Press Releases
Duckworth & Durbin Join Klobuchar, Grassley & Bipartisan Group of Colleagues in Letter Urging Biden Administration to Prioritize Renewable Fuel Standard
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and ten of their bipartisan colleagues in a letter urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prioritize the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by maintaining the blending requirements for 2022; denying all pending Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs); eliminating proposed retroactive cuts to the renewable volume obligations (RVOs); and setting … Continue Reading
February 01, 2022
Senators Call On DOJ To Carefully Review The Troubling Facts Around The Shooting Of McDonald In 2014
[WASHINGTON D.C.]-U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to provide a status update on the federal investigation into the 2014 murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by former police officer Jason Van Dyke. The joint federal and state investigation into the shooting was announced in April 2015, but DOJ has declined … Continue Reading
January 31, 2022
On Two Year Anniversary of Kidnapping, Duckworth and Durbin Reiterate Call for the Safe Return of Illinoisan Mark Frerichs
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - On the second anniversary of Illinoisan Mark Frerichs' abduction in Afghanistan, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) reiterated that the United States must do whatever it can to secure his safe return from the Taliban, Haqqani network or their affiliates. Duckworth is a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) who served 23 years in the Reserve Forces and Durbin is a member of the U.S. … Continue Reading
January 29, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Tout Benefits of Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal in Visit to Brandon Road Lock and Dam
[JOLIET, IL] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today visited the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, highlighting how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal (BID) is already at work to help improve infrastructure and create good-paying, local jobs across Illinois. As a result of BID, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently allocated funding for the Brandon Road Project that will help protect invasive Asian Carp from reaching the Great Lakes, which is critical to protecting our … Continue Reading
January 29, 2022
Duckworth Visits Northern Illinois Food Bank Distribution Center and Discusses Hunger Prevention
[JOLIET, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today visited the Northern Illinois Food Bank distribution center in Joliet and met with President & CEO Julie Yurko to discuss the organization's efforts to address food insecurity in the surrounding community and how federal resources can help ensure they can continue that work. Duckworth also recognized the Food Bank's volunteers and spoke about her recent legislation to help reduce military hunger. Photos of today's meeting are … Continue Reading
January 28, 2022
Duckworth, Blackburn, Butterfield, Guthrie Ask GAO To Evaluate Barriers For Assistive Technologies
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), along with U.S. Representatives G. K. Butterfield (D-NC-01) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02), sent a bipartisan and bicameral letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an evaluation of appropriate coverage of assistive technologies provided to patients who experience amputation or live with limb differences. In their letter, the lawmakers wrote: "The need for high-quality assistive … Continue Reading
January 28, 2022
Duckworth Visits Abbott to Highlight Importance of Getting Rapid Antigen Tests to Americans
[GURNEE, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today visited Abbott in Gurnee and met with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert B. Ford as well as other officials to emphasize that consistent and easily-accessible rapid antigen testing is one of the keys that will help our nation overcome the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Duckworth also recognized the efforts of the hardworking Americans who help ensure that rapid COVID-19 tests make it to clinics, homes and schools across the nation. … Continue Reading
January 28, 2022
Duckworth Highlights Benefits of Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal for McHenry County with Local Leaders, Metra
[WOODSTOCK, IL] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with McHenry County Administrator Peter Austin, McHenry County leaders and Metra officials to discuss how the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will help improve transit, reduce commute times and create good-paying jobs in McHenry County and throughout Illinois. Duckworth and local leaders discussed Metra's Woodstock Railyard Relocation and Expansion project, which is slated to extend rail service for commuters in the far … Continue Reading
January 26, 2022
Duckworth Urges Biden to Continue Strengthening Alliances and Partnerships in Indo-Pacific
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who served in the Reserve Forces for 23 years and is a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), today urged President Joe Biden to revive negotiations to extend our associations with the Republics of the Marshall Islands and Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. In her letter, Duckworth stressed how extending our associations with these three nations can help benefit our security and economic … Continue Reading
January 24, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Announce Federal Support to Create Transit Oriented Development Plans for Chicago’s 95th Street Corridor
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced federal support through the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to help spur economic development on Chicago's South Side. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will receive $800,000 through FTA's Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) to create an economic development plan for the 95th Street Corridor on Chicago's Far South Side. "No matter … Continue Reading
January 21, 2022
Duckworth Joins Chairman Menendez, Colleagues in Sounding Alarm Following Reports of High Denial Rates for At-Risk Afghans Applying for Humanitarian Parole into U.S.
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), joined U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and 13 of their Senate colleagues in writing to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to express concern over reports of high denial rates for Afghans applying for humanitarian parole into the United States in the wake of the Taliban's takeover … Continue Reading
January 21, 2022
Duckworth Joins Brown, Baldwin in Applauding Biden Administration Effort to Distribute Free Masks To Americans, Urging Prioritization of American-Made Masks
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) this week joined U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and more than a dozen of their Senate colleagues in calling on President Joe Biden to prioritize the purchase of masks made in the U.S. with U.S. materials, ensuring that American taxpayer dollars are being spent on American products made by American workers. This letter follows this week's announcement by President Biden that he is following through on his … Continue Reading
January 19, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin Announce $225.8 Million In Funding for Brandon Road Project
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $225.8 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for the Brandon Road Project to prevent invasive Asian Carp from reaching the Great Lakes. "Invasive species are a growing threat to our entire inland waterways system and to the countless Illinois communities and businesses that rely on strong and … Continue Reading
January 19, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin, Blunt, Grassley, Bustos, Hinson Announce $829 Million in Funding to Modernize Lock And Dams on the Upper Mississippi & Illinois Rivers
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), along with U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL-17) and Ashley Hinson (R-IA-01) announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has allocated $829.1 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP) on the Upper Mississippi … Continue Reading
January 19, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin, Mayor Lightfoot, Members of Chicago Delegation Announce $1.5 Million in Funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal to Restore Chicago Shoreline
[WASHINGTON D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, along with U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), and Marie Newman (D-IL-03) announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has allocated $1.5 million in funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to the Chicago Shoreline Storm Damage Reduction Project. The funding … Continue Reading
January 19, 2022
Duckworth Urges Senators to Vote for Critical Election Protection & Voting Rights Bill
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - On the Senate floor this evening, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) urged her colleagues to pass critical legislation that would protect the right to vote and restore integrity in our elections. Duckworth's floor speech comes as Republicans across the nation work to enact restrictive voter suppression laws aimed at silencing people of color and voters with disabilities. In her remarks, Duckworth asked her colleagues to consider John Lewis and countless other patriots who … Continue Reading
January 19, 2022
Duckworth on Republicans Blocking Critical Election Protection & Voting Rights Bill
[WASHINGTON, DC] - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement after Senate Republicans again blocked critical election protection and voting rights legislation from moving forward in the Senate: "I'm deeply disappointed that Republicans once again blocked efforts to protect voting rights and our nation's elections even as Republican officials across the country are leveraging the Big Lie to embark on one of the most aggressive assaults not only on the right to … Continue Reading
January 14, 2022
Ahead of Martin Luther King Day, Duckworth Highlights the Importance of Serving Fellow Illinoisans
[WASHINGTON, DC] - Ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement commemorating the Reverend and honoring his legacy of civil rights activism and service to our communities. The Senator, who has made community service a hallmark of her public life, discussed the importance of serving your nation and community by volunteering, participating in the democratic process and pushing for racial justice. Duckworth will also virtually join … Continue Reading
January 14, 2022
Duckworth, Durbin, Markey Introduce Legislation to Improve, Assess, And Inform Federal Air Quality Management Strategies
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) to introduce the Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act, legislation to authorize $55 million over five years for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to annually update and expand its online air quality toolbox with best-available monitoring technologies and associated uses of data, connect the toolbox with … Continue Reading
January 13, 2022
Duckworth Joins Gillibrand, 19 Colleagues in Calling on Biden Administration to Continue and Make Permanent OSHA’s Emergency COVID-19 Protections for Healthcare Workers; Protections Have Been Allowed to Lapse
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] - As the rise of the Omicron variant continues to threaten the safety of our nation's healthcare workforce, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and 19 of her colleagues yesterday in a letter calling on the Biden Administration to continue and make permanent the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) emergency COVID-19 protections for healthcare workers. The letter addresses OSHA's announcement at the end of 2021 … Continue Reading
