CHICAGO - A single U.S. Senate seat could shift the balance of power in Washington in the 2002 Election, said U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-VT) as he endorsed U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-IL) re-election at a press conference on Sunday.

Jeffords, who left the Republican Party on May 24, 2001, said he grew frustrated by the lack of GOP support for the environmental protection, education funding and affordable healthcare for all Americans. In the year since Jeffords' party switch, Senate Democrats have used their majority position to prevent the Bush Administration from rolling back environmental protections, enacting enormous corporate tax breaks and stacking the federal bench with judges who are not moderate.

"Jim Jeffords made history by showing that a single senator can make a difference. His courage gave working families a seat at the table, with a Democratic Senate to stand up for their concerns," Durbin said.

"Although I am an independent, I truly believe that we must do everything within our power to keep Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate, and that is why I am here in Illinois to endorse Dick Durbin," Jeffords said.

Durbin, who serves as Assistant to the Majority Leader, said Jeffords allowed Democrats to achieve results on several initiatives which had slowed to a halt under Republican leadership. "Under Democratic leadership, the Senate passed the Patient's Bill of Rights, Campaign Finance Reform, Election Reform and the new Corporate Corruption Bill," Durbin said.

"The Democratic Senate has served as an important balance to the Bush Administration and the GOP-controlled House. I hope to return to the Senate to serve with Senator Jeffords to continue to fight for Illinois' families," Durbin said.

In just 14 months of Democratic Leadership, the U.S. Senate:

• passed the Patient's Bill of Rights, and Democrats continue to push for the issue against stalwart Republican opposition. Senate Democrats are now working to pass a real prescription drug benefit under Medicare.
  
  
• worked with President Bush to achieve compromise on education reform, which was signed into law on Jan. 8, 2002. Now Senate Democrats are fighting for full funding of the education bill to provide adequate resources for reform.
  
  
• thwarted Republican efforts to privatize Social Security at a time when the erratic stock market is causing millions of Americans to lose their savings every day.
  
  
• passed legislation imposing strict regulations to prevent corporate fraud, including criminal penalties and prison terms for guilty corporate executives, the creation of an independent board to oversee the accounting industry and new rules for financial analysts to prevent conflicts of interest.
  
  
• blocked Republican proposals to open the Artic Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and passed an energy bill which will promote more conservation and greater use of renewable fuels.
  
  
• pressured the Bush Administration to retain sound arsenic standards for drinking water.
  
  
• confirmed 61 judges since Democrats assumed control of the Senate - more judges confirmed in one year than Republicans confirmed for Reagan in 1981 or than Democrats confirmed for Clinton in 1993.

Date: July 28, 2002
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