U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois says that he will fight to protect Social Security and Medicare, no matter what a second Trump administration has in mind.
The Springfield Democrat made his comments Friday at Willard Airport near Champaign. He was there to take part in a ribbon-cutting for taxiway improvements. In a brief news conference that followed, Durbin brought up the matter of Trump’s election victory himself.
In a statement before taking questions, Durbin noted that Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris carried Illinois in the election. He also acknowledged that former President Donald Trump was the winner nationwide and said that he accepted “the verdict of democracy.”
“Donald Trump campaigned on change, change that he was going to bring to Washington and to this country,” said Durbin. “I’m going to watch that very carefully. I’m not opposed to change, but I want it to be the right kind of change.”
Durbin said that he wants to see Americans having more health insurance in the future than they do today, and that Social Security and Medicare should be protected.
“There are some radical thinkers in Washington who see it other ways, but I’m going to fight to keep Social Security in the future of every American,” Durbin said. “I think it’s a critical program.”
On the campaign trail, Trump proposed ending payroll taxes on overtime wages and tips, which could reduce funding for Social Security and Medicare. However, the former president has also claimed he would protect those two programs.
Durbin on the new Republican majority in the Senate
The November election gives Republicans a 52-seat majority in the U.S. Senate next year, ending Democratic control of the chamber and Durbin’s chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Durbin said Senate Republicans will still need help from Democrats in order to put together the 60 votes needed to pass legislation on important matters. On its own, he said the GOP majority will only be able to block legislation.
“Just finding a way to stop the business of this Congress is not a positive thing for this nation,” said Durbin. “Working together could be positive, and I want to be part of that. I’ve been in the Senate long enough to have seen it both ways. And I believe that a bipartisan cooperation is the only way to move forward.”
FAA helps pay for a new taxiway at Willard Airport
Durbin came to Willard Airport Friday to take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the realignment of a taxiway connecting two of the airport’s runways with its terminal, the Flightstar aviation services facility and the Parkland College Institute of Aviation.
The change is meant to eliminate the taxiway’s “non-standard geometry.” Willard Airport Executive Director Tim Bannon told the ceremony audience that the problem was a result of “five taxiways converging into one location, creating a confusing layout for pilots; direct access to both runways from the general aviation aprons without a turn; and an airport hot spot, designated on our airfield diagrams.”
The project had been in the works for 20 years. It was delayed in part because of rising contractor costs that more than doubled the estimated price tag.
Bannon said he was grateful to the Federal Aviation Administration for using $6.4 million of its discretionary funds to help pay for the $10.7 million project, which was built over the summer and fall. The Illinois Department of Transportation also contributed funding for the new taxiway.