Press Releases
Duckworth, Schneider, Foster, Underwood and Krishnamoorthi Highlight How Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is Helping Protect Lake Michigan, Provide Cleaner Water & Create Jobs
[WAUKEGAN, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) along with U.S. Representatives Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) today were joined by Senior Advisor to President Biden on Infrastructure Coordination Mitch Landrieu and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore in highlighting how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is helping restore the Great Lakes and strengthen Illinois's … Continue Reading
February 18, 2022
Senate passes Durbin led, Duckworth cosponsored resolution showing bipartisan support for Ukraine Against Russian Aggression
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Yesterday evening, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously in support of a bipartisan resolution led by U.S. Senate Majority Whip and Senate Ukraine Caucus Co-Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH), and John Cornyn (R-TX). U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined as a cosponsor of the resolution in support of Ukraine in the face of increased Russian aggression. The resolution is a renewed bipartisan message from the U.S. Senate in … Continue Reading
February 18, 2022
Duckworth, Carper, Booker Praise Release of Environmental Justice Mapping and Screening Tool
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tom Carper (D-DE) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), founders and co-chairs of the Senate Environmental Justice Caucus, issued the following statement welcoming the release of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)'s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), a critical new resource that will help federal agencies better reach historically marginalized communities that have experienced legacy pollution. "This is … Continue Reading
February 18, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Statement on City of Chicago’s Decision To Deny Permit for Reserve Management Group’s Southside Recycling
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that it has denied Reserve Management Group's (RMG) permit to operate a scrap metal recycling facility on Chicago's Southeast Side: "The Southeast Side community near these facilities has borne the burden from toxic pollutants for too long, and residents don't deserve additional health risks from increased operations … Continue Reading
February 18, 2022
Duckworth, Schneider Visit SHIELD Illinois Lab to Highlight Commitment to Increasing Testing Accessibility for Illinoisans
[NORTH CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) today met with University of Illinois System and SHIELD Illinois officials to discuss the importance of continued widespread and equitable COVID-19 testing. In 2020, scientists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed this saliva-based PCR COVID-19 test. SHIELD Illinois is a nonprofit enterprise that makes the test available throughout the state. Photos from today's tour … Continue Reading
February 16, 2022
Duckworth Joins Stabenow in Introducing Resolution to Stop Canadian Nuclear Waste Site Near Great Lakes
[WASHINGTON D.C.]-U.S. Senator Duckworth joined U.S. Senator Stabenow to introduce a resolution opposing Canada's placement of a permanent nuclear waste storage site near the shared Great Lakes Basin. Canada is currently considering a storage site at South Bruce, just 30 miles from Lake Huron. The resolution urges President Biden and his administration to work with the Canadian government to find an alternative location to permanently store nuclear waste that does not pose a threat to the … Continue Reading
February 16, 2022
Duckworth Joins Ernst in Introducing Bipartisan Bill to Help Ensure Families Can Access and Afford Diapers
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) to introduce the bipartisan Diaper Inclusion in Accounts for Parental Expense Reduction (DIAPER) Act to help ensure that diapers-which are necessary for the health and development of infants and toddlers-are accessible for families who need them. The bill expands flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs), which can be used to purchase a number of items relating to health … Continue Reading
February 16, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Highlight Nearly 500 Rural Illinois Jobs Created or Saved through Federal Investments
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that new federal investments are expected to help several rural businesses and communities across Illinois create 170 jobs and save 328 additional jobs. Today's investments come through multiple United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Programs. "I'm proud to see this federal support helping create and save good-paying jobs in rural communities and glad that the Biden … Continue Reading
February 16, 2022
Duckworth Emphasizes Her Support for Working Families During Meeting with Rockford Parents & Head Start Leadership
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with three Rockford parents whose children participate in the Heart Start program, Rockford's Health and Human Services Department Executive Director Anqunette Parham and Director of Head Start in Rockford Lisa Warren. During the video call, Duckworth and the group discussed federal support to the program, including from the Democrat-passed American Rescue Plan, as well as what support is needed for the program to continue to … Continue Reading
February 15, 2022
Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee Passes Duckworth’s Bipartisan Bill to Support Women Entrepreneurs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship passed bipartisan legislation by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-MD) and U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Susan Collins (R-ME), to help increase support to female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses. The Interagency Committee on Women's Business Enterprise Act would reauthorize the Interagency Committee for Women's Business Enterprise (ICWBE), which … Continue Reading
February 14, 2022
Duckworth & Durbin Join Baldwin and Senate Colleagues in Letter Urging Biden Administration to Limit Junk Health Plans that Undermine Standards of Affordable Care Act
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and 37 of their U.S. Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the Biden administration to limit the sale and availability of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans, also known as "junk plans," because of their failure to provide adequate, comprehensive health insurance … Continue Reading
February 12, 2022
Duckworth Hosts Secretary Buttigieg in Bloomington-Normal to Highlight Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Training in Central Illinois
[NORMAL, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today hosted U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg at Heartland Community College to tour the college's new Electric Vehicle - Energy Storage (EVES) Manufacturing Training Academy and discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will create good-paying local jobs, especially in the Electric Vehicle sector. Duckworth and Buttigieg were joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on the … Continue Reading
February 12, 2022
Duckworth Tours Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Touts Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Benefits
[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Springfield Airport Executive Director Mark Hanna to discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can help improve customer experience, runways, gates and taxiways, terminals, multimodal connections and air traffic control at Abraham Lincoln Capitol Airport. Senator Duckworth's TIFIA for Airports proposal, which was also included in the bipartisan law, will also greatly improve the affordability of future airport projects. … Continue Reading
February 11, 2022
Duckworth Highlights How Her Bipartisan Law is Helping Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Grow & Create Jobs in Visit to Federal Surplus Property Warehouse
[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Illinois Central Management Services Federal Property Division leadership and Veteran small business owners to discuss how her bipartisan Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act is helping Veteran entrepreneurs grow their small businesses, create local jobs and expand economic opportunity while minimizing costs for the business owners. In her visit to the Illinois Federal Surplus Warehouse, Duckworth discussed the … Continue Reading
February 11, 2022
Duckworth Highlights Workforce Development Efforts at Lincoln Land Community College
[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with officials from Lincoln Land Community College to discuss her advocacy for community colleges, the creation of good-paying, local jobs and stronger support systems for students attending Illinois colleges. Duckworth and the group also toured the College's Workforce Institute, which focuses on vocational training for high-demand, high-wage occupations at an affordable cost. "Our nation's college students should have as many … Continue Reading
February 10, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Applaud Biden for EV Charging Network Investments, Highlight Job Creation Benefits
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today highlighted that the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will have important benefits in Illinois, including creating good-paying, local jobs and making it easier for Illinoisans to travel the state and nation. DOT's investments in EV charging will total nearly $5 billion available over the next five … Continue Reading
February 10, 2022
Duckworth, Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Support the Families of Public Safety Officers
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced a bill to support the families of officers who struggle with their mental health or who are lost to trauma-linked suicides. These families are struggling to receive the benefits they deserve because federal law currently limits the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program to only cover physical injuries-completely excluding any support for mental health concerns. U.S. … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Duckworth, Kennedy Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Safely Transport Chimps Being Housed at DoD Installations
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chair of the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works' (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water & Wildlife, and U.S. Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) today introduced bipartisan legislation to prohibit the housing of chimpanzees at any installation of the Department of the Air Force. The Chimp Sanctuary Act would ensure all chimps being housed at Department of the Air Force installations to be safely transported to Chimp Haven-a … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Duckworth Joins Colleagues in Urging Senate Leadership to Support Those Educating Our Future Health Professional Workforce in Next Legislative Package
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and 10 other Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Senate leadership, urging them to include the bipartisan, bicameral Technical Reset to Advance the Instruction of Nurses (TRAIN) Act in any upcoming legislative package that's headed to the President's desk. The TRAIN Act would help support the future of our health care workforce by providing much-needed … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Join Gillibrand in Sending Letter Requesting to Reinstate COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick and Family Leave following the 29th Anniversary of FMLA
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following the 29th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and uptick in COVID cases at the beginning of 2022, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) in a letter calling on the Biden Administration, along with House and Senate leadership, to reinstate and expand emergency paid sick and family caregiving leave in the FY22 funding bill or future COVID-19 relief packages. At the onset of the pandemic, … Continue Reading