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Richard Durbin, commonly known as Dick Durbin, is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois since 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he has held various leadership roles, including Senate Majority Whip. Durbin has been a prominent advocate for issues such as healthcare reform, immigration policy, and gun control. He has also played a significant role in negotiations on budget and appropriations matters in the Senate.
If these people are afraid of helping small businesses for fear that somebody is going to dream up a bumper sticker and a 30-second ad, think about another job. Because if we can't face issues this important in the middle of a recession…
The idea was so obvious, it was so obvious that we knew when we spoke to small businesses the struggle they were having. They couldn't borrow money. Even good, reputable small businesses with great records could not borrow money. When they…
Next Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is one of America's great civil rights achievements. In its scope and intentions, it ranks alongside major victories for equal justice…
The fact is that this money will generate money to the Federal Treasury so it is not adding to our debt, it is creating jobs, helping businesses, reducing our deficit, and I might add--I am glad you made a reference to TARP. According to…
I have a chart given me by my staff that says in my home State of Illinois--and the State of the Presiding Officer--137,600 people in Illinois have had their unemployment benefits cut off because of the filibusters on the Republican side…
I would say to the Senator from Michigan, by way of a question in closing, that it would seem to me a person who is unemployed, who doesn't get the basic check they need to survive and is forced to live in their car, that is a more…
Not to mention the State of the Republican minority leader, Kentucky, with 32,200 people who have had their unemployment benefits cut off. I would say to the Senator from Michigan that I am contacted by these families, and they describe to…
I wish to ask the Senator from the State of Michigan, for those who may not follow where we are at this moment in the Senate, if she could help refresh my recollection. Is it not true that we tried three or four times to get the…
Let me ask this question of the Senator, through the Chair. I have had heard an argument from the other side of the aisle that says these checks make people lazy; that they don't go out and look for work. With $250 a week, they take it…
Let's get to the hot-button issue--the deficit. Because every Republican who comes to the floor tries to explain why we should change the rules when it comes to unemployment compensation, why we should deny to millions of Americans that…
This afternoon is a historic moment in the history of this great Chamber. Our beloved and now departed Senator from West Virginia, Robert C. Byrd, will be succeeded in office with a temporary appointment from West Virginia, and we will…
I rise to speak about my interchange fee amendment that was incorporated into the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. There are some important aspects of the amendment that I want to clarify for the record. First, it…
Look at our system of corrections, incarceration. There won't be a single justice here, I don't believe, who wouldn't agree with me that something needs to be done.
the notion is that it is particularly punitive, and if it is punitive, Congress wrote the law, the President signed it, and it is a law that, as a prosecutor, you would face.
probably tomorrow morning, we will consider this conference report, which is historic in its impact on America. It is the conference report of the Banking Committees of the House and Senate, which were charged with the responsibility to…
this committee, in an extraordinary bipartisan effort, has reduced the disparity in a bill that we passed from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1.
Well, thank you all for the introductions of your family and friends who came with you today.
People need to see that they have a chance; that they, too, can one day come to the great hall of the Senate.
He is highly regarded in the Peoria community for his service on the state bench.
It is an awesome responsibility and he, unfortunately, will not be able to join us.
the story of your family is an inspiration. It is not just an immigrant story. It is an American story.
Politicians like Dick Durbin
