In The News
Duckworth's wheelchair-trashing rule begins to bite airlines
It looks like Sen. Tammy Duckworth was onto something when she passed a new law requiring public disclosure of how often airlines damage customers' wheelchairs-including the senator's. Twice. According to the first report from the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Duckworth rule, carriers reported damaging or breaking 701 wheelchairs and motorized scooters between Dec. 4 and Dec. 31, an average of more than 25 a day. Among the victims was, once again, Duckworth, a double-amputee … Continue Reading
March 15, 2019
This Iraq vet turned Democratic senator wants her party to pay more attention to national security
Iraq War Veteran and Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth wants her party to talk more about the military. With the 2020 elections looming, Democrats - especially the growing list of presidential hopefuls - need to do a better job outlining their goals for national security, Duckworth said, especially as Republicans try to paint the party's positions as sacrificing defense spending for other domestic priorities. "I don't see it as a zero-sum game, which is what the right wing is … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Sen. Duckworth warns military may find itself short of recruits
WASHINGTON - Wounded Iraq war vet Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a new member of the Armed Services Committee, on Wednesday warned that the military may find itself short of recruits. But the pool of potential recruits, she said, could be expanded if more youths were physically fit; non-citizen immigrants were welcomed; and discrimination against transgender troops ended. "If you are willing to put your life on the line for this country and you can do the job, you should be able to serve no … Continue Reading
March 08, 2019
International Women's Day 2019: Women in Politics Share Experiences of Sexism and Offer Advice to Future Generations
International Women's Day marks a moment to pause and reflect on just how far women and girls around the world have come in the fight for equality-and how far we still have to go in the bid for equality for all. To mark International Women's Day, Newsweek asked a selection of women in U.S. politics-from senators to representatives and mayoral leaders-to offer their perspectives on a few questions: Have they have faced sexism in their own careers? What do they believe to be some of the … Continue Reading
February 26, 2019
Duckworth moves to boost funding for O’Hare, rail project
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is wasting no time with her job on a key Senate panel, taking steps today to boost federal funding for two big projects close to the Chicago area's economy: expansion of O'Hare International Airport and completion of the Create project to unsnarl railroad traffic here. At a hearing of the Senate Transportation & Safety Subcommittee-Duckworth recently became the ranking Democratic member-the senator announced that she and Georgia Republican Sen. David … Continue Reading
February 21, 2019
Senator Tammy Duckworth proves why we need more moms in government
She was the first senator to give birth while serving in office and made history by bringing her baby onto the Senate floor. Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth knows what working mothers are up against each day. Her ability to juggle work calls and juice boxes while simultaneously getting her daughter off to preschool is impressive, and her legislative record proves how important it is for mothers to be represented in government. During the fourth episode of The Motherly Podcast, Duckworth … Continue Reading
February 20, 2019
Three Asian-American lawmakers introduce a bill to prohibit internment like that of Japanese Americans during World War II
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order that sent 120,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps for the remainder of World War II. Now three Asian-American members of Congress are trying to ensure that something like that never happens again. US Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, along with US Rep. Mark Takano of California -- all Democrats -- have introduced a bill that would bar Americans from being forcibly incarcerated based … Continue Reading
February 19, 2019
Sen. Tammy Duckworth Calls for Investigation Into Whether ICE Violated Disability Policy
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has called for an independent investigation into whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated its policy prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities, after a story by The Daily Beast exposed how ICE agents at a Texas detention center deprived a man of his prosthetic limbs for more than five months. Victor Valladares Diaz, a double amputee who lost an arm and a leg on the journey to be reunited with his family in the United States, spent … Continue Reading
February 18, 2019
Duckworth Says Senate Has Enough Votes to Rescind Trump's National Emergency
Sen. Tammy Duckworth says her colleagues are prepared to block President Trump's declaration of a national emergency, which he celebrated at the golf course a day after the announcement. Duckworth (D-Ill.) said Sunday on "This Week" that she believes there are enough votes in the Senate to override the President's declaration, which he made Friday in order to designate an additional $6.5 billion for his border wall. "Frankly, I think there's enough people in the Senate who are concerned that … Continue Reading
February 14, 2019
Sen. Duckworth: Trump’s “National Emergency” Is Illegal
Congress voted Thursday to approve a spending plan that would keep the government open. We sat down with Senator Tammy Duckworth just before the Senate vote in Washington D.C. Congress moved ahead quickly Thursday with a bipartisan deal that would keep the government open. But hearing news that President Trump would approve that deal, and still declare a national emergency to get funding for a border wall, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth voiced concerns about whether that was even … Continue Reading
February 08, 2019
Need supplies for your new business? This new law can help
When Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012, she had a new office to open. Instead of using the taxpayer's dollar to purchase new furniture and supplies, she went to a Government Surplus Accounting (GSA) warehouse and furnished her new office at no expense. Then, as an Army veteran herself, she started wondering - why don't give we veterans access to these warehouses too? Now, veterans have that access. The Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act, … Continue Reading
February 01, 2019
This new law gives vet small business owners surplus federal equipment -- for free
Scattered in warehouses throughout the country are the kinds of federal resources that can help make small businesses thrive - laptops and office furniture, construction equipment and farm tools that have been gathering dust, unused and unseen, year after year. Meanwhile, thousands of American service members are returning home from war, taking off their uniform then taking a chance: trying to scrounge up enough resources to start their own small businesses, all too often struggling to … Continue Reading
January 23, 2019
Senator Tammy Duckworth Slams Transgender Military Ban, Recalling Near-Death Experience
Iraq War veteran Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) has denounced the Supreme Court's revival of President Donald Trump's ban on transgender troops in the military. Duckworth, in a statement Tuesday, railed against the high court's 5-4 ruling allowing Trump's administration to enforce the restriction, recalling her near-death battlefield experience relying on fellow soldiers for survival. "When I was bleeding to death in my Black Hawk helicopter on that dusty field in Iraq, I didn't … Continue Reading
January 21, 2019
Senator Tammy Duckworth visits the Rockford Rescue Mission
Rockford, Ill (WIFR) -- Senator Tammy Duckworth made an appearance at the Rockford Rescue Mission earlier today to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King and commend Rockford for its work with the homeless community. During her visit, Duckworth addressed the success the city has seen through its focus on fighting the issue of homelessness. One of the ways being the adoption of federal grant programs designed to provide federal funding for various needs, including finding housing for veterans and … Continue Reading
January 18, 2019
Free property for veterans? Tammy Duckworth has a new law for that
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is hoping veterans who operate small businesses take advantage of a new law giving them access to surplus government property. The measure that she sponsored, which was signed into law earlier this month by President Donald Trump, adds those veterans onto the list of eligible groups to get federal surplus personal property for free. "You'd be surprised at how much stuff the federal government owns and how much it's costing to warehouse it," Duckworth said in a phone … Continue Reading
January 17, 2019
Durbin and Duckworth back bill to raise federal minimum wage
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined fellow Senate Democrats in introducing a bill to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2024 to help more families make ends meet, expand economic opportunity, and help build an economy that works for all families, not just the wealthiest few. The Raise The Wage Act would gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 in 2024, index future minimum wage increases to median wage growth, and ensure all workers are paid at least the full … Continue Reading
January 08, 2019
Legislation would expand Lincoln National Heritage Area to Freeport
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WREX) - Bi-partisan legislation would expand the National Heritage Area in Illinois that honors the life and legacy of America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. The legislation would add Livington County, the City of Freeport in Stephenson County, and the City of Jonesboro in Union County. It would ensure all sites of Lincoln's legal career and the Lincoln-Douglas debates would be included. The existing Lincoln National Heritage Area was established in 2008 and preserves … Continue Reading
January 07, 2019
Concerns grow about impact of shutdown on airport safety; Duckworth warns of long lines to come
The security lines at O'Hare International Airport have been normal in recent days, airport officials say, despite reports that Transportation Security Administrationworkers have been calling in sick in greater numbers because of the government shutdown. However, U.S. pilots have expressed concerns about the ongoing impact of the shutdown on airport safety, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, told reporters at O'Hare on Monday that she envisioned "long, long lines" if the … Continue Reading
December 27, 2018
Airlines Will Begin Reporting How Often They Break Wheelchairs, Thanks to Tammy Duckworth
In the closing weeks of the Obama administration, the Department of Transportation completed a yearslong effort to begin holding airlines accountable for damaging passengers' motorized wheelchairs and scooters. Then Donald Trump took office. Advocacy groups for people with disabilities say this happens routinely, but there have never been firm numbers on how often these expensive items are broken during airline travel. That was set to change in early 2018, when a new regulation was to take … Continue Reading
December 19, 2018
'It's very much a matter of dignity': Tammy Duckworth pushes through rule requiring airlines to disclose how many wheelchairs they break
Beginning as early as January, airline passengers will be able to search the U.S. Department of Transportation website to determine an airlines' record of handling wheelchairs and other mobility devices. "It's very much a matter of dignity," U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told me Tuesday. As part of the five-year reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration that Congress passed recently, air carriers have to begin providing monthly reports, accessible to the public, detailing … Continue Reading
