Press Releases
Duckworth Votes Against Paul Ney to be U.S. Department of Defense General Counsel
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator and Combat Veteran Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after voting against Paul Ney to be the next General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense: "For too long, Congress has stood idly by as Presidents seized more and more war powers, even though the Constitution clearly vests in Congress the responsibility to declare war, establish our Armed Forces and do everything necessary and proper to defend our nation. The people of Illinois … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Duckworth: Next Supreme Court Justice Could Prevent Women Like Me From Starting Families
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat Veteran and mother of two daughters, today highlighted just how impactful the decisions of the next Supreme Court Justice could be-not only for working Americans and Americans with pre-existing conditions, but for all American women including those, like the Senator, who rely on IVF and other assistive reproductive technologies to start and grow their families. At a press conference on Capitol Hill with U.S. Senators Patty … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Nearly $3 Million for Chicagoland Head Start Programs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced $2,953,750 in federal funding today to help children from low-income families in Northwest Illinois access Head Start and Early Head Start programs through Evanston/Skokie Community Consolidated School District 65. This funding comes through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that allocates funding, technical … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Nearly $6 Million for Southern Illinois Head Start Programs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a total of $5,818,926 in federal funding today to help children from low-income families in Southern Illinois access Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This funding comes through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that allocates funding, technical assistance, strategic partnerships and more in order to help … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Announce More Than $7 Million for Northwest Illinois Head Start Programs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a total of $7,045,925 in federal funding today to help children from low-income families in Northwest Illinois access Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This funding comes through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that allocates funding, technical assistance, strategic partnerships and more in order to help … Continue Reading
July 12, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Announce More Than $9 Million for Central Illinois Head Start Programs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a total of $9,175,062 in federal funding today to help children from low-income families in Central Illinois access Head Start, Early Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. This funding comes through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that allocates funding, technical assistance, strategic partnerships … Continue Reading
July 11, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $70,000 for Strategic Economic Planning in North Central Illinois
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced $70,000 in federal funding today to help create jobs and encourage economic development throughout North Central Illinois. This funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration's (EDA) Planning Program, which assists communities as they develop and implement plans to enhance their local economies. "It's important for local community and business leaders to … Continue Reading
July 11, 2018
Duckworth Meets with HUD Inspector General Nominee Rae Oliver Davis
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Ms. Rae Oliver Davis, the nominee to be the next Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent investigatory officer tasked with weeding out waste, fraud and mismanagement and helping bring accountability to wrongdoers within the agency and in housing authorities across the country. Duckworth and Oliver Davis had an extensive conversation about Illinois housing priorities … Continue Reading
July 11, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Join Markey and 9 Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Help Small and Disadvantaged Communities Improve the Safety of their Drinking Water
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and 9 other senators this week to reintroduce the Contaminant and Lead Electronic Accounting and Reporting Requirements (CLEARR) for Drinking Water Act. This legislation will authorize more than $1 billion in federal funding to help small and disadvantaged communities replace contaminated water … Continue Reading
July 10, 2018
Duckworth Meets with VA Secretary Nominee Robert Wilkie
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator, combat Veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met today with Robert Wilkie, the nominee to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), to discuss his nomination and how to ensure America's Veterans can access the quality care and support they have earned. Duckworth served 23 years in the Reserve Forces and still receives her own healthcare services through VA. B-roll of the meeting is available here … Continue Reading
July 09, 2018
Duckworth Statement on Nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - After Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh for a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement: "The newfound urgency to fill Justice Kennedy's Supreme Court seat from many of the same people who refused to even consider President Obama's nominee is transparent opportunism that represents everything Americans hate most about politics today. We can't ignore the reality that Donald Trump wants to take us back … Continue Reading
July 09, 2018
Duckworth, Heitkamp Introduce Bill to Support Women Entrepreneurs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), both members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, introduced legislation to reauthorize a federal agency that helps coordinate federal resources and grow women-owned businesses. There are currently an estimated 11.6 million women-owned businesses operating in the United States, a number that has grown by 45 percent between 2007 and 2016. Duckworth and Heitkamp's bill would build … Continue Reading
July 09, 2018
Duckworth Statement on Trump Administration’s Opposition to World Health Assembly Breastfeeding Resolution
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - In response to reports that the Trump Administration opposed a World Health Assembly resolution to encourage breastfeeding and threatened other countries in order to get them to drop their support of the resolution, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement: "There is no question that breastfeeding plays a critical role in children's development and helps reduce the risk of life-threatening diseases for children and mothers alike. The health … Continue Reading
July 09, 2018
Duckworth to Host Mobile Office Hours in Dixon on Thursday
[DIXON, IL] – The Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) will host another “Mobile Office Hours” this Thursday at the Loveland Community House in Dixon, Illinois, where constituent service representatives will be onsite to assist Illinoisans with receiving the Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Medicare and other federal benefits they may be entitled to. Duckworth has previously hosted Mobile Office Hours in communities throughout the state over the past several months … Continue Reading
July 09, 2018
Duckworth to Host Mobile Office Hours in Freeport on Thursday
[FREEPORT, IL] – The Office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) will host another “Mobile Office Hours” this Thursday at the Freeport Public Library, where constituent service representatives will be onsite to assist Illinoisans with receiving the Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Medicare and other federal benefits they may be entitled to. Duckworth has previously hosted Mobile Office Hours in communities throughout the state over the past several months to offer … Continue Reading
July 05, 2018
Duckworth Statement on Long-Overdue Resignation of Scott Pruitt
[WASHINGTON, DC] - After the long-overdue resignation of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement: "It's abundantly clear that Scott Pruitt abused the public trust by using his government position to finance his lavish lifestyle and the President should have asked for his resignation months ago. Pruitt wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on first-class plane tickets, private planes, luxury hotels, office furniture, and a large 24/7 … Continue Reading
July 03, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $16.4 Million for Illinois AmeriCorps Programs
[CHICAGO, IL] - Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced $16,426,522 million in federal funding to support community service programs throughout Illinois. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency that promotes community service across the country, will be distributing $11,624,109 to 16 Illinois-based organizations to help more than 900 AmeriCorps members serve local communities, pay back student loans and cover the cost of … Continue Reading
July 01, 2018
Duckworth: New Supreme Court Pick Could Stop Women Like Me from Having Kids & End Pre-Existing Condition Protections
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - This morning, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined CNN's Jake Tapper on State of the Union to discuss the Supreme Court vacancy, how overturning Roe v. Wade could prevent women like her from using IVF treatments to have children, and the Trump Administration's continuing failure to reunite many of the immigrant children they have torn apart from their parents. Video of the interview is available here. Key Excerpts: On SCOTUS: "Roe v. Wade is important to me. I … Continue Reading
June 29, 2018
Hours After Duckworth, 40 Senators Demand Investigation into Treatment of Children Separated from Parents, HHS IG Launches Inquiry
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced this week it would conduct a comprehensive review of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (ORR) Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program just hours after U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL) and 38 other Senate Democrats in demanding the Inspector General look into the issue. The request for an investigation follows … Continue Reading
June 28, 2018
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $12,800 for Public Safety Improvements in Aledo, Illinois
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced $12,800 in federal funding today to help the City of Aledo purchase a new squad car for the Aledo Police Department. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development's Community Facilities program, which assists rural communities develop or improve important public services and facilities. "Investments like these are critical in helping rural communities such as Aledo to … Continue Reading
