In The News
Sen. Tammy Duckworth Says Gunfire at Highland Park Parade Sounded Like Combat in Iraq
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth is a Purple Heart recipient and veteran of the Iraq War. While addressing reporters Monday after a gunman killed six and injured dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, she said hearing the gunfire in video of the shooting reminded her of being in a war zone. "The last time I heard a weapon of that capacity firing that rapidly on the 4th of July was Iraq," Duckworth, 54, said at a press conference. "It was not the United States of … Continue Reading
July 04, 2022
Duckworth wants permanent ACA subsidies
Duckworth Urges Senate Leadership to Extend ACA Subsidies: U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., was one of 13 Senate Democrats to urge leadership to make the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits permanent. The credits are otherwise set to expire at the end of the year. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the lawmakers said the move should come during the upcoming reconciliation legislation. “Americans deserve … Continue Reading
June 29, 2022
GAO to Study Healthcare Access for Amputees and People With Disabilities
Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of U.S. legislators navigated around the usual Capitol Hill gridlock to make important progress for amputees. Last week another group of U.S. senators made similar strides on behalf of a broader constituency: people with disabilities. Led by Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), one of just a few amputees in Congress and the only one in the Senate, the group of lawmakers persuaded the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to initiate a comprehensive study into the … Continue Reading
June 24, 2022
The senator, the soldier and the servant: Reuniting an Afghan aid worker with his family in Chicago
CHICAGO — For two decades, as the conflict in Afghanistan wore on, U.S. troops, diplomats and aid workers were helped by another type of army — the citizens of Afghanistan. They provided invaluable help as language interpreters, logistical coordinators and community relations liaisons. One example among the tens of thousands is Adel Haqyar, 47, who worked for a decade as a contractor for the United States Agency for International Development “I started my work with the Americans from March … Continue Reading
June 24, 2022
Illinois leaders react to the overturning of Roe v. Wade
CHICAGO - Local politicians and leaders are weighing in Friday after the Supreme Court reversed its landmark ruling on Roe v. Wade, allowing states to ban abortions. Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the decision "an enormous step backward" and is calling the General Assembly into special session in the coming weeks to "further enshrine" reproductive protections. "In Illinois, we’ve planned for this terrible day, an enormous step backward and a shattering loss of rights," Pritzker said in a … Continue Reading
June 22, 2022
Senators are pushing TSA to clarify its rules around breast milk and formula at airport security
Fourteen Democratic senators are asking the Transportation Security Administration to clarify its policy on flying with breast milk and formula following reports that the rules have been implemented unevenly. In a letter first shared with The 19th, senators are asking for answers after parents reported spoiled breast milk and public harassment. Formula and breast milk are exempt from the TSA's liquids rule, allowing parents to bring more than 3.4 ounces with them in their carry-on luggage, … Continue Reading
June 17, 2022
Senate panel wants to boost pay for low-income troops
The Senate Armed Services Committee's new defense authorization bill would expand a program enacted last year to help low-income military families make ends meet and feed themselves - but advocates say legislative fixes to date have fallen short of what's needed. The "basic needs allowance," as enacted in the fiscal 2022 defense authorization, would make up the difference between a servicemember's annual salary and 130 percent of the federal poverty line. By comparison, the new Senate … Continue Reading
June 10, 2022
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth urges swift action on gun control
CHICAGO - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Friday lamented the tens of thousands of Americans murdered by gunfire, especially children. She spoke at a community center in the South Side Gresham neighborhood, hard hit by shootings and killings. "As a mother, I am beyond angry! I am furious, heartbroken and fed up," Duckworth said. Duckworth said she hopes a bi-partisan group of his colleagues on Capitol Hill can reach agreement on at least a few proposals to stem the bloodshed. But if little … Continue Reading
June 08, 2022
In trip to Asia, Sen. Duckworth touts Illinois as an electric vehicle hub
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) just got back from a trip to Taiwan and South Korea, where she pitched Illinois as a viable candidate for electric vehicle manufacturers. A member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Duckworth met with leaders of both countries to discuss opening battery plants in the state. Duckworth told WBEZ's Reset that Illinois' geographical location is an advantage. "No better place in Illinois, where we're right in the middle of the country," … Continue Reading
June 07, 2022
Sen. Duckworth: Pain at the pump is due to corporate greed
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) has a plan to fight those high gas prices. Duckworth said she proposed a bill in March to combat price-gouging at the pump and the supermarket. The bill would tax price-gouging companies for their excessive profits. She said oil companies are using the war in Ukraine as an excuse to drive up prices. "In their own words, they like the high gas prices because it allows them the highest profits that they've had in years, and in fact, … Continue Reading
June 06, 2022
Pushed by lawmakers and the formula shortage, FEMA boosts efforts to support breastfeeding families during disasters
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) updated its website last week to make clear that breastfeeding resources are eligible for financial assistance for families affected by disasters - a message that's all the more crucial as parents contend with a nationwide formula shortage. The clarification comes during the formula crisis, the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season and as the Western United States faces historic wildfires. FEMA's updated guidance follows a push by Illinois … Continue Reading
May 31, 2022
Duckworth travels to promote Illinois' EV strength
Illinois has a new volunteer enlistee in its drive to boost the state's emerging electric vehicle business: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. Duckworth is in South Korea and Taiwan this week, meeting with a range of government and industry officials in an effort to lure a prized battery plant and perhaps more to Illinois after several losses of such facilities to other states. "I'm going to try," Duckworth said in an interview before departing. "I do see some prospects of changing … Continue Reading
May 31, 2022
In Taiwan, Sen. Duckworth pitches Illinois business; pledges security support as China threat looms
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tammy Duckworth is in Taiwan and South Korea this week to strengthen economic ties with Illinois while the Chinese government is blasting her visit to Taiwan as it steps up its threats against the island it claims. This is Duckworth's second visit to Taiwan in a year - she was there last June to announce that the U.S. was shipping 750,000 COVID vaccines to the island, a trip also condemned by the Chinese. Duckworth landed in Taipei on Monday local time for the three-day … Continue Reading
May 26, 2022
Key senator eyes clean energy provisions in defense authorization bill
WASHINGTON - A lead senator on the Armed Services Committee is introducing legislation to strengthen emissions reduction targets at the world's largest institutional consumer of fossil fuels: the Defense Department. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., introduced the Depend on Domestic (DOD) Clean Energy Act on Thursday to set Pentagon targets for reducing emissions while providing greater funding flexibility to achieve those goals. Duckworth, who chairs the Senate's air and land defense panel, has … Continue Reading
May 26, 2022
Senator Wants DoD Climate Change Goals Locked into Law
As the military services roll out their climate change plans, a key senator is pushing to ensure the goals are met by enshrining them in law. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and an Army National Guard veteran, is introducing a bill Thursday that would set renewable energy goals for the Defense Department that match targets the military services have announced in recent months. It's important to codify the goals, Duckworth said, "so that it isn't … Continue Reading
May 19, 2022
National Guard officer promotions could speed up under new measure
National Guard officers wait on average more than seven months for their promotion paperwork to be processed by state and military officials, and lawmakers want to know why. On Thursday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth - D-Ill. and a retired Army National Guard lieutenant colonel - introduced new legislation calling for major reforms to the National Guard Bureau's federal recognition process, which she believes is unnecessarily complicating guardsmen's advancement and hurting readiness. "I know guys … Continue Reading
May 17, 2022
Duckworth Bill To Outlaw Crib Bumpers Becomes Law
A national bill championed by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth has been signed into law. Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation banning the sale of padded crib bumpers. The Safe Cribs Act, which was included in the legislation also banning dangerous inclined sleeper products, would make it unlawful nationwide to manufacture and import crib bumpers, which remain widely sold by retailers despite current recommendations advising parents to keep cribs bare to prevent … Continue Reading
May 13, 2022
Duckworth asks FTC to examine formula market
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Thursday wrote to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan asking for a "wide-ranging study" of market dynamics and competition in the infant formula industry. The move comes as the country grapples with major disruptions of baby formula at the retail level and a dangerous shortage of specialty formulas that are lifelines for thousands of children and adults with unique medical needs. Supply chains have been rocky for several months, but the situation worsened … Continue Reading
May 11, 2022
Mindy Kaling, Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and more on belonging in America
Tammy Duckworth U.S. SENATOR FOR ILLINOIS It wasn't so much one moment but the pivotal realization that the strength of our nation lies in our diversity, especially when we interact internationally. In the mid-90s, as a young platoon leader and First Lieutenant, I participated in Operation Brightstar, a NATO training exercise in Egypt. We were out in the desert with air crews from all different parts of NATO and somebody had gone up to one of the guys in my aircrew to ask to look at the … Continue Reading
May 10, 2022
Duckworth makes impassioned plea for abortion bill: D.C. Memo
Roe remains at center stage today: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., took to the Senate floor Tuesday to throw her support-in unusually personal terms-behind a pending bill that would enshrine access to abortion as a federal right. Duckworth said the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade "gave me my chance to be a mom. . . .I was only able to get pregnant through (in vitro fertilization), a fertility process that Roe lays the foundation for." Duckworth spoke in favor of the … Continue Reading
