Press Releases
Duckworth, Durbin Call on Biden Administration to Increase Funding for Programs Addressing Root Causes of Gun Violence in FY25 Budget
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today sent a letter to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Shalanda Young urging the agency leader to increase funding for a variety of programs that have been shown to prevent gun violence, including housing and economic development, job opportunities, education, public health and community policing. In their letter, the Senators underscored the unacceptable level … Continue Reading
December 06, 2023
Duckworth Reaction to Senate Republicans Blocking President Biden’s National Security Package to Keep America Safe, Strengthen Border Security
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of both the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees—issued the following statement after Senate Republicans voted to block President Biden’s request to Congress for additional resources that would 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 countering Hamas, as well as … Continue Reading
December 06, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin, Quigley Announce $93.6 Million to Modernize Chicago's Union Station
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (D-IL-05) today announced $93,600,000 for the Chicago Hub Improvement Project (CHIP) through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal-State Partnerships for Intercity Passenger Rail grant program, which received funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. CHIP is Amtrak’s multi-phased project to revitalize Chicago Union Station (CUS) … Continue Reading
December 05, 2023
Duckworth on Tuberville Lifting Most Military Promotion Holds: “It Never Should Have Taken This Long—And Can’t Erase Damage to Our National Security, Troops or Military Families”
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator and combat Veteran Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, today responded to U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) finally backing down and allowing many of the more than 450 critical military promotions he has been blocking—with the help of many of his Senate Republican colleagues’ silence—to finally move forward. For almost a year, Senator Tuberville’s reckless and damaging holds have been hurting our military readiness … Continue Reading
December 05, 2023
Duckworth Joins Cotton, Merkley, Colleagues to Introduce Legislation Commemorating 190th Anniversary of Relations with Thailand
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Dan Sullivan (R-AL) today to introduce a resolution commemorating the 190th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and Thailand. U.S. Representative Michelle Steel (R-CA-45) introduced companion legislation in the House. “Since establishing our first treaty alliance in the Indo-Pacific region in 1833, … Continue Reading
December 05, 2023
Duckworth Joins Durbin, Colleagues to Reintroduce Bill to Create Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Peter Welch (D-VT) today to reintroduce legislation to ensure struggling student loan borrowers are treated fairly and understand the full range of repayment options and resources available to them. The Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights Act creates consistent servicing and disclosure standards across … Continue Reading
December 01, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Applaud More Than $21.6 Million in Full-Service Community Schools Grants for Illinois Institutions
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Department of Education for awarding $21,632,950 in Full-Service Community Schools grants to education institutions and community organizations in Illinois. Funding for full-service community schools has increased five-fold, from $25 million in 2020 to $150 million in 2023. The grant funding allows schools to partner with community organizations and institutions of … Continue Reading
December 01, 2023
Duckworth, Klobuchar, Colleagues Call on FDA to Swiftly Address High Levels of Toxic Heavy Metals in Food for Babies and Young Children
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following the recall of three brands of cinnamon applesauce pouches linked to elevated blood lead levels reported in over 50 children, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), along with U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA-29), Katie Porter (D-CA-47), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23), called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use the authority of … Continue Reading
December 01, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Statement on United, American Commitment to O'Hare Terminal Area Project
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation, and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding a recent report that United Airlines and American Airlines want to “slow down, dramatically scale back, or indefinitely ground” the Chicago O’Hare International Airport Terminal Area Project (TAP), on which they signed an agreement with the City of … Continue Reading
November 30, 2023
Duckworth Announces $500,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending to Boost Workforce Development in Chicago and East St. Louis
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced $500,000 she secured through a Fiscal Year 2023 Congressionally Directed Spending Request will be sent by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration to Illinois’s Revolution Workshop to help support its 12-week pre-apprenticeship construction job training program. This Duckworth-secured federal funding will help grow Revolution Workshop’s programs that offer skills training for good-paying jobs … Continue Reading
November 30, 2023
Duckworth, Booker Statement on EPA’s Proposed Strengthening of the Lead and Copper Rule
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), co-founders of the new U.S. Senate Lead Task Force and the U.S. Senate Environmental Justice Caucus, today applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed strengthening of the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), which would lower the lead action level to better protect human health and require water systems to replace old and deteriorating lead pipes within a decade. “We applaud the Biden … Continue Reading
November 30, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Statement on Proposed Strengthening of EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), author of the historic Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act, and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed strengthening of the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), which would lower the lead action level and require water systems to replace all their old and deteriorating lead pipes within the decade, following the Senators’ continuing calls for these … Continue Reading
November 29, 2023
Duckworth Joins Durbin, Collins to Introduce Legislation to Address Uptick in Attacks on Letter Carriers on the Job
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) today in introducing bipartisan legislation to address the steep increase in armed robberies against postal workers, who are often targeted for their arrow keys. The Postal Police Reform Act would ensure that Postal Police Officers may be assigned to duty outside of Postal Service real property to offer protection to letter carriers on their … Continue Reading
November 28, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Announce CMS Funding to Address Physician Shortage in Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded new Medicare Graduate Medical Education funding to support an additional 23 residency slots for hospitals in Illinois. With this new federal funding, eight Illinois hospitals will be able to expand their medical training opportunities for new doctors, in order to help address the nation’s physician shortage. “Doctors and … Continue Reading
November 22, 2023
Duckworth Reacts to Agreement Temporarily Pausing Fighting in Gaza, Releasing Hamas-held Hostages
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator and member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement after an agreement was reached to pause hostilities in Gaza for four days and release 50 hostages who have been held by Hamas since their terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7th, enabling the delivery of much more humanitarian aid to innocent civilians suffering there: “While my heart breaks for every single innocent soul lost in the violence we’ve … Continue Reading
November 20, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Join Baldwin, Colleagues in Calling for Immediate Steps to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Gaza and Protect Civilians
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), led their colleagues in urging President Biden to work with Israel and international partners to implement a plan that will protect innocent civilian life in Gaza, deliver sustained humanitarian aid and work toward the long term goals of ending Hamas’s threat, bringing hostages home and … Continue Reading
November 17, 2023
Duckworth Reacts to Agreement Allowing More Fuel into Gaza to Support Lifesaving Services
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator and U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Tammy Duckworth reacted to news that an agreement has been reached to allow 140,000 liters of fuel into Gaza every other day to help restore critical lifesaving services, issuing the following statement: “This week, I hosted several Senators for a conversation with physicians who have colleagues on the ground in Gaza doing amazing work trying to provide care for innocent civilians under unimaginable … Continue Reading
November 17, 2023
Duckworth Demands Answers from Manufacturers of Pediatric RSV Immunization Regarding Shortage Supply So We Can Better Protect Children’s Health in the Future
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - As parents across the nation continue to be frustrated by a short supply of a new FDA- and CDC-backed immunization that can be used to prevent severe disease from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in babies, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is demanding answers from two major pharmaceutical manufacturers. Sanofi and AstraZeneca, who manufacture the immunization known as nirsevimab (Beyfortus), seem to have vastly underestimated the amount of vaccine needed to help … Continue Reading
November 17, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Join Colleagues to Introduce Legislation to Protect Domestic Abuse Survivors from Gun Violence
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) to introduce the Lori Jackson - Nicolette Elias Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act to protect domestic violence survivors from gun violence. “Domestic violence is all too common across this nation, and every survivor deserves to feel safe and protected,” said Duckworth. “This means closing the senseless loopholes … Continue Reading
November 17, 2023
Duckworth, Durbin Send Recommendations to be Federal District Court Judge in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division to the White House
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a list of names for the White House to consider for Federal District Court Judge vacancies in the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division. Based on recommendations made by the screening committee the Senators established, Duckworth and Durbin have forwarded the names of the following individuals to President Biden for … Continue Reading