distinguished senator from the state of louisiana and i am -- i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to enter into a colloquy with senator landrieu. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. sanders: senator landrieu, i thank you very much for joining us here and i just wondered if you could give the american people your thought about this agreement and what's been going on? ms. landrieu: i thank the senator. i thank the senator from vermont for his eloquent and passionate presentation for hours this morning, and he clearly has presented to this chamber and to the american people some stark realities that are unpleasant, some people might even find them hard to believe, but he has done his homework. he has documented what he has