Durbin Meets Virtually With Presidents Of Public Universities In Illinois

Statement

U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met virtually with the presidents of Illinois public universities to discuss higher education, research, immigration, and other priorities in the Build Back Better (BBB) reconciliation package. During their meeting, Durbin spoke in support of increasing the maximum Pell Grant and limiting the increase to students at public and non-profit universities--excluding for-profit colleges. Durbin also noted the need to maintain BBB's significant funding for research at institutions of higher education in areas like agriculture, climate research, and public health.

"I am incredibly proud of the quality education Illinois' public universities offer, and the Build Back Better reconciliation package is an opportunity to provide these universities with an historic investment," said Durbin. "I'm encouraged by the conversation I had with university presidents today, and together, we discussed a path forward for federal funding of Illinois' educational institutions."

Universities participating in the meeting included:

Northern Illinois University
University of Illinois System
Chicago State University
Eastern Illinois University
Governors State University
Illinois State University
Northeastern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University System
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Western Illinois University

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