WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today released her 116th Congress in Reviewreport, highlighting her work and accomplishments for the people of Illinois throughout the past two years. The new report outlines Duckworth’s efforts to protect Illinoisans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, hold Donald Trump accountable, support our troops and Veterans, protect civil rights and help our working families.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished for the hardworking people of Illinois during the past two years in the Senate, and I’m looking forward to working closely with President Biden and our Democratic majorities in Congress to accomplish even more for our state in the years ahead,” Duckworth said. “As we begin the 117th Congress, I’m eager to help communities all across our state defeat and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly as possible, support the creation of good-paying jobs, protect civil rights, invest in communities that have been ignored for too long, rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, support our service members and make sure we keep the promises we’ve made to our Veterans.”
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In the 116th Congress, two of Duckworth’s bills – the Friendly Airports for Mothers Improvement Act and the Route 66 Centennial Commission Act – were signed into law and another two passed the Senate. Duckworth also had a number of her key provisions included in the 2020 and 2021 National Defense Authorization Act and multiple COVID-19 relief packages. During this past Congress, Duckworth served on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works as well as the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. She served as Ranking Member of the Transportation and Safety subcommittee as well as the Fisheries, Water and Wildlife and subcommittee. Duckworth also co-founded the Senate’s first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus in 2019.
During the 116th Congress, Senator Duckworth’s office assisted more than 4,000 Illinoisans experiencing difficulties navigating the federal bureaucracy, dealing with the impacts of COVID-19 or receiving federal benefits they were owed. These efforts helped Illinois families recover approximately $1.5 million they were owed in Social Security payments, Veterans’ benefits, tax refunds and more. With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way the world communicated, the Office of Senator Duckworth responded to more than 1.1 million emails and other messages in 2020 alone. Over the past two years, Senator Duckworth also helped announce more than $11.6 billion in federal grants awarded to Illinois organizations and governments, including more than $7.7 billion in funding for state and local governments, hospitals and health providers as well as Illinois transit agencies to help to Illinoisans address and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
Some highlights of Duckworth’s accomplishments in the 116th Congress follow, and a full report can be found here.
