In The News
U.S. Lawmakers Are Finally Introducing a New Bill on Baby Food Safety
On Friday, March 26, a group of democratic lawmakers will introduce a new bill focused on toxic heavy metals in baby food. The bill would set new maximum levels for toxic heavy metals, including inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, in both baby food and cereal, as well as require compliance from manufacturers within one year. The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 would also stipulate that the levels be lowered further within two years with FDA guidance and after three years with … Continue Reading
March 29, 2021
Duckworth: Social media habits hold clues to extremists in the military
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Monday suggested that the Pentagon find a way to examine the social media habits of incoming and existing service members who show tendencies toward extremist views. "It's not a new thing, but I will tell you that I have seen over the last probably two decades this growing radicalization of a portion within the military. And I think part of it too comes with social media consumption," Duckworth, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, said at The Hill's Future of … Continue Reading
March 25, 2021
‘No Excuses Left For Inaction’: Sen. Duckworth Asks USPS Board To Fire DeJoy ‘For Cause’
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Thursday called on the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors to fire Postmaster General Louis DeJoy “for cause” over his “pathetic” 10-year strategic plan, the latest sign that Democrats are dead-set on dislodging the Trump appointee from his post. Key Facts In a letter to the board of governors, which currently has a 4-2 Republican majority, Duckworth said the plan demonstrates that DeJoy is a “clear and present … Continue Reading
March 24, 2021
Duckworth withdraws pledge to hold up Biden appointees as White House offers a senior staffer to hear Asian American and Pacific Islander concerns
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has withdrawn her vow to put a hold on President Joe Biden's government nominees over a lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation after the White House vowed to hire a senior official to hear the community's concerns. Duckworth, the first Thai American in Congress, raised the issue of AAPI representation in the White House at a time of increasing fears over violence against the community in the aftermath of a shooting in Atlanta earlier this … Continue Reading
March 23, 2021
Emmett Till’s funeral site may become national monument
It was the site of the funeral of a 14-year-old Black boy whose badly disfigured face shocked the world and helped spark the Civil Rights Movement. Today, efforts are underway to designate the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Bronzeville a national monument, 66 years after it hosted the funeral of murdered teenager Emmett Till. On Tuesday, March 16, several U.S. Senators, including Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), introduced a bill that would … Continue Reading
March 21, 2021
‘Unspeakable tragedy after a year of unfathomable cruelty’: Sen Duckworth responds to Atlanta killings
ST. LOUIS - Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, the first Asian-American member of the state's congressional delegation, testified Thursday during a House Judiciary subcommittee on violence directed at the Asian-American community. The hearing was meant to confront the rise in anti-Asian-American attacks in the year since the coronavirus pandemic and came just days after 8 people, including six Asian-American women, were murdered at spas in Atlanta. Authorities are still investigating if … Continue Reading
March 21, 2021
Sen. Tammy Duckworth Calls For ‘Deeper Investigation’ Into Hate Crimes Against Asian-Americans
WASHINGTON (CBS Chicago/CBS News) - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) on Sunday called on FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland to take a deep look at hate crimes against Asian-Americans. On CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday morning, Duckworth - the first Thai American elected to Congress - said people simply don't believe Asian-Americans are hate crime victims. "The problem is the crimes often are not reported as a hate crime or race-motivated crime at the … Continue Reading
March 20, 2021
Warner, Duckworth Call for Action on Military Families’ Food Insecurity
Upset that a promised report on ways to address the hunger that many military families suffer is overdue, Sen. Mark Warner is calling for steps to make sure military families have enough to eat. Warner and Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel, this week asked Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to provide a Department provide a plan to address military families' food insecurity and hunger issues by April 15. They said such a plan should consider ending … Continue Reading
March 19, 2021
Duckworth on anti-Asian American rhetoric: ‘We can fight back against this rise in extremism’
WASHINGTON – The shootings in Atlanta that killed eight people – six were Asian women – is throwing a spotlight on violence against Asian Americans, “but frankly, it’s been ongoing for a long time now,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said on Friday. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Atlanta on Friday, refocused a trip planned before the Tuesday massacre, canceling a car rally, instead meeting with members of the Atlanta Asian American … Continue Reading
March 19, 2021
A groundbreaking environmental justice bill is poised to become law
With slim majorities in Congress and an ally in the White House, the Democrats who drafted the Environmental Justice for All Act, a comprehensive piece of federal legislation that aims to address environmental disparities in vulnerable communities across the country, are "exceedingly optimistic" that their groundbreaking bill will become law. On Thursday, they officially reintroduced the bill on Capitol Hill. "With new leadership in Congress and the White House, we're in a window of … Continue Reading
March 19, 2021
Sen. Duckworth Introduces Bill Addressing Environmental Racism
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced a bill Thursday that aims to provide health equity and climate justice for underserved communities and communities of color that have historically been impacted by environmental injustices. The Environmental Justice for All Act acknowledges that communities of color face public health challenges that make them much more susceptible to illnesses as a result of inequities. It also strengthens and amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964, funds studies … Continue Reading
March 18, 2021
Illinois Sen. Duckworth Unveils Sweeping Environmental Justice Legislation
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth introduced legislation Thursday aimed at addressing environmental inequalities that low-income and nonwhite communities disproportionately face. The Environmental Justice for All Act would refine existing civil rights and environmental law and create new programs to establish outdoor parks and recreation areas in communities where they are lacking. Duckworth, D-Illinois, calls the bill a "multipronged" approach to environmental justice. "It basically is a framework … Continue Reading
March 18, 2021
Senator Duckworth Speaks At Judiciary Hearing Regarding Ongoing Discrimination And Violence Against Asian Communities
CHICAGO (CBS) - Congress is taking a closer look at the discrimination Asian Americans have faced in the last year. A judiciary committee heard testimony Thursday on the violence and hate speech that has recently increased against the Asian community during the pandemic. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, and the first Thai American woman elected to Congress, said the Asian community in the United States has been the target of racist vitriol; and said, understandably, the … Continue Reading
March 17, 2021
VA's Maternal Health Services Would Improve Under Proposed Legislation
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who was the first member of Congress to give birth while in office, has introduced legislation to improve maternal health care provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Protecting Moms Who Served bill, co-sponsored by Duckworth and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, would provide $15 million to the VA to invest in maternity programs at facilities that coordinate care for expectant veterans. It would also provide support for the women … Continue Reading
March 12, 2021
Democrats turn to the environment as the next front in fighting inequality
There's a new arena congressional Democrats see as a way to help both combat the climate crisis and fight racial inequality: environmental justice. And two new bills aim to help combat what advocates say leads to higher household utility bills in poorer communities and neighborhoods with more pollution, among other consequences. "We have structural injustice when it comes to access to a clean environment," Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth told CBS News. "Communities of color, poorer … Continue Reading
March 10, 2021
Duckworth, Durbin Detail How $1.9T Stimulus Will Help Illinois, Chicago
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was approved by the House of Representatives Wednesday, paving the way for President Joe Biden to sign the legislation into law later this week. The bill had previously passed the Senate, and after a 220-211 vote on Wednesday, the bill will now head to Biden’s desk for his signature. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats from Illinois, hailed the legislation as key to helping the state and the nation heal from the impacts that the … Continue Reading
March 03, 2021
Tammy Duckworth on anti-Asian American hate crimes: We "are still viewed as an other"
Senator Tammy Duckworth partly blamed former President Trump's rhetoric for a rise in violence against Asian Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Trump often referred to the virus as the "Chinese virus" and on several occasions even called it "Kung Flu." "It did not help the situation," the Illinois Democrat told "Red and Blue" anchor Elaine Quijano on Wednesday. "Frankly, it's appalling that it's been allowed to become this bad." More than 3,000 incidents against Asian … Continue Reading
March 03, 2021
Duckworth says environmental racism caused flooding, sewage issues in Centreville
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-IL, on Tuesday during a town hall pledged support for a newly proposed $22 million grant designed to alleviate persistent flooding and sewage issues in northern Centreville she said was caused by environmental racism. Duckworth said she and fellow senator Dick Durbin will send a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urging approval of the grant. Residents in northern Centreville say failed infrastructure and decades of neglect by public agencies have … Continue Reading
March 02, 2021
Senator Tammy Duckworth Wants FDR Memorial to Be Accessible for People with All Disabilities
It's been 20 years since disability advocates won the fight to have the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C. depict the former president in a wheelchair at the site. But they say there is more work to do to make the space fully accessible to all people with disabilities and serve as the "monument to freedom" that former President Bill Clinton said it would be upon the statue's dedication. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Tuesday will introduce a resolution with D.C. Delegate Eleanor … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Duckworth urges Biden admin to release intel on Russian bounties
Sen. Tammy Duckworth is urging President Joe Biden's administration to declassify and release intelligence regarding Russia's alleged offer of bounties to the Taliban to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The Illinois Democrat, in a letter sent Monday and obtained by POLITICO, asked Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to release a declassified public assessment on the intelligence community's review of the allegation. "While any intelligence assessment on this matter is … Continue Reading
