In The News
Senator Tammy Duckworth on the Attack that Took Her Legs—and Having a Baby at 50
ILLINOIS SENATOR Ladda Tammy Duckworth owns a great pair of legs. They're painstakingly painted by an artist to match the skin tone of her arm-right down to the freckles-and the second toe on one foot is longer than the first, just like her own used to be. But Duckworth can't stand them. "When I see myself wearing those legs in a mirror, I see loss. But when I see this"-she gestures toward the steel-and-titanium prosthesis attached to her thigh above her right knee-"I see strength. I see a … Continue Reading
September 07, 2018
Duckworth: Kavanaugh is no friend to Midwestern farmers
Our farmers not only feed us, they also help power our nation through the production of biofuels and renewable energy. As someone who fought in uniform to defend this country, I've seen firsthand the price we pay for our dangerous dependence on foreign oil - and I'd rather burn American-grown corn and soybeans in my gas tank than oil from the Middle East. After all, biofuels help make us more energy secure, and in doing so, they make our nation stronger and help us maintain our … Continue Reading
September 05, 2018
Tammy Duckworth: Brett Kavanaugh Would Put Businesses Ahead of Americans With Disabilities on the Supreme Court
When I first woke up at Walter Reed in November 2004, I had no idea that I was disabled. I had no idea that, in the blink of an eye, I had lost both my legs when a grenade tore through the helicopter I was piloting just north of Baghdad. It took me days to recognize the reality of my disability, months to learn how to walk again and years to get used to the constant, hammering pain that's still there, even when I'm just sitting down. Despite it all, I consider myself pretty lucky - not only … Continue Reading
August 08, 2018
Tammy Duckworth to have open house at new Belleville office
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth has scheduled an open house on Thursday at her Belleville office, which opened in mid-July. The office is at 23 Public Square in the same building where U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, previously had an office. Bost eventually moved his area office to O'Fallon. "Reaching as many Illinoisans as possible and addressing their concerns is one of my top priorities as Senator, and making my team available in every corner of the state will help," Duckworth said. … Continue Reading
August 06, 2018
Duckworth fears migrant kids at shelter are hungry and scared
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth raised concerns about an organization that cares for migrant children separated from their parents Monday, saying she worried they were hungry and stressed. Heartland Alliance runs a number of shelters in the Chicago area, primarily for unaccompanied minors -- children who arrive in the U.S. from other countries without an adult. Heartland also looks after migrant children separated from their parents after crossing the border under a controversial government policy … Continue Reading
July 31, 2018
Illinois Dems blast Trump for not reunifying all migrant kids by deadline
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and three Illinois congressmen lambasted the Trump administration Friday for failing to reunify the more than 2,000 children separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border as part of its "zero tolerance" enforcement policy by Thursday's court-mandated deadline. As of Thursday, the government had successfully reunified 1,442 children with their relatives. But 711 children separated from their parents or other family members are still in government … Continue Reading
July 19, 2018
She's back: Sen. Tammy Duckworth on breast-feeding (probably not on the Senate floor) and her work-life balance
Even before she returned from maternity leave, Tammy Duckworth, the first woman to give birth while serving in the U.S. Senate, pushed a resolution that allows infants on the Senate floor. The measure, which passed, means she and other new-parent senators won't have to miss a vote. Weeks after returning to her day job, the Illinois Democrat said she has no intention right now of breast-feeding on the Senate floor. But if she ever gets into a situation where she has to, she will. "My … Continue Reading
July 16, 2018
Senator Tammy Duckworth Doesn't Want Her Daughter's Birth to Be News Anymore
Senator Tammy Duckworth is used to breaking barriers. An Iraq War veteran who chose to serve as a helicopter pilot because it was one of few combat jobs open to women, she was the first female double amputee from the conflict, after her legs had to be amputated when a helicopter she was copiloting was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Duckworth went on to become the first disabled woman elected to Congress, in 2012. (She's also the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress from Illinois … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Duckworth: Kavanaugh puts Roe v Wade in Peril
(WASHINGTON, DC) Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth joined a press conference with other Democratic women of the senate to oppose Trump's supreme court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. Duckworth brought her infant Maile to the Capitol Hill presser, "Well, she's why I'm here! If Roe v Wade were overturned, the protections provided by Roe v Wade against things like person-hood amendments, person-hood bills, would actually disappear. You see, if a fertilized egg is a person, you run into all sorts … Continue Reading
July 04, 2018
Duckworth Helps Introduce Legislation to Decriminalize Marijuana at Federal Level
U.S Senator Tammy Duckworth joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, and Tim Kaine by introducing new legislation to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The Marijuana Freedom and Opportunity Act would allow states to continue to decide how they will treat marijuana possession by removing marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act. The Federal Government will still have the ability to prevent trafficking … Continue Reading
July 03, 2018
Tammy Duckworth's Maternity Leave Might Be Over, But She's Bringing Her Breastfed Newborn To The Office
Let's get real for a moment: exclusively breastfeeding a young infant is hard work. As nursing moms know all too well, this around-the-clock responsibility is basically a full-time job in itself. So when maternity leave ends and a new mom is expected to leave her baby for a good chunk of the day, there are more than a few logistical hurdles to address. What if the baby refuses to take a bottle? Will the mother even have a clean, private place to pump if she can't nurse throughout the day? How … Continue Reading
July 02, 2018
Senator Tammy Duckworth on Why the Children Separated at the Border Still Need You
The reports have been chilling. A woman sobbed as she described how federal authorities took her child away from her while she was breastfeeding. A 10-year-old girl with Down Syndrome was separated from her mother. Babies and toddlers were ripped away from their families and then held in what, at best, have been described as "play rooms of crying preschool-age children in crisis." We are a nation in crisis. For weeks now, Donald Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen … Continue Reading
June 28, 2018
Duckworth brings baby along to Capitol immigration protest
With her infant daughter in tow, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth visited female activists in a Capitol Hill Senate building who are protesting the administration's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy "I wanted to show my support for the folks here today," Duckworth, who gave birth to her second child in April, told CNN in an interview after she visited with protesters. "I could only imagine what it would be like to have my daughter -- my breastfeeding child -- ripped away from me the way … Continue Reading
June 12, 2018
Sage grousing: Senators charge Interior is holding up conservation grants
WASHINGTON - Democratic senators are demanding to know why the Department of Interior has been delaying the disbursement of grants and cooperative-agreement funding for conservation projects. According to a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, written by Democrats Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii and signed by 10 colleagues, a political appointee has been put in charge of vetting payments of more than $50,000. The senators charge that the resulting delays have … Continue Reading
May 15, 2018
Sen. Duckworth: Haspel's torture record violates American values
When you find yourself wounded in enemy territory, as I did after my Blackhawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq, you develop an elevated understanding of the threat of torture by those who may capture and hold you prisoner. How you are treated is affected by how brutally your own nation treats individuals in its custody, which is why it's so important that the United States leads in recognizing that torture is illegal under our own federal law and the law of armed conflict that our nation and … Continue Reading
March 19, 2018
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a vet and double amputee, faces fight for equality as she will become first senator to give birth in office
Just eight months into Tammy Duckworth's 2004 deployment in Iraq, a rocket-propelled grenade exploded through the Blackhawk helicopter she was flying. As she wrote in a 2015 piece for Politico, "My right leg was vaporized; my left leg was crushed and shredded against the instrument panel." That day could have easily been the end of Senator Duckworth's life, but instead, 14 years later, she is a wife, mother, and a Democratic senator from Illinois. She is 50, a double amputee as a result of … Continue Reading
March 05, 2018
Duckworth: 2018 is past time to get real on paid leave
(CNN)Two weeks ago, I announced that I am pregnant. Since there are only 22 female senators -- and none has ever given birth while they served in the United States Senate -- I knew my announcement was going to get some attention. To be honest, I was a little surprised and overwhelmed by just how much attention our good news received. I was congratulated everywhere I went. I was asked to do tons of interviews. People even said nice things on Twitter, which is not always the friendliest space. … Continue Reading
February 19, 2018
Sen. Duckworth still breaking barriers, and she likes it
WASHINGTON (AP) - Breaking down barriers is nothing new for Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and that's the way she likes it. The decorated Iraq War veteran who lost both legs when her helicopter was shot down is an Asian-American woman in the mostly white, mostly male and very fusty Senate. And now, with a baby due in April, she'll be the first senator to give birth while in office. And so, along with her legislative and political goals, the Illinois Democrat is adding a new one: educating the … Continue Reading
February 09, 2018
Sen. Duckworth: Olympics Diplomacy or Not, North Korea Is Still a Threat
Today, the world will watch athletes from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea unite to march beneath one flag during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, just 50 miles from the DPRK border. For many, the sight of two nations that have been in conflict for generations coming together to compete in the Winter Games exemplifies the core mission of the Olympics: to unite people of the world in the spirit of solidarity and … Continue Reading
February 08, 2018
Trump's Call For Military Parade 'Simply Ridiculous,' Democratic Sen. Duckworth Says
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who lost her legs while serving in the Iraq War, is one of President Trump's fiercest critics. Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) about the budget votes Thursday, Trump's call for a military parade in Washington and other topics. Interview Highlights On whether she could support Senate leaders' two-year budget deal, which leaves out immigration issues "I think that we do need to address the Dreamers. I don't know … Continue Reading
