In The News
$21 million in construction projects coming to Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL - Over $21 million in construction projects are coming to Edwardsville thanks to a federal grant announced by union-backed leaders in late June. U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth announced that Edwardsville will receive a $21.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Goshen Road and Liberty Trail multi-modal transportation improvement project. Edwardsville Mayor Art Risavy said it was a “significant” federal … Continue Reading
June 18, 2024
All Troops Could Have IVF Covered by Military Health Care Under Proposal in Must-Pass Defense Bill
Service members and dependents would be able to get fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization covered by military health care in any circumstance, under an amendment added to the Senate's version of the annual must-pass defense policy bill. Under the amendment sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Tricare Prime and Tricare Select would be required to cover a range of fertility treatments, including IVF, regardless of the beneficiary's medical diagnosis, sex, sex … Continue Reading
June 13, 2024
Duckworth renews push to create federal in-vitro fertilization protections
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is renewing her push in Washington to ensure nationwide access to in-vitro fertilization treatment, ahead of a scheduled Thursday vote. The latest attempt from the Chicago Democrat, a prior bill stalling in February, the Right to IVF Act would enshrine IVF access for civilians and service members, require insurance coverage for the treatment and protect providers from any liability. IVF is broadly protected in Illinois, state lawmakers taking action last month to … Continue Reading
June 12, 2024
Democrats to force vote for protections for IVF as election-year messaging heats up
WASHINGTON — After a failed vote last week that would have ensured nationwide access to contraception, Democrats on Thursday are expected to force a vote to enshrine protections for in vitro fertilization — a fertility procedure that has helped millions of families have children — and expand access to the treatment for service members and veterans. The Right to IVF Act is a “comprehensive” package aimed at protecting IVF, according to the Democratic trio behind the bill: Sens. Cory Booker, … Continue Reading
June 07, 2024
Illinois Sen. Duckworth at forefront of Dems' push to protect reproductive rights
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth continues to lead Democrats' push to protect reproductive rights nationwide, despite this week's setback with the Right to Contraception Act. Why it matters: The legislation would protect access to contraceptives, which are used for myriad health issues, not just for birth control. The latest: Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the bill from moving ahead, with all but two GOP senators present voting against it. Between the lines: Democrats calling out MAGA … Continue Reading
May 30, 2024
Illinois schools get $48 million boost for clean buses from EPA program
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS) — Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have announced that 28 school districts in Illinois will be awarded substantial rebates totaling over $48 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2023 Clean School Bus Program 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 vehicles, like electric buses, while … Continue Reading
May 29, 2024
U.S. lawmakers' message for Taiwan amid political turmoil: 'Democracy is messy'
TAIPEI, Taiwan — It was a message delivered in blunt terms. “Democracy is messy. Democracy can be hard, but it is far better to have a messy democracy than to be controlled by an authoritarian,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told NBC News on Wednesday during a two-day visit to Taiwan. She and three other U.S. senators arrived on the Beijing-claimed island in the midst of domestic political turmoil, as the executive cabinet said it would reject parliamentary reforms passed by the … Continue Reading
May 29, 2024
President hails visiting US delegation as demonstration of close Taiwan-US ties
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te welcomed the latest U.S. congressional delegation on Wednesday (May 29), calling the visit a demonstration of the solid partnership between Taiwan and the U.S. The delegation, led by Senator Tammy Duckworth, arrived on Wednesday and included fellow Senators Dan Sullivan, Chris Coons, and Laphonza Butler. They are slated to meet with high-level Taiwan officials to discuss U.S.-Taiwan ties, regional security, and other issues, according to the … Continue Reading
May 26, 2024
Aurora woman’s ‘chilling’ flight results in new FAA bill provision
Sitting on the floor of a tiny airplane lavatory, stomach cramping and laboring to breathe, Alexa Jordan, flying home to Aurora from Boston her freshman year at Harvard, had one major thought racing through her mind that May evening in 2019: There needs to be a law so what she was going through would never happen to anyone else. Thanks to Jordan’s tenacity and legislative partnership with Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, on May 15 - exactly five years to the day Jordan said she went into … Continue Reading
May 23, 2024
Today, ‘disability justice is reproductive justice’ — but that hasn’t always been the case
Historically, the disability and reproductive rights movements have operated separately, “just ignoring each other,” as one advocate put it, as they pursued aims that at times felt contradictory: While one movement fought for full abortion access, the other sought for people to stop ending pregnancies where disabilities were detected. A new House resolution announced Thursday by Rep. Ayanna Pressley highlights shifts in the movements’ relationship accelerated by the end of federal abortion … Continue Reading
May 23, 2024
Legislation proposes partnership with non-military hospitals in Indo-Pacific as fix to on-base medical understaffing
WASHINGTON — Faced with severe staffing shortages last summer, medical personnel at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, urged pregnant women to give birth elsewhere. The women were given two choices: use a Japanese hospital, where epidurals are rarely given and patients in labor can be denied admittance, or be flown to a location in the United States. Naval Hospital Okinawa, the only full-service medical center on the island, would not have enough staff to deliver babies from August to … Continue Reading
May 22, 2024
'Absolutely Fed Up': Senator Mulls Ways to Force Pentagon to Boost Incentive Pay for Guardsmen and Reservists
Two and a half years ago, Congress passed a law guaranteeing National Guardsmen and reservists would get the same amount of incentive pay for special skills as their active-duty counterparts. But the Pentagon still has not implemented that law, and one of the key senators who advocated for the change says her patience is running out. In an interview this week with Military.com, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., suggested that the Pentagon has until the Senate Armed Services Committee debates its … Continue Reading
May 20, 2024
Disability Barriers to Air Travel Targeted in New Aviation Law
Air travel for those with disabilities is set to see some improvements stemming from broad, bipartisan legislation Congress cleared last week — a step forward in advocates’ long fight for friendlier skies. The multiyear Federal Aviation Administration legislation (H.R. 3935) authorizes $20 million a year for a new pilot program to make airports more accessible, requires plane seating accommodations and seeks to improve protections for passengers in wheelchairs and those traveling with service … Continue Reading
May 19, 2024
Duckworth brings Gaza medical team’s pleas directly to White House
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) delivered a letter to the White House on Sunday calling on President Joe Biden to use his full influence to secure the safe exit of American and international medical personnel trapped in Gaza in anticipation of an escalating military campaign in Rafah. The letter, shared with POLITICO, was written by Dr. Adam Hamawy, a U.S. Army combat surgeon who Duckworth credits with saving her life after she was shot down in Iraq in 2004. Hamawy is among the group of World … Continue Reading
May 13, 2024
Baby Food Safety Act Would Give FDA Authority to Limit Toxic Heavy Metals in Food for Children
To protect the health of young children, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) have introduced legislation to limit the levels of toxic heavy metals allowed in foods produced for infants and toddlers. The House companion bill is led by Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) and Tony Cárdenas (D-California). The Baby Food Safety Act of 2024 would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to enforce scientifically established … Continue Reading
May 10, 2024
Sen. Duckworth promotes IVF ahead of Mother's Day
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Friday used the approaching Mother's Day to renew her push to protect access to in vitro fertilization, which she used to conceive her own two daughters, in a roundtable discussion with local stakeholders on the city's north … Continue Reading
May 09, 2024
Service members and veterans are fighting for the right to fertility treatments
After having flown helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in the Marines for 11 years, Jacquelyne Nichols left active-duty service and joined the reserves in part to pursue a new mission: building a family. But Nichols and her husband — who also served in the Marines — struggled to conceive when she returned home from deployment in Qatar in 2018, launching her on a yearslong fertility journey. “I knew that I could potentially sacrifice my life, limbs and health,” she said. “But what I didn’t … Continue Reading
May 03, 2024
Senator Duckworth applauds $240 million federal investment to remove lead from Illinois water
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) celebrated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of a more than $240 million investment from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. The funds will aid Illinois in identifying and replacing lead service lines, crucial in preventing lead poisoning among the state’s residents. Duckworth’s efforts culminated in the passage of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which marks … Continue Reading
April 22, 2024
Illinois, Chicago elected officials gather for groundbreaking of O'Hare Terminal 3 improvements
Last year, it was announced O'Hare is receiving a $50 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It's part of a $300 million Terminal 3 improvement project. Upgrades include easier ways to check bags and get through security, more concessions and expanding access for people with disabilities. "Today marks a significant step forward in redefining the travel experience at O'Hare International Airport through the ElevateT3 project," Johnson said. "This transformative initiative not … Continue Reading
April 22, 2024
Senators show confidence in Johnson’s O’Hare rebuild plan
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to tweak the massive, delayed rebuild of O’Hare International Airport got a major vote of confidence Monday from Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. Johnson wants to change the sequencing of construction on the long-awaited Global Terminal and two new satellite concourses. That idea had initially drawn pushback from the congressional leaders when first reported earlier this month. But Durbin and Duckworth rallied behind the plan Monday. “We’re in a better … Continue Reading
