Press Releases
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $140,000 for Rural Development in Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $142,885 in federal funding to assist communities in Southern and Central Illinois with water and waste disposal projects. This funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (SEARCH) and Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants programs, both of which are within the Office of Rural Development. "Investments like … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Duckworth Helps Introduce Bill Requiring States to Secure Elections
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) today in introducing expanded legislation to protect American elections from foreign interference by mandating hand-marked paper ballots and setting new cybersecurity standards for all federal elections. The Protecting American Votes and Elections (PAVE) Act of 2019 would require states to use paper ballots and statistically rigorous "risk-limiting" audits for all federal elections - two measures … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Duckworth Requests All-Senate Briefing on Iranian Threat Assessment As Soon As Possible
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In a letter to top intelligence, military and Trump Administration officials, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked the Trump Administration to organize a classified, interagency intelligence briefing for all 100 Senators as soon as possible to share the intelligence that triggered the recent warnings about threats in Iran. The Trump Administration has escalated tensions with Iran over the past week, loudly warning the American public about new … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
Duckworth, Booker, Carper Promote Newly-Formed Environmental Justice Caucus in the Chicago Sun-Times
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Tom Carper (D-DE) penned a joint op-ed today for the Chicago Sun-Times explaining why they launched the Senate's first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus. Drawing on the powerful history of the movement against environmental racism (including Hazel Johnson's efforts on the South Side of Chicago), the Senators highlighted the public health and environmental challenges that disproportionately impact low-income … Continue Reading
May 16, 2019
VIDEO: Tammy Duckworth Questions Why President Trump is Empowering John Bolton to Push Our Nation into Conflict with Iran
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - As the Trump Administration seeks to escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) raised questions about why the Trump Administration has failed to share the latest intelligence assessment involving Iran with the U.S. Senate as well as American allies. During interviews with CNN's Anderson Cooper and MSNBC's Chris Hayes, Duckworth called for a classified intelligence briefing to be offered to all 100 Senators as soon … Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Duckworth Asks for Study on how Illinois Can Boost Resilience Against Future Flooding
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Tom Carper (D-DE) are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on how the federal government is managing flood risk management infrastructure in the Midwest. After record-setting flooding across Illinois this spring, Duckworth, the ranking member of the Senate Fisheries, Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, requested GAO examine how the Army Corps of Engineers can increase the resilience of levees to protect … Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Duckworth Presses FAA Administrator Nominee Dickson to Preserve and Strengthen Critical Airline Safety Protections
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Nominee Stephen Dickson to commit to upholding critical airline safety standards that Duckworth has strongly advocated for, such as Pilot Certification and Qualification Requirements (commonly referred to as the "1,500 Hour Rule") that ensures pilots receive necessary training before piloting commercial aircraft, as well as Flight Crew Duty and Rest Requirements that … Continue Reading
May 15, 2019
Duckworth Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by Keynoting APAICS Gala
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) keynoted the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) Gala Awards Dinner last night, where she discussed the AAPI community's accomplishments, her experiences with poverty and hunger during her childhood in Southeast Asia, and the importance of diversity and representation to our nation. Duckworth attended the 25th anniversary Gala as a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC). Photos … Continue Reading
May 14, 2019
Duckworth Questions Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan Over Potential Deployment of 120,000 Troops to Middle East
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan today over plans he reportedly presented to top White House officials regarding a potential deployment of 120,000 troops to counter Iran in the Middle East. During a meeting in her office, Duckworth expressed concerns with the Trump Administration's approach to Iran and cautioned Shanahan against moving forward with a … Continue Reading
May 14, 2019
Duckworth Meets with Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with more than a dozen members of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago today to discuss increasing funding for the Department of Homeland Security's Nonprofit Security Grant Program and the importance of FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program and the Holocaust Survivors Assistance Fund. Photos from today's meeting are available here. "The recent spate of attacks in synagogues, churches, mosques and … Continue Reading
May 13, 2019
ICYMI: Duckworth Issues Mother’s Day Call to Make Progress on Family-Friendly Legislation
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - On Mother's Day, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times reflecting on the birth of her daughter last year and the need to make our nation's workplace policies more family-friendly in order to change "a working culture that lets women fall out of the workforce and lets families fall into poverty." In the op-ed, Duckworth highlighted how the record-breaking 131 women now serving in Congress can bring these changes closer to reality and … Continue Reading
May 13, 2019
Senators Introduce Creig Sharp Funeral Honors for Veterans Act
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have introduced the Creig Sharp Funeral Honors for Veterans Act, to ensure that all veterans have access to full military funeral honors. Specifically, the legislation requires military installations to develop a plan to utilize both on-base and off-base resources for funeral ceremonies for veterans, even when government resources may not be available. "Our … Continue Reading
May 10, 2019
Ahead of Mother’s Day, Duckworth Highlights Slate of Bills to Help Working Families in Chicago and Across the Nation
[CHICAGO, IL] - Joined by women's advocates and worker's advocates in Chicago just days before Mother's Day, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) highlighted her newly-announced package of family-friendly policy proposals today. Duckworth's new proposals would make workplaces more family-friendly, improve childcare services, make it easier for low-income and middle-class families to obtain diapers for their children and close loopholes that prevent many educational support staff from being able … Continue Reading
May 10, 2019
Duckworth Promotes Environmental Policy Solutions at Annual ELPC Gala
[CHICAGO, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) spoke at the Environmental Law and Policy Center Gala this evening, where she discussed the formation of the new Environmental Justice Caucus in the Senate, the threat of climate change to national security and the legislation she's worked on to protect families against environmental harm. Photos from tonight's event are available here. "Every American has a right to breathe in clean air and drink clean water, no matter where they live, the … Continue Reading
May 09, 2019
Ahead of Mother’s Day, Duckworth Introduces Family-Friendly Legislation to Help Working Parents Get Ahead
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a package of bills to make workplaces more family-friendly, improve childcare services, make it easier for low-income and middle-class families to obtain diapers for their children and close loopholes that prevent many educational support staff from being able to take medical leave through the Family Medical Leave Act. The package includes four pieces of legislation: the End Diaper Need Act, the ESP Family Leave Act, the … Continue Reading
May 09, 2019
Duckworth Meets with Mayor-Elect Lightfoot
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) hosted Chicago Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot in her Senate office today, where the two discussed how they can work together to advocate for the people of Chicago, address the city's environmental justice issues, ensure every Chicagoan is accurately counted in the upcoming census and help secure infrastructure investments to create jobs, reduce congestion and upgrade the city's roads, railways and bridges. B-Roll of the meeting is available … Continue Reading
May 08, 2019
Duckworth: Mothers Deserve Better than Trump Administration’s Harmful Anti-Family Policies
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - With Mother's Day approaching this Sunday, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) delivered a speech on the Senate floor this afternoon calling out the Trump Administration's repeated attempts to advance policies that harm women, mothers and families. Since 2017, the Trump Administration has rolled back essential Title IX sexual assault protections, limited birth control coverage, attempted to defund health clinics that provide prenatal care and mammograms and so much more. … Continue Reading
May 08, 2019
Duckworth Presses Military for Answers on Efforts to Prevent and Prosecute Sexual Assault
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today participated in a U.S. Senate Armed Service Committee (SASC) Personnel Subcommittee roundtable discussion about the Department of Defense's (DoD) recently-released Annual Report on Sexual Assault in the Military. During the conversation, Duckworth focused on the U.S. Air Force's efforts to address the collateral misconduct policy, where survivors are disciplined for other actions unrelated to an assault, and DoD's decision to not … Continue Reading
May 07, 2019
Duckworth, Durbin & Kelly Demand EPA Protect Southeast Chicago Families from Dangerous Neurotoxin
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to use the full extent of its enforcement authority to take immediate action to stop companies on the Southeast Side of Chicago from releasing unsafe levels of a manganese, a known neurotoxin, into the air in violation of state and national air protections. The Members of Congress encouraged the EPA to use civil … Continue Reading
May 06, 2019
Duckworth Calls for Independent Investigation of Effort to Manipulate & Subvert VA Rulemaking Process
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator and combat Veteran Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked for an independent investigation into potential manipulation of the public comment submission process regarding a proposed rule change that could determine when Veterans may seek healthcare outside the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Duckworth wrote today to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) asking them to initiate an investigation after more … Continue Reading
