In The News
Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s Big Idea: A Marshall Plan for Coal Country
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., wants to give struggling coal communities a jolt of new federal investment and help transition out-of-work miners into new jobs and cleaner energy production. Duckworth, considered a potential running mate for Joe Biden, introduced sweeping new legislation this month that gives Medicare coverage to laid-off coal workers, provides tuition-free college for coal workers and their families, calls for a $15 dollar minimum wage and modifies U.S. bankruptcy rules to … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
A Conversation with Sen. Tammy Duckworth
An Iraq War veteran, Purple Heart recipient and the current junior senator from Illinois, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D) is also on Joe Biden's purported vice-presidential shortlist. Washington Post Live hosted Duckworth in conversation with Washington Post national political reporter Robert Costa to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on her home state, how she views demonstrations for social justice across the country and her thoughts about the upcoming … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Harris, Booker, Duckworth Unveil Environmental Justice Measure
Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Cory Booker (N.J.), and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) rolled out an environmental justice bill on Thursday aimed at underserved communities and communities of color. The Environmental Justice for All Act would require permitting agencies to consider cumulative impacts under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act and strengthen the National Environmental Policy Act to mandate "early and meaningful involvement in actions impacting communities," including tribes, … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Tammy Duckworth Says She Won't Let President Trump 'Politicize Our Government'
U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth said on Thursday that she views President Donald Trump sending federal agents to confront protesters in U.S. cities as an "abuse of power" and does not want federal forces intervening at demonstrations in her home state of Illinois. "The abuse of power that we saw in Portland, that could happen anywhere should worry every single one of us," she said during a TIME 100 Talks discussion. "It's a continuation of the politicization of federal government that's being … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Bill Would Mandate EPA Require Toxic Emissions Monitoring
A Democrat bill being introduced Wednesday would give the EPA up to four months to require monitoring of ethylene oxide and other cancer-causing toxic air pollutants at the fencelines of chemical manufacturing plants. The Public Health Air Quality Act of 2020, sponsored by Democrats Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), would require the Environmental Protection Agency to take immediate action to monitor toxic air pollutants at facilities they say are "contributing … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
U.S. senators request EPA help to fix “urgent public health crisis” in Centreville
CENTREVILLE - U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin want the federal Environmental Protection Agency to help solve flooding and sewage issues in Centreville, where residents say their lives have been upended for decades due to failed infrastructure. The Illinois Democrats called the situation in Centreville an "urgent public health crisis" in a letter this week to EPA Region 5 Administrator Kurt Thiede. "Centreville is located adjacent to East St. Louis and is a low income, largely … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth Weighs In On Latest Stimulus Plans
Congress is currently deciding how much money should be spent in the next coronavirus stimulus package. Reset checks in with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth to discuss ongoing negotiations, as well as her thoughts on Attorney General William Barr's recent congressional testimony. GUEST: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth … Continue Reading
July 26, 2020
From Jobs to Voting Booths, Accessibility Should be the Default in America | Opinion
Three decades ago, a thousand activists crowded together in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, demanding that Congress finally give Americans with disabilities the basic rights the Constitution promised. Dozens of them got out of their wheelchairs, set down their crutches and crawled up the 83 stone steps of the Capitol. Jennifer Keelan, an eight-year-old with cerebral palsy, pulled herself to the top of those steps, telling those around her: "I'll take all night if I have … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Senator Duckworth floats plan to rescue coal country
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth on Thursday unveiled a plan to rehabilitate communities hurt by the decline of the U.S. coal industry - an appeal to a political constituency seen as important in the November election. The bill would direct investment to communities reeling from closures of mines and coal-fired power plants in recent years, to create new jobs and help them grapple with issues like opiod addiction and black lung disease, she said. "We can't … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Tammy Duckworth: Trump ‘cares more about dead traitors than he does about our troops’
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a military veteran who was recently in the news when Tucker Carlson said she "hated America," discusses Trump's failures on the military, coronavirus and race - and what she would do if asked to be Joe Biden's running … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Duckworth slams 'disgusting' Trump threat to send federal law enforcement to Chicago: 'Don't even think about it'
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Tuesday excoriated President Trump's threats to send the federal officers dispatched to Portland, Ore., to Chicago, calling the ultimatum "disgusting." "My answer to him is don't even think about it," Duckworth, a combat veteran who lost both legs in Iraq, said on CNN Tuesday. "This is disgusting, and it is the further politicization of our institutions, which should be nonpartisan. He did it with the military when he sent National Guard troops against … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Duckworth, Centreville residents say local officials must take action to fix flooding
If sewage and flooding problems in Centreville are going to be fixed, local officials must lead the way. That was the consensus of residents and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday during a meeting with the Illinois Democrat at the Church of Grace in northern Centreville. "I can help with grants but it has to go through the municipality. I can write letters in support of the grants, I can make the case for the grants, but it still has to go through the municipality and the county," … Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
Duckworth will no longer block military promotions after Pentagon confirms Vindman's would-have-been promotion
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., announced Tuesday she is lifting her hold on senior military promotions after the Department of Defense confirmed the promotion Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the impeachment of President Donald Trump earlier this year, wasn't blocked. Vindman, a Purple Heart recipient and Iraq war veteran, had seen his promotion to colonel delayed this summer, a hold-up that some viewed as retaliation for his explosive impeachment … Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
'My eyes opened': Duckworth's environmental justice journey
When Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth ran for the Senate four years ago, she was shocked by statistics showing far higher levels of pollution in low-income communities on Chicago's South Side than in the rest of the state. The then-suburban House lawmaker learned that the life expectancy rate drops 13 years as one travels along eight stops on the Windy City's L train, from wealthy and more middle-class areas into its more impoverished, mostly minority neighborhoods. "I had my eyes opened," … Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Duckworth asks Esper whether DOD is probing links between troop deaths and Russian bounties
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is demanding to know whether the Pentagon is investigating whether any American troops died in Afghanistan as a result of the bounties reputed to have been offered by Russia to attack them. "It is unacceptable that to date, the Trump administration appears to be ignoring a matter of great importance to Gold Star family members whose loved ones were killed while serving in Afghanistan: were any U.S. troop casualties in Afghanistan connected with the … Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
Senator Tammy Duckworth talks ADA and Elections
Welcome to The Heumann Perspective with me, Judy Heumann! Join me and Senator Tammy Duckworth as we talk about the upcoming 30th anniversary of the ADA and what the future holds for any and all citizens of the United … Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
Duckworth: Trump sees these true patriots as enemies
(CNN) - Marching and chanting, grieving and kneeling, countless Americans have braved tear gas and rubber bullets over the past six weeks to send an unequivocal message to their elected leaders: that they will not stand idly by as racial injustice continues to tear at our country. In this moment of national reckoning, and particularly as we celebrated Independence Day last weekend, I can think of nothing more patriotic. These citizens understand that doing the tireless, often thankless … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Duckworth on Russia bounties: How dare Trump still call himself our commander in chief?
While President Donald Trump has spent the past couple of weeks golfing, campaigning and making sure the buck stopped anywhere but with him, American service members in hot spots around the world likely were wondering whether there might be a bounty hanging over their heads - and whether the president of the United States would even care enough to respond if that were the case. In a report confirmed by other major news organizations, The New York Times wrote on June 26 that Russia paid … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Duckworth to hold up confirmations to ensure impeachment witness Vindman's promotion isn't blocked
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday announced she'll hold up the confirmation of more than 1,000 military promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that the promotion of impeachment witness Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman won't be blocked. Duckworth, a retired Army officer who lost both legs because of injuries sustained in the Iraq war, said she intends to block 1,123 promotions until Esper "confirms in writing that he did not, or will not, block the expected and deserved … Continue Reading
June 30, 2020
Duckworth Decries Trump Inaction On Bounty Report
Former combat veteran, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, condemned the inaction of US President Donald Trump over reports that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan. After reports of the bounties surfaced, Duckworth said Trump, "went right on placing Russian interests ahead of American lives." "Not once, not once in the past 72 hours has he found the time to express outrage that American servicemen and women are dead," … Continue Reading
