durbin: mr. president, i want thank my colleague from wyoming. the most frequently asked question no matter where i appear in illinois or fundraising, why can't you folks get along in washington? what's it like to be in a place where everybody is at one another's throats and you can't accomplish anything? why can't you do things on a bipartisan basis? what is it like today and how do you compare it to what it was a few years ago? and i say to them, you know, there are times when we do come together and do something important. this is one of those times. the marketplace fairness act. it was a year ago. senator enzi led the fight on this. i don't know exactly when he started it, but i was happy to join in in his effort when senator byron dorgan retired. i called mike, said i'd like to step in and help you with this bill and he said let's do it, we brought in lamar alexander who made some invaluable contributions to it and then along comes heidi heitkamp, the new senator from north dakota. was she ever ready for this fight. former sales tax commissi

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i want to thank my cheeg from rhode island, senator reed. senator elizabeth warren, our new colleague from massachusettsings and senator reed and i have started this effort but we are welcoming ideas and supporters from both sides of the aisle to join us. the conversation tonight on the floor of the united states senate may be the most important conversation that millions of american families could hear because we're talking about student debt. student debt in this country has reached the breaking point. it's reached the point where the cover of "time" magazine would have a question mark. it shows a student headed off to college and the question mark is, is it worth it? it has reached the point that the cost of higher education is so high, the indebtedness adebt associated with it so high, that many are stepping back now is ask that very question. is it worth it to go this deeply in debt for college courses an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree or more? that question w

at 12:30 a embattled eric shinseki will return to capitol hill to meet with dick durbin. >> i'm going to put him on the spot to tell me what he's done in these six years and where we are. it is unacceptable if we have waiting lists for veterans in any facility that endanger their health. if we find that that has been the case, we have to make dramatic changes and these changes can go all of the way to the top. >> these new developments come a day after president obama met with shin seky and pledged to fix whatever is wrong, but the president is getting pushback. >> tough words aren't enough when it comes to this issue. >> there is no urgency. mr. president, we need urgency and we need you to roll up our sleeves and get into these hospitals. >> we are just now hearing for a month about into this issue and it's too little, too late. >> let's bring in usa today, susan paige and mea malika henderson. good morning. >> good morning. >> let's start with some of the pushback the president has been getting since yesterday and i want to read of what dana millbank wrote in "the washington post,"

durbin: madam president, reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: i would like to ask for consent to speak for five minutes in response to the senator from louisiana after i have responded to his unanimous consent request. mr. vitter: madam president? the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. vitter: madam president, reserving the right to object by only ask for the opportunity to respond to the response to the unanimous consent request before the leader proceeds. but i have no objection otherwise to his speaking after that for five minutes. the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. mccain: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: what is the request? the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: first, reserving the right to object, what the senator from louisiana has characterized as the majority leader's position on the pending legislation has not been stated by the majority leader and i suggest he talk,

during a fund-raiser the president praised dick durbin who is up for reelection saying that he was a man of integrity who fight for working families. also warned the crowd that democrats don't hang on to the senate and make some gains in the house, issues like immigration reform and efforts to raise the minimum wage could stall. also urged democrats to work to make sure that party members show up for the midterm elections. after that it was the second fund-raiser at the lincoln park home o. he touted his gains in office despite opposition donors paid up to $35,000 per couple. he said the deficit has been cut in half, greenhouse gas is lower. he says we are in the process of ending the second war. these fund- raisers benefit senator dick durbin reelection campaign and the democratic committee, the president is scheduled to return to the white house at 10:00 a.m.. back to you. >>severe weather clobbered parts of the united states from the east coast to the rockies ahead of the big memorial day weekend. as millions of americans prepare to take to the roads and air today, the worst of it

durbin: thank you. mr. cornyn: thank you. mr. durbin: mr. president, i was going to ask for a specific time for each but i'm going to try to be brief and yield more time to my colleagues because i'm sure they'll be inspiring. i would like to just say that the issue before us that we're trying to move to is called the energy savings and industrial competitiveness act. whenever we talk about energy and the environment, the senate is up for grabs. there is a divide -- a divided opinion here as to what to do with the energy policy of america. there are -- there's sincere and profound differences between the two political parties. we recently had a all-night session talking about the issues of global warming and climate change. and there was a real division between democrats and republicans about this issue. i had a statement early in the session and i came to the floor and i'll renew it today in the hopes that one of my two friends over on the other side of the aisle can respond to this, and my statement is this -- the only major political party

senator durbin. >> thank you. let me say to all nominees -- thank you for being here today and a special thanks should be given to your two senators who have worked very hard for this moment and have told each and every one of us about your nominations. they think very highly of you. that commands all of you to our positive consideration. i do have a few questions. judge boggs, i would like to ask you because you appear to have served in the georgia general assembly in a very controversial moment when your state was debating its state flag. the question was whether or not the flag would be changed and no longer display the confederate battle symbol. you were embroiled in that debate. i ask you this question. do you believe that confederate flag issue had anything to do with the issue of race? >> when that flag was passed in 1956, there was no legislative history. i was in a flag historian nor am i now. looking back on that issue and preparing for today, i know that some argue that race, particularly it was passed

i'm going to turn to senator durbin now. before i do, judge boggs, you mentioned a case that was decided while you were a judge perhaps on the circuit court dealing with parental notification. i'm not aware that. could you provide the name and the opinion if there was one to the committee? >> to the committee? >> i may have been spoken to what i was referring to was the parental notification law, the long georgi georgia since 19 a l before i became a legislator. my actions in the general assembly, i'm not sure of the year but between 2001-2004, to amend a bill in two specific ways, was to amend current statute i don't know of any cases. the case that you're going to be the one that was on my panel of the court of appeals? >> yes. >> absolutely, certainly. >> if you could provide an independent if there was one. >> certainly. >> appreciated. >> thank you, senator. and we will have -- the record will stay open for all of us for a week after this hearing. dissident questions in writing. but that one in particular if you could r

senator durbin. >> thank you. let me say to all nominees -- thank you for being here today and a special thanks should be given to your two senators who have worked very hard for this moment and have told each and every one of us about your nominations. they think very highly of you. that commands all of you to our positive consideration. i do have a few questions. judge boggs, i would like to ask you because you appear to have served in the georgia general assembly in a very controversial moment when your state was debating its state flag. the question was whether or not the flag would be changed and no longer display the confederate battle symbol. you were embroiled in that debate. i ask you this question. do you believe that confederate flag issue had anything to do with the issue of race? >> when that flag was passed in 1956, there was no legislative history. i was in a flag historian nor am i now. looking back on that issue and preparing for today, i know that some argue that race, particularly it was passed

durbin is running against republican jim oberweis in november.he two events, a reception and a dinner, are by invitation only. the president will spend thursday night in chicago and leave on friday. the 9-11 memorial museum in new york city officially opens to the public tomorrow and there's a controversy brewing as some critics say it's too commercial.those critics say it's a revenue-generating tourist attraction - with a pricey 24 dollar admission fee. many are also outraged by the museum's gift shop - that sells souvenirs like scarves, key chains, jewelry and stuffed animals. the new york post called it the "little shop of horrors". >> making money off of my son is dead body. >> its united states of america and if you don't like what we are selling, don't buy it. >>the museum's c-e-o says it will cost about 65 million dollars a year to run and the admission and souvenir sales help cover that cost. some of the relatives of the victims say they will not visit the museum as long as it holds the unidentified remains of the victims. the n-b-a is on

durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the democratic whip. mr. durbin: madam president, i'm honored to represent the 12 1/2 million people living in the state of illinois and it's a special honor to represent 745,000 veterans that live in my state. these men and women have served their country honorably. they have come home, many of them are leading great lives and making great contributions to our state. some are struggling, returning from war with wounds, physical and invisible. i come here today to speak to the issue involving the so-called v.a. scandal at the arizona hospital. what i've been told is troubling. what i've been told is that there were secret waiting lists of veterans who were being delayed, unnecessarily delayed when they needed critical medical care. the allegations suggest that some of them -- some of them may have died while on the waiting list. that is as cruel an allegation as anyone could make about anybody and particularly cruel when it applies to our veterans. we're trying to investigate th this, as we should. the presi

and you wouldn't know if senator dick durbin received a briefing on chicago? >> here is what i know. i know facilities have not -- not to my knowledge or understanding with facilities -- we will be briefing on facilities as we go. >> i only make the request because i read about it in the media. and so i would find it very disingenuous if united states senator has already been briefed on a facility in his state, members of this have just been asking for the same thing. i yield back the rest of my time. >> i will be calling office later about not receiving this briefing

durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the democratic whip. mr. durbin: madam president, i thank my colleague from michigan for her statement because it raises a theme which we really need to focus on in the senate. i went back to illinois this last weekend, traveled around as i have over the last several months, and after you have been in this world of politics for a while, it doesn't take long for you to sit down with most gatherings and crowds and kind of test out ideas. they either fold their arms and look up at the ceiling and pray that you will stop talking or they start getting on the edge of their chair and listening. what i have found over the last several weeks is that everywhere i go, everywhere in the state, down state small towns, medium sized cities and the city of chicago, there is one issue that has everybody sitting up and listening. the issue is student loans. and you wonder, well, why would that have so many people interested? 44 million americans are paying back student loans now. in the state of illinois, it's 1.7 million stud

today and durbin said he's going to put him on the spot.ee moving forward you're going to see a large scale bipartisan outrage. and going to see investigative committees all throughout the summer really get at the heart of what is wrong with the va. honestly, they don't have a lot to do legislatively and this works well for both sides and very important, everyone supports veterans and likes veterans. expect them to go after this and get to the root of these problems which have been around for a long, long time, way before you and i were ever born, my friend. >> we appreciate you're keeping an eye on this for us. it seems it's appropriate for speaker boehner to be crying, a lot of tears across the country because of this. the echo for president obama to take more action is growing, that's now extended to kentucky senate democratic candidate allison grimes running against mitch mcconnell. she just called for shinseki's resignation as veterans are enmass around the country joining the call. one person is daniel dellinger, national commander of

veterans affairs, eric shinseki as he arrived for a private meeting with top senate democrat, dick durbin. damage control on display in the hallways today. the agency's new top health administrator says he believes va failures are not system wide. >> i'm not going to say it's systemic. there may be issues in certain areas, and we'll get to the bottom of that. >> reporter: getting answers is not easy. frustrated house lawmakers stared at empty chairs today. >> we are not going to sit back and not get to the bottom of what has happened. >> reporter: three va officials failed to show up to explain why the agency has not yet turned over all the e-mails subpoenaed. >> they are selectively giving us the e-mails that they want us to have to help mold the story. >> reporter: turning to a possible motive, money. in a new letter mark kirk questions whether $16.6 million in performance bonuses paid at one illinois va hospital since 2011 related to expedited scheduling in order to fill bonus criteria. two whistleblowers who had worked at the phoenix va tell nbc news they believe bonuses were tied in

senator durbin is trying to get old to read and visit ban on earmarks that speakers engineer and. senator mcconnell is skilled at using earmarks to help your districts and do some innovative things. do you ever think you'll see them return? ban on the house side. is there ithat ban will enforce it. there is a lot unmerited to the idea that members of congress know their districts better than a bureaucrat in the white house. we ought to be able to have the u.s. congress with the power of the purse to remedy problems that exist in our districts that are being taken care of by the regular process. air marks that simply redirect moneys that otherwise bureaucrats would spend makes some sense. as long as it is done in the open air. it should have to originate only in the subcommittee and not be dropped along the way. maybe it should he limited to to local orted state governments. those are some of the reforms as i think would cure most of the problems that existed -- that i think would cure most of the problems that existed when earmarks got out of hand. >> do you think the ban has hurt

. >> we made our maple durbin plays. it is like a nice warm desert. i love it. terrific recipes. we just did it all on the girl. thank you so much. we appreciate your helping us out with our recipes. >> of the terrific recipes on our web >> of the terrific recipes on our web page. wash in sweet dreams with tide, downy, and bounce. the sweet dreams collection has scents so relaxing so you can tuck in and turn off after a day oh so taxing. ♪ [ click ] understand >> 1992 johnny carson hosted his last tonight show. he began most of his hapless souls with a monologue about current events. >> the song is from the 1925 musical. is pretty rare that a bond. he made the most of it. turned it into a plus. a nice day out there. out there grilling just a moment ago. >> here by the lake especially manson club passing south of us. 50s at the late '70s and then today. tomorrow we go down to the 40's. back to the '70s and. 50 that the lake and then saturday the warm. the warming will be quick of a broadbased affair. you'll see how the red colors and warmer temperatures cover much of the area. you

there's talk in the senate, you may have heard, that senator durbin is trying to get old to read and visit ban on earmarks that the speakers engineered. mcconnell were fairly skilled at using earmarks to help your districts and do some innovative things. do you ever think you'll see them return? >> as you know, there's now a ban on earmarks on the house side. and as long as that ban is there, i'll enforce it on our committee. however, there is a lot merit to the idea that members of congress know their districts better than a bureaucrat in the white house or department or whatever and that we ought to be able to have the u.s. congress with the power of the purse to remedy problems that exist in our districts that is not being taken care of by the regular process. but earmarks that simply redistrict moneys that otherwise brew kratz would spend with no increase in spending makes some sense. as long as it is done in the open air. it should have to originate only in the subcommittees and not eardropped along the way. maybe it should he limited to moneys directed to local or state governm

veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki heads to capitol hill today to meet with senator dick durbin about issues at v.a. md cal facilities that some claim cost vets their lives. >> i will not stand for it. >> president obama says he wants to know exactly what happened, and he wants the problems fixed. the president expressed support for shinseki and had this to say when reporters asked if the secretary should step down. >> if he thinks he's let our veterans down, then i'm sure that he is not going to be interested in continuing to serve. >> many in congress are calling for the former army general to resign. >> i respect his sacrifice. i respect what he did. but it's under his watch that we're in this situation in the hospital out in the western part of this country. >> as many as 40 veterans may have died waiting for care at the phoenix v.a. hospital. it's among 26 v.a. medical facilities nationwide now under investigation after reports of mismanagement and delayed care for vets. gulf war vet joseph kramer of florida was told he had a cyst on his brain two months ago. he's still wai

mientras tanto el senador demcrata dick durbin se prepara para llevar a cabo una audiencia sobre la importancia esto suceder al mismo tiempo que se considera una enmienda que le dara un estatus legal a jvenes indocumentados que presten el servicio militar. pero hasta el momento se desconocen los detalles y la falta de informacin no convence. s/ lorella paraeli, united we dream "la problemática vendría a ser de que si es que sólo tienes un camino a la ciudadanía para los soñadores... se van a sentir de que no tienen otra opción y que sólo tienen que servir en el ejército para arreglar su estatus migratorio" s/randy serrano, @randytelemun do "aún queda por verse si en el senado se contemple esta enmienda. mientras tanto en la cámara baja ya existen otras similares que hasta el momento ni siquiera se han debatido" blanca ---el calor representa un grave riesgo para la salud de las personas mas vulnerables.. cesar ---pasamos ahora con con andres brender, roll open under ---quien habl con un medico sobrer los sintomas de una insolacion take 2 box ---que puede ser un peligro mortal.. andres. take andr

dick durbin is not like me. i'm not afraid of him. that's not xenophobia. what are they talking about is my question. so if we're going to have some kind of rhetoric bouncing back between the house and senate, let's do it face to face. let's do it eye to eye. t's have that duel, not like aaron burr and alexander hooment, but i would be the one -- hamilton, but i would be the one standing on the high ground. but let's do it like many men today. not duel with 50 paces and pistols. but let's do it with microphones within armies reach. maybe we can get to the bottom of it and see who would have the xenophobia. i'd yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. woodall, for 0 minutes. before the gentleman begins, the chair would we mind members while it's in order to refer the policy positions of the president and members of the senate, it's not in order to engage in permits towards those parties. he gentleman from

durbin: parliamentary, mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: is a unanimous consent request necessary for the action just taken by the senator from south dakota? the presiding officer: the unanimous consent was previously granted for two motions to table. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

before he does that, senate dick durbin is here. and later, senator tom coburn.hat republicans learned from tuesday's primary results. but first -- >> unfortunately there i was trying to be serious and funny. i was asked a question by a guy who says i have a great candidate for the fbi. the problem is he smoked marijuana within the last five years. >> the fbi director clarifies his comments on pot smoking agents to a very interested senate panel. plus this scene from a subway station in brazil. and this is before hundreds of thousands descend on the country for the world cup? up next, explaining how republicans lose by winning. here now is bill kairns for a check on the forecast who always loses by winning. >> i'm the winningest loser. is that a good way of putting it? >> good one. >> good morning, everyone. video out of colorado was impressive yesterday. another day with active weather and e veer storms. hailstones were bouncing all over the place. we did see some large hail, too, that did some damage. how about that? that's almost tennis ball size there. this p

shinseki was called here to the hill today to meet with democratic senator dick durbin who had concerns about v.a. facilities in his home state of illinois. cbs news reported last week about possible secret waiting lists at the hines v.a. medical center in suburban chicago. shinseki told us today that auditors had visited that facility last week and didn't uncover any irregularities, but that investigators will be going back there next week to talk to whistle blowers. >> pelley: and a report to the white house expected next week. nancy, thank you very much. one hospital under investigation is in phoenix. the president sent a top aide there today, and john blackstone picks up that story. >> white house deputy chief of staff rob nabors said nothing as he entered the troubled v.a. hospital in phoenix today. an e-mail from the acting director, steve young, told the staff, "if you should have the opportunity to talk to mr. nabors, i encourage you to be open and honest." but some who work in the hospital say being open and honest leads to retaliation. dr. katherine mitchell says she was moved

senator durbin. >> thank you, senator reid. we're about to celebrate an anniversary of a year since the senate passed its bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill, a bill that i worked on with my colleague senator schumer and many of the democrats and republicans who believe that we could you this, and we did it. at a time when people were skeptical that congress could do anything on a bipartisan basis, we did something that i would say was historically significant. a year since we passed it, in the house. it would be unfair to say the house has done nothing on immigration, because it has been about a year since the house, under speaker boehner's leadership, passed the only immigration-related bill that they considered, a bill offered by congressman steven king to deny funding for a program. the program was an executive order deferring deportation of dreamers. boehner thought it was appropriate to call that to the floor of the house for a vote. sadly, his members supported it overwhelmingly. that to me was an embarrass

reporter: veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki heads to capitol hill today to meet with senator dick durbin about issues at va medical facilities that some claim cost vets their lives. >> i will not stand for it. >> reporter: president obama says he wants to know exactly what happened and he wants the problem fixed. the president expressed support for shinseki and had this to say when reporters asked if the secretary should step down. >> if he thinks he let our veterans down then i'm sure he is not going to be interested in continuing to serve. >> reporter: many in congress are calling for the former army general to resign. >> i respect his sacrifice. i respect what he did. but it's under his watch that we are in this situation in the hospitals! out in the western part of this country! >> reporter: as many as 40 veterans may have died waiting for care at the phoenix va hospital. it's among at least 26 va medical facilities nationwide now under investigation after reports of mismanagement and delayed care for vets. gulf war vet joseph kramer of florida was told he had a cyst on his brain two

durbin: mr.president? the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: mr. president, in the history of the united states of america, we estimate some 500 million people have lived in this great nation. 60% of them as of today. but in the history of america, with 500 million people, only 1,950 men and women have been given the opportunity to serve in the united states senate. our presiding officer, the newest senator from the state of montana. 1,950 men and women who have occupied this chamber in the chief united states senate becoming part of the history of this nation and contributing to this great institution. i have been fortunate enough to serve with some of the greats, and i have noted their presence, their impact and i have noticed their absence, too. but when you take stock of the senate and what it has done for america, what it means to america, it goes way beyond the men and women who occupy these desks. it includes a lot of people who make a contribution to this instit

illinois dick durbin who met with shinseki are circling the wagons around him. defense secretary chuck hagel said the president promised people will be accountable. >> there has to be accountability right up and down the line. but i think we have to fix the problem. that's the real focus here. >> law makers have critized the three week wait before expressing the outrage. and even members of congress who are not calling for shinseki's resignation said mr. obama should be doing more to fix the problem. >> you may wait for the ig report in order to do something with secretary shinseki. it is a systemic problem and a life and death issue. the president should have come out and said i will allow any veteran on a waiting list to go outside of the va network and get it on the private market. >> it is unclear if the president could authorize them to private markets. >> it is only three pages, right? >> that is true. but the concern there is whether within those three pages, they author otherwise or lead to fights from midlevel managers and have protections based on the

from madagascar to durbin. and then around the cape of good hope.hen shoot across the atlantic and start climbing up the eastern seaboard and visiting new york. come back again, and then both canoes will travel along the eastern seaboard down through the panama canal. through the panama canal to the ga longus islands. and it is there we're hoping the younger crews will be able to take command and full responsibility for the canoe and bring it home to hawaii. for us it's utilizing ancestral knowledge that is important to us. it is part of who we are. it's our understanding of our past. they -- my ancestors got here to this island without use of instruments and things. and we need to understand what they went through, and -- and how they got here, so we relearned that -- traditional knowledge. and also to understand that you are a survivor of your ancestors. >> [ inaudible ] richards is currently onboard the hokalaa. coming up, exposing the truth, the condition construction crews are working to build the campus in abu dhabi. what one student saw when

. >> p illinois dick durbin said he pressed the secretary to fix the problem. >> there does have to be accountability on right up and down the line, but i think we've got to fix the problem. that's the real focus here. >> in a cbs poll more people than not feel shinseki should resign and the same percentage disapproves of how the president is handling the issue. the critics see a pattern in his handling of the obamacare roll-out and the irs tea party scrutiny and even vets who haven't had problems personally are nervous. >> i'm very disappointed in the va and the way they handled this, this is where i get my hospitalization from. >> the administration says vets have been waiting too long to see doctors for decades but reports the va is hiding the waiting is outrage. >> this has gone from incompetence to criminality. >> meanwhile, those not calling for shinseki's res nation said the president should have done more about the problem. >> the president should have come out and said i'm going to allow any veteran who is on a waiting list to receive the medical care they have earn to go outs

secretary eric shinseki returns to capitol hill today for a private meeting with dick durbin, who is headed to the v.a. hospital in phoenix, ground zero for this scandal when it comes to patient wait times and where it all first erupted. meanwhile, partisan allegations are of course starting to fly. we're going to look here at live pictures, house veterans affair committee jeff miller has threatened to subpoena three v.a. officials if they have failed to appear to answer questions. amade this growing pressure over allegations involving falsified wait times, the president tried to assure veterans he is on top of this scandal and is ready to address it. >> if these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, disgrateful a-- disgraceful andi will not tolerate it period. >> and while standing by shinseki, there were no longer any long-term promises of job security. >> i have said to rick, and i said it to him today, i want to see, you know, what the results of these reports are and there is going to be accountability. >> today white house deputy chief of staff rob nabors meets with

president obama will be in chicago today to attend two fundraisers for senator durbin and other senate democrats. it was recently revealed that one of the hosts gave money to the republican candidate for governor. mayor emanuel was asked if it makes things awkward. >> to say that it's awkward, i don't know but we are in the presence of the person who is hosting the event obviously welcome to this. >>campaign finance records show michael polsky contributed 5- rauner's campaign last month. polsky and his wife are hosting a reception at their home tonight, before a fundraising dinner at another home. a man from utah is living out the lyrics of a popular 80's hit by *the police. clint buffington of salt lake city says he's found 60 messages in a bottle over the years. he plans his vacations, so he can scour beaches around the world for washed-up notes from the lonely and curious. one bottle had a return address. a guy tossed it off a cruise ship ... wondering if anyone would find the bottle and contact him. buffington did ... he says the bottles are a free pass to talk to strangers. maybe

senator dick durbin will march in libertyville. senator mark kirk will be in arlington heights.here he will present a posthumous bronze star to the family of a world war two that. this weekend the governor has been promoting the welcome home heroes program to help that's the home owners. >> it allows interest rate of less than 4%. it would be a 30 year fixed mortgage. it would also have $10,000 of assistance for down payment, closing costs if necessary. >> at 12:15 p.m. he will be at the white sox game bringing a 26 year-old bald eagle to fly international emblem. >>bicyclists took advantage of perfect weather to ride on lake shore drive, without a car in sight. the 13-th annual "bike the drive" was yesterday morning. all lanes, in both directions, were closed for five hours, unless you were on a bike. more than 20-thousand riders registered to take part in this. this fundraiser was organized by active transportation alliance. the money goes toward developing urban bikeways, safer intersections, and other motorists are usually caught by red light chemically happen the other way

senator durbin. >> thank you, senator reid.we are about to celebrate an anniversary of a year since the senate passed its bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill, a bill that i worked on mr. schumereague and many democrats and republicans who believe that we can do this, and we did it. at a time when people were skeptical that congress could do anything on a bipartisan basis, we did something that i will say immodestly was historically significant. inwill be unfair to say that that year the house is done nothing on immigration. it has been about a year since the house under speaker boehner's leadership asked the only immigration bill that they considered, a bill offered by congressman stephen king to deny the docka program. speaker boehner thought it was appropriate within the last year to call that to the floor of the house of representatives for a vote. sadly, his members supported it overwhelmingly. that, to me, was an embarrassing moment. embarrassing that the house of representatives would take that up as their on

being summoned to the white house eric shinseki was back on capitol hill today to meet with senator durbin saying he pressed shinseki on veterans' treatment and wait times. president obama's deputy chief of staff is visiting the v.a. hospital in phoenix where the scandal over allegedly deadly wait times first broke. late yesterday the house passed legislation that would make it easier for the v.a. secretary to fire or demote senior employees. today house speaker boehner said he is getting closer to calling for shinseki's resignation asserting the problem is a systemic betrayal of nation's veterans. >> we not just let them down we let them die. this is awful stuff. >> while the mad as hell urgency is something even some democrats asked for from shinseki and president obama senator cast a smidge of skepticism in the name of veteran justice. >> if we go to war, if we spend trillions of dollars on that war that when our men and women come home from war, some wounded in body and spirit i don't want to hear people telling me it is too expensive to take care of those wounded veterans. >> all of w

durbin: thank you, madam president. madam president, this week democrats are going to continue the conversation about college affordability. i was joining senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts and jack reed of rhode island, in fact, 24 whose oost to introduce the bank on students emergency loan refinancing act. why are we talking about student loans? ask working families. ask the kids why we're talking about it. because there is more student loan debt in america today than there is credit card debt. it's huge. it's growing. if you finished college a few years back, like me, and had a student loan loan that worried you, you wouldn't be what students are facing today. the average student coming out of college $25,000 in debt. imagine sitting down at the desk in the college admissions office at age 19 as they push the papers across the desk to you and ask you to sign up for $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 in loans so you can start your class on monday. there you sit, $20,000 in loans to start my class on monday? and you're 1

into the moved political arena or electoral banks own it the place as storr durbin said. redirect contributions to charity. -- if president to, a spoke as i urged him to leaders of citizen groups, charitable groups, religious charity charities, in washington as did, urging them to give more money to tell, it with create more jobs. the private fund sector, the huge job ctor, is a producer and if the president or 15 billion 10 more a year you would get hundreds of thousands of new working to help young hildren in need or to clean up the environment. they would expand all of these groups.it host: how big is the nader operation these days compared to the most?ere doing guest: well, you know, i spin off groups. not a control streak. we have probably created close groups directly and indirectly all over the country. the student public interest groups which i hope the -- ring tongues will foundation will write up. we have the pension rights spin them off. public citizen the bpweubiggest. i don't believe in controlling. our nader people do raid raider reports they were the author

we know that we will be joined by senator harkin, durbin who himself as a new bill, senator crones who really has been a leader in innovation and applied innovations. so we look forward to hearing about this today. earlier this morning a stop to johns hopkins. it was for my annual eye checkup at a warmer eye clinic. i wish all members of been there. did people come from all over the world. all over the world. use in the waiting room, some people who might be there. some people might be there for medicare. some people a just flew in from the airport. you see wardrobes of the global and though it's a global waiting room, literally they come here for american medicine, american know how that depends on american research. whether it's the gifted scientist, commissions, or even the technology used not to avow u.s. or to help us, it's indeed stunning. think about what we really would focus on innovation what it would really mean. discovery is part of our country. when president thomas jefferson commissioned louis in part to find the water route to the pacific what did he call the mission? he

steve is manager and partner at durbin capital management. welcome back. nice to see you again?thanks for being here. things seem to be better listening to costco and the gap and others. is that true? >> retailers reported numbers last week phenomenal. costco was very strong. limited was very strong. the gap was. i think they're outliers to what the overall group was. i think most retailers had a difficult first quarter whether weather or what, most retailers had a very difficult time. now the question of the second quarter i think what the investors are focused on, now we have a normalized weather pattern, what is business going to be like? the improved economy or better jobs picture and wage growth? >> people are starting to look at retailers as perhaps the s e savior and carrying this economy to brighter days. do you think that's happening now? >> there's a potential. housing stagnated and impacting a part of the economy. and consumers are expanding their closets and home improvements helping the home depots and other retailers. >> let's talk about some of the most controvers

we'll get some names from durbin capital's david berman. >>> the justice department making an unprecedentedove. these are high-ravens people in the military they're going after. what should and what can the u.s. do about it? see which american companies are targeted, and how the u.s. could make china pay? next. next. e moving our company to new york state. the numbers are impressive. over 400,000 new private sector jobs... making new york state number two in the nation in new private sector job creation... with 10 regional development strategies to fit your business needs. and now it's even better because they've introduced startup new york... with the state creating dozens of tax-free zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. become the next business to discover the new new york. [ male announcer ] see if your business qualifies. become the next business to discover the new new york. carsthey're why we innovate. they're who we protect. they're why we make life less complicated. it's about people. we are volvo of sweden. peace of mind is important when so we provide it services you

senator durbin, who i admire and respect, said it was the glue that held biffles together.e grease. we need more oversight and show fiscal responsibility. just starting to get back on track. we talked about a balanced budget amendment. let's focus there and not good to back to the past that didn't work. >> the argument for them -- i don't believe i'm saying this bu just trying to get it across -- this polices the money to make sure they good for whatever they're established intend and an ear mark will make sure if you think infrastructure needs more money, that this will go just to that and not be wasted by someone else. so there's a method to that money madness. >> that's garbage. first of all, the reason the transportation bill is in trouble is because the money coming into the transportation trust fund is markedly declined, and it's declined because we have much higher mileage cars now, and so people don't pay as much tax. and so we ought to fix the real problem. the federal responsibility on transportation either ought to be all deferred back to the states -- oklahoma i

for his part, will make his third trip to capitol hill in less than a week when he meets with dick durbino discuss the scandal, and that's tomorrow. joining me right now, former senator from nebraska and congressional medal of honor recipient and also eugene robinson, whose recent column is headlined this, "heads need to roll at the va." gene, you were great on this, this is a real one, not like the other ones. >> this is not like the phoney ones. bad stuff happened, right? we talk about politics on this show. what's the political ramifications, well, this stuff happens in an administration. you find out something is wrong. what you have to do is fix it and you have to be seen fixing it, and i think the president needs to step up. i think heads do need to roll at the va. >> there's a wonderful british tradition, one thing i like about the brits, when you're a minister and your cabinet screws up, may not be technically your fault, but you're in charge, you walk. why not people in this administration, sebelius and people that have had problems that may not be technically their fault, but it

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, yesterday i was visited by several hospitals from chicago, and mount sinai is an amazing hospital. originally, you can tell by its name, it was founded by jewish families living in a section of chicago. the families have moved on. the remaining population is largely african-american and hispanic. it's a very poor neighborhood. it's a violence-ridden neighborhood. but in an amazing show of magnanimity and charity, many of the jewish families whose ancestors and predecessors predated them and founded this hospital continue to support mount sinai. it is a beacon of quality medical care in one of the toughest, meanest neighborhoods in that great city. and they came to speak yesterday to meet with me. they just merged with another extraordinary hospital, holy cross hospital in marquette park. i have a special affection for this hospital because for decades it was run by the sisters of saint kasmir, a lithuanian catholic order of nuns who devoted their lives first to the lithuani

while veterans affair secretary shinseki met with dick durbin a short time ago.his morning, a house committee expressed some bipartisan anger at what its chairman called stonewalling on the part of the va. all of that is great. so long as the national outrage doesn't peter out as outrage sometimes tends to do. the thing is, these stories are not new. not even slightly new. wait times, delayed care, questionable record keeping, all of those things are part of the va sometimes inglorious past. even the present scandal about cooked books isn't particularly new. just last march a governmental official told the house veterans affairs committee that, quote, staff at some clinics told us they changed medical appointments' desired dates to show clinic wait times within the performance goals. in fact, back in 2007, the va's inspector general's office found that the va repeatedly understated wait times for injured veterans seeking medical care. in many serious cases, forced them to wait more than 30 days. and that, despite warnings by the ig, in 2005, to more ak xratly rep

stewart, i'm going to talk about this at the end of the show, i think he's more powerful than a dick durbinny hoyer, he can reach an 11:00 audience of the people who care about politics, young people many of them, not all young people, and it's right there. you go to bed at night knowing what he thinks. he doesn't like these people. >> jon stewart, there are few people like jon stewart, i'm going to throw chris rock into that same vein of people who talk about politics in a way where they are not only giving us the sentiments of the entire country, but in their comedy, they are able to display and show us just how important the issues are of the day. so when jon stewart goes in and he gives the soliloquy last night about the girls in nigeria and how brave they are and shows how asinine it was for rush limbaugh to make fun of the hash tag, particularly in this era of i guess we call it social media activism, look what social media did for the arab spring, in tunisia and libya. it is asinine. he is expressing the sentiments of the country and doing it in a very powerful way. >> let's look at

this hour, veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki will meet later this afternoon with senator dick durbin on capitol hill. after this morning's vote to subpoena three top va officials to testify friday. if they don't appear voluntarily sooner. >> my patience is wearing very thin. i don't want to break and make this a partisan issue because it's not. it is not a partisan issue. >> we're losing the trust of our veterans, me being one of them, of the years and decades we built this trust in the system and we're about to blow it up right here. >> i have been on this committee for 22 years. and it has been a problem for 22 years. it didn't matter who was in charge. it has been a problem. >> nbc's luke russert and kristen welker both join me now. luke on the hill and kristen at the white house. luke, there was a lot of anger on the committee today and it was bipartisan? >> reporter: not only was it bipartisan, andrea, for covering capitol hill sometimes you see things and it usually -- there was genuine outrage there. i just came from house speaker john boehner's press conference, speaker of th

>> i think it would be a huge mistake to pass dick durbin's bill and that's the mistake marco rubio madei think the problem is we can't work with harry reid, we can't work with barack obama. frankly we don't trus them. >> don't trust them to enforce the law after they get them? >> no, i don't trust them to negotiate an honest bill. >> what do you suspect that they would do to undermine the effect of this immigration reform? everybody knows what it's about, especially in the southwestern part of the united states. everybody knows what it's about. too many immigrants, too fast, whatever. ethnic differences are obviously part of it. but here's the question, what are you afraid of? what deal are you afraid of? >> i'm afraid they won't fix the problem. the problem has to be, if you want people that want to come here honestly and work and follow the rules, you should fix prospectively the opportunity to do that. the senate bill doesn't do that. it focuses on who controls politically the people who came here illegally. the problem is if the house wrote the best immigration bill, one that i coul

a day after veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki met with dick durbin on capitol hill. a growing number of democrats and republicans are calling for his resignation. former veteran leader and advocate bob dole weighed in with susan page. >> i have mixed feelings because i know general shinseki. i think he should say and i think particularly he should stay until the white house gets this investigative report they are doing until we get the facts and see what you can lay at his feet. >> a measured response from bob dole but a lot of concern. he's an icon among veterans and others as well. secretary shinseki released a message to vets defending his leadership promising to fix problems. joining me now is ken fisher, ceo of fisher house foundation, it's great to see you again, ken. you have worked so tirelessly for veterans and it was you who stepped in during the breach and funded those death benefits that we reported to the military families. there's so much reason to be grateful it to you. where do you come down on veterans affairs and the anger by some veterans groups an