Press Releases
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $12 Million for Metra Improvements
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Metra will receive $12,482,600 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for rail improvements. The funding will support the modernization of three interlockings on the Milwaukee North Line in Illinois, which will help lead to improved reliability and fewer delays for Metra and Amtrak commuters. "I'm proud to announce today's federal funding that will help improve the … Continue Reading
May 22, 2020
Duckworth, Warren, Markey and Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Prepare for Simultaneous Peaks of 2020 Flu Season, COVID-19 Outbreak
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and a group of their Democratic colleagues in a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, regarding the Trump Administration's efforts to prepare for a resurgence of COVID-19 during this year's influenza season, which Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield warned could create unprecedented strain … Continue Reading
May 22, 2020
Duckworth, Booker Urge Senate Leadership to Include Resources for Communities Plagued by Gun Violence in Next COVID-19 Relief Package
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) today called on Senate leadership to include additional federal assistance to communities affected by gun violence in a forthcoming supplemental COVID-19 relief package. Since the stay-at-home orders have been in place, community gun violence has increased in cities across the country. In their letter, Duckworth and Booker call for funding Justice Assistance Grant Programs to sustain community-based violence … Continue Reading
May 22, 2020
Duckworth to Trump: Reinstate Independent Civil Servant as Department of Transportation Acting Inspector General Immediately
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate’s Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety, wrote to President Trump to express her strong opposition to his removal of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Acting Inspector General (IG) Mitchell Behm without adequate cause or notice. Duckworth also noted her opposition to Trump’s decision to give Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration … Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
As COVID-19 Death Toll Approaches 100,000 In U.S., Duckworth, Durbin Join Senators To Call For National Moment Of Silence To Honor The Lives Lost
[WASHINGTON, DC] - As more Americans tragically lose their fight to COVID-19, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) to introduce bipartisan legislation to pay tribute to the 100,000 victims-including 4,607 Illinoisans-of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their families, with a moment of silence at 12 noon on Monday, June 1, 2020. "Our country will soon surpass the … Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
Duckworth, Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Allow Servicemembers Time to Grieve Deceased Children
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow servicemembers time to grieve the death of their newborn babies. The Elaine M. Checketts Military Families Act-named after the deceased daughter of Major Matthew Checketts, an Active Duty Airman based at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland-amends current leave policy for servicemembers so their … Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $15 Million to Support Community Service Projects in Illinois
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Illinois will receive a total of $15,579,643 in federal funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the agency that administers AmeriCorps and other national service programs. The funding will be distributed to 14 Illinois-based organizations to help more than 750 AmeriCorps members serve local communities, pay back student loans, and cover the cost of college after … Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
As the Trump Administration Pressures Meat Processing Plants to Open, Senators Urge Action to Ensure Worker Safety
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined a group of Democratic Senators led by Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, in raising new concerns about the Trump Administration's Executive Order that has pressured meat processing plants to open without verifying the necessary safety measures to protect workers and the food supply. In a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) … Continue Reading
May 21, 2020
Bipartisan Duckworth Bill to Prevent SBA’s Flagship Small Business Loan Program from Shutting Down Passes Senate
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) to prevent the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) flagship loan program from shutting down passed the Senate unanimously yesterday. Duckworth’s Small Business Lending Continuity Act of 2020, which was co-led by U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) and fellow committee members Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and James Risch (R-ID), would fix an … Continue Reading
May 20, 2020
Duckworth Introduces Legislation to Make Sure National Guard Troops Activated In Response to COVID-19 Receive Full Benefits During the Public Health Emergency
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, today introduced the National Guard COVID-19 Response Stability Act to ensure that all National Guard troops activated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic receive additional benefits and provide states with greater certainty. Her legislation would extend Title 32 authority for all troops activated in response to the crisis until the end of the public health emergency … Continue Reading
May 20, 2020
Duckworth and Blunt Rochester Lead Colleagues in Calling on EPA to Ensure Air Monitoring Continues During COVID-19 Pandemic
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), chair and co-founder of the U.S. Senate Environmental Justice Caucus, and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) led a coalition of 58 of their House and Senate colleagues in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do everything it can to ensure that air-monitoring networks and air monitors that are critical to informing public health protections remain in operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Members' bicameral … Continue Reading
May 20, 2020
Duckworth Presses Head of EPA on Rollback of Pollution Protections During COVID-19 Pandemic
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, co-founder of the Senate's first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus, today pressed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler about reports that EPA is rolling back air pollution protections and enabling a non-enforcement policy that encourages companies to operate without regulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, which could severely impact environmental justice communities. Video of Duckworth's questions at today's U.S. … Continue Reading
May 20, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin, Kelly Introduce Resolution Establishing "National Gun Violence Awareness Day"
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a resolution in the Senate establishing June 5, 2020, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and designating June as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month." U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) will introduce a companion resolution in the House. Every day in America, an average of around 300 men, women, and children are shot, nearly one-third of them fatally. Designating a day to bring … Continue Reading
May 20, 2020
Duckworth Discusses Small Business Resources with Asian American Executive Network
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined members of the Asian American Executive Network (AAEN) in Illinois to discuss small business resources available for minority-owned small businesses and the Asian American and Pacific Islander community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Duckworth joined AAEN Founder George Mui, Illinois State Senator Ram Villivalam (IL-SD-8) and other AAPI business leaders to discuss the funding for small businesses in recent relief packages and … Continue Reading
May 19, 2020
Duckworth Calls on DoD to Update the Defense Support of Civil Authorities Doctrine to Better Respond to the Deadly COVID-19 Pandemic
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat Veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Mark Esper to request that DoD work with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make sure the Department is proactively and continually updating the Defense Support of Civil Authorities doctrine to meet the requirements of the deadly coronavirus … Continue Reading
May 19, 2020
Duckworth Calls on FEMA to Justify Diversion of 5 Million Masks VA Ordered to Protect Veterans and VA Personnel
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) called on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide a transparent and detailed justification of why a shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE)-specifically, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) order of five million masks-was diverted away from the VA and delivered to FEMA. The head of VA's Veterans Health Administration (VHA) described this incident while explaining why certain VA medical facilities, … Continue Reading
May 19, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin and Colleagues Urge Congressional Leaders to Support Vulnerable Students Amid Coronavirus Crisis
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined a bipartisan group of Senators led by Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Jon Tester (D-MT), in pressing Congressional leadership to include significant funding for the Federal TRIO Programs (TRIO), which are integral to supporting vulnerable students and their families that have been impacted by COVID-19, in the upcoming relief package. The Senators' letter comes as the … Continue Reading
May 18, 2020
Duckworth, Blumenthal, Markey, Gillibrand Introduce Legislation to Create COVID-19 Victim Compensation Fund for Essential Workers
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) today introduced a bill that would create a new fund to provide compensation for injuries to any individual, or their families, who are deemed an essential worker and required to leave their home to perform services and who have become ill or died as a result of COVID-19. The Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act is modeled after the September 11th … Continue Reading
May 18, 2020
Duckworth Statement on Nomination of Normal Mayor Chris Koos to Serve on Amtrak Board of Directors
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety, released the following statement after Normal, Illinois, Mayor Chris Koos was nominated to serve on the Amtrak Board of Directors: "As the ranking member of the subcommittee with jurisdiction over Amtrak, I applaud the decision to nominate Mayor Koos to join the Amtrak Board of Directors," Duckworth said. "Mayor Koos has long advocated for common sense … Continue Reading
May 18, 2020
Duckworth, Durbin, Grassley, McKinley, Bustos Secure COVID-19 Testing for BOP Inmate Transfer; Eight BOP Locations Removed from Quarantine List
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Congressman David McKinley (WV-1), and Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17), announced today that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), in coordination with the United States Marshall Service (USMS), will now test all inmates for COVID-19 prior to transferring them to BOP quarantine sites. Further, eight BOP locations have been removed from the list of BOP quarantine sites. The … Continue Reading
