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Richard Durbin

Chicago takes leading role in national gun debate
They are counting the dead from gunfire again in Chicago, a city awash in weapons despite having one of the strictest gun-control ordinances in the ...
Biden: Gun curbs can't end killings but can help
Curbing guns can't ensure an end to mass slayings like December's killings of 20 first-graders in Newtown, Conn., but it will reduce firearm deaths, ...
Senate group focuses on border security
A bipartisan group of senators working to craft immigration legislation is focusing on how to define when the border is secure, one of several ...
FACT CHECK: Gun-control claims miss target
The intensifying gun-control debate has given rise to sloppy claims on both sides. Here's a sampling, with the first two examples from the Senate ...
Giffords pleads for gun curbs; NRA fights back
Severely wounded and still recovering, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords begged lawmakers at an emotional hearing Wednesday to act quickly to curb ...
Obama on immigration overhaul: 'Now is the time'
Declaring "now is the time" to fix the nation's broken immigration system, President Barack Obama on Tuesday outlined broad proposals for putting ...
Immigration overhaul? GOP, Dem senators vow action
Side by side, leading Democratic and Republican senators pledged Monday to propel far-reaching immigration legislation through the Senate by summer ...
Lawmakers see immigration overhaul this year
Republican and Democratic lawmakers were cautiously optimistic Sunday that a long-sought overhaul of the nation's immigration system that includes a ...
White House, senators launching immigration push
President Barack Obama will launch a campaign next week aimed at overhauling the nation's flawed immigration system and creating legal status for ...
Dems, GOP may be near end of filibuster dispute
Senators may be nearing an end to their partisan dispute over curbing unlimited delays called filibusters. Whatever the resolution, it probably won't ...
Senate chair: Count up Hagel vote after hearing
Top Senate Republicans said Tuesday they would reserve judgment on Chuck Hagel's nomination until after his confirmation hearing next week, a positive ...
Immigration activist joins US Rep. Sinema's staff
An immigration activist who's one of the leaders of the Dream Act movement is joining the staff of U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema as a district outreach ...
Top Dems urge Obama to weigh unilateral debt hike
President Barack Obama's top Democratic allies in the Senate advised him Friday to consider "any lawful steps" to make sure the government does not ...
White House, GOP draw red lines in debt debate
Struggling for the upper hand in the next round of debt talks, Republicans and Democrats this weekend drew lines in the sand they said they'd never ...
Sources: Obama to nominate Hagel as Pentagon chief
President Barack Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary, a senior administration official said Sunday, choosing a former Senate ...
No movement: Lawmakers dig in heels on debt crisis
Congressional leaders on Sunday showed no signs of emerging from their corners to resolve the next step in the financial crisis, with Democrats still ...
Nearly 1 year after stroke, Kirk returns to Senate
Nearly a year after suffering a debilitating stroke, Sen. Mark Kirk walked the 45 steps up the Capitol on Thursday and reclaimed his seat in the U.S.
Fiscal 'cliff' deal proving elusive
A Capitol Hill deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" was proving elusive Sunday as a deadline to avert tax hikes on virtually every American worker and ...
Hearing on voting rights turns partisan
Senate Democrats and Republicans sparred Wednesday over whether voter ID laws, attempts to purge voter rolls and restricted early voting were ...
Lieberman, Democrats want ban on assault weapons
Democratic lawmakers and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that military-style assault weapons should be banned and that a national ...
Night talks: Obama, Boehner meet on 'fiscal cliff'
Face to face with time running short, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner negotiated at the White House on Thursday night ...
Durbin: White House won't increase Medicare age
One of President Barack Obama's Senate allies said Thursday that an increase in the Medicare eligibility age is "no longer one of the items being ...
Obama, Boehner meet to discuss 'fiscal cliff'
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunday at the White House to discuss the ongoing negotiations over the impending "fiscal ...
APNewsBreak: Corps not budging on Miss. River flap
The Army Corps of Engineers has turned back requests by federal lawmakers and the barge operators to release more water from the Missouri River, ...
Republican opposition downs UN disability treaty
Led by Republican opposition, the Senate on Tuesday rejected a United Nations treaty on the rights of the disabled that is modeled after the landmark ...