Richard J. Durbin

“Tomorrow, the State of Tennessee is planning to end the life of Tony Carruthers, a man with severe mental health conditions who was forced to represent himself in a murder trial 30 years ago. Forensic evidence never connected him to the crime. Key witness testimony has been discredited. Fingerprints and DNA found at the crime scene were never fully investigated even though they could exonerate Mr. Carruthers. Despite all of this, his execution is scheduled to continue tomorrow as planned.”

“The issue is our right to vote in this democracy and in this country. For many of us, that has never been a big question. We registered. We vote regularly. We show our identification. We get our ballots, do our civic responsibility, push the ballot into the machine in my hometown, and get a little sticker to wear on your lapel that says ``I voted.'' It is simple, easy. But I can remember when voting was not so easy for a lot of people.”

“This is Police Week. We are remembering John Bartholomew and hundreds of others who lost their lives in the line of duty to protect us and their families and neighborhoods. We take them for granted until these terrible tragedies occur, and then we come to realize how much is on the line every single day they put the badge on. I listened earlier when the Republican leader Senator Thune said this Police Week should be a reminder to Democrats to take police seriously. We do. I trust that both political parties do.”

“Barney Frank was one of the brightest Members of Congress I have ever had the pleasure of serving with. He was smart, outrageous, colorful, and courageous. Most importantly, he was a good man. Barney passed away last month, and I would like to take a moment to recognize his lifetime of public service. Born in Bayonne, NJ, Barney discovered his interest in government at the age of 10 watching Senate hearings on his father's television set.”

“We heard it so many times: Rapists, murderers, terrorists, the criminally insane, child predators--we are going to unleash the forces of the United States to keep us safe from these threatening people and dangerous people. No argument here. But I think you can find, on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans who agree those people should be the subject of law enforcement, and they shouldn't be allowed to live in our communities, period. But what has actually happened with this war on immigration from the Trump White House?”

“There are memories you have as a child which you never, ever forget. And one of my memories was growing up, smack-dab in the Midwest, in the middle of our country, and the experience I had as a child when my mother would wake me in the middle of the night, and I would hear the tornado sirens blaring. And she would say: Get down to the basement. The basement was our shelter for the potential of a tornado hitting our home. That was part of growing up in the Midwest.”

“Do you remember when the ICE agents were in the city of Chicago? I can't forget it. Things were happening in the city I am honored to represent I had never seen before. We had these people who were kind of in uniform, but not really, wearing masks, carrying guns, and they were pursuing ``the worst of the worst.'' They were looking for rapists, murderers, terrorists, the criminally insane, child predators, on and on. And they certainly were looking for people who came into the United States and didn't have legal immigration status.”

“Remember when President Trump announced he would end the war in Ukraine on his first day in office? Instead, over a year and a half later, President Trump and Vice President Vance have publicly humiliated Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and made embarrassingly friendly overtures to the man who attacked his country-- who attacked Ukraine--Russian President Putin. It is hard to understand. Mr. Putin's response has been to thumb his nose at the United States and any efforts toward peace.”

“I am honored to rise in concert with my friend and colleague from Virginia Senator Kaine for this measure that is going to be pending on the floor. This rule would reduce the time to file an appeal from 30 days to just 10 days, and if an applicant manages to meet this unreasonable deadline, the appeal is still likely to be thrown out under this regulation. That is because the regulation requires that appeals be summarily dismissed unless a majority of the Board of Immigration Appeals agrees to take on the case.”

“On a separate issue, the Senate will soon vote on the confirmation of one of the President's personal attorneys to the Federal appellate court. If it sounds familiar, it is because we have seen it before. Last summer, the Senate confirmed another of the President's personal attorneys, Emil Bove, to be on the Third Circuit. It was previously unheard of for a President to do anything like this, but those rules are out the window.”

“The Senate will soon vote on the nomination of Kathleen Lane, President Trump's nominee to serve as a lifetime appointment and judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. There are more than 3,000 licensed attorneys in the State of Montana. You would believe that the White House in finding a Federal judge for a lifetime appointment would be able to find among those 3,000-plus licensed attorneys in Montana one with experience having served as a judge. Instead, President Trump has selected Ms. Lane.”

“I have written a lot of bills and amendments. I have read even more. I am absolutely confounded by the language of this proposal, S. 3101, by my friend and colleague from Florida. There are so many issues bouncing around in this proposal of a serious nature that we would be foolish to do this by voice vote here immediately in the Senate. This deserves a real hearing, a real investigation, because it involves a lot of elements that affect many people personally, many families personally. We are talking about reproductive rights.”

“We start with this little document called the U.S. Constitution. Every one of us has sworn to uphold and defend this document. And we go to article I, the first article in the Constitution, section 8, and it spells out with clarity who declares war under this Constitution: The Congress of the United States. We are now engaged in a war in Iran. Did the Congress declare war on Iran? No. Did the President even ask Congress to declare war on Iran? No. Well, were there public hearings in Congress about this decision to invade Iran, to attack Iran?”

“You often wonder if the speeches you give on the floor of the Senate are heard by anyone. Most of us have spent some time working with staff to prepare remarks to state a position or to make a plea, and you wonder if anyone is listening. Well, every once in a while, something happens which renews your faith that perhaps there are people listening who can make a difference. Late last week, I had an amazing visit in my office upstairs, here in the Capitol, from China--Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri. He had been jailed for 266 days in a Chinese prison.”

“I would like to react to the statement of my friend and colleague from Wyoming. I am against fraud. That is it. On the record: I am against fraud. I am a Democrat, and I don't know where he reached this different conclusion, but I want to make it very clear. Having said that, I am also a realist. I know that the families I represent in Illinois and across the Nation are facing budgets, family budgets, which are impossible to live with. They are not only struggling paycheck to paycheck, they are also watching the price of groceries go up.”

“Roughly a year ago, President Trump made good on his ``MASS DEPORTATION NOW!'' promise--it was a campaign pledge--when he unleashed ICE into cities across the country to carry out his brutal immigration crackdown. In its wake, including in the city of Chicago, the so-called ``worst of the worst''--remember? The President said he was going after those who were rapists, murderers, terrorists, criminally insane, and predators. The ``worst of the worst''--that is who we are going after. He said it over and over and over again.”

“Today, the Senate will vote to confirm Arthur Roberts Jones to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Mr. Jones' association with a far-right organization and refusal to disavow that organization's extreme views on firearm safety are disqualifying. Mr. Jones joined Gun Owners of America in 2025. This group has criticized the National Rifle Association for being too moderate, called for ATF to be abolished, and argued that all gun safety laws are unconstitutional.”

“There is a provision in this, which I am not sure that you are aware of. It is very important. It is at the end of the second page, and it says about the effective date of this. This section shall apply on and after the day after the date of the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2026. I don't want to wait until November, and I think that is an approach which puts that date in play.”

“A few years ago, I met a young woman who lives in the Chicago suburbs. She told me a story of her college career and what it led to. It was something I had never heard before. Her experience in trying to pursue a degree leading to law enforcement took her not to the normal, predictable academic sources, but to a new industry, which was opening up in our country--for-profit colleges and universities. Hers was a sad story.”

“I am nearing the end of my Senate term, and I am reflecting on some historic events which I have witnessed at this table, at this desk. One of the most historic I remember--and specifically the date--January 6, 2021. The reason why that day was important was that the votes all across America had been counted to see who was elected President in the 2020 election, and the process involved certification by the House and the Senate of the electoral votes that were to be counted.”

“What a treat it is to be on the floor of the Senate with a colleague from the Republican side of the aisle working together-- together--to try to solve the problem. It doesn't happen much around here. You see these empty desks? They are empty almost all the days, week in, week out, month in, month out. We do important things like nominations. There is nothing that is trivial about that. But we don't tackle the issues that really affect people at home with their families. Here is one: Social Security.”

“When I think about the issue of public health, I remember a time in my childhood when one of my friends didn't show up for school. I asked people: Where did she go? They shook their heads and said: Polio. When she finally returned, she couldn't walk without heavy leg braces. I will never forget the agony I saw in her eyes. Sadly, in my childhood, that story was common. For decades, a kid could go to school healthy and be paralyzed before the end of the day. But suddenly--suddenly--it all changed. Dr. Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine.”

“It is an agency that we have seen in real time terrorizing communities like Chicago and Minneapolis across this country with increasingly violent and militarized enforcement operations.”

“today, the Senate will vote to confirm Colin McDonald to be Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division. Before Mr. McDonald's hearing, I had many questions about this newly created division. I still don't have answers. But one thing is clear: Mr. McDonald is more committed to scoring political points for President Trump than he is to fighting waste, fraud, and abuse--much of which is being perpetrated by this administration.”

“I announce that the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell) is necessarily absent.”

“I announce that the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Peters) is necessarily absent.”

“I wanted to check on the bill that we are considering today, H.R. 4. I just heard the Senator from Wyoming, my colleague and friend, talk about a lot of programs that are part of the Democratic alternative. This bill contains no reference whatsoever to the projects that he is mentioning. I don't know where they came from. They certainly are news to me. But I do know what this bill does, and I know what it is going to mean to Wyoming and Illinois and Oklahoma and Washington and even the State of Hawaii.”

“I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Duckworth) is necessarily absent.”

“I announce that the Senator from California (Mr. Schiff) and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Warnock) are necessarily absent.”