Press Releases
Duckworth Releases Statement after Sham Supreme Court Nomination Process
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement about Mitch McConnell's decision to jam through a Supreme Court nominee after millions of Americans have already voted and with just eight days until Election Day: "Infuriating, awful and illegitimate." Since Barrett was announced as Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, Duckworth has been vocal about her opposition to this appointment. When Barrett was first nominated, the Senator responded: "instead of … Continue Reading
October 22, 2020
Duckworth, Murray and Carper Call on EPA to Implement GAO Recommendations to Improve Drinking Water Safety at Child Care Facilities
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works' Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife; Patty Murray (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and Thomas R. Carper (D-DE), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works wrote today to strongly urge that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fully implement the recommendations … Continue Reading
October 22, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Join Cardin, Shaheen, Schumer, Coons & Colleagues in Introducing COVID-19 Relief Bill to Support Small Businesses
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chris Coons (D-DE) and 27 of their Senate colleagues in introducing the HEROES Small Business Lifeline Act, a comprehensive package of measures that would provide over $370 billion of support to the hardest-hit, most vulnerable small … Continue Reading
October 22, 2020
Duckworth Highlights Impact of COVID-19 on Amtrak Employees After Senate Republicans’ Refusal to Address Transportation Workforce Needs
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety that has jurisdiction over Amtrak, this week questioned Amtrak President and CEO William J. Flynn about the impacts of Senate Republican obstruction of a COVID-19 relief package on Amtrak's workforce during a U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing. Flynn confirmed Amtrak has already begun to … Continue Reading
October 21, 2020
Duckworth Introduces Bill to Strengthen Military Readiness by Making Childcare More Accessible to Military Families that Host Au Pairs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years, introduced legislation today that would help confront the childcare accessibility crisis by expanding J-1 visa exemptions to au pairs providing childcare services to military families. While a report released shortly before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic showed that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) was … Continue Reading
October 21, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin, Senate Democrats To Attorney General Barr: Drop Lawsuit To Gut The Affordable Care Act
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 17 Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Attorney General William Barr, urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to rescind its support of the Supreme Court lawsuit brought by 18 Republican state Attorneys General that seeks to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In the letter, the Senators highlight how health insurance protections for millions of Americans are at … Continue Reading
October 21, 2020
Duckworth, Democratic Colleagues to HHS and Treasury: Produce an Analysis of Health Coverage Losses in the U.S. if the ACA is Overturned
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 14 of her Democratic colleagues in calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury to conduct an analysis of how the Supreme Court potentially invalidating the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with an adverse ruling in California v. Texas would affect healthcare coverage in the United States, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. "In the … Continue Reading
October 21, 2020
Duckworth Votes No on the Republican “Skinny” COVID-19 Relief Proposal
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after voting no on the Republican "skinny" COVID-19 relief proposal. "We're more than seven months into a pandemic that's killed more than 220,000 Americans and all the Senate Republicans can muster up is a regurgitation of their failed 'skinny' relief bill that wasn't even close to enough in September and is even further from what America needs today. By offering families nothing in additional stimulus … Continue Reading
October 20, 2020
Duckworth Calls on NIH to Comply with the CHIMP Act
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), the Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife, along with U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-NM), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) today called on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure compliance with the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act. In a letter, the Senators expressed particular concern for the 37 remaining … Continue Reading
October 19, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Join Feinstein, Colleagues To Seek Funding for Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), along with 37 of their colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release funds for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) as quickly and at the highest level possible under the current continuing resolution. LIHEAP funding is a crucial lifeline that assists low-income households and seniors on fixed … Continue Reading
October 14, 2020
Following Efforts by Duckworth, USDA Agrees to Fully Extend School Nutrition Program Through End of 2020-21 School Year
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released a statement following the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision to fully extend school meal waivers through the end of the 2020-21 school year, giving schools the flexibility needed to serve students whether they are attending school in person or remotely: "In the middle of a public health crisis, when so many Americans have lost their jobs and food insecurity has skyrocketed across the nation, the Trump … Continue Reading
October 13, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin, Klobuchar Urge Administration to Preserve Healthcare Providers’ Access to Pandemic Relief Funding
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 18 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar expressing concerns about the recent change in reporting requirements for hospitals and health systems that receive relief funds from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF). This change could force providers to return relief funding that they have already … Continue Reading
October 08, 2020
Duckworth Discusses Environmental Justice & Climate Crisis with the Coalition for Clean Energy & Healthy Communities
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), co-founder of the Senate's first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus, today spoke with members of the Coalition for Clean Energy & Healthy Communities in a virtual roundtable moderated by EarthJustice President Abbie Dillen. Duckworth spoke about her efforts to promote clean energy and how addressing the climate crisis and pushing for environmental justice will help ensure more equitable outcomes for all Americans, including those in … Continue Reading
October 08, 2020
Duckworth Discusses COVID-19 Impact on Illinois Manufacturers’ Association Members
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today spoke with members of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association (IMA) and President and CEO Mark Denzler about how IMA's member companies are handling COVID-19 recovery and what assistance is needed from the federal level to assist these businesses and their employees. IMA represents more than 4,000 member companies across Illinois. "More than six months into this pandemic with a President unwilling to negotiate on a relief package, … Continue Reading
October 08, 2020
Duckworth, Hirono, Colleagues Announce Health Equity and Accountability Act to Create a More Equitable Healthcare System
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), along with their colleagues U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), today announced the Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA), sweeping legislation that would address health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities as well as women, the LGBTQ+ community, rural … Continue Reading
October 07, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $1.18 Million for CTA Safety Improvements
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $1,183,091 in federal funding to support safety improvements for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). The funding, awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), will support CTA's Station Third Rail Safety Enhancement Pilot Project, which would add additional safety features on the third rails in the vicinity of station platforms, including non-conductive side boards on both sides of the … Continue Reading
October 05, 2020
Duckworth, Hirono, Colleagues Introduce Federal Worker Leave Fairness Act
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), along with six of their colleagues introduced the Federal Worker Leave Fairness Act, legislation that will allow all federal workers to carry over the leave they have accrued when a national pandemic prevents employees from taking time off of work. "Over the past six months, communities across the nation have relied heavily on federal workers who have often been on the front lines of the COVID-19 … Continue Reading
October 05, 2020
After Trump’s Hospitalization, Duckworth Tells GOP Colleagues: Your Actions Now Can Set an Example and Save Lives
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today issued the following statement urging her Republican colleagues to do more to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, stop denying the reality and seize this difficult moment to set an example for the American people: "From day one, Trump and too many of my Republican colleagues' focus has been politicizing this pandemic rather than protecting Americans from it. Trump lied that it would magically disappear even as he was privately … Continue Reading
October 02, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Join Colleagues In Calling For Investigation Into Political Interference With Coronavirus Information
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Gary Peters (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in leading 24 of their colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General calling for an immediate investigation into allegations of political interference with public health information at the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the … Continue Reading
October 02, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $3.2 Million in FEMA Reimbursement for Flooding Recovery
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Illinois has been awarded a total of $3,248,722 in federal funding to offset costs related to the historic flooding that occurred from February 24 to July 3, 2019. The funding, awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will go to the Illinois Department of Transportation to help cover the costs of emergency response and flooding prevention efforts in Springfield. "These … Continue Reading
