suggested was tied to the many X-rays she received during treatment for her injuries — before giving birth to two daughters via in vitro fertilization. It’s an … Continue Reading


August 27, 2024

Efforts underway to revitalize naval station’s ‘zombie village’; ‘No one should be living in Halsey Village’

by Steve Sadin

Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth called it a “zombie village,” and Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart suggested, “There is not a neighborhood in all of Lake County in a worse condition.” They were referring to the privately managed Halsey Village at Naval Station Great Lakes, where approximately 70.5% of the houses are uninhabitable. Of those, 44 are fenced off in the southwest corner of the project near Green Bay and Buckley roads. “The neighborhood has taken on the moniker of ‘zombie … Continue Reading


August 27, 2024

Illinois senators secure $1 million to remove lead pipes from schools, childcare buildings

by Danny Connolly
Source: WCIA

ILLINOIS (WCIA) — The state of Illinois is getting money to reduce lead exposure for children. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced the state will get $1,093,000 to reduce the number of lead pipes in schools and childcare facilities in the state. ILLINOIS (WCIA) — The state of Illinois is getting money to reduce lead exposure for children. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced the state will get $1,093,000 to reduce the number of lead … Continue Reading


August 16, 2024

Biden designates the site of 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois, a national monument

by Chelsea Bailey
Source: CNN

President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Friday designating the site of a 1908 race massacre in Springfield, Illinois, a national monument. For two nights in August 1908, a White mob laid siege to Springfield, indiscriminately looting, burning and destroying Black-owned homes and businesses, in a race riot that would become known as the Springfield Massacre. Two Black men were lynched during the riot and their deaths fueled calls to start a national movement for political and racial justice … Continue Reading


August 15, 2024

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth to lead U.S. delegation to Paralympic Games

by Chris Benson
Source: UPI

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth will lead the U.S. delegation at the 2024 Paralympic Games opening in Paris this month, the White House announced Thursday. The newly appointed group to be members of this year's American delegation will be attending either the opening or closing ceremonies at the 2024 Paralympic Games international sporting event in Paris, set to begin Aug. 28, according to a release. Duckworth is an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient who lost both … Continue Reading


August 14, 2024

‘Not very accessible at all’: How Capitol Hill still poses obstacles to lawmakers, advocates with disabilities

by Erin Durkin and Savannah Behrmann

Sen. Tammy Duckworth has spent more than a decade on Capitol Hill. Yet, she still faces a daunting challenge on the Senate floor. No, it’s not her colleagues on the other side of the aisle. It is doors—heavy doors—connecting the Senate floor to the cloakroom. The obstacle has rendered the cloakroom largely inaccessible to the lawmaker unless someone assists her. Duckworth, 56, has used a wheelchair since she lost her legs, and partial use of her right arm, after her Army helicopter was hit … Continue Reading


August 14, 2024

Congress didn’t recognize a race riot. Biden will make the site a monument.

by Maxine Joselow

In 1908, a White mob incited a race riot in Springfield, Ill., leaving several people dead, hundreds injured and dozens of Black-owned businesses and homes burned and destroyed. On Friday, President Joe Biden will designate a national monument to commemorate the violent event, the White House confirmed to The Washington Post on Wednesday. Biden, aiming to bolster his record on racial justice as he prepares to leave office in January, will sign the designation proclamation during an event at … Continue Reading


August 02, 2024

Your turn: It's time to make school buses safer for our children

by Tammy Duckworth

Parents of school-age children understand that weekday mornings are a ritual. We wake up our kids, pack their lunches, bundle them into their coats, keeping our fingers crossed we didn’t forget anything while rushing them to the bus stop. We wave goodbye as they wait for their school bus, hoping their ride is uneventful. As a mother, the safety and security of my girls is always at the top of my mind—when they play on the jungle gym at the park, when they swim at the pool and, yes, when they … Continue Reading


August 01, 2024

Duckworth reintroduces police training reform bill following Sonya Massey shooting

by Patrick M. Keck

The July 6 fatal shooting of Sonya Massey at the hands of a now-former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy is prompting renewed calls for police reform in Washington. Details of the shooting of Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, have gone international since the body camera footage went public on July 22 with marches, rallies and protests across the country. Facing five counts, including first-degree murder, and now in custody in the case is Sean P. Grayson of Riverton. President Joe Biden and … Continue Reading


July 31, 2024

Two US senators propose a STAND with Taiwan act

by Jonathan Chin

A bipartisan group of US senators last week introduced a bill to sanction Beijing if it wages war against Taiwan. The bill would oblige Washington to impose sanctions on China should the US president determine that Beijing or any of its proxies has launched a military invasion of Taiwan, the lawmakers said. US senators Tammy Duckworth and Dan Sullivan, a Democrat and Republican respectively, jointly sponsored the draft act entitled the “sanctions targeting aggressors of neighboring … Continue Reading


July 30, 2024

Senate Democrats Unveil Police Accountability Legislation After The Killing Of Sonya Massey

by Phillip Jackson
Source: HUFFPOST

Senate Democrats are pushing for police reform legislation following the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman killed by a deputy in Springfield, Illinois, earlier this month. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) reintroduced Tuesday the Police Training and Independent Review Act — a bill that would use grants to incentivize states to improve law enforcement training and hold independent investigations when police kill civilians. A dozen Democrats co-sponsored Duckworth’s bill. It also … Continue Reading


July 25, 2024

Senator Tammy Duckworth And Paralympian Matt Scott Open Up About Making Fitness For All In Interview

by Steven Aquino
Source: FORBES

This week marks the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) being signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in the South Lawn outside the White House. The event occurred on July 26, 1990, a seminal moment for the disability community and our collective civil rights. More than three decades later, two things about the landmark law’s enactment are indelibly etched into my psyche. It seems unfathomable that (1) it really took until I was almost 9 years old that disabled … Continue Reading


July 20, 2024

FCC slashes cost of phone calls for inmates, capping decades-long effort

by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff

The cost of phone calls will drop dramatically for incarcerated people under new rules that federal regulators approved Thursday, concluding a decades-long effort to provide relief to the nation’s 2 million inmates and their families. A 15-minute call to or from large jails, which now costs as much as $11.35, will cost 90 cents beginning next year. In small jails, the cost will fall from as high as $12.10 to $1.35. Video call rates will decrease to less than one-quarter of current prices, … Continue Reading


July 18, 2024

Inmate phone call costs slashed by US agency

by David Shepardson
Source: REUTERS

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - Hefty phone bills for inmates in U.S. prisons and jails were slashed by the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, affecting about 2 million incarcerated persons and their families.   Under the final rules, the cost of a 15-minute phone call will drop to 90 cents from as much as $11.35 in large jails. In small jails it will cost $1.35 instead of $12.10.   Inmates cannot receive voice calls but families can schedule video calls through some … Continue Reading


July 17, 2024

US Senator Tammy Duckworth visits Vietnam

Phuong welcomed Duckworth’s visit which he said demonstrates the Senator’s desire to further cultivate the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development. The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly expressed his joy at the positive development of relations between the two countries and the two parliaments in recent times. Duckworth for her part affirmed that the visit shows the US Senators delegation’s respect for promoting relations between … Continue Reading


July 17, 2024

NA Vice Chairman hosts US Senator

Source: VIETNAM+

Hanoi (VNA) - National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong hosted a reception in Hanoi on July 17 for US Senator Tammy Duckworth who affirmed that the visit demonstrates the importance her delegation attaches to boost relations between the two countries and their parliaments.The senator told the host that accompanying her this time were representatives in the fields of external affairs and economics and trade, with a hope to discuss opportunities and measures to promote strategic … Continue Reading

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