Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]

H.R. 4509 - NOPAIN for Veterans Act Submitted written statement for the record to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Subcommittee on Health (January 13, 2026). Advocated for legislation ensuring VA providers can access a full range of individualized, evidence-based post-surgical pain management options, including non-opioid therapies, without overly restrictive one-size-fits-all barriers. Argued that clinical judgment must guide acute pain care for veterans recovering from surgery or serious procedures. Major Richard Star Act (H.R. 2102 / S. 1032) - Concurrent Receipt for Combat-Injured Retirees Advocated for elimination of the dollar-for-dollar offset that reduces retirement pay for approximately 52,000 combat-injured veterans medically retired before completing 20 years of service. Communicated that this 'wounded veteran tax' breaks faith with those who sacrificed most and that concurrent receipt of earned retirement pay and VA disability compensation should be permitted. Veterans Mental Health & Suicide Prevention - VA Staffing, Telehealth, In-Person Care Advocated for a comprehensive strategy to address veteran suicide (averaging 17.6 deaths per day). Communicated support for increased VA mental health staffing, expanded telehealth services to reach rural and underserved veterans, and preservation of in-person mental health care. Emphasized that telehealth must complement, not replace, VA mental health professionals. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) - VA Pilot Program for PTSD/TBI Advocated for VA implementation of pilot programs to evaluate Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a covered treatment for veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries, citing studies indicating HBOT can significantly reduce PTSD symptoms and improve cognitive function. Urged Congress to direct the VA to expand access to evidence-based alternative treatments. Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act Advocated for legislation ensuring all service days count toward Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility for National Guard and Reserve members who serve alongside active-duty counterparts. Communicated that existing education benefit disparities are inequitable given equivalent operational contributions. Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act Advocated for legislation ensuring veterans who lose education benefits due to school closures or fraud have those benefits restored. Communicated that veterans should not suffer financial losses due to circumstances beyond their control. Veteran Caregiver Reeducation, Reemployment, and Retirement Act Advocated for comprehensive reforms to support family caregivers of veterans, including provisions addressing financial security, career reemployment, and retirement benefits for individuals who sacrifice their own professional advancement to provide uncompensated daily care. Communicated that caregivers are the backbone of the veterans' care system and must not be left behind when caregiving roles end. Survivor Benefits - DIC Modernization (Remarriage Restriction Repeal / Rate Modernization) Advocated for elimination of the DIC remarriage age restriction and modernization of DIC rates to reflect the true cost of sacrifice. Communicated that surviving spouses should not be forced to choose between financial security and honoring their loved one's wishes, and that current restrictions impose unnecessary financial penalties on Gold Star families. Protecting Veterans' Disability and Retirement Pay from Budget Reductions Advocated against any legislative or executive action to reduce veterans' disability compensation or retirement pay to balance the federal budget. Communicated alignment with VA Secretary Doug Collins's stated opposition to cutting earned veterans' benefits, and emphasized that reducing these benefits undermines national trust and deters future enlistment. Written Informed Consent for Black Box Medications (VA Policy) Advocated for VA policy requiring written informed consent before prescribing psychiatric medications with black box warnings. Communicated that veterans deserve transparency, patient autonomy, and the ability to make fully informed decisions regarding high-risk medications. Protecting the VA as an Institution - Structural and Operational Integrity Advocated for preservation of VA capacity, organizational structure, and services for enrolled veterans. Communicated concerns about any restructuring or resource reductions that would diminish the VA's ability to deliver timely, high-quality care and benefits to the veteran community.

Issues related to childrens privacy and safety, including H.R. 7757, Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, the Children and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act; S. 1829/H.R. 3921, the Strengthening Transparency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2025 (STOP CSAM Act).

H.R.2853/S. 1404 - Combating Organized Retail Crime Act Draft legislation to support crime reduction FY27 appropriations for Byrne/JAG grants

CPT: Senate, House, Department of Commerce, Patent & Trademark Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, White House Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy S. 708/H.R. 1574 (RESTORE Patent Rights Act) S. 1553/H.R. 3160 (Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act) S. 1546/H.R. 3152 (Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA)) S. 1367/H.R. 2794 (NO FAKES Act) S. 1041 (Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act) S. 1097 (Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act) Comment on the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (Docket No. PTO-C-2024-0048) Advancing Americas Interest Act to disadvantageously change U.S. innovator firms access to and treatment before the U.S. International Trade Commission when seeking Section 337 remedies blocking importation of U.S. patent-infringing goods Candidates and nominations for Patent & Trademark Office leadership positions and Patent Public Advisory Committee America First Trade Policy section (3)(e) China intellectual property policies Abuse of section 1498, as requested by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as drug price controls to expropriate pharma patent rights Abuse of the Inter Partes Review (IPR) process by the Patent Trial & Appeal Boards allowing cases to proceed per the egregious application of the repudiated compelling merits standard for PTAB institution Proposed violation of the Bayh-Dole Act by the government taking a share of the patent licensing royalties of universities patented inventions United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Office (IPO) proposal of a government-run licensing fee-setting scheme for standard-essential patents U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to improve the Patent Trial and Appeal Boards (PTAB) practices for instituting inter partes review (IPR) challenges (Docket No. PTO-P-2025-0025) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise (Docket No. OSTP-TECH-2025-0100) H.R. 791 (Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act) S. 2276/H.R. 3269 (Eliminating Thickets to Improve Competition (ETHIC) Act) H.R. 5811 (Restoring Americas Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA)) H.R. 1833 (Leadership in Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Act) H.R. 861/S. 326 (American Music Fairness Act)

CPT: Senate, House, Department of Commerce, Patent & Trademark Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, White House Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy S. 708/H.R. 1574 (RESTORE Patent Rights Act) S. 1553/H.R. 3160 (Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act) S. 1546/H.R. 3152 (Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA)) S. 1367/H.R. 2794 (NO FAKES Act) S. 1041 (Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act) S. 1097 (Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act) Comment on the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (Docket No. PTO-C-2024-0048) Advancing Americas Interest Act to disadvantageously change U.S. innovator firms access to and treatment before the U.S. International Trade Commission when seeking Section 337 remedies blocking importation of U.S. patent-infringing goods Candidates and nominations for Patent & Trademark Office leadership positions and Patent Public Advisory Committee America First Trade Policy section (3)(e) China intellectual property policies Abuse of section 1498, as requested by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as drug price controls to expropriate pharma patent rights Abuse of the Inter Partes Review (IPR) process by the Patent Trial & Appeal Boards allowing cases to proceed per the egregious application of the repudiated compelling merits standard for PTAB institution Proposed violation of the Bayh-Dole Act by the government taking a share of the patent licensing royalties of universities patented inventions United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Office (IPO) proposal of a government-run licensing fee-setting scheme for standard-essential patents U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to improve the Patent Trial and Appeal Boards (PTAB) practices for instituting inter partes review (IPR) challenges (Docket No. PTO-P-2025-0025) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise (Docket No. OSTP-TECH-2025-0100) H.R. 791 (Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act) S. 2276/H.R. 3269 (Eliminating Thickets to Improve Competition (ETHIC) Act) H.R. 5811 (Restoring Americas Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA)) H.R. 1833 (Leadership in Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Act) H.R. 861/S. 326 (American Music Fairness Act)

CPT: Senate, House, Department of Commerce, Patent & Trademark Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, White House Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy S. 708/H.R. 1574 (RESTORE Patent Rights Act) S. 1553/H.R. 3160 (Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act) S. 1546/H.R. 3152 (Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA)) S. 1367/H.R. 2794 (NO FAKES Act) S. 1041 (Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act) S. 1097 (Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act) Comment on the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (Docket No. PTO-C-2024-0048) Advancing Americas Interest Act to disadvantageously change U.S. innovator firms access to and treatment before the U.S. International Trade Commission when seeking Section 337 remedies blocking importation of U.S. patent-infringing goods Candidates and nominations for Patent & Trademark Office leadership positions and Patent Public Advisory Committee America First Trade Policy section (3)(e) China intellectual property policies Abuse of section 1498, as requested by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as drug price controls to expropriate pharma patent rights Abuse of the Inter Partes Review (IPR) process by the Patent Trial & Appeal Boards allowing cases to proceed per the egregious application of the repudiated compelling merits standard for PTAB institution Proposed violation of the Bayh-Dole Act by the government taking a share of the patent licensing royalties of universities patented inventions United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Office (IPO) proposal of a government-run licensing fee-setting scheme for standard-essential patents U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to improve the Patent Trial and Appeal Boards (PTAB) practices for instituting inter partes review (IPR) challenges (Docket No. PTO-P-2025-0025) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise (Docket No. OSTP-TECH-2025-0100) H.R. 791 (Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act) S. 2276/H.R. 3269 (Eliminating Thickets to Improve Competition (ETHIC) Act) H.R. 5811 (Restoring Americas Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA)) H.R. 1833 (Leadership in Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Act) H.R. 861/S. 326 (American Music Fairness Act)

CPT: Senate, House, Department of Commerce, Patent & Trademark Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, White House Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy S. 708/H.R. 1574 (RESTORE Patent Rights Act) S. 1553/H.R. 3160 (Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act) S. 1546/H.R. 3152 (Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA)) S. 1367/H.R. 2794 (NO FAKES Act) S. 1041 (Affordable Prescriptions for Patients Act) S. 1097 (Interagency Patent Coordination and Improvement Act) Comment on the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (Docket No. PTO-C-2024-0048) Advancing Americas Interest Act to disadvantageously change U.S. innovator firms access to and treatment before the U.S. International Trade Commission when seeking Section 337 remedies blocking importation of U.S. patent-infringing goods Candidates and nominations for Patent & Trademark Office leadership positions and Patent Public Advisory Committee America First Trade Policy section (3)(e) China intellectual property policies Abuse of section 1498, as requested by Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as drug price controls to expropriate pharma patent rights Abuse of the Inter Partes Review (IPR) process by the Patent Trial & Appeal Boards allowing cases to proceed per the egregious application of the repudiated compelling merits standard for PTAB institution Proposed violation of the Bayh-Dole Act by the government taking a share of the patent licensing royalties of universities patented inventions United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Office (IPO) proposal of a government-run licensing fee-setting scheme for standard-essential patents U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to improve the Patent Trial and Appeal Boards (PTAB) practices for instituting inter partes review (IPR) challenges (Docket No. PTO-P-2025-0025) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Notice of Request for Information (RFI) on Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise (Docket No. OSTP-TECH-2025-0100) H.R. 791 (Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act) S. 2276/H.R. 3269 (Eliminating Thickets to Improve Competition (ETHIC) Act) H.R. 5811 (Restoring Americas Leadership in Innovation Act (RALIA)) H.R. 1833 (Leadership in Critical and Emerging Technologies (CET) Act) H.R. 861/S. 326 (American Music Fairness Act)

H.R. 384 (One Agency Act) S. 1040 (Drug Competition Enhancement Act) S. 1096 (Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act) S. 527 (Prescription Pricing for the People Act) Seeking ways to lower prescription drug prices by promoting competition without expropriating patent rights

H.R. 384 (One Agency Act) S. 1040 (Drug Competition Enhancement Act) S. 1096 (Preserve Access to Affordable Generics and Biosimilars Act) S. 527 (Prescription Pricing for the People Act) Seeking ways to lower prescription drug prices by promoting competition without expropriating patent rights

Independent contracting in trucking H.R. 20/S. 852 (Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act)

H.R. 1659 (Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act) H.R. 880/S. 337 (Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act) H.R. 2819/S. 1696 (Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen-Wheelers (DRIVE) Act) H.R. 2853/S. 1404 (Combating Organized Retail Crime Act) freight fraud provisions Highway Trust Fund fuel tax, vehicle miles traveled Rescinding FMCSAs speed limiter mandate on all heavy-duty commercial motor vehicles (FMCSA-2022-0004-0001) Rescinding FMCSAs automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems mandate Automatic Emergency Braking Test Devices: Heavy Vehicle Automatic Emergency Braking (Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0171) Mitigation of Final Rule, Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs: Addition of Oral Fluid Specimen Testing for Drugs (Docket No. DOT-OST-2021-0093-0420) provisions related to specimen collectors USDOT Office of Inspector General freight fraud enforcement, National Consumer Complaint Database (OMB Control Number: 2126-0067) reforms USDOT advisory committees proportion of representatives from small motor carriers Commercial motor carrier regulatory policy issues, including Compliance Safety Accountability program/DataQ Waiver for noncompliant states with National Registry II Implementation with moving from paper to electronic medical certificates Eligibility standards for nondomiciled commercial learners permits and commercial drivers licenses Provisions of H.R. 7148 (Transportation-HUD FY2026 appropriations) related to English-language proficiency standards of commercial truck drivers; priority infrastructure needs, including truck parking project funding; establishing a nationwide dashboard for shippers and carriers to track real-time supply chain movements; cuts or redirecting Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act funds Nondomiciled holders of Commercial Drivers Licenses, recertification of certain CDL holders Efforts to remove chameleon motor carriers from highways and ensure only legitimate training entities operate commercial drivers license programs H.R. 7539 (Safety and Accountability in Freight Enforcement Act) H.R. 5688 (Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act/Dalilahs Law) S. 3950 (SAFER Transport Act)

S.3623 / H.R. 7035, Credit Card Competition Act; issues related to swipe fees and competitive routing. Issues related to open banking.