In The News
FCC slashes cost of phone calls for inmates, capping decades-long effort
The cost of phone calls will drop dramatically for incarcerated people under new rules that federal regulators approved Thursday, concluding a decades-long effort to provide relief to the nation’s 2 million inmates and their families. A 15-minute call to or from large jails, which now costs as much as $11.35, will cost 90 cents beginning next year. In small jails, the cost will fall from as high as $12.10 to $1.35. Video call rates will decrease to less than one-quarter of current prices, … Continue Reading
July 18, 2024
Inmate phone call costs slashed by US agency
WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - Hefty phone bills for inmates in U.S. prisons and jails were slashed by the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, affecting about 2 million incarcerated persons and their families. Under the final rules, the cost of a 15-minute phone call will drop to 90 cents from as much as $11.35 in large jails. In small jails it will cost $1.35 instead of $12.10. Inmates cannot receive voice calls but families can schedule video calls through some … Continue Reading
July 17, 2024
US Senator Tammy Duckworth visits Vietnam
Phuong welcomed Duckworth’s visit which he said demonstrates the Senator’s desire to further cultivate the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development. The Vice Chairman of the National Assembly expressed his joy at the positive development of relations between the two countries and the two parliaments in recent times. Duckworth for her part affirmed that the visit shows the US Senators delegation’s respect for promoting relations between … Continue Reading
July 17, 2024
NA Vice Chairman hosts US Senator
Hanoi (VNA) - National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong hosted a reception in Hanoi on July 17 for US Senator Tammy Duckworth who affirmed that the visit demonstrates the importance her delegation attaches to boost relations between the two countries and their parliaments.The senator told the host that accompanying her this time were representatives in the fields of external affairs and economics and trade, with a hope to discuss opportunities and measures to promote strategic … Continue Reading
July 15, 2024
$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
July 10, 2024
The best bosses in an unusual work environment: Capitol Hill
Our nation’s capital is known for many things — but good management practices are not among them. Stories regularly surface of bizarre tales of harassment and abuse by members of Congress. An Instagram feed a few years ago unearthed dozens of stories by staff outing less-than-desirable managers and members for their bad practices. But what about the good leaders and good managers? Like any profession, Congress actually has quite a few exemplary office leaders. And the beneficiaries of these … Continue Reading
July 03, 2024
Senator Duckworth to Feds: Enforce the ADA!
Most people have never heard of the American With Disabilities Act Mediation Program, and no wonder: The Department of Justice, which runs the program, hasn’t issued a quarterly report since 2011. Designed to provide streamlined resolution of ADA violations, the program is supposed to help citizens hold businesses and public institutions accountable when they skirt the law. Is it working as intended? Could better leadership heighten its impact? Last week, US senator Tammy Duckworth—the only … Continue Reading
June 27, 2024
Tammy Duckworth Demands Justice Department Answers For People With Disabilities
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and other lawmakers are pushing to make it easier for disabled Americans to take action when they believe their rights have been violated. Duckworth sent a letter to the Department of Justice on Thursday calling for increased transparency and updates on its Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) mediation program, an informal process that aims to assist parties in developing mutually-agreed-upon solutions that comply with the federal law. The Department of … 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