Amy Klobuchar: “today this Chamber, once referred to as the greatest deliberative body, must take action. We have people all over the…”

“today this Chamber, once referred to as the greatest deliberative body, must take action. We have people all over the country who want to see action, people who want to see change, people who are crying out for their leaders in Washington to do their jobs. These days, the U.S. Senate has become a place where legislation goes to die and the important issues of the day go ignored, in addition to inaction--major, major issues, significant issues, like climate change and infrastructure and immigration reform. Today I will focus on three things that are right before us--three bills in the gun legislation area that right now are on the leader's desk--and two other areas, election protection and bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, where we could literally take action immediately. I focus on these because they all involve bills that have passed the House, and the Senate could literally act today. I focus on these because, in all three cases, the timing is urgent. I am talking about inaction in the wake of terrible tragedies in Dayton and El Paso and in Midland-Odessa, all in just the last month; inaction in protecting our elections and making it easier for people to vote; inaction in response to serious issues of healthcare costs, particularly prescription drug prices. First, I will speak about gun safety.…”