I've been out to Walter Reed on unannounced visits. I've seen these soldiers. I've met their families.
— Dick Durbin
I think we learned a lesson and paid a bitter price when we put troops on the ground on a long-term basis in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let us support a homegrown, indigenous, and locally inspired effort to bring stability to the region.
Every day seems to bring news about another for-profit college scam. Hundreds of thousands of students have been deceived, misled, and harassed into enrolling at these schools where they end up with a mountain of debt and a worthless degree.
Social Security is the most important social program in America.
Taxpayers across the U.S. have invested hundreds of billions of dollars building our nation's infrastructure, and that investment should be protected.
Certain classes of weapons that are strictly military and have no useful purpose in sport, hunting, or self-defense should not be legally sold.
No one should be allowed to purchase more than two firearms a month.
We've had enough with the gun traffickers and straw purchasers who buy guns out of state and sell them out of the trunks of their cars in Chicago.
We've had enough with loopholes in our gun laws that allow dangerous people to get their hands on guns.
The fact is I tried for years to work with the financial industry on reasonable swipe fee reform, but the industry wouldn't have it.
Reducing and removing greenhouse gas emissions spares our planet from the well-documented degradation that we are witnessing on a global basis.
When President Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court, I said that he deserved a fair hearing and a vote. I said this even though Senate Republicans filibustered dozens of President Obama's judicial nominees and then stopped President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland.
There is no question that President Barack Obama should be commended for the successful removal of Assad's ghastly chemical weapons stockpile. But it hasn't been enough.
Chairing any Appropriations subcommittee is both a great honor and weighty responsibility.
As a public official, when I take a position, I stand up to explain and defend it. I file annual financial disclosures, campaign finance reports, and have to face the scrutiny of public opinion.
Everyone, regardless of the mode of expression, has a constitutionally protected right to free speech. But when it comes to freedom of the press, I believe we must define a journalist and the constitutional and statutory protections those journalists should receive.
Those of us who believe in God and those of us who have dedicated our lives to helping others in the name of God don't want to take a second seat to anyone who is suggesting that one word out of the platform means that the Democrats across America are godless.
We don't give up on our values, but we better be sensitive, too, that there are people with more moderate views and people who may disagree with some parts of the Democratic platform as they are presented.
I urge the Department of Education not to settle for half-measures when it comes to students.
When we engage in the critical decisions about our nation's future budgets, I want progressive voices at the table to argue that we must protect the most vulnerable in our society and demand fairness in budget cuts.
There are only two honest ways to reduce our debt: cut spending or raise revenues.
Whether you agree or disagree with privatization, two things are obvious. First, taxpayers need to be asking more and better questions before handing over control of critical public assets like a highway, an airport, or a parking meter concession. And second, Uncle Sam is being played for a sucker.
We must institute reasonable, common-sense limits, such as barring those with a history of mental instability, those with a history of violent crime or adjudged dangerous and subject to restraining orders, and those whose names have been placed on a terrorist watch list from owning weapons.
There is no question that tobacco is addictive and that tobacco kills.
Our laws must be fixed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. We have to keep speaking out for common-sense reforms. If we do, we can beat the gun lobby and save lives.
Since 2000, I have proposed changing the Constitution so that our popular vote decides the presidency.
Credit card companies and banks usually aren't shy when they're trying to sell you something. Heck, Wells Fargo didn't even bother to ask consumers before signing them up for as many as two million checking and credit card accounts.
In July of 2006, I visited the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was important for me to see Guantanamo firsthand and to meet the military personnel who are doing such a great job for our country.
When I hear my friend John Boehner say that we have the best health care in the world, I don't dispute it for a moment. If I were sick, this is the country I want to be in, with these doctors, these hospitals, and these medical professionals.
American businesses and consumers deserve a debit card system with competition, transparency, and reasonable fees.
We have to really appeal to that sensible center.
'Stand your ground' laws based on the ALEC model have had harmful consequences and need to be reconsidered.
We happen to believe that emissions going into the atmosphere are not good for us as humans or Mother Earth.
God is not a franchise of the Republican Party.
We need to provide support to those that are fighting ISIS. And we can provide that support: logistically, training, intelligence, air cover. There are many things we have already accomplished successfully. But the notion of sending in rotational troops, as we saw in Iraq in the past, and in Afghanistan, I think we have learned our lesson.
If the Department of Education is serious about fighting for students and protecting taxpayers, a full ban of mandatory arbitration clauses is a no-brainer.
Borrowing 40 cents out of every dollar we spend for missiles or food stamps is unsustainable. And being indebted for generations to China and OPEC does not make American a stronger nation.
Instead of incentivizing quick, short-term decisions, the federal government should be asking the tough questions when governments turn over publicly funded transportation assets to for-profit operators.
Having billions of dollars immediately available to plug budget holes without raising taxes is very appealing. And to the delight of Wall Street investors, state and local governments often fail to ask the important questions or consider the long-term impact.
Magazine clips with more than 10 rounds should be prohibited from civilian use.
In the fast-changing, information-filled world of the Internet, you never know what you might find. Maybe you'll discover a great price on an airline ticket, or maybe you'll come across that quote you've been racking your brain for.
We've had enough with the gun shows where you can buy from private sellers with no FBI background check.
I stood respectfully as Ronald Reagan was sworn in to his second term though I disagreed with him on many issues. I stood as well for the inauguration of George W. Bush's second term though I thought his war in Iraq was a tragic mistake.
There is no question that the federal government sometimes overdoes it in issuing rules and regulations.
America wins when the voiceless have a seat at the table, when the vulnerable are protected, and when working families have the same political clout as the wealthy.
Before I was elected to Congress, I worked in a courtroom. For years, I defended doctors and hospitals, and for years, I sued them on behalf of people who were victims of medical malpractice.
The swipe fee reform law that Congress enacted in 2010 was a huge step forward in bringing transparency, competition, and choice to a debit card system that had been rigged by Visa, MasterCard, and the banks.
Sunlight is better than secrecy when it comes to making laws.
A journalist gathers information for a media outlet that disseminates the information through a broadly defined 'medium' - including newspaper, nonfiction book, wire service, magazine, news Web site, television, radio or motion picture - for public use. This broad definition covers every form of legitimate journalism.
Let me tell you the first president to recognize the state of Israel was Harry Truman, a Democrat and every president since, Democrat and Republican, has stood closely with Israel.
