In The News
Tammy Duckworth is asking the FTC to investigate a pharmaceutical wholesaler over its abortion pill plans.
What's happening: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports that the pharmaceutical wholesaler AmerisourceBergen will not be distributing abortion pills in more than two dozen states. The move comes after POLITICO reported that the company - the sole U.S. supplier of the abortion pill mifeprex - told senators they would not supply pharmacies with the drug in 29 states, including some, like Nevada, where abortion and the medication are … Continue Reading
March 26, 2023
Crenshaw, Duckworth look back on military service in Iraq on war’s 20th anniversary
Rep. Dan Crenshaw and Sen. Tammy Duckworth are reflecting on their past military service in Iraq on the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion there. Both lawmakers recently sat down with ABC "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz for a segment that aired Sunday, looking back at the fighting and what they've learned. Crenshaw, who lost an eye serving in Afghanistan but had previously deployed to Iraq, and Duckworth, a former helicopter pilot who lost both of her legs when her aircraft was hit … Continue Reading
March 25, 2023
‘A horrible vote’: Congress revisits one of its gravest mistakes, the Iraq War
In 2002, while working at Rotary International, now-Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) watched congressional hearings and administration presentations making the argument for the Iraq War, never convinced that Saddam Hussein's forces posed a serious threat. But two years later, she joined her unit from the Illinois Army National Guard during its tour of duty, becoming one of the first few women to pilot combat missions in Iraq. In 2004, a rocket-propelled grenade hit her Black Hawk helicopter. … Continue Reading
March 22, 2023
Duckworth fears for an East Palestine-like freight derailment in Chicago
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Wednesday expressed concerns that Illinois was at risk of being the next locale of a dangerous freight rail accident like the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio. "Illinois sits at the center of our nation's freight rail network," the Illinois Democrat said during the nearly five-hour hearing of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee examining the East Palestine incident. "All seven Class 1 … Continue Reading
March 20, 2023
Marking 20 years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq
It's been 20 years since the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. More than 4,400 U.S. service members and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were killed during the conflict. That's according to the Department of Defense and Brown University's Cost of War Project. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth was deployed to Iraq in 2004 as a member of the Illinois Army National Guard. She was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot. And in November of that year, she lost both her legs and partial use of … Continue Reading
March 16, 2023
The cost of war: Senator Tammy Duckworth on what we owe Veterans
The true cost of war is a lot more than tanks, helicopters, and ammunition, according to US Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who joins GZERO World to reflect on the 20th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. Duckworth was a helicopter pilot who lost both her legs in Iraq, one of thousands of veterans who returned home wounded, and intimately understands that the costs of war go far beyond the conflict ending. Is the United States fulfilling its obligation to provide adequate services for … Continue Reading
February 28, 2023
Tammy Duckworth Moves (Again) to Prevent a Repeat of Racist World War II-Era Imprisonment
en. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a combat veteran, is now working to defuse an IED that's been sitting in constitutional law since the beginning of World War II. From the senator's office: U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today re-introduced the Korematsu-Takai Civil Liberties Protection Act, a bill that would establish a clear legal prohibition against un-American policies that seek to imprison individuals solely on the basis of race, religion, nationality, sex, gender identity, sexual … Continue Reading
February 28, 2023
Bill would designate church that held Emmett Till’s funeral as national monument
Nearly 70 years ago, Mamie Till-Mobley held an open casket funeral for her son, Emmett Till, at a church on the South Side of Chicago. The sight of his 14-year-old body, bloated and disfigured, reignited a civil rights movement. Now, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) has introduced legislation to designate the Roberts Temple Church where Till's funeral was held as a national monument. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Corey Booker (D-N.J.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) joined … Continue Reading
February 24, 2023
Durbin, Duckworth lead call to pause railroad merger after Ohio derailment
Four members from Illinois' congressional caucus - Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Schaumburg) and Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago) - are asking for a delay in a planned merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern freight railroads in the wake of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio. In a letter addressed to Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman - who also was alderman of Chicago's 43rd Ward from 1975 … Continue Reading
February 17, 2023
Sen. Duckworth to lead delegation to Indonesia, Japan
SPRINGFIELD - While on a congressional trip to South Korea last summer, Sen. Tammy Duckworth was drinking coffee with a vice president at LG Corp when she made an offhand remark that had more impact than she could have known at the time. The remark, about the geology that makes Illinois uniquely positioned for carbon sequestration, ended up being the catalyst for sparking a larger conversation that culminated months later with LG announcing a partnership with Archer Daniels Midland Co. … Continue Reading
February 16, 2023
Push to Help More Service Members In Need Get Food Stamps Revived by Senators
A bipartisan pair of senators is trying to help get service members access to federal food assistance as hundreds of thousands of low-income troops struggle with food insecurity and a military stipend to address the issue appears to have fallen short. Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are reintroducing their Military Family Nutrition Access Act, which would exclude the military's Basic Allowance for Housing from income calculations used to determine eligibility for … Continue Reading
February 15, 2023
New Bill Aims to Boost Airline Accessibility For Amputees
December was a frustrating month for airline passengers. But every month is frustrating for passengers who are flying with disabilities. The indignities include damaged wheelchairs, inaccessible lavatories, rude gate agents, and even physical injuries-up to and including death. The latter occurred in late 2021, when prominent disability advocate Engracia Figueroa (a lower-limb amputee) suffered a fatal health decline after the destruction of her $30,000 wheelchair on a United Airlines flight. … Continue Reading
February 10, 2023
Illinois senators reintroduce bill to make Springfield race riot site a national monument
Illinois Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D) and Dick Durbin (D) on Thursday introduced legislation to designate the site of the Springfield race riot in Illinois as a national monument. The 1908 Springfield Race Riot National Monument Act would establish the site as a national monument to be managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Designating the site would help guarantee that public lands reflect the diversity and complexity of the nation, the senators said in a release. Less than a quarter of … Continue Reading
February 08, 2023
Duckworth urges Congress to try police reform again after Tyre Nichols’ killing
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth wants Congress to try again to pass police reform following the killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police in Memphis. Illinois' junior Democratic senator said she'd need to see a specific bill before deciding whether keeping legal immunity for officers would be a deal-breaker. That's where police reform talks broke down two years ago. "Where the Republicans are in terms of qualified immunity, we're going to have to see what they come to the table with, but I … Continue Reading
February 07, 2023
Sen. Duckworth on the upcoming SOTU
WASHINGTON (WMBD)- Senator Duckworth spoke about the upcoming SOTU and what she hopes to see. Reproductive rights are one of the major issues Duckworth is passionate about. Emphasizing it goes beyond the right to an abortion, but reproductive care in general. Senator Duckworth was joined by her special guest, Dr. Erin King, a physician who runs the Hope Clinic, a reproductive service provider in Illinois. "The reason I brought Dr. King here as my guest is that I hope that he (Biden) will … Continue Reading
February 03, 2023
Democrats renew push for national paid family and medical leave program
As Democratic lawmakers honor the anniversary of a national family and medical program for workers, they are calling for a national paid policy that would bring the U.S. in line with other industrialized nations. This Sunday, Feb. 5, marks the 30th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, legislation that lets workers who qualify take unpaid time off from their jobs to care for loved ones or recover from their own illnesses or health conditions. The FMLA was signed into law by … Continue Reading
February 02, 2023
Duckworth tapped to lead a Senate panel that's vital to O'Hare—and U.S. aviation
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., has been named to lead a key Senate panel, one that puts her in a powerful position to improve safety in the nation's aviation system and boost both ground and air access to O'Hare International Airport. The post is the chairmanship of the aviation subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee. Duckworth will take over as the panel takes up reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency that regulates almost all aspects of the flying … Continue Reading
January 31, 2023
A woman’s calls sustained her incarcerated grandson. Now a law in her name will lower prison phone rates.
Ulandis Forte had to adjust to a lot of changes during his 18 years of incarceration. From the time he was 20 years old, he moved from facility to facility, in states as far apart as Virginia, Ohio, Arizona and Pennsylvania. One constant in his life, however, were Sunday phone calls with his grandmother Martha Wright-Reed. "I grew up in prison with my grandmother," Forte, 49, told The 19th. "We talked at least once a week, every Sunday after church, when she got home. She kept me focused. I … Continue Reading
January 20, 2023
Bipartisan bill introduced to establish memorial honoring women on home front during WWII
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - A new memorial coming to Washington, D.C. will honor the 18 million women on the home front during World War II. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan legislation to honor women who worked as code breakers, engineers, pilots and more during the war. The legislation was recently signed into law by President Joe Biden. According to a release from Sen. Duckworth's office, the bill was co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate by senators Marsha … Continue Reading
January 11, 2023
IL Sen. Tammy Duckworth says federal earmarks in US budget helping Streator, Cedar Point, and Ottawa
Federal earmarks are helping three cities in LaSalle County. About $1.6 million will be used to install new storm sewers in Streator and replace thirty year old equipment at the city's wastewater treatment plant. In Cedar Point, $530,000 will also be used to upgrade the city's wastewater treatment plant. Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth says the money was included in the federal budget because smaller communities have been having a hard time getting federal funding for projects. So congressional … Continue Reading
