Dick Durbin

“It is a challenge to all of us, and it's a challenge we need to meet, to make sure the Quincy Veterans' Home is, in fact, giving the best care and the safest care in the state.”

“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.”

“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.”

“I have always been critical and skeptical of fast-tracking. It is a take-it-or-leave-it approach to trade agreements which really deals members of Congress and their concerns out of the picture.”

“We want to move forward in a bipartisan fashion to solve our problems.”

“I enjoy my job, and I will help my state all I can.”

“We have to really appeal to that sensible center.”

“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.”

“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.”

“We have to talk about the way we finance campaigns.”

“If we do nothing, as the Republicans suggest, we're going to see health care costs reach a point where small businesses can't afford it and families can't afford it. We're going to see people turned down from pre-existing conditions. We're going to find the Medicare doughnut hole - a gap in coverage that's going to hurt a lot of seniors.”

“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.”

“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.”

“It is unacceptable that disabled veterans in Illinois rank at the bottom of the list when it comes to disability pay. We owe our disabled veterans more than speeches, parades and monuments.”

“We all join the President in applauding the sacrifices made by our brave men and women in uniform. But we must continue to provide them the tools they need to accomplish the difficult tasks they face.”

“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.”

“It simply isn't fair for senators to cut to the front of the line when seniors around the country have been forced to wait for hours to get a flu shot.”

“I've been out to Walter Reed on unannounced visits. I've seen these soldiers. I've met their families.”

“Certain classes of weapons that are strictly military and have no useful purpose in sport, hunting, or self-defense should not be legally sold.”

“If we're going to have tax cuts, let's focus on those in lower and middle income groups. Make sure that they get the breaks they need to continue to try to provide for their families.”