Press Releases
Duckworth, Durbin Highlight Nearly 500 Rural Illinois Jobs Created or Saved through Federal Investments
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that new federal investments are expected to help several rural businesses and communities across Illinois create 170 jobs and save 328 additional jobs. Today's investments come through multiple United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Programs. "I'm proud to see this federal support helping create and save good-paying jobs in rural communities and glad that the Biden … Continue Reading
February 16, 2022
Duckworth Emphasizes Her Support for Working Families During Meeting with Rockford Parents & Head Start Leadership
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with three Rockford parents whose children participate in the Heart Start program, Rockford's Health and Human Services Department Executive Director Anqunette Parham and Director of Head Start in Rockford Lisa Warren. During the video call, Duckworth and the group discussed federal support to the program, including from the Democrat-passed American Rescue Plan, as well as what support is needed for the program to continue to … Continue Reading
February 15, 2022
Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee Passes Duckworth’s Bipartisan Bill to Support Women Entrepreneurs
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship passed bipartisan legislation by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-MD) and U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Susan Collins (R-ME), to help increase support to female entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses. The Interagency Committee on Women's Business Enterprise Act would reauthorize the Interagency Committee for Women's Business Enterprise (ICWBE), which … Continue Reading
February 14, 2022
Duckworth & Durbin Join Baldwin and Senate Colleagues in Letter Urging Biden Administration to Limit Junk Health Plans that Undermine Standards of Affordable Care Act
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and 37 of their U.S. Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the Biden administration to limit the sale and availability of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans, also known as "junk plans," because of their failure to provide adequate, comprehensive health insurance … Continue Reading
February 12, 2022
Duckworth Hosts Secretary Buttigieg in Bloomington-Normal to Highlight Electric Vehicle Manufacturing and Training in Central Illinois
[NORMAL, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today hosted U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg at Heartland Community College to tour the college's new Electric Vehicle - Energy Storage (EVES) Manufacturing Training Academy and discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will create good-paying local jobs, especially in the Electric Vehicle sector. Duckworth and Buttigieg were joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker on the … Continue Reading
February 12, 2022
Duckworth Tours Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, Touts Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Benefits
[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Springfield Airport Executive Director Mark Hanna to discuss how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can help improve customer experience, runways, gates and taxiways, terminals, multimodal connections and air traffic control at Abraham Lincoln Capitol Airport. Senator Duckworth's TIFIA for Airports proposal, which was also included in the bipartisan law, will also greatly improve the affordability of future airport projects. … Continue Reading
February 11, 2022
Duckworth Highlights How Her Bipartisan Law is Helping Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Grow & Create Jobs in Visit to Federal Surplus Property Warehouse
[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with Illinois Central Management Services Federal Property Division leadership and Veteran small business owners to discuss how her bipartisan Veterans Small Business Enhancement Act is helping Veteran entrepreneurs grow their small businesses, create local jobs and expand economic opportunity while minimizing costs for the business owners. In her visit to the Illinois Federal Surplus Warehouse, Duckworth discussed the … Continue Reading
February 11, 2022
Duckworth Highlights Workforce Development Efforts at Lincoln Land Community College
[SPRINGFIELD, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with officials from Lincoln Land Community College to discuss her advocacy for community colleges, the creation of good-paying, local jobs and stronger support systems for students attending Illinois colleges. Duckworth and the group also toured the College's Workforce Institute, which focuses on vocational training for high-demand, high-wage occupations at an affordable cost. "Our nation's college students should have as many … Continue Reading
February 10, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Applaud Biden for EV Charging Network Investments, Highlight Job Creation Benefits
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today highlighted that the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will have important benefits in Illinois, including creating good-paying, local jobs and making it easier for Illinoisans to travel the state and nation. DOT's investments in EV charging will total nearly $5 billion available over the next five … Continue Reading
February 10, 2022
Duckworth, Cornyn Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Support the Families of Public Safety Officers
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today introduced a bill to support the families of officers who struggle with their mental health or who are lost to trauma-linked suicides. These families are struggling to receive the benefits they deserve because federal law currently limits the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program to only cover physical injuries-completely excluding any support for mental health concerns. U.S. … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Duckworth, Kennedy Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Safely Transport Chimps Being Housed at DoD Installations
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chair of the U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works' (EPW) Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water & Wildlife, and U.S. Senator John N. Kennedy (R-LA) today introduced bipartisan legislation to prohibit the housing of chimpanzees at any installation of the Department of the Air Force. The Chimp Sanctuary Act would ensure all chimps being housed at Department of the Air Force installations to be safely transported to Chimp Haven-a … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Duckworth Joins Colleagues in Urging Senate Leadership to Support Those Educating Our Future Health Professional Workforce in Next Legislative Package
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and 10 other Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Senate leadership, urging them to include the bipartisan, bicameral Technical Reset to Advance the Instruction of Nurses (TRAIN) Act in any upcoming legislative package that's headed to the President's desk. The TRAIN Act would help support the future of our health care workforce by providing much-needed … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Join Gillibrand in Sending Letter Requesting to Reinstate COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick and Family Leave following the 29th Anniversary of FMLA
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Following the 29th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and uptick in COVID cases at the beginning of 2022, U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) in a letter calling on the Biden Administration, along with House and Senate leadership, to reinstate and expand emergency paid sick and family caregiving leave in the FY22 funding bill or future COVID-19 relief packages. At the onset of the pandemic, … Continue Reading
February 09, 2022
Duckworth Reinforces Importance of Her Bipartisan STRANDED Act for Communities Affected by Nuclear Waste
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today highlighted the urgency of the need to pass her bipartisan legislation to address the impacts of stranded nuclear waste on communities burdened with storing it. In today's U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing on Duckworth's bipartisan Sensible, Timely Relief for America's Nuclear Districts' Economic Development (STRANDED) Act, the Senator highlighted how communities with decommissioned nuclear power … Continue Reading
February 08, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $912 Million In American Rescue Plan Funding for CTA
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced $912.1 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding awarded to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to help the agency continue to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. "Thanks to the efforts of Democrats, CTA will have the resources needed to improve services, protect jobs for working Illinoisans and get folks to where they're going faster … Continue Reading
February 08, 2022
Duckworth and Tillis Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Breastfeeding Moms During Natural Disasters
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) today introduced bipartisan legislation to help ensure that disaster relief efforts provide comprehensive support to all parents and infants, including guaranteeing nursing parents' ability to continue to breastfeed in times of crisis. The Delivering Essentials to Mothers Amid Natural Disasters (DEMAND) Act would help ensure that the equipment needed to help support breastfeeding is specifically highlighted and … Continue Reading
February 08, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Emphasize the Importance of Supporting Higher Education with Presidents of Illinois Colleges & Universities
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with several Presidents from the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities. During the video call, Duckworth, Durbin and the representatives discussed federal support for higher education throughout the ongoing pandemic, as well as their legislative efforts to create stronger support systems for students attending Illinois colleges and universities. "I had a productive conversation … Continue Reading
February 04, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Introduce Bill to Rename Will County Post Office In Honor Of Larry Walsh, Sr.
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation to rename the U.S. Post Office facility located at 303 E. Mississippi Ave. in Elwood, Illinois, after former Will County Executive Lawrence M. "Larry" Walsh, Sr. U.S. Representative Bill Foster (D-IL-11) introduced a companion bill in the House of Representatives. "Larry Walsh's decades-long commitment to serving Illinoisans was commendable, and I'm proud to … Continue Reading
February 04, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin, Bustos Urge IDOT And IAIS To Finalize Agreement To Begin Construction On Quad Cities Passenger Rail Project
[SPRINGFIELD IL] -U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) today sent a letter to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) urging them to finalize an agreement on the scope and costs of infrastructure upgrades needed so that construction can begin on the long awaited Quad Cities to Chicago passenger rail route. Without an agreement between IDOT and IAIS, … Continue Reading
February 02, 2022
Duckworth, Ernst Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Preserve Small Business Education Training for Servicemembers, Veterans and Military Spouses
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) today introduced the bipartisan Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act, legislation that would codify the Small Business Administration's (SBA) "Boots to Business" (B2B) program into law for five years. The B2B program is an entrepreneurship education and training program for servicemembers, Veterans, National Guard and Reserve Members and military spouses transitioning from military service to civilian life. … Continue Reading
