Press Releases
Duckworth, Durbin Join Colleagues in Reintroduction of Historic Equality Act to Ban Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ Americans
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congressional Equality Caucus Chair Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA-39) for the bicameral reintroduction of the Equality Act in an effort to push back against escalated attacks from the Trump Administration, MAGA Republicans, and state legislatures on the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ Americans nationwide. “It … Continue Reading
May 01, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin, Colleagues Reintroduce Assault Weapons Ban
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) in the bicameral reintroduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, legislation to revive a nationwide ban on assault weapons two decades after the original ban expired. The bill would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and … Continue Reading
May 01, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin, Colleagues Reintroduce Assault Weapons Ban
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) in the bicameral reintroduction of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025, legislation to revive a nationwide ban on assault weapons two decades after the original ban expired. The bill would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Duckworth Slams Trump Administration’s Plans to Cancel Nearly a Billion Dollars in EPA Environmental Justice Grants, Putting the Health of Low-Income Communities and Families At Risk
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—founding co-chair of the Senate’s Environmental Justice Caucus—issued the following statement after a court filing revealed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to cancel nearly one billion dollars in environmental justice grants issued under the Biden Administration to 781 awardees across the country. These previously-approved grants help communities get the lead out of our kids’ drinking water, clean up dangerous … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin Join More Than 100 Congressional Democrats in Demanding Social Security Head Keep Field Offices Open Across the Nation
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in a coalition of over 100 Congressional Democrats in writing to Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) Leland Dudek to demand that he keep Social Security field offices open. This letter comes after multiple reports revealed that Elon Musk’s … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin Meet with Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) yesterday met with the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperative (AIEC), which represents 24 distribution co-ops and five generation/transmission co-ops that serve most of rural Illinois, to discuss protecting U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy programs and clean energy tax credits. During their meeting, the group stressed the importance … Continue Reading
April 30, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin Meet with Champaign County First
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) yesterday met with representatives from Champaign County First to discuss the region’s priorities and advocating for federal policies that improve the lives of those in Central Illinois. During the meeting, Durbin and Duckworth spoke about the Trump Administration’s decision to freeze federal funding, threatening the completion of major infrastructure projects planned in … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Duckworth Slams VA Official for Refusing to Commit to Rehiring Veterans Crisis Line Workers Fired by Elon Musk’s DOGE
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of both the U.S. Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC) and Armed Services (SASC)—slammed a senior official from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after he failed to publicly commit to rehiring Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) workers who were fired in Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s indiscriminate mass layoffs of federal workers. Duckworth pressed the VA official on the importance of … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin Introduce Bill to Support Special Resources Study on Cahokia Mounds
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today reintroduced the Cahokia Mounds Mississippian Culture Study Act to require the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a Special Resources Study (SRS) on Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and its satellite sites. Durbin and Duckworth have long pushed for Cahokia Mounds to receive a National Historical Site designation from NPS, but in a congressional hearing in the 117th … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Amid Coast Guard Recruitment Challenges, Duckworth Leads Colleagues in Calling for Increased Funding for Great Lakes Workforce
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of both the U.S. Senate Armed Services (SASC) and Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC) Committees—led four of her fellow Senate Democratic colleagues in calling on the Trump Administration to prioritize funding for U.S. Coast Guard recruitment and retention. In a letter to Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Coast Guard Acting … Continue Reading
April 29, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin, Colleagues Blast Trump Administration's Attacks on Head Start, Demand RFK JR. Immediately Release Funding and Reverse Firings
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in sending a letter to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calling out the Trump administration’s direct attacks on Head Start, reminding him of his legal obligation to administer the program and demanding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) … Continue Reading
April 28, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin, Colleagues Push Trump Administration to Reconsider Student Visa Revocations
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with 35 Senate Democrats in pressing the Trump Administration to reconsider recent decisions to revoke student visas in a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons. The Senators began by urging … Continue Reading
April 28, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin, Colleagues Condemn Trump and DOGE for Gutting AmeriCorps
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chris Coons (D-DE), along with 146 fellow Congressional colleagues, called out President Donald Trump for targeting AmeriCorps and NCC AmeriCorps members, demanding he reverse cuts to the program made last week by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Trump Administration placed a majority of AmeriCorps employees on leave last week as part of DOGE’s broader spending cuts. Programs such as AmeriCorps … Continue Reading
April 23, 2025
Duckworth Joins Schatz, Murray, Colleagues in Condemning Labor Department’s Cancellation of Funding to Address Child Labor, Human Trafficking Worldwide
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Patty Murray (D-WA) and 10 Senate Democratic colleagues in condemning the Trump Administration’s cuts to federal funding that for decades helped address child labor, forced labor and human trafficking globally. “These cuts are inconsistent with bipartisan laws passed by Congress providing federal funds to combat child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and enforce labor standards in over 40 … Continue Reading
April 23, 2025
Duckworth on Durbin Retirement: The Senate is Losing a Giant
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today issued the following statement after U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that he will not seek reelection in 2026. Durbin has served in Congress since 1983 and in the Senate since 1997, becoming one of the most impactful and effective leaders Illinois has sent to Congress in modern history. “The first time I met Dick Durbin was just 12 weeks after my shootdown—at a point so early in my recovery that I could barely sit up for any … Continue Reading
April 22, 2025
Duckworth, Larsen and Cohen Urge FAA to Address Safety Issues at DCA in the Wake of Recent Deadly and Near-Miss Accidents
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—Senate Subcommittee on Aviation, Space and Innovation Ranking Member—with House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA-02) and House Subcommittee on Aviation Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) today wrote to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Chris Rocheleau with their concerns regarding the safety of aircraft operations in and around Washington National Airport (DCA) in … Continue Reading
April 22, 2025
Duckworth, Durbin, Senators Demand President Trump Rescind Harmful Claims That He Will Transfer Incarcerated U.S. Citizens to a Foreign Prison
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) led 24 of their Democratic colleagues in a letter to President Donald Trump calling for him to immediately rescind the dangerous and offensive claim that he may transfer incarcerated U.S. citizens to El Salvador. In the letter, the Senators also urge the President to follow the law and adhere to all applicable court orders and immediately facilitate the return to the United States of Kilmar … Continue Reading
April 22, 2025
Duckworth, Markey, Baldwin Introduce Resolution to Designate April as Earth Month
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—founding co-chair of the Senate’s first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus—along with U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Earth Month resolution to recognize the importance of environmental stewardship and climate action. “Donald Trump’s decision to gut EPA and shutter environmental justice offices across the country threatens the Earth we all call home and endangers our public health—it’s the opposite … Continue Reading
April 22, 2025
Duckworth Leads Colleagues in Condemning Trump and Hegseth’s Trans Military Service Ban
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of both the U.S. Senate Armed Services (SASC) and Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC) Committees—led 13 of her fellow Senate Democratic colleagues in condemning President Trump’s un-American, unconstitutional transgender military service ban for being a blatant violation of our brave servicemembers’ civil rights and weakening our national security. The lawmakers demanded answers from Secretary of Defense Pete … Continue Reading
April 21, 2025
Duckworth Statement on the Passing of Pope Francis
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today issued the following statement honoring the passing of Pope Francis: “Pope Francis was a pillar of the Catholic Church, a beacon of hope, compassion and light in times of fear, hatred and darkness. Throughout his life, he taught us that in order to be great, we have to be good. He urged each of us to care for the poor, feed the hungry, be humble stewards of the Earth and treat others how we would want to be treated ourselves—even … Continue Reading