Press Releases
Duckworth Statement on Trump Administration’s Decision to Send More US Troops to Middle East, Circumvent Congress in Selling Arms to Saudi Arabia
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the Trump Administration's decision to send more troops to the Middle East and sell additional arms to Saudi Arabia: "With Americans across the country commemorating Memorial Day this weekend by reflecting on the sacrifices made by those souls brave enough to have served this nation in uniform, Donald Trump-who refused to … Continue Reading
May 25, 2019
Duckworth Pays Tribute to Fallen Servicemembers at Chicago Memorial Day Wreath Laying Ceremony and Parade
[CHICAGO, IL] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today paid tribute to our nation's fallen servicemembers at the City of Chicago's wreath laying ceremony and parade. Duckworth joined local Gold Star families in remembering loved ones who were killed in the line of duty, then participated in Chicago's Memorial Day Parade with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and 2019 Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal Major General Marion Garcia, 200th Military Police Commander, United States Army … Continue Reading
May 24, 2019
Duckworth, Durbin Help Introduce Legislation to Overturn President Trump’s Expansion of Junk Insurance Plans
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Duck Durbin (D-IL) joined Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Doug Jones (D-AL) this week in introducing legislation to overturn the Trump administration's expansion of junk health insurance plans that don't have to cover critical health care services or provide health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. In Illinois, more than five million people have a pre-existing condition. The No Junk Plans Act is cosponsored by the … Continue Reading
May 23, 2019
Duckworth in NDAA Negotiations: Congress Should Prevent Administration from Weakening Military Readiness by Diverting Critical Funds for Unnecessary Border Wall
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), proposed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have prohibited the U.S. Secretary of Defense from reprogramming critical national security funds intended for critical military construction projects and to counter drug trafficking in order to build a wall or fence on the southern border. "Trump's repeated attempts to redirect … Continue Reading
May 23, 2019
Duckworth, Peters, Roberts Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Vaccination Rates & Cut Health Care Costs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Pat Roberts (R-KS) today to introduce the bipartisan VACCINES Act. The legislation, which follows an outbreak of measles across the country, aims to increase vaccination rates by raising awareness about the importance of vaccines through a national campaign to combat misinformation. "The recent measles outbreak is extremely troubling, especially as the mother of two young daughters," Senator … Continue Reading
May 23, 2019
Duckworth Provisions to Protect Servicemembers & Support Illinois Jobs Included in Committee-Passed 2020 Defense Bill
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a Purple Heart recipient and one of the first handful of Army women to fly combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, highlighted several key priorities she authored and successfully included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that passed the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on a bipartisan vote of 25-2 today. The NDAA, which will now be considered by the full U.S. Senate, … Continue Reading
May 23, 2019
Duckworth Joins Cornyn, Tillis, King to Introduce Bill to Provide Additional Voting Protections for Military Overseas
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Angus King (I-ME) in introducing the Military Voter Protection (MVP) Act, which ensures that servicemembers are provided with ballots and registration cards necessary to vote while deployed overseas along with instruction from trained personnel on how to cast their vote in their registered state. "Every day, our servicemembers put themselves at risk to defend this … Continue Reading
May 23, 2019
Duckworth Asks for Investigation into EPA’s Abuse of Biofuel Waivers
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to launch an independent investigation into whether top EPA officials violated the law by inappropriately exempting a number of oil refineries from having to use legally required levels of biofuel. A recent report from Reuters exposed how top EPA officials, including former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, lied to Congress and the American public about … Continue Reading
May 22, 2019
Duckworth, Durbin, Feinstein, Van Hollen, Shaheen, Smith and Kelly Reintroduce Legislation to Train Students for High-Skill Jobs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Tina Smith (D-MN), along with U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), reintroduced legislation to make education more affordable for students pursuing degrees in high-skill industries. The bill will help businesses fill vacant, good-paying positions with qualified candidates. The Community College to Career Fund in Higher Education Act … Continue Reading
May 22, 2019
Duckworth & Collins Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Make Preventive Healthcare More Affordable for Veterans
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) re-introduced bipartisan legislation to make healthcare more affordable for America's Veterans. Their Veterans Preventive Health Coverage Fairness Act would stop forcing our nation's Veterans to pay out-of-pocket costs for essential preventive health medications and prescription drugs and add preventive medications and services to the list of no-fee treatments that VA covers. Under … Continue Reading
May 21, 2019
Duckworth Hosts Mobile Office Hours in Beardstown and Jacksonville
[BEARDSTOWN, IL] - The Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today hosted mobile office hours in Beardstown, Illinois, and Jacksonville, Illinois, where her constituent service representatives were on hand to assist Illinoisans with receiving Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Medicare and other federal benefits. Additional mobile office hours will take place in communities throughout the state over the coming months to offer constituents who may not be able to travel to one of the … Continue Reading
May 21, 2019
Duckworth’s Bipartisan Resolution Recognizing Importance of GPS Constellation Passes Senate Unanimously
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth's (D-IL) resolution recognizing the positive impacts of the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, which contributes an estimated $68.7 billion to the U.S. economy, passed the Senate unanimously today. Duckworth introduced the resolution along with U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH). A companion resolution was recently introduced by U.S. Representatives Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and Don Bacon … Continue Reading
May 21, 2019
Duckworth Asks FAA to Publish Advisory Circular on Best Practices for Manufacturing, Testing and Operating Angle of Attack Sensors
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following a series of safety incidents involving faulty or malfunctioning angle of attack (AOA) sensors on airplanes, including the two recent crashes involving Boeing 737 MAX series jets, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today to publish a set of standardized best practices for how to ensure airlines and flight crews are complying with all federal safety standards and regulations. In a letter to Acting FAA Administrator … Continue Reading
May 20, 2019
Duckworth Attends Inauguration of Mayor Lori Lightfoot
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) attended the inauguration of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot today to celebrate the swearing in of the new mayor, Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and City Clerk Anna Valencia. Photos from today's event are available here. "I'm excited to work together with Mayor Lightfoot to help hardworking Illinois families," Duckworth said. "I look forward to advocating together for Chicago, supporting new investments in infrastructure and ensuring … Continue Reading
May 17, 2019
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $140,000 for Rural Development in Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $142,885 in federal funding to assist communities in Southern and Central Illinois with water and waste disposal projects. This funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (SEARCH) and Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants programs, both of which are within the Office of Rural Development. "Investments like … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Duckworth Helps Introduce Bill Requiring States to Secure Elections
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) today in introducing expanded legislation to protect American elections from foreign interference by mandating hand-marked paper ballots and setting new cybersecurity standards for all federal elections. The Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act of 2019 would require states to use paper ballots and statistically rigorous "risk-limiting" audits for all federal elections - two measures … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Duckworth Requests All-Senate Briefing on Iranian Threat Assessment As Soon As Possible
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a letter to top intelligence, military and Trump Administration officials, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked the Trump Administration to organize a classified, interagency intelligence briefing for all 100 Senators as soon as possible to share the intelligence that triggered the recent warnings about threats in Iran. The Trump Administration has escalated tensions with Iran over the past week, loudly warning the American public about new … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Duckworth, Booker, Carper Promote Newly-Formed Environmental Justice Caucus in the Chicago Sun-Times
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tom Carper (D-DE) penned a joint op-ed today for the Chicago Sun-Times explaining why they launched the Senate's first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus. Drawing on the powerful history of the movement against environmental racism (including Hazel Johnson's efforts on the South Side of Chicago), the Senators highlighted the public health and environmental challenges that disproportionately impact low-income … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
VIDEO: Tammy Duckworth Questions Why President Trump is Empowering John Bolton to Push Our Nation into Conflict with Iran
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - As the Trump Administration seeks to escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) raised questions about why the Trump Administration has failed to share the latest intelligence assessment involving Iran with the U.S. Senate as well as American allies. During interviews with CNN's Anderson Cooper and MSNBC's Chris Hayes, Duckworth called for a classified intelligence briefing to be offered to all 100 Senators as soon … Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Duckworth Asks for Study on how Illinois Can Boost Resilience Against Future Flooding
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Tom Carper (D-DE) are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on how the federal government is managing flood risk management infrastructure in the Midwest. After record-setting flooding across Illinois this spring, Duckworth, the ranking member of the Senate Fisheries, Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, requested GAO examine how the Army Corps of Engineers can increase the resilience of levees to protect … Continue Reading
