bennet: yeah.nd it is clear to me that if this decision were being left up to a hundred coloradans, we'd scratch our head and -- and we'd probably argue out some things but i think it would take about a day for us to come to a set of solutions that would solve the problem, or at least move us down the road, and we'd feel pretty patriotic about what we had done, that we had done something useful for our kids. and at the end of this process, if we're able to deliver something like that, i think that's how we ought to feel. there are too many days around this place where i think we feel like we've lost sight of all of that. and this that conversation that you're talking about, al simpson was such a big part of, alice riff arrivlin, a number of peopt was abun did notly clear that you couldn't approach this problem by drawing bright lines and saying, no, you can't touch this or no you can't touch that. they knew everybody going have to give a little bit here in order make this work. and, unfortunately,

bennet: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to implore my colleagues and implore the negotiators that are working on this budget issue to come to a comprehensive solution that meaningfully addresses our deficit and our debt. mr. president, if you -- if all you knew about our politics was what you see on the television at night, you would think that we were committed to an endless stream of invective, of name calling, of division, that we had absolutely no interest or desire to solve the nation's problems or solve the nation's challenges, and you would be right sort of to give up all hope that we could actually honor the heritage of our parents and our grandparents and make sure that we are not the first generation of americans to leave less opportunity, not more to our kids and our grandkids. that's what you might think if all you knew about our country was what you saw on the tv at night. fortunately, i have had the privilege, as has everybody in this body, to travel my state and to learn that actually the america

the bbc's owen bennet jones is on the turkish side of the border with syria, and says there are reports that thousands of young men remain in the town. >> reporter: i think the women and children have basically either gone to other locations, either in syria or come here. and the people who remain are probably the ones who want to fight-- you know, that are prepared to fight it out. >> woodruff: only one route out is open, and townsfolk are taking it, fleeing in droves. at least 2,400 syrians, and more by the hour, have crossed into southern turkey, passing through lush groves and into temporary encampments. >> reporter: there's a camp-- i was just there this afternoon. there are many, many tents organized by the red crescent in cooperation with the authorities, and they just tried to build an extension to that because of the numbers coming in. and i'm told they're looking for a new site because they realize that more are coming. >> woodruff: some of the new refugees have shared harrowing stories in interviews posted online >> ( translated ): the forces attacked us, ruined our homes, th

the banks did not draw this amendment up, with the help of senators hagan, crapo and bennet. as is usual, we agree on 90% and 10% we disagree on. do i think swipe fees need to be regulated? of course. the problem with this amendment is the exemption on community banks under $10 million does not work. i've read the quotes from bernanke and bair and all and they said they don't know how to make the system work as a free market. the system will overrule that and that's the way it ought to be in this country. the bottom line is i look at this from a rural perspective and the impact the federal government has on rural america and while we're trying to solve one problem we're creating two or three others. i could care less about the wall street banks. they're going to do fine. i tell you what, we lose the banks in our small towns in montana or wyoming or tennessee, and you can put another nail in the coffin of rural america. with that, i yield the floor to the good senator from tennessee. mr. corker: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: i co

senators hagan and crapo and bennet came to senator corker and i are a month ago to chair their -- and i about a month ago to share the inintended consequences of the senate that was passed in the senate about a year ago. the amendment directed the federal reserve to issue regulations limiting the costs that banks can charge retailers when consumers use their debit cards to buy things. based on the law, the fed intends to limit those costs to 12 cents. even though the actual costs of these transactions may be higher. now, the big wall street banks, they can handle that. they're not happy about it, but they can live with it. they have got plenty of tools that will help them make up the difference. the main street community banks or credit unions are a different story. these small guys who had nothing to do with the financial crisis did not have that same flexibility that the wall street banks had. and these are the banks in montana. these are the folks that i want to make sure have a fair shake. so folks from both parties came together and they said how can i fix this to make this prote

i have worked with senator tester, senator crapo, senator hagan, senator bennet, senator brown, numbers of people to try to come up with language that hits that sweet spot. and the senator from illinois is right. we probably never developed a perfect law, but i think we have a responsibility when we know that something is about to happen that won't work, that is going to be devastateing. i think we have an obligation to try to come up with something that meets the test of trying to be fair to both sides, and i think that's what this amendment does. you know, the senator talked about all kinds of things being added in. the banks can't just add it in. the feds regulate them. the fed will decide what is reasonable and proportional. the fed will decide, but they will use all of the costs that it takes to actually do those operations and the costs which the durbin amendment did not do. so look, i think that this amendment meets the test. i know there are numbers of people that voted for the durbin amendment in the past that have co-authored this. they co-authored this because they realize th

the banks did not draw this amendment up, with the help of senators hagan, crapo and bennet. as is usual, we agree on 90% and 10% we disagree on. do i think swipe fees need to be regulated? of course. the problem with this amendment is the exemption on community banks under $10 million does not work. i've read the quotes from bernanke and bair and all and they said they don't know how to make the system work as a free market. the system will overrule that and that's the way it ought to be in this country. the bottom line is i look at this from a rural perspective and the impact the federal government has on rural america and while we're trying to solve one problem we're creating two or three others. i could care less about the wall street banks. they're going to do fine. i tell you what, we lose the banks in our small towns in montana or wyoming or tennessee, and you can put another nail in the coffin of rural america. with that, i yield the floor to the good senator from tennessee. mr. corker: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: i co

rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable michael bennet, a senator from the state of colorado, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: following any leader remarks, the senate will be in morning business until 11:00 a.m. today. the republicans will control the first half, the majority controlling the final half. i would ask at this time, mr. president, that the morning business hour be a full hour, not stop at 11:00. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: the filing deadline for second-degree amendments is s. 2 s 782, the e.d.a. bill is at 11:00 a.m. this morning. following morning business, the senate will be in executive session to cons