Amy Klobuchar: “I come to the floor today following my friend, the Senator from Maine, at a critical moment for our country and for the…”

“I come to the floor today following my friend, the Senator from Maine, at a critical moment for our country and for the United States. Americans, as we know, are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that has gripped our country for over 9 months. But, sadly, that is not what brings us to the Senate floor today. It is not why the Republican leader has called the Senate into session. Is it to pass the legislation that we need to pass, to carry on the work of the CARES Act, to help people out in our country right now when nearly every State is starting to see increases in this virus again? That is not why we are here. On this rainy, cold Sunday in October, instead of meeting to debate and vote on a comprehensive bill to provide relief to the American people during this soul-crunching pandemic, we are instead here today because our Republican colleagues insist on rushing through the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Let me start with Justice Ginsburg because that is really where it all starts. Justice Ginsburg was an icon. She was celebrated well into her eighties by people young and old. I will never forget my own daughter when we were at an event and got a photo with Justice Ginsburg. My daughter was just in college.…”