In The News
Senator Duckworth floats plan to rescue coal country
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth on Thursday unveiled a plan to rehabilitate communities hurt by the decline of the U.S. coal industry - an appeal to a political constituency seen as important in the November election. The bill would direct investment to communities reeling from closures of mines and coal-fired power plants in recent years, to create new jobs and help them grapple with issues like opiod addiction and black lung disease, she said. "We can't … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Duckworth slams 'disgusting' Trump threat to send federal law enforcement to Chicago: 'Don't even think about it'
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Tuesday excoriated President Trump's threats to send the federal officers dispatched to Portland, Ore., to Chicago, calling the ultimatum "disgusting." "My answer to him is don't even think about it," Duckworth, a combat veteran who lost both legs in Iraq, said on CNN Tuesday. "This is disgusting, and it is the further politicization of our institutions, which should be nonpartisan. He did it with the military when he sent National Guard troops against … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Tammy Duckworth: Trump ‘cares more about dead traitors than he does about our troops’
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a military veteran who was recently in the news when Tucker Carlson said she "hated America," discusses Trump's failures on the military, coronavirus and race - and what she would do if asked to be Joe Biden's running … Continue Reading
July 17, 2020
Duckworth, Centreville residents say local officials must take action to fix flooding
If sewage and flooding problems in Centreville are going to be fixed, local officials must lead the way. That was the consensus of residents and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday during a meeting with the Illinois Democrat at the Church of Grace in northern Centreville. "I can help with grants but it has to go through the municipality. I can write letters in support of the grants, I can make the case for the grants, but it still has to go through the municipality and the county," … Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
Duckworth will no longer block military promotions after Pentagon confirms Vindman's would-have-been promotion
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., announced Tuesday she is lifting her hold on senior military promotions after the Department of Defense confirmed the promotion Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in the impeachment of President Donald Trump earlier this year, wasn't blocked. Vindman, a Purple Heart recipient and Iraq war veteran, had seen his promotion to colonel delayed this summer, a hold-up that some viewed as retaliation for his explosive impeachment … Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
'My eyes opened': Duckworth's environmental justice journey
When Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth ran for the Senate four years ago, she was shocked by statistics showing far higher levels of pollution in low-income communities on Chicago's South Side than in the rest of the state. The then-suburban House lawmaker learned that the life expectancy rate drops 13 years as one travels along eight stops on the Windy City's L train, from wealthy and more middle-class areas into its more impoverished, mostly minority neighborhoods. "I had my eyes opened," … Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Duckworth asks Esper whether DOD is probing links between troop deaths and Russian bounties
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is demanding to know whether the Pentagon is investigating whether any American troops died in Afghanistan as a result of the bounties reputed to have been offered by Russia to attack them. "It is unacceptable that to date, the Trump administration appears to be ignoring a matter of great importance to Gold Star family members whose loved ones were killed while serving in Afghanistan: were any U.S. troop casualties in Afghanistan connected with the … Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
Duckworth: Trump sees these true patriots as enemies
(CNN) - Marching and chanting, grieving and kneeling, countless Americans have braved tear gas and rubber bullets over the past six weeks to send an unequivocal message to their elected leaders: that they will not stand idly by as racial injustice continues to tear at our country. In this moment of national reckoning, and particularly as we celebrated Independence Day last weekend, I can think of nothing more patriotic. These citizens understand that doing the tireless, often thankless … Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
Senator Tammy Duckworth talks ADA and Elections
Welcome to The Heumann Perspective with me, Judy Heumann! Join me and Senator Tammy Duckworth as we talk about the upcoming 30th anniversary of the ADA and what the future holds for any and all citizens of the United … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Duckworth on Russia bounties: How dare Trump still call himself our commander in chief?
While President Donald Trump has spent the past couple of weeks golfing, campaigning and making sure the buck stopped anywhere but with him, American service members in hot spots around the world likely were wondering whether there might be a bounty hanging over their heads - and whether the president of the United States would even care enough to respond if that were the case. In a report confirmed by other major news organizations, The New York Times wrote on June 26 that Russia paid … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Duckworth to hold up confirmations to ensure impeachment witness Vindman's promotion isn't blocked
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday announced she'll hold up the confirmation of more than 1,000 military promotions until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that the promotion of impeachment witness Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman won't be blocked. Duckworth, a retired Army officer who lost both legs because of injuries sustained in the Iraq war, said she intends to block 1,123 promotions until Esper "confirms in writing that he did not, or will not, block the expected and deserved … Continue Reading
June 30, 2020
Duckworth Decries Trump Inaction On Bounty Report
Former combat veteran, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, condemned the inaction of US President Donald Trump over reports that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan. After reports of the bounties surfaced, Duckworth said Trump, "went right on placing Russian interests ahead of American lives." "Not once, not once in the past 72 hours has he found the time to express outrage that American servicemen and women are dead," … Continue Reading
June 27, 2020
Sen. Tammy Duckworth Demands Senate Hearing Into Report Russia Secretly Offered Bounties To Afghan Militants For Killing U.S. Troops
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) - U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is calling for a Senate hearing into a report Russia secretly offered bounties to militants in Afghanistan for the killing of American troops, and that President Donald Trump has known about it for months, but did nothing. "First, Donald Trump encouraged Russia to interfere in our democracy, and they did. Now, Russia is secretly paying militants to kill U.S. troops. Trump has known for months but apparently done nothing to stop them," Duckworth … Continue Reading
June 17, 2020
Senator Who Used to Fly Black Hawks Calls for Answers on Army Helicopter Probe
Former Army UH-60 Blackhawk pilot and Senate Armed Services Committee member Tammy Duckworth told the Army's top official this week that she wanted to know who is responsible for the use of low-flying helicopters to suppress crowds of protesters in Washington, D.C. The Democratic senator from Illinois also talked to Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy about "the need" to ban the Confederate Battle Flag from all Army installations after the Navy and the Marine Corps made similar moves in the wake of … Continue Reading
June 12, 2020
Senator Tammy Duckworth: Our Black Servicemembers Deserve Better Than Military Bases Named After Confederate Officers
John Brown Gordon was no American hero. A slave-owner and rumored Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, Gordon betrayed his nation by serving as a Confederate general during the Civil War, and then used his position among Georgia's elite to stoke white supremacy long after the last bullet of the war had been fired. And today, the United States Military that he took up arms against continues to honor his memory. Situated halfway between Savannah and Atlanta, Fort Gordon is an Army training base … Continue Reading
June 10, 2020
Bill would block presidents with no military service from being buried in Arlington Cemetery
A United States senator and combat veteran introduced a bill that would block presidents or vice presidents with no military service from being buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said the legislation is aimed at preserving the limited space left available in the cemetery for those who have served in the Armed Forces. The bill would not affect anyone already interred at the cemetery. The U.S. Army recently recommended restricting eligibility for burial at … Continue Reading
June 09, 2020
It broke my heart to watch two generals walk like lapdogs behind a five-time draft-dodger
Last week, Donald Trump trampled the First Amendment rights of Americans to peaceably assemble for a redress of grievances. Even before any curfew went into effect, the Trump administration ordered federal law enforcement to violently remove Americans who stood in his way of a disgusting, crass photo-op. The president may have been waving a Bible, but in using police to forcibly remove a priest and seminarian from his camera shot, he revealed his contempt for the truly faithful. As if that … Continue Reading
June 08, 2020
Durbin, Duckworth Among Co-Sponsors of ‘Justice in Policing' Bill
Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth are among a large group of Democratic lawmakers sponsoring a police reform bill in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. The senators joined Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) along with Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in introducing the bill, titled the “Justice in Policing Act of 2020” … Continue Reading
June 03, 2020
MSNBC: 'Lap dogs': Sen. Duckworth slams military leadership's response to Trump
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), an Iraq War veteran, joins Andrea Mitchell to discuss her call for national standards for police behavior to address systemic racism and police brutality. Sen. Duckworth also delivers a sharp rebuke of Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, for "carrying out the president's twisted idea of what military is supposed to do," and that the use of the troops to control protests "is not the appropriate use of our … Continue Reading
June 03, 2020
Tammy Duckworth: Trump’s Use Of Military Against Protesters Is ‘Disgusting’
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tammy Duckworth flew Black Hawk helicopters to fight al Qaeda in Iraq and nearly lost her life doing so. Now, President Donald Trump is using military helicopters ? along with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades ? to intimidate Americans protesting racism and police brutality outside the White House. Duckworth is livid. "The military is not to be used against Americans," the Illinois Democrat said in an interview Tuesday. "He is perverting, at best, the role of … Continue Reading
