ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota is recognized. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise today to speak about the urgent need to act on the debt ceiling before the august 2 deadline. while i believe that we have reached a defining moment as a country which should not be wasted, we need to reduce our debt, we also can't afford to play russian roulette with our economy by toying with the debt limit. we've had months to work this out, yet less than six days from a possible default that would plunge this country into a serious crisis, here we stand in opposite corners of the boxing ring. the markets are jittering, investors and businesses are deeply concerned, but, most importantly, the people of this country are fed up with this political stalemate. they don't want their interest rates to rise, the value of the dollar to fall, and they don't to want see

ms. klobuchar: if i could ask for one more minute. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: thank you. we all know this debt isn't just going to go away. we all know we can't just close other highs and click our heels and wish our debts away. in that report, the national commission on fiscal responsibility wrote that every modest sacrifice we refuse to make today only forces far greater sacrifices of hope and opportunity upon the next generation. and they're right. a relatively small industry like ethanol is willing to put two-thirds of its tax breaks on the dabble for deficit reduction immediately. the much large ears and much more profitable oil industry can certainly afford to do the same, if not more. thank you, madam president. a yield th i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i would ask unanimous consent to enter into a colloquy with my republican colleagues. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: madam president, i thank senator klobuchar. she is a valuable member of this senate, and she mentioned

ms. klobuchar: mr. president, well, thank you very much to the senator from louisiana for her impassioned remarks, and there's a reason she has that passion. it's because we're in the ninth inning here. this is it. the time for political posturing is over. there's no more time to say we're not going to talk to each other. there's no more time to pretend that we can have one plan and then another plan. it's time to get an agreement. look at what's happened in just the past week. the markets have gone down more than they have in over a year. we have seen realtors -- and this is a study that just came out a few days ago -- one out of six deals this past month, people backed away from. well, if you look at the month before, it was only one out of 25. people are feeling the uncertainty in this economy and it is time to come to a bipartisan agreement. last week, i held a call with business leaders from across my state to update them on the status of negotiations, to hear their thoughts and their concerns, to

ms. klobuchar: mr.o share my deepest sympathies for the people of norway who, as my colleagues know, experienced a despicable terrorist act this past friday, july 22. in the senate, i represent the state of minnesota, and it is a state that has the largest number of people of norwegian heritage outside of the country of norway. the influence of norwegian culture can be found throughout our state and the bonds between norway and minnesota continue to be incredibly strong to this day. that is why the shock of friday's violence hit us so close to home. this past weekend, i joined minnesotans and whole world in offering our country's prayers and sympathy to the people of norway. i attended the memorial service tenor we january lutheran member alabaman church -- where hundreds gathered to mourn the loss. it is especially heartbreaking that a mass purd like this would take place in a country like norway. the world knows norway as a country that is both peaceful and peace-seeking. after all, norway is home to

ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise today to speak about the daunting fiscal challenges that our country faces and the urgent need for comprehensive bipartisan action to address our nation's debt burden. as we debate the path to securing our country's fiscal future, greece is battling to keep from defaulting on its bonds. it's everywhere in the news. there are legitimate concerns that a default in greece would send shockwaves through the world financial markets with an impact potentially as devastating as the 2008 collapse of lehman brothers. to avert bankruptcy, greece has enacted austerity measures so drastic that violent rioting has broken out on its streets. despite these measures and despite the aid of other european countries, many economists believe that greece will eventually succumb to its rising debt burden and default. standard and poor's warned monday that even with the planned bailout by european banks, greece's credit rating could be still downgraded to selective default. while better tha