Press Releases
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $9 Million to Expand Broadband Access Across South Central Illinois
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a $9,413,000 federal grant today to help expand broadband access and speeds across Central Illinois by investing in 264 miles of fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) broadband network. This funding comes through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development Community Connect grant program, which invests in broadband projects in communities where private sector providers do not yet deliver … Continue Reading
November 26, 2017
Duckworth, Durbin Announce More Than $2 Million for Head Start Programs in Effingham
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a $2,057,957 federal grant today to help children from low-income families access Head Start and Early Head Start programs at the C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation in Effingham, Illinois. This funding comes through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that allocates funding, technical assistance, strategic … Continue Reading
November 20, 2017
Duckworth & Durbin Respond to DHS IG Finding that Trump Administration Violated Several Court Orders When Implementing Muslim Ban Executive Order
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued a joint statement today after receiving an update on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General's investigation into the federal government's chaotic and potentially illegal implementation of President Trump's first Muslim ban. The Inspector General's investigation - which was launched following a request from Senators Duckworth, Durbin and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) - found that the … Continue Reading
November 20, 2017
Duckworth & Durbin Respond to DHS IG Finding that Trump Administration Violated Several Court Orders When Implementing Muslim Ban Executive Order
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued a joint statement today after receiving an update on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General's investigation into the federal government's chaotic and potentially illegal implementation of President Trump's first Muslim ban. The Inspector General's investigation - which was launched following a request from Senators Duckworth, Durbin and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) - found that the … Continue Reading
November 20, 2017
Duckworth & Durbin React to Illinois State Board of Elections’ Decision to Continue Use of Inaccurate Crosscheck Program
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - In response to the Illinois State Board of Elections' decision to continue to participate in the discriminatory, deeply flawed Interstate Voter Registration Data Crosscheck Program (Crosscheck), U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement: "No American voter should ever be improperly disenfranchised because of inaccurate information, which makes the decision by the Illinois State Board of Elections to continue its use … Continue Reading
November 17, 2017
Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Duckworth NDAA Provisions to Help Small Businesses, Make Government More Efficient & Prevent Low-Income Servicemembers from Going Hungry
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - The Senate overwhelmingly passed several proposals authored by combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) yesterday to help prevent low-income Servicemembers from going hungry, make it easier for small businesses to get Department of Defense (DOD) contracts, make federal government contracting more efficient, and help ensure the long-term success of the Rock Island Arsenal. Her provisions, which passed as part of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense … Continue Reading
November 16, 2017
Duckworth Helps Break Ground on Metra’s Fox River Bridge Project
[ELGIN, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined Metra officials to break ground on the new Fox River Bridge in Elgin, Illinois. When she was in the U.S. House of Representatives, Duckworth led a Congressional coalition in sending a letter of support for the project. Following her letter, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $14 million in federal funding through the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recover) grant program for the new double-track … Continue Reading
November 15, 2017
Durbin, Duckworth Call For Impartial Investigation Into Potential Quid Pro Quo Between Chairman Ajit Pai, Trump Administration And Sinclair Broadcasting
[WASHINGTON, D.C. ] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined 12 of their Senate colleagues to request the inspector general of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) open and investigation into the objectivity and impartiality of the FCC's review of the proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcasting and Tribune Media. "We have strong concerns that the FCC's ongoing review of the proposed merger of Sinclair Broadcasting and Tribune Media may be gained by a … Continue Reading
November 15, 2017
Duckworth Statement on Senator Al Franken
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement on Senator Al Franken: "These types of actions are simply unacceptable and should be reviewed by the Ethics Committee. Women across America should be able to feel safe in their workplace, and they deserve our support when coming forward with allegations of … Continue Reading
November 15, 2017
Duckworth and Hatch Introduce Bipartisan Resolution to Support At-risk Youth & Help Eliminate Homelessness
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced a resolution today to recognize November as National Runaway Prevention Month. The resolution, if passed, would help raise awareness of the runaway and homeless youth crisis and educate the public about how to help end youth homelessness. "The more than 1 million American children who go to sleep without a safe roof over their head each year deserve so much better in one of the … Continue Reading
November 14, 2017
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $600,000 to Help Eliminate Housing Discrimination in Chicago
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a total of $600,000 in grant funding under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) to help eliminate housing discrimination in Chicago and assist people who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination. "Families searching for a new place to live should not have to worry about being denied access to safe housing … Continue Reading
November 14, 2017
Duckworth Condemns Confirmation of Torture Memo Author Steven Bradbury
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke at length on the Senate floor this afternoon urging her colleagues to vote against Steven Bradbury's nomination to be General Counsel of the Department of Transportation. Citing Bradbury's role as a lead author of the so-called "torture memos" and his work finding legal loopholes to justify the Bush Administration's use of torture methods like waterboarding, sleep deprivation and cramped confinement, Duckworth … Continue Reading
November 12, 2017
Duckworth Joins Call for Investigations into Reported Violations of Immigration Enforcement at Sensitive Locations
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Following reports that a young girl with cerebral palsy was detained on her way to receive surgery, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and 12 other senators today in calling for an investigation into ongoing violations of federal policies regarding immigration enforcement at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals and religious institutions. Senator Duckworth has been outspoken … Continue Reading
November 09, 2017
During WashU Veterans Day Keynote Address, Duckworth Underscores Importance of Continued Service
[ST. LOUIS, MO] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) underscored the value of continued service to our country-in and out of uniform-during a keynote address at Washington University's Veterans Day ceremony tonight. Duckworth is an Iraq War Veteran, Purple Heart recipient and former Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years. Since she was recovering from her combat wounds at Walter Reed, Duckworth has made her … Continue Reading
November 09, 2017
Duckworth: Wehrum and White’s EPA Nominations Add to Trump’s Pattern of Nominating Unqualified, Ethically-Challenged People for Taxpayer-funded Positions
[WASHINGTON, DC] -U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) pressed Kathleen Hartnett White, President Trump's choice to lead the Council on Environmental Quality, on her previous statements expressing opposition to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) as well as her financial ties to former WH Special Advisor Carl Icahn during Hartnett White's Senate confirmation hearing. Shortly after Duckworth's questioning yesterday, Icahn publicly revealed the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York … Continue Reading
November 09, 2017
Duckworth Slams Equifax CEO for Failing to Safeguard Veterans’ Personal Information
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) delivered powerful remarks sharply criticizing Equifax executives in a Senate Commerce Committee hearing yesterday for putting our nation's Veterans at significant financial risk and doing too little to protect them in the wake of the company's recent massive data breach. Speaking to Equifax CEO Paulino do Rego Barros, Jr., Duckworth outlined the ways in which Veterans are specifically put at greater risk of fraud and abuse as a result … Continue Reading
November 09, 2017
Duckworth & Durbin call on Congress to Pass Dream Act, Support Servicemembers
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD), U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Ted Lieu (D-CA) to discuss the importance of allowing Dreamers to serve in the military. Duckworth and Durbin also called on Congress to pass the Dream Act to immediately shield … Continue Reading
November 07, 2017
Duckworth Helps Introduce Legislation to Ban Assault Weapons
[WASHINGTON] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and 21 colleagues today to introduce the Assault Weapons Ban of 2017, a bill to ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons like the one used over the weekend in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Last month, Duckworth also co-sponsored legislation to close the "bump stock" loophole exploited by the Las Vegas shooter that allows … Continue Reading
November 05, 2017
Duckworth, 15 Veterans in Congress Issue Bipartisan Joint Statement on Dangers of War with North Korea
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator and combat Veteran Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Representatives Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and 13 other Veterans who serve in Congress over the weekend in issuing a bipartisan joint statement outlining the dangers of a war with North Korea ahead of the President's visit to South Korea. Duckworth wrote to President Trump last week asking him to provide the American people with an analysis of how many American servicemembers and innocent … Continue Reading
November 03, 2017
Duckworth Helps Cut Ribbon on New Army Aviation Support Facility
[KANKAKEE, IL] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined the Illinois National Guard to cut the ribbon on the new Army Aviation Flight Facility and Readiness Center at the Greater Kankakee Airport, which will house three Illinois National Guard units, including the unit Duckworth once commanded. The two-story, 185,200 square foot facility includes hangar space designed for the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, a weapon simulator training space and a task-load combat simulated flight … Continue Reading
