durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i'd like to speak as if in morning business. mr. president, this afternoon we held a hearing in the constitutional subcommittee of the senate judiciary committee on new voting laws that are passed in many states. it was, i think, one of the first hearings on capitol hill on the subject, and i thank you very much for attending as a member of the subcommittee. we had an array of witnesses starting with members of the senate and members of the house of representatives, expressing various points of view on this issue. what we discussed was the new laws in states that are establishing new standards for voting in america. it is, i think, essential for us on this subcommittee with our jurisdiction and responsibility to focus on this issue of voting rights. as i've said so many times, there is no more important right in america. the right to vote is a right that people have given their lives for. and as we

my gust tonight, senator dick durbin from the gang of six, the gang of six. yo yo. you know, to get into the gang of six, they beat you inch i don't know if you knew that. saxby chambliss just gets up, come on, let's do it. anyway, special day. it's our president's 50th birthday, and i am no ingrate. i got him a little something that i think he's going to really enjoy. >> a massive 500-point sell-off dousing wall street in a sea of red. >> and the bears are mauling wall street. >> watching it fall now like a rock in a swimming pool. >> the 14th-worst point decline for the s&p 500. >> extreme fear and panic. i don't know what happened. [laughter] >> jon: ♪ happy birthday to you [cheering and applause] by the way, i don't have a receipt for that. [laughter] you know, america's recent fiscal troubles and stagnating economy shouldn't take away from the fact and shouldn't let us forget that we all hate each other. [laughter] a quick reminder of that in our new segment "culture war update: the dividening of america." our first dispatch comes from a veteran culture warrior

[laughter] senator dick durbin. illinois. we'll be right back.] you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. ♪ geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. under pressure. ♪7@ anesijre cann!ause ang'i"'s deodorant to fail. ♪ w) +g,)oducing lletá" bq odor shield antiperspirapáj@ uglikeé$$c1&ar deodorants, it tar lcnddg,jtr:áááheeiource. kwgillette qw.bor shield an9$perspi$úntu@

[laughter] senator dick durbin. illinois. we'll be right back. [applause]

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i want to thank my colleague from ohio for highlighting what has to be our focal point as we return to this senate, and that is the unemployment picture across america and the desperate situation that many families are facing. as i visited my home state of illinois, i found what he did in ohio, that many people have really been desperately trying to find jobs for a long, long time. it's becoming increasingly difficult, and the hrofrpbg it goes on -- the longer it goes on the more difficult it becomes. it turns out the national statistics which i read over the weekend suggest that it's primarily males who are out of work -- not exclusively, about 60% males; 40% female. and more and more not in minority populations. they're just having a difficult time. and i'm glad that the senator from ohio focused on getting us back on track as we should be on this issue. i read with interest when republican leader mcconnell wro

dib durbin today said that there is a -- we don't have the votes to get a jobs bill through. this congress and the senate has failed to bring about a lot of things. in fact, the republicans' concentration has been other than that. first, let me show what you -- what dib durbin set about the vote. >> do you think you have 50 votes? >> not at the moment, but we can work on it. the state senators don't like eliminating the -- that's an example. there are some senators up for election who said i'm never going to vote for a tax increase, so we're not going to have 100%. that's why it needs to be bipartisan. 6. >> i think durbin is saying we don't have the votes, even among democrats it's telling. what's your count? no one is plugged in better than you are, is this true in are we in trouble of getting this through the senate. soinchts for sure. it's sump an irony that democrats have finally figured out the foreign policy question, when nobody cares anymore. when people care about jobs. that's the democratic issue, is jobs, and all of a sudden they finally won the foreign policy gam

senate and democratic whip dick durbin, got to leave it there. nice to see you. >> good to see you too. >>> the republican side of the aisle. a shakeup after years of climbing up the leadership ladder, lamar alexander makes a surprise announcement he's stepping down. not just as gop conference chairman, but he's not going run for another leadership position. up next, we'll ask the senator why party leadership and bipartisanship don't mix anymore. >>> plus, the campaign coffers of top-tier california democrats have been wiped out by a swindler who is being called the bern bernie madoff of campaign finance treasurers. how the embezzlement scheme can effect 2012 politics, and how should other candidates avoid this happening to them? >>> but first, a look ahead at the president's schedule. you're watching "the daily rundown" on msnbc. a busy, busy day, as you can see here in new york. ♪ ♪ i'm back in the new york groove ♪ the the and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms... by kee

i think senator durbin sort of tipped his hand. how would people in ohio accept an explanation from john boehner to say no. the truth of the matter is if you raise taxes on billionaires and millionaires, it adds a de minimis amount of money to the treasury to pay off the debt. i would assume that's what they're trying to do. i think most americans are frustrated with the tax code where 1% of taxpayers pay 41% of the taxes, the top 10% play 47% and i'm in the camp of the bowles-simpson gang of six attempt to flatten the tax code. ge paid no corporate tax last year so let's do away with deductions and exemptions except for interest on your home, charitable giving with a cap. take that $1.2 trillion, buy down rates, create jobs and pay some debt off. if you really want to address what got america into this situation, policies matter. president obama's policies are killing job growth. what i hear at home is that you can't borrow money. the reason banks are not lending money is they don't know what the rules of borrowing is going to be

durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, the world has witnessed considerable upheaval in the middle east this year as citizens from all walks of life have turned out by the millions to say that they have had enough with repressive regimes, stagnant political systems and economies that have really disadvantaged many young people and poor people. in fact, we should probably look back to the summer of 2009 when thousands upon thousands of ordinary iranians bravely took to the streets to peacefully protest the country's likely stolen election. these iranian citizens were met with brutal violence, death, detention and unspeakable torture. while iran's ruling dictatorship was able to temporarily repress the public aspirations of its own people, the seeds for wider public discontent were taking root through much of the region. first in tunisia. we saw peaceful protests lead to the ousting of a corru

[laughter] senator dick durbin. illinois. we'll be right back.tiator: you must be the new kid. naomi pryce: i am. i'm in the name your own price division. i find empty hotel rooms and help people save - >> - up to 60% off. i am familiar. your name? > naomi pryce. >> what other "negotiating" skills do you have? > i'm a fifth-degree black belt. >> as am i. > i'm fluent in 37 languages. >> (indistinct clicking) > and i'm a master of disguise >> as am i. > as am i. >> as am i. > as am i. >> well played naomi pryce. >> jon: thank you very much. that's our show. in the web version of the interview with the senator, i mentioned grover norquist was the head of the club for growth. he's actually the head of americans for tax reform, although in my defense, same [bleeped] difference. join us next week at 11:00. here it is, your moment of zen. ♪ hey hey ♪captioning sponsored by comedy central captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> stephen: tonight the latest on last week's iowa straw poll. it is now an empty dirt field full of raccoons.

it was a political maneuver by senator durbin because he didn't believe retailers should be chargingtain fee for a product, a benefit they were receiving. >> brown: so mr. lazarus you write your column for consumers, what is your advice? >> well, my advice would be contrary to what richard says, it's not easy to shop with your feet because all of the big banks are probably going to follow suit. wells and chase already experimenting with similar fees. more than likely considering the herd mentality that reigns in this industry, they will all start charging debit card fees. once one gets away with it, your only choice is charging a credit union, they will get the fee free debit cards krity cards but give up a lot of convenience. so you could see these fees are a premium for convenience and if the banks want to sell them as that, then okay. that is a little truth in advertising. but at this point the consumer is going to have to make that choice between convenience on the one hand and low fees on the other. >> brown: do you expect this to have an impact on consumer use of debit cards or

durbin: i ask consent to speak for ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: let me sayo the senator from lisiana, you have been a clarion, consistent voice on this issue because you have seen it and lived it. anyone representing the state of louisiana can give a lesson to all of us about what happens when the unexpected occurs and people lose their homes, their businesses, their lives. they are uprooted. we had some folks from new orleans up in chicago. they were leaving new orleans to come up to one of our fabulous winters because they have nowhere to go. i saw the look in their eyes. they didn't know where to turn. at that moment in time, many people across america count on the american family. that's who we are, and we represent that family here in the united states senate. we stand up for this country and for the families that are suffering through no fault of their own, no fault of their own. and when the senator from louisiana comes and tells us be careful when you set a standard that says before you can send the first dollar to someone who has

dick durbin. and coming up next, we're going to sit down with terry mcauliffe.he may not be. coming up next, a new book that mika's excited about. jobs war between debate and governor chris crihristie coulde leading that charge. more "morning joe" when we return. ♪ ♪ ♪ when your chain of supply ♪ goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there ♪ ♪ track it all through the air, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ clearing customs like that ♪ hurry up no time flat that's logistics. ♪ ♪ all new technology ups brings to me, ♪ ♪ that's logistics. ♪ since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ confidence, with togedepend in color.ture. now available in gray. looks and fits like underwear. same great protection. depend. good mornin

thank you, senators reid, hoyer, pelosi, and senator durbin. today we had a bipartisan vote to defeat the house bill, 59-36 -- it was not close. now is the time to work towards a fair and reasonable solution to fund disaster relief and avoid an unnecessary and destructive government shut down. the majority leader has said he's willing to meet with house and senate leadership this weekend. we hope that speaker boehner and senator mcconnell will take him up on the offer to negotiate a solution. our position is let's talk over the weekend. their position is you take it or leave it. their approach failed on the senate floor this morning, and it's time for them to change their strategy. we have a failed safe on monday. it's a bill to keep the government funded at levels that the house and senate democratting negotiated, and in a good faith compromise, it con tapes the same exact amount of disaster relief funding that the house republicans supported. the last thing we want to do is under fund fema in a year of record disasters, especially after passi

one thing when we saw the other day demonstration of several hundred christians talking about the durbin three conference, they see a way of spreading antisemitism around the world. that is a political action activism on behalf of israel. people are praying for the peace of jerusalem and this critical time in history. this is historic in the middle east and literally around the world. a lot of people see this when the nations of the world are making decisions of what is happening to the land that god promised to the jewish people. it is known as the west bank, really it is the judea and samaria land that goes back 4,000 years ago when abraham promised to it his desen dents. >> what are the biblical implication and where does benjamin netanyahu fall in all of this. i would think he has a lot of pressure. >> i would think so. he is getting pressure from all sides. president obama put pressure on him to stop this legislation in congress that would defund the palastinians. that is one thing from the united states from the quote unquote international community, the quartet. he is getting pres

senator dick durbin blasted the company, stating that bank of america is trying to find new ways to padts by sticking it to its customers. >> is annoying and not necessary. >> there's not much we can do. when does it stop? maybe another bank will do it. >> other financial institutions including wells fargo, chase bank, and some regional banks are testing out similar bank card fees in certain states. bank of america debit card holders should know that if they are simply using their debit card to pull money out of the bank of america atm machine they will not have that monthly fee. >> i think a lot of people will be changing their banking habits. >>> also, and drivers beware. new driving laws take effect tomorrow in maryland. the new rules include a ban on texting while driving. also it will allow medal of honor recipients to wave and vehicle registration and a driver's license renewal fees. and police will be able to install security cameras on school buses. and new regulations for those convicted of drunk driving. all this takes effect on october 1. >>> the first lady made a rare shoppi

senator dick durbin said bank of america is trying to find new ways to pad their profits. >> it is annoying and not necessary. >> there is not much we can do about it. when does it stop? maybe another bank will do it. >> we should point at the other financial institutions including wells fargo are testing out similar monthly debit card fees. bank of america debit card monthly fees will not apply if the customer is using their dead card to pull money out of an atm. >>> new at 11:00 drivers can expect a big change in tyson's corner. they will permanently shut down the west exit. that left exit is going to go away for good because of work on the lane in the area. instead, drivers will be required to use the right exit ramp for exit 49a. >>> we are on storm left. we are keeping a close watch on a dramatic shift in our weather. bob ryan has the first look at what is on the way overnight and beyond. >> because of the cool air coming our way we have had enough storms. it has been a wet september. nothing on doppler. getting up to near 80 degrees. our temperatures were still above average. look at

after the private 90-minute meeting, senate majority whip dick durbin told reporters, "we're not going to get 100% of our caucus, but believe me, if it's up to the democrats to pass the president's plan, it'll pass." senate minority leader mcconnell saw the meeting as a sign of weakness. >> one would think they'd want to be briefed on details before the president demanded they pass it right away, not after. but then again, the white house probably expected stronger support from democrats than it's gotten so far. >> joining me now, editorial director for aol, huffington post, msnbc political analyst howard fineman. thanks for joining me tonight, howard. >> hi, lawrence. >> howard, i'm confused by dick durbin's statement. he's saying we're not going to get 100% of the democrats in the united states senate but if we democrats have to pass it we will. they need 60 votes to pass it in the senate. they're nowhere close if they don't have all the democrats. >> yep. that was less than a ringing endorsement from one of the president's closest allies. and you know you're in a bad situation on th

durbin: i see some of my republican colleagues here. i would ask unanimous consent that they be allowed to use their morning business time, that our 18 minutes remaining be reserved until after their speeches. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from tennessee is recognized. mr. alexander: i thank the distinguished democratic whip for his courtesy. republican senators have come to the floor today to talk about education, no child left behind, and i ask consent that we be allowed to engage in a colloquy. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: i thank the president. the senators who will be here will be senator isakson, burr, kirk and senator enzi. will you let each of us know when we have consumed five minutes? the presiding officer: the chair will do so. mr. alexander: i thank the president. mr. president, in the world in which we live, every american's job is on the line. as every american knows, better schools mean better jobs. and schools and jobs are alike in this sense. washington can't create go

noting opposition on both sides of the aisle, dick durbin told a chicago radio station, we're not going to have 100% of democratic senators, that's why it needs to be bipartisan, and i hope we can find some republicans to make it happen. he said previously no vote would be held on the jobs bill until next month. after weeks of partisan bickering, the house took just 20 seconds to pass a short-term spending resolution. the move sends federal government funds into next week as the current fiscal year comes to a close. the bill was passed by the senate on monday, forcing the full house to return from its week long recess in order to prevent a full government shutdown. the house will now vote on a larger, more ambitious plan to keep the government funded through november 18th. comes as house republicans target several democratic prioriti priorities. $3.6 billion in pell grants, 30 other cuts to education programs, and federal money for job trading. the measure would forbid president obama's health care law, expected to be part of a larger spending bill, that would be brought up for a vote l

durbin: thank you very much, madam president. let me thank my colleague from new york for his statement about the challenges we face. i have been involved for over a year and a half in deficit reduction talks, a lot -- on a bipartisan basis with the bowles-simpsonsons commission, the gang of six, now the gang of 38 i believe was the last number, number of democratic and republican senators who have publicly stated that they are willing to move forward in a process based on the principles of the bowles-simpson commission. at a time when most americans have given up hope that congress will ever work on a bipartisan basis to solve our problems, i hope that our effort will be viewed as positive and helpful to the super committee's work. we are doing everything we can to make sure that they are successful and they have a very difficult assignment and a difficult timetable. in the meantime, though, i understand as the senator from new york, my colleague, spoke earlier, that if we are serious about deficit reduction, it not only must in

for you at this point because as he says the banks rule the world and how many times has this dick durbin the senator from america also said as he said that got the banks the place so how many times do you have to be told but i mean i don't understand any of the occupy wall street folks that are down there and they're wondering well we're here we're not what do we do well they have to demand that the bankers come out with their hands up either going to go in so here he is he says that goldman sachs rules the world and the other big banks now let's turn back a little bit wind back a bit in the his interview where he explains the mind of a trader how the trader how a banker looks at the financial chaos in the world for most traders it's not about we don't really care much how the interface knew how to fix the economy how to fix the whole situation our job is to make money from it and personally. been dreaming of this one for three years i have a confession which is i go to bed every night i dream of another recession i dream of another moment like this one because people don't seem to maybe

durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority will control the first half, the republicans the second half. the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: this morning we learned that the republican leaders of the house of representatives and the united states senate have done something which may be unprecedented. we are searching for some example in the past when this has occurred, but we've learned today that the republican leaders of both the house and the senate have sent a letter to federal reserve chairman ben bernanke ahead of the -- ahead of the central bank's two-day meeting that begins today. that letter to chairman bernanke from the republican congressional leaders instructs them as to what they should try to achieve during their two-day meeting. a former commissioner of the federal reserve said this is outrageous. that an independent agency like the federal reserve which has operated with independence of political impact and political pressure over the years would now be receiving direct po

durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent i'd like to give a statement in tribute to senator mark hatfield in morning business and that my statement be placed in the record next to those of the senators from oregon who commenced this tribute earlier this afternoon. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you very much, mr. president. mr. president, i want to join my colleagues in remembering senator mark hatfield, an extraordinarily good man, a man of dignity and integrity. i didn't have the opportunity to serve with him in the senate, but he chaired the senate appropriations committee when i was a member of the house appropriations committee. sofpb times we would come -- so oftentimes we would come together in conference or on a given issue and i admired him greatly. mark hatfield was an independent man throughout his public career. he was a man of civility and deep faith, a devout evangelical christian. he was a republican who believed that government could be a force f

so i want to commend senator reid and senator durbin and senator schumer for their leadership and urge our republican colleagues on both the house side, mr. boehner and mr. kantor to reach common ground, this is common ground, let's do it so that our people can have the confidence that their government is there and they are confronted with a disaster that puts them at risk and i thank the senate for allowing us to join in this very important statement. >> as well as speaker pelosi and senator durbin. today we have a bipartisan vote to defeat the house bill 5936 wasn't close to earth. to work towards a reasonable and fair solution to fund disaster relief and of late an unnecessary and destructive government shut down. the majority leader has said he is willing to meet with house and senate leadership this weekend. we hope speaker boehner and senator mcconnell will take him up on the offer to negotiate a solution. our position is let's talk over the weekend. their position is you take-it-or-leave-it. their approach failed on the senate floor this morning, and it's time for them to change

durbin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, under morning business, i ask unanimous consent to speak for ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: and i see the senator from new hampshire is here and ask that she be permitted to speak immediately after i have concluded. madam president, tomorrow night we'll hear a speech from the president of the united states about an issue that affects every single one of us in america. it affects millions in a personal way and all of us indirectly. it's the state of our economy. it's an economy that has been racked by a recession which has gone on way too long. even the president concedes that we had hoped that we would have emerged at this point but we still have not. i think it is important for us to focus on the reality of life even for working families in america. too many working families today are struggling to survive paycheck to paycheck. over the last 10 or 20 years, we have seen a decline in the rate of growth in real wages, which m

that's the angry response from illinois senator dick durbin on the plan to charge customers a $5 monthly just to use their debit card for purchases. cnbc's courtney reagan is here with what's moving your money on friday. consumers are not happy about this. $5. >> exactly. nobody wants to pay more and face value it seems unfair to consumers and especially those financially responsible, use their cards responsibly but the reason that bank of america is doing this is actually quite simple. it's because it has to. and it's likely just the first of many banks to introduce a fee like this. the reason that i say that it has to do it is because regulation introduced by the dodd-frank act amendment caps fees of banks to charge merchants for processing those debit card transactions so the cap is 21 cents. that's less than half of the 44-cent average that banks charge now. i know 23 cents sound like much but compound it by millions of transaction fees it could cost the banks to lose billions of dollars. so bank of america's arguing that in order to be able to provide features to customers like over

in addition to giving voice to madmen like a nut job, they're spewing hate like the durbin three, a taxpayer paid front so that radicals can accuse israel of being racist. our good neighbor and friend, canada, boldly refused to support such nonsense and even forbid its officials to attend any of its meetings. i say good for canada. i think it's time to consider getting jackhammers and sawing off the u.n. from the east end of manhattan and floating it off into the east river and allowing any nation who wants to host it to just come in and drag it away. i mean, we pay for 22% of all of the u.n. activities, far more than any other nation and for that we get insulted by loons, we have to stand virtually alone to defend our only mideast ally and even have to tolerate unpaid parking tickets by so-called diplomates. look, i am ano isolationist, i'm tired of america being played for a chump. if we put most of the quarters in the jukebox we ought to pick more of the songs and it's time to get out the hook for the whack-job terrorist tyrants and tell them they're free to bark like the bad dogs they ar

top democrats like senate majority whip dick durbin defended the tax proposals today. >> i think that it's fair to limit the tax cuts for the wealthiest so that we can provide tax cuts for working families. that, to me, is sensible. it's not only morally right; it's economically right. >> woodruff: but republicans and some democrats rejected those same ideas two years ago. and today house speaker john boehner said they're still not popular. >> when you look at what we saw in the president's pay-fors yesterday, we see permanent tax increases put into effect in order to pay for temporary spending. i just don't think that's really going to help our economy the way it could. >> woodruff: the leader of senate republicans, mitch mcconnell, insisted the plan is really just a political ruse. >> all he's doing is just proposing a hodgepodge of retread ideas aimed at convincing people that a temporary fix is really permanent and that it will create permanent jobs and then daring republicans to vote against it. >> woodruff: as the war of words heats up, president obama will take his jobs campaig

mpl dick durbin said he will hold a hearing on the rash of new voting requirements. requires all voters to show a government issued photo i.d. before voting. groups like the naacp objected to the law says it would disinfranchise minority and elderly citizens. according to a report in the recent issue of "rolling stone" magazine at least a dozen states have approved laws that the magazine is calling quote, obstacles to voting. canstand alabama now require proof of citizenships. florida and texas added strict requirements for groups that organize voter rj strags drives. and five states shortened early voting periods. we have a contributing writer to "rolling stone." his article "the gop war on voting" is many the latest issue. he's also the author of "herding donkeys." thanks for your time. >> thanks for having me. greetings from iowa. >> nice to see you. explain to us what you unearthed in your findings. you're talking about voting obstacles here. what were some of the worst ones? >> since the 2010 election 38 states mostly controlled by republicans have introduced le