U.S. Senator Dick Durbin Speaks Out Against Federal CVI Grant Cuts on Senate Floor

U.S. Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and Ranking Member of the Senate Judicial Committee advocated for the continued funding of gun violence prevention efforts in a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

In the speech, Senator Durbin spoke out strongly against the recent decision by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to cut more than $800 million in grants to vital mental health and Community Violence Intervention (CVI) efforts.

“Currently, the number one cause of death for American kids and teenagers is gun violence.  Not automobile accidents, not cancer.  We need to treat this crisis like the national emergency that it is,” Durbin began his remarks. “But we also know that making communities safer requires addressing the root causes of violence.”

Durbin continued with reference to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a piece of legislation that sought to break cycles of violence through expanded mental health services, school safety programs, and CVI. “When Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we agreed we must do more to prevent gun violence from happening in the first place.  One of the most prominent provisions of that legislation was Congress’ decision to invest in using trained neighborhood leaders to break the cycle of violence,” Durbin said.  “With $250 million in funding, we supported community violence interrupters from the South Side of Chicago to… Houston, Texas.”

He concluded with a sobering prediction for a future with reduced CVI initiatives. “You know what’s going to happen? There will be more gun violence… Innocent kids will die. Innocent people will die.  People will say, ‘well, we just need more mental health counseling.’  Keep in mind, this Administration just eliminated the funds for it. What are they thinking?” Durbin said.

Vaughn Bryant, Executive Director of Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI), a community organization and convener of CVI service providers, also recently responded to the issue on ABC-7 Chicago. “For us, it just means that organizations will probably have to lay off workers. And the timing of this is terrible, because we know that the vast majority of our gun violence happens in the summertime, so doing this now is inconvenient,” shared Bryant. “It stunts the growth of the local organizations who know and understand their community in a way most of us don’t.”

Watch Senator Durbin’s remarks below.