durbin: mr. president, i'm disappointed. i'm disappointed because i know this was a good-faith effort on behalf of the senators from arkansas and missouri to make certain that americans across the board wouldn't have to pay a tax to use the internet. that's been policy for 15 years. we just had an opportunity to extend it for ten more years and there was an objection by the senator from oregon. now, i know in his heart of hearts he didn't want to object, because i know his commitment to the internet, but it's made -- the difference it's made in this country. but here's the problem he faces and the reason he objected, if i can try to interpret what he just said. there are five states in america with no sales tax. five states. no state sales tax in alaska, oregon, home state of the senator, montana, new hampshire, and delaware. no sales tax. now, that means the people living in that state, because that state has decided that there will be no sales tax, the people living in that state that make a purchase at a store pay no sale

senator durbin, this sounds familiar. do we really want to go down this path again, more talks and more aid to the north koreans? >> the last thing we want is the launch of any kind of nuclear miss is sill or nuclear weapon on the korean peninsula or anywhere in the world. we have got to deescalate the rhetoric and test going on in north korea and we are turning primarily touching and saying it is time for -- to china and saying it is time too step up and show leadership in this region of the world. we are are prepared to work toward a common goal of peace but we need the chief niece to tell the north koreans if they want to continue the escalation of rhetoric it is at the expense of the safety of this world as well as a their own economy. i think secretary kerry has it right. we are willing to step forward but we want to see positive measures from the north koreans that bring down the harsh and hot rhetoric that we have heard so often in the last few weeks. >> chris: senator cornyn a year ago you accused of obama adminis

illinois democrat dick durbin from chicago and texas republican john cornyn here in washington. just heard marco rubio. senator cornyn, can you support the keep component, illegals get legal status within months as soon as the department of homeland security announces its plan. not that it's achieved it but the plan. or is that amnesty. >> i found it to be a good practice to read the bill before you comment. whether you support it or not. i want to say that i'm encouraged by what the so-called gang of eight, including senator durbin and others came up with. i was here in 2007 last time we debated immigration reform and i have the scars. >> chris: briefly, could you accept temporary legal status for illegals before the border has been secured? >> i believe border security is absolutely conservatively to this picture. and so much of it is regaining the public's confidence that the federal government is doing its job. until that confidence is restored, by -- on the basis of what the legislation provides, i would have difficulty supporting it. but having said that i want to read it

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i've often come to the floor to talk about remote and sometimes dangerous places around the world where you are usaid and foreign service officers serve. we know about the difficult places our brave military personnel serve often at great sacrifice. we sometimes lose sight of their civilian, diplomatic and aide colleagues working side by side. i'm always impressed that no matter where on the planet one travels there is an outpost of american ideals and talent dedicate toddy phroepl is i, human rights and helping the less fortunate. these civilians serving abroad can face a variety of threats, yet they do it with dedication, patriotism and a belief that the united states should always be a voice for good in the world. sadly today i come here with a heavy heart as the life of one of the brightest off

durbin: thank you. mr. coburn: new nevertheless we give an advantage to those with an adjusted gross income of $1 million aor more a year. so what we've done is we've given an advantage to the well-heeled and well-connected, an advantage that the average american citizen doesn't have. i can't recall, i had read this morning an exact a revenue, but the point is, it is the principle. so will we over the next few months, regardless of this bill, its outcome or not, will the congress start addressing the real problems facing our country? you know, we just passed $740 billion worth of increased income taxes and payroll taxes at the end of the year. will we start doing on the other side? will we cut $85 billion over the next 12 months, supposedly, and we'll see if that actually happens or not. as we've grown the government 89% over the last ten years while the american family income has declined 5% over the same time. i made the statement earlier, and you can go check it on any web site you want, on inflation-adj

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: ask consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, before i make this statement relative to an unrelated issue, i just want to say a very quick word about the historic vote that took place a few minutes ago on the floor of the senate. we had i believe 16 republicans who joined us in an effort to proceed to a bill that will initiate a debate, one of the first in years on the floor of the senate, about gun safety in america. i salute those members of the senate from both sides of the aisle who supported that motion to proceed but especially from the other side. i know that it took a great deal of courage, political courage, for them to step up and to at least initiate this debate. i will tell you that there were those among them, some 13, who signed a letter saying we're going to filibuster this matter to stop it. they did not succeed today in that ef

durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that if the senate receives h.r. 475 from the house of representatives and the bill is identical to the text of -- which is at the desk, then the bill be read three times and the senate proceed to a vote at a time to be determined by the majority leader in consultation with the minority leader with noint intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: -- with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration en bloc of the following resolutions which were submitted earlier today -- senate resolution 105, 106, 107 and 108. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measures en bloc? without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without

you took senator durbin and senator rand paul. start with dick durbin. a bipartisan focus group.te that understands the immigration challenges first hand and what the american people told us is that if it benefits the american economy that is good. if it is just about the illegal immigrants and their plight that is not what we want immigration policy to be based on. dick durbin's response, his pitch fell on deaf ears. not just among republicans but among democrats as well. let's take a look. >> go to any restaurant in chicago, illinois, and take a look at who just picked up the plates at the table. and when the door to the kitchen swings open, take a look at who is washing the dishes and cooking the food and who unloaded the food on the dock and the people who are cleaning your rooms at the hotels. and the folks who are watching your mother and grandmother at the nursing home. and you are going to see the face of immigration and many times the face of undocumented people. working hard every single day only asking for a chance to rid themselves the fear that a knock on the door wi

senator durbin said ours is a democratic society where the rule of law prevails.overseas drone strikes as they're carried out now violate the rule of law that we all grew up with? >> there is a difference of opinion on that. most believe that it was that resolution the 2001 resolution that gave then president bush, now president obama the broad authority to use force any time, any place anywhere if he or she deems it's connected to 9/11. that was you such a blank check that it's scary to think first of all how it's been used and how it could be used in the future. that's primarily the understanding that many of us have that they're using as the legal justification. that is just down right wrong. we never have debated the use of drones to engage in targeted killing. >> john: congresswoman i commend you on this action of this issue. i would never ask to you speculate or go inside the president's head but do you think he's aware of the damage this program has already doing to his legacy? >> first of all, this is a very smart president, he has definitely reshaped amer

durbin: thank you, mr. president. i see my colleague from wyoming, senator mike enzi, is on the floor here. at 5:30 we're voting on a measure that will literally affect millions of americans. let me give you a couple of illustrations. a close friend of mine is the mayor of normal, illinois. normal, illinois. his name is chris cooze. he is a local business man. in his business he sells bicycles and running shoes -- and running paraphernalia and equipment. chris has a good business. he's done well. but he told me that in the last 10 or 20 years things have changed. he said it's not unusual for someone to come in to my store and ask to see a pair of running shoes, in fact, to try them on, see theferent colors and then leave without buying anything. he says sometimes they'll come back several weeks later with the shoes and they'll say chris, we bought these over the internet and they're not what we thought they'd be. what can we do about it? it's called show rooming and happening more and more. why would somebody try the

welcome, senator durbin.ll have been working on this non-stop since the start of this congress. how hard was this to forge this compromise? >> this wasn't easy. you know, you have eight willful members of the u.s. senate-- four from each party-- each with a point of view and we came together determined to put together a comprehensive immigration bill task which has eluded other senators in the recent past. we got it done. it's an 848 page bill. it's a good offering, a way to improve this immigration system in a lot of different facets. >> give us a flavor of what was it was like in that room. i gather you had something like 24 meetings. >> well, there were nice kind and quiet meetings and more eruptive meetings. as i said today to john, i said mount mccain erupted a few times but fortunately no one was injured and we got back on path in a hurry. so despite the strong feelings that we each brought to this issue-- because it is so important to each of us and to our country-- i think at the end we struck a good

durbin: mr. president, i thank my colleague from tennessee for coming to the floor. he's been here with some frequency together with the republican senator from wyoming to discuss the matter that's pending before the senate. what's pending before the senate is what's known as the marketplace fairness act. it is a measure which senator enzi of wyoming has been working on for 12 years and one that i've worked with him on for several years. it is an interesting issue because it's one where the supreme court 20 years ago challenged congress. you see, the states went to the supreme court and said we want those who are not physically present in our state but sell into our state to collect sales tax. and at that time the supreme court in the quill decision said, no, that's up to the congress. the congress has to take action. well, here we are 20 years later, and the conversation's changed dramatically because what used to be sales by mail or catalog are now internet sales. and they're growing in volume by the day. and states are finding themselves in a challenging situation

senator durbin, thank you very much. michael chertoff, chairman mike rogers, thank you, mike leiter, and pete williams for all of your reporting this week, what you do better than anybody else. we appreciate it and appreciate you being here this morning. >>> up next, as we get to know more about the suspects and some of the motivations behind the bombings this week, is there now a new sense of vulnerability as a country? a special discussion is coming up. joining me nbc's tom brokaw, "wall street journal" columnist peggy noonan, and bloomberg news jeffrey goldberg also of "the atlantic" magazine. an emotional week for boston and for the country as we were all on high alert and as we search for meaning in it all, we'll get the first draft of history through the eyes of the one and only doris kearns goodwin, herself a bostonian. right after this. with the spark cash card from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you. that's three new paper shredder

durbin: mr. president, pending on the floor is senate bill 743. this is a bill in its simplest terms will allow the states to ask internet retailers when they sell in the state to collect sales tax. currently, every state requires consumers to pay the sales tax but it's not collected at the point of purchase. so this will respond to a 20-year-old supreme court decision which said to congress, you have to write a law to do this. this is the law. senator enzi and i, senator heitkamp, as well as senator lamar alexander, we've all worked together on this on a bipartisan basis. this measure was before the senate last week. it's not a long bill. it's 11 pages. it is certainly within the grasp of any senator to secure this and read it and understand it. it is very straightforward. we have had efforts made on the senate floor to delay consideration of this measure. we have taken three votes on it over the past month or so. first vote under the budget resolution was a generic vote, do you support the idea or not? 75 senators voted in the affirmative. a dra

senator durbin you are on top of all of the important issues.morning. >> thanks bill. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. you know who is coming on >> if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think that there is any chance we'll see this president even say the words "carbon tax"? >> with an open mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned "great leadership" so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter). >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. you know who is coming on to me now? you know the kind of guys that do reverse mortgage commercials? those types ar

we hear from assistant senate majority leader dick durbin of illinois, and our special roundtable. >>> and good sunday morning. what a week it has been. developments are still moving very quickly in the boston terror story. we want to go for the very latest this morning to the governor of massachusetts, deval patrick, who is with us this morning from boston. it's good to see you and congratulations on the end of a very difficult week. >> well, i accept your congratulations on behalf of the extraordinary team of law enforcement folks who have done this the right way, by building from facts up to a theory rather than from a theory out. >> governor, the "boston globe" says it all had had this morning for boston. edging toward not normal, but there is still a lot of concern. based on what you know, has the threat pass ed? >> i think we think so. there are a lot of leads that law enforcement is still pursuing, the fbi and the atf, the state police and local police as well. there are a lot of questions that all of us have and that law enforcement have yet to answer for us including question

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i understand the passion of my colleagues from oregon. oregon is one of five states with no sales tax. i know that they have voted down a sales tax by statewide referendum repeatedly by margins of two to one, i'm told. it is clear they have a passionate feeling about no sales tax in oregon. here's the good news. the bill that senator enzi and itch introduced and want -- enzi and i have introduced and want to pass in the senate will not impose one penny of sales tax obligation on anyone living in oregon, whether they're purchasing over the counter or purchasing over the internet. not one penny of sales tax liability. their states' rights are protected. their passion against sales tax is honored. the same is true in alaska, montana, new hampshire and delaware, all the other no-sales tax states. but this is what it really gets down to. this isn't about the people in oregon paying a sales tax. it's about the businesses, internet businesses in oregon that want to sell into other

durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i have 13 unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have been approved by the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, this morning the leaders, our democratic leader senator reid and republican leader senator mcconnell came to the floor and talked about sequestration. sequestration was something that was voted on with an overwhelming bipartisan vote, 74-28. what it said was if congress on a bipartisan basis can't reach on budget reduction automatic spending cuts would go into place. unfortunately we did not reach that agreement. the spending cuts known as sequestration went in place and for the last month or so there's been speculation about will anybody notice. people are starting to notice

durbin: mr. president, i want to thank my colleague from tennessee. this is truly a bipartisan effort on both sides of the issue, democrats and republicans see it differently. the distinguishing feature of those who oppose this is that so far the leading opponents are from states with no sales tax -- new hampshire, oregon, montana. one other state in america does not have a sales tax, delaware. they see it differently, they are supporting the bill. here's what it boils down to. if this bill passes as written, at the end of the day, a resident of montana still will not pay sales tax on any purchases they make in a store or on the internet. residents of oregon will not pay a sales tax on any purchase they make in an oregon store or over the internet. and the same holds true for new hampshire. they are held harmless from the impact of this. however, if an internet retailer in any of those no-sales taxes states wants to sell in maine, illinois, the terms of doing business under here are that they will collect the sales tax that is owed in that state. it i

. >>> coming thup morning on "meet the press" we will have the latest on the situation from dick durbin and house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers. you can watch "meet the press" right here following this newscast. >>> and it is possible loss for the warriors, and the latest on david lee's injuries. >>> and the latest on apple's plummeting stock price. >> announcer: you are watching "today in the bay." >>> 7:09 on this sunday morning. you are looking at the live picture of an arena is going to be getting a lot of action in the next couple of days, and that is oracle arena. after dropping day one, the warriors will spend the day gearing up for the game two. they will have to do it without a key cog in the success. lauren scott has the latest from denver. >> the warriors' game one here in denver against the nuggets came down to the final seconds, and the warriors fall short losing 97-95. >> we have respect for them. they won game one and i won't look at it like they stole one or we could have stole it. no, we are two good basketball teams in for a heck of a series. >> fought ha

to thank the senators on this committee for their works, senator schumer, senator graham, senator durbin, senator flake, senator feinstein, senator hatch. i think that we need a comprehensive approach to this. i do not think you can do this piecemeal. everything is complex and related and that is why you have to do -- to fix this deeply broken system, you need a comprehensive approach. i think we have had a broken system. it has been a drag on our economy. mr. holtz-eakin, thank you for your testimony. it will help minnesota businesses and families alike. i want to think the senators who ever done this, getting us as far as we have gotten. mr. holtz-eakin, one of the most things i have most pleased about is what it does for agriculture, particularly in minnesota. minnesota is one of the biggest dairy producers in our nation. dairy farmers have not been able to access the work force they have needed for years. one program that allows farmers to get guest workers is open only to seasonal workers, and you cannot milk cows seasonally. you could, but you would get very uncomfortable cows. i h

. >> and the criticism of the immigration legislation senator durbin says stopping 90% of illegal border crossing is a goal and a trigger for a part of the law. >> every republican at the table says we've got to start with border security and we'll stick around. i think we've kept faith on that, encouraged by the gang of eight plan, but needs to read it before he can support it. harris. >> harris: peter doocy, thank you very much. it is a girl. jenna bush hager giving birth to the first grandchild to former president bush and laura bush. laura and i are proud to announce the birth, and she was named for her grandmother. she was born in new york city. we met our beautiful granddaughter today. jenna and mila are healthy and our family is elated, end quote. congratulations to the bush and the haggar family. >> harris: right now, the poll closed in a key presidential election south of our border. millions of people turning out to vote six weeks after the death of venezuelan president hugo chavez. he painted the united states as evil, called the former president the devil, all while selling o

coons: madam president, i rise today to thank senator durbin of illinois for his leadership on these vital issues. you just heard in the comments he has made the reach and scope of his vision. i am just so impressed with the breadth and depth of his engagement. first, on behalf of american workers, because he recognizes so clearly that 95% of the world's consumers live outside our country and we have to have a coordinated, capable, competent export strategy in order to continue to access the most promising, most rapidly growing markets in africa. the 54 countries of the continent of africa provide enormous opportunity as their growing middle class, increasing access to their human and mineral and natural resources create opportunities for us to grow jobs here in the united states. nearly 10 million good jobs today are supported in the united states by exports to the rest of the world. as senator durbin has wisely seen and pointed out, our competitors are beating us in the race to access these great opportunities. the chinese, the brazillians, the russians, the indians. in every conti

senator durbin. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. mrs. pacheco, thank you for all of you have done on behalf of the dreamers. my staff asked me to read the story of the dreamers, i have done it 55 times on the united states senate. each one is amazing in its own right. the accomplishments of the young people, the fact they have known no other country in their lives and want to be part of america's future. they have extraordinarily educational achievements they manage to put together in american schools. schools that were open by american taxpayers. their education has been supported by our country, and now with all the skill and talent asking us to give them a chance. mr. kobach, do you think the dreamers deserve a chance to become legal in america? >> you know, that, of course, involves a lot of calculations. we're talking about, for example, in the dream act part of the bill, we're talking about resources, places, for example the dream act portion of the bill, like many of the dream acts we have seen before congress if 2001 said that th

and in just a few minutes we'll be joined by the assistant majority leader dick durbin, but i want to begin here with pete and mike liter on the latest in terms of what we're tracking. the big question at this moment is was there a foreign connection to terrorism? what do we know? >> well, we don't know the answer to that question. the big gap here is what was the older brother doing in russia for six months last year? he leaves in january, arrives in july, and the russians have told the fbi that they were a little worried about him. but what was he doing during all that time in russia? his father says he was visiting him, that he went to see his family, went to renew his russian passport while he was awaiting american citizenship. he was here as a lawful resident. did he -- the thing i think that's the biggest question for investigators now is, "a," why did he turn this way? but, "b," where did he get his expertise in explosives? where did he practice them? it seems really unlikely these two bombs successfully were detonated without some practice runs. where did he learn to do that?

senatorll yield now to durbin who will take the gavel for a bit. i would note as much as i have enjoyed being chairman of the judiciary, i just want to amend not tryingode, i am to amend genesis -- >> [indiscernible] suggest i did. i appreciate the bible, but we wi stick to t ->> i know you une the ultimate authority applies -- >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. here, andfor being thank you for all you have done on behalf of the dreamers. my staff has asked me to read the stories of more dreamers. i have done that 54 times on the floor of the senate. each story is amazing in its own right. the accomplishments of these young people, the fact that they have known no other country in their lives and they want to be part of america's future, they have extraordinarily -- extraordinary educational achievements that they have managed to put together in american schools the muscles that were opened by american taxpayers, so their education haseeorteby our untr all the skill and talent they're asking us to give them a chance mr. -- the you think the drea

interestingly enough, we talked about it with two other senators, dick durbin and jon cornine who, has said he thinks the administration is involved in appeasement and he was concerned about the fact that ker theweek said, look, if the north koreans were to pull back on their nuclear brinksmanship, we would talk to them and consider aid. >> negotiating from a position of weakness? chris, looking forward to seeing it on "fox news sunday" later today. you can catch chris's entire interview with senator marco rubio and the discussion with senators durbin and jon cornine right here, right after america's news headquarters. president obama has rolled out the budget plan, two months after the spend timeline. i got to sit down with senator john barrasso to talk about what he feels is most troubling. >> it's two months late. the house has passed a budget. the senate has passed a budget. the president's budget doesn't balance -- ever. not this year, want next year, not five years from now. it never balances. that's the big concern for the american people. the other issue, the infrastructure, pe

thanks to senator schumer and durbin for that. and senator feinstein, who has taught me a lot more about immigration than i would've learned otherwise. the bill includes what some are .alled -- calling triggers i do not want people to move out of the shadows but be stuck wean underclass, just as should not call dreamers who were brought here as children, we should not make future status dependent on border enforcement commissions over which they have no control. at this point, we are not treating all families equally. we have to antidiscrimination against gay and lesbian families. i am concerned about changes in the visa system for siblings. we lack clarity about how the new point basis system works in practice. whether spending billions more on defense between united states and mexico is a really good use of our taxpayer i do know that each one of us can write what we want. each one of us may have a different bill. very difficult concessions by all involved. i mentioned senator schumer, durbin, senator graham, senator feinstein,

>> i understood senator durbin was here and wished to ask some questions. f not -- if you'll hold just a moment. i think he may have had to step up. senator lee. please keep it to five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to correct something i said earlier. it talks about the tax liability issue. i should have referred to pages 68 and 69 of the bill. the standard is ambiguous as to when it would trigger the back tax liability. i have given a citation error. he standard would give you discretion to identify what documentation that would have to prove to show they had fulfilled their obligation to pay any back taxes. i wanted to talk about another provision. this one is on page 63 of the bill. it deals with who is eligible or rpi status. it waives eligibility for those who have received orders of eportation but have absconded, meaning they fled after having been ordered deported, or they had returned to the united states following an order of deportation after which they return to their home country or another country. am concerned about this provisio

edition of "meet the press" we'll have the latest on the investigation from senate majority whip dick durbin and the chairman of the house intelligence committee and former fbi agent representative mike rogers. you can watch "meet the press" right here on nbc bay area at 8:00 tomorrow morning. >>> and the events in boston caused dozens of additional people to sign up for an emergency drill in san francisco today. >> hello! >> hello! >> about 50 of the 300 volunteers for the drill today signed up in the last few days after the bombings in boston. today's drill was for an earthquake, but the training covers everything from first aid to search and rescue, and firefighters say boston was a perfect example of why everyone should learn the basics of emergency training. >> bystanders at event in boston helped people and saved lives by doing basic first aid, brought people to attention, i need to refresh my skills, i need to be part of this volunteer because absolutely, first responders will be there but will be overwhelmed by an event such as the one in bottom. >> the drills are held by the san fra

republicans are rubio florida, john mccain arizona, lindsey graham, south carolina, the democrats are dick durbin illinois, robert mendez new jersey, chuck schumer new york and michael bennett colorado and i think schumer is the head of this group. >> yes, he is. >> go ahead. >> well, senator schumer and mccain met with reporters last week, and basically mccain said if they pass this bill republic the republicans back on the playing field where they can compete. you can't compete in a country where the hispanics are going to be the majority of some states. so there is political incentive on the republicans side. americans for tax reform did a poll among republicans only. two-thirds of republicans support this bill as it's described. you call it amnesty. i don't call it amnesty if you have to pay back taxes, pay some pretty hefty fees and it's 13 years before you can become citizen. but this does legalize people, gets them out of the shadows, and strengthens our defenses, frankly, if you know who is in the country as opposed to just having people in the shadows. and i would say call them undocumen

durbin: thank you, madam president. i want to draw attention to major flooding which is going on in illinois at this moment, particularly in chicago and suburbs, but not exclusively. it's affected down state as well. hundreds of families have been evacuated from their homes in more than 30,000 people are without power. and we are experiencing a major storm. the rocks fox, due page mississippi and illinois rivers overflowed their banks damaging hundreds if not thousands of about businesses. several levees are near the breaking point. in many areas flooding is so bad it exceeds what we saw in 2008 and 1997. the ground is so saturated a sink hole in chicago swallowed three cars this morning. in libertyville high school it sunk a foot into the muddy soil. more than 300 flights canceled out of o'hare and midway airports. hundreds of schools in and around of chicago were closed today because of dangerous high water. people along the des plains and fox rivers in grundy cane counties are flooded. heavy rain filled the large und

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr.t i have 10 unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate with the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and the requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we are debating one of the most important bills we've had before the is that the in a long time -- before the senate in a long time. the reason we're debating this is because of what happened in newtown, connecticut, on december 14. gun violence takes its toll every day in america, in cities all across the country and in my home state of illinois. and we know, because we read and hear in the news of the victims. at this moment, our nation is saddened by what happened yesterday in boston. we still don't know what the cause of that was, who was responsible for it. i just have to say that we're stunned by it. members of the senate that i work with on

durbin: thank you, mr. president. we can allow american consumers today to keep more of their hard-earned money by establishing a reasonable fee and annual interest rate cap. combating abuses by internet payday lenders and eliminating bank payday loans. families and their communities are sure to benefit by saving more and putting more of their earnings back into the economy. mr. president, now i ask consent that the statement i'm about to be making be placed at a separate place in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: i've come to the floor many times to talk about for-profit schools. it's another consumer issue and it's a very serious one. i come to the floor to describe to my colleagues and put on the record of the senate some of the things that are taking place across america today which i think are nothing short of outrageous, things that we can istop, we have the power to stop in the united states senate. let me tell you the story of sharon lemonico. sharon is a 65-year-old

we have some the brightest and the best in america that dick durbin was talking about. young men and women who came to this country through no choice of their own, who came here because their parents brought them here when they were children. the only national anthem they know is "the star spangled banner." for them, america is their home. after enormous investment in them in public education and opportunity for them to contribute to america's growth and competitiveness, we turn our backs on them. that is why the effort on the dream act, this is the best one that is ever appeared before the senate. this is a moment to meet one of america's toughest challenges in a way that is smart and secures our borders and at the end of the day preserves our history as a nation of immigrants. [speaking spanish] [speaking spanh] [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] thank you. [applause] >> actually i change my mind. no, i'm kidding. [laughter] >> not again. once is enough. >> grabbing water? [laughter] >> it has been fun. one of the things that makes our nation truly special is that

senator durbin said it could be used for education and other areas to pay off debts, etc.aller: we spend more than anybody else on education, don't we? host: so and you don't like the idea? if somebody invents a way to make a profit and develop a better way to make a profit, then why should you penalize them? host: all right. frank in new jersey, opposing. caller: the internet sales tax is just another way of putting a burden on middle-class. it seems a logical to do that. it's one of the only outlets for people to save money right now. illogical. they are making sure they don't have to tax the rich, putting a burden on the middle class. that's why you are seeing so many republicans jumping on board for this. it is not going to be good for middle america. host: president obama continued with what is being called in washington a charm offensive, meeting with 20 female senators last night. "politico." that was at the white house yesterday. and in the news, syria. that's the headline in the washington post and many other newspapers this morning. with they spoke israeli prime

directories roberts they had those debates and at the end of the day nobody there was a plan senator dick durbin of illinois wanted to basically move the detainees to a facility in illinois but that was sort of that was sort of squashed as sort of in the program in the senate by republicans and i think you see this and there are in definitely some conservative democrats as well who are who are main opposed to closing one town and i think it's such a hot topic political issue that people are really afraid to stand up for the rights of people who you know. are the untouchables and i think that's really unfortunate what do you do i mean if if if you knew that there were no charges against them but you also knew that they were dangerous to america that through even maybe even through no fault even if through no fault of their own they know i've become radicalized is that a concern are you going do you to default of the fact that america has been holding them for over a decade are you still in the usa what to say it's important up if we were to arrest you and you know you in jail for twenty years und

i negotiated with new york state, senators durbin and n senator nz. they have made changes in the bill so that states would have a different system but still collect the sales tax will be allowed. now new york state supports the bill. but new york will not have to change its system. the bill will allow new york state system and other states to continue as is. [inaudible] i want to switch topics. i wonder if you can comment on the gun legislation from last week. just a situation where a president can't change >> look, i've been involved in gun legislation since 1994. i was the author of the brady bill. it a very hard issue. i think it is unfair to blame the president. the president worked hard on this issue which he put political capital on the line which he made it one of the centerpieces of his state of the union address. and he went all around the country to try and rally support. my view, the way to change the -- on gun issues is to aside from relying on the conscious of people to do what they think is right which plays a much larger role than many