Press Releases
Duckworth Joins Bennet, Hirono, Shaheen and Colleagues to Call for Expanded Access to Over-The-Counter Contraceptives for Servicemembers and Their Families
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), alongside U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), led 30 Senate colleagues in a bipartisan letter urging the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure over-the-counter birth control is available for servicemembers and their families on military bases, without a copay and without a prescription. In July, the Food and Drug Administration approved Opill as the first … Continue Reading
October 24, 2023
Duckworth, Panetta Lead Call for Expanding DoD Basic Needs Allowance Program in FY24 NDAA
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), member of the House Committee on Armed Services, are leading 18 of their colleagues in a bipartisan, bicameral call to the leadership of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, urging them to retain the House language in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) expanding servicemember … Continue Reading
October 24, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Announce More Than $176 Million to Help Illinois Families Save on Home Energy Bills
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $176,702,627 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to help Illinoisans pay the rising cost of home heating bills this winter. This announcement includes funding appropriated for Fiscal Year 2024 from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Duckworth and … Continue Reading
October 24, 2023
Duckworth Discusses Rail Accessibility and Improvements with Metra Leadership
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Metra leadership to discuss ongoing rail improvements throughout the Chicagoland area, including the need for expanding Metra’s service to O’Hare International Airport. Duckworth, a member of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, met with Metra CEO Jim Derwinski and Metra Deputy Executive Director Janice Thomas to receive updates on Metra’s ongoing and proposed improvements throughout the … Continue Reading
October 24, 2023
Duckworth Applauds Confirmation of FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Chair of its Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation—issued the following statement after the United States Senate voted to confirm Michael Whitaker as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Whitaker’s confirmation comes amid a chilling surge in near-deadly misses involving commercial airlines that likely … Continue Reading
October 23, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin, Pritzker Announce Two Illinois Programs Selected as EDA Tech Hub Designees
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, today announced two Illinois programs were selected by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) as part of the 31 inaugural Tech Hubs, selections in regions across the country primed for grown in innovation and job creation. The Chicago Quantum Exchange’s The Bloch: End-to-end Quantum Solutions at Scale and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Central … Continue Reading
October 20, 2023
Duckworth Meets with Grieving Illinois Jewish and Muslim Leaders to Reinforce Support and Denounce Hate
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today visited with leaders of Illinois’s grieving Muslim and Jewish communities to reinforce her support in light of the ongoing war in the Middle East. Duckworth reiterated the importance of denouncing hateful Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic rhetoric and violence that has already led to multiple hate crimes in Illinois and around the country. Duckworth today visited the Mosque where … Continue Reading
October 20, 2023
Duckworth Statement on Illinois Hostages Released by Hamas Terrorists
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a member of both the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, celebrated the release of two Illinois hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan, who were taken by Hamas terrorists during their coordinated and inhumane attacks in Israel last weekend and who have been held in Gaza since while calling for the release of and access to immediate medical care for those still in captivity: “The release of two Illinoisans, Judith and Natalie … Continue Reading
October 20, 2023
Duckworth to Support President Biden’s National Security Package to Keep America Safe, Strengthen Border Security
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a member of both the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, issued the following statement today announcing her support for President Biden’s request to Congress for additional resources to strengthen U.S. national security by investing in our domestic defense industry, countering China in the Indo-Pacific region, supporting Ukraine, helping innocent civilians in Gaza and Israel as well as bolstering security on our nation’s … Continue Reading
October 20, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Join Baldwin, House Members to Introduce Legislation to Lower Cost of Community and Tech College
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced bicameral legislation with U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM-03), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA-03) to make two-year technical and community college accessible to more Americans by waiving tuition for eligible students. “Those of us who weren’t always sure we’d be able to go to college … Continue Reading
October 19, 2023
Duckworth Pleads for Sustained Humanitarian Aid for Innocents in Gaza: “No Child Deserves to Be Terrorized, Whether Their Home Is on A Kibbutz, in Plainfield, Illinois, or Behind A Blockade in Gaza”
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), made an impassioned plea on the floor of the United States Senate for the global community to act with urgency to secure the sustained flow of humanitarian aid for the innocent civilians suffering in Gaza after Hamas’ terrorist attacks in Israel last weekend. Duckworth, a longtime and steadfast supporter of Israel’s right to defend itself and its people, specifically called for … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth Statement on Commerce Committee Advancing FAA Administrator Nomination
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Chair of Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation—issued the following statement after the full committee voted to advance the nomination of Michael Whitaker to serve as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Whitaker’s nomination comes amid a chilling surge in near-deadly misses involving commercial … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Duckworth, Murkowski Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Expand Medicare Coverage for Breast Cancer Patients and Survivors
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) re-introduced legislation to ensure breast cancer patients and survivors who have experienced a mastectomy are able to access custom breast prosthetics under Medicare. The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses—which, unlike other prosthetic devices, are not currently covered by Medicare—to the more than 100,000 women who undergo mastectomies … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth Underscores Urgent Need for Confirmed Ambassador to Israel to Address Hateful Rhetoric and Hasten Humanitarian Aid for Innocents in the Middle East
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - After the horrific fatal stabbing of a six-year-old Palestinian-American in Illinois this weekend, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today underscored the role the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel must play in helping address hateful Islamophobic and Antisemitic rhetoric that threatens to escalate the crisis in the Middle East even further. Duckworth, who has consistently supported Israel’s right to defend itself and its people, raised this issue during today’s U.S. Senate … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth Joins Rosen, Colleagues in Introducing Bipartisan Senate Resolution Demanding Safe Release of Hostages from Hamas
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC)—joined U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and other Senate colleagues in introducing a bipartisan resolution condemning Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack on Israel and demanding that Hamas release all hostages and allow for their safe return home. “No innocent civilian—not Israelis, not Palestinians, not Illinoisans, not anyone—deserves to suffer the … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin, Ernst, Booker, Colleagues Urge President Biden to do Everything in His Power to Rescue American Hostages
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), led 45 colleagues in urging President Biden to continue putting his full attention on the freeing of American hostages that were taken by Hamas during the terrorist organization’s October 7th attacks on Israel and supporting Israel’s efforts to dismantle the threat of Hamas. In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “We appreciate … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth Applauds Normal Mayor Chris Koos’s Nomination to Serve on Amtrak Board of Directors Advancing
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and its subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports, as well as the author of the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) Act, issued the following statement after the full committee voted to advance Normal Mayor Chris Koos’s nomination to serve on Amtrak’s Board of Directors. His nomination now heads to the Senate floor … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth Announces More Than $900,000 In Congressionally Directed Spending to Support Expanding Healthcare Access for Chicagoans
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that $978,000 she secured through a Fiscal Year 2023 Congressionally Directed Spending Request will be sent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago (IWS Family Health). The funding Duckworth secured will help IWS Family Health expand its integrated and coordinated healthcare home to meet the urgent needs of under-resourced communities in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin, … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Join Colleagues to Introduce Senate Resolution in Solidarity with UAW Workers on Strike
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), along with 30 of their colleagues in the Senate, to introduce a resolution in solidarity with 150,000 members of United Auto Workers (UAW) bargaining for a fair contract, with 34,000 currently on strike. Auto workers voted to go on strike in September, in one of the largest U.S. strikes in the past three decades, … Continue Reading
October 18, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin, Murphy, Senators Call for Humanitarian Aid to Address Emergency Needs in Gaza
CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), led 28 of their Senate colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to lead the international community in contributing to the United Nations’ emergency appeal of $294 million to address the immediate humanitarian needs in the West Bank and Gaza. Today, President Biden announced significant humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in those areas. Duckworth and … Continue Reading
