Mitch Landrieu: “I thank, so much, the Senator from Delaware who, before he was a Senator--because he wasn't born one either--was a…”

“I thank, so much, the Senator from Delaware who, before he was a Senator--because he wasn't born one either--was a Governor of Delaware. Before he was Governor, he was a husband and a father, which he still is. I know he does a magnificent job at family and in the Senate because I have seen him here at late hours. Last night this Senator from Delaware, who does not, obviously, have a dog in this hunt, stood through the night and negotiated with myself and with my colleague from Louisiana, with Senator Frist, with Senator Reid, and we negotiated and offered one compromise after another in meetings, on the telephone, on the floor, when we could speak--because speech was limited last night. Despite the notion that is out there that Senators can speak any time they want, the rules of the Senate actually prevent Senators from speaking. So I was not able to speak as much as I would have liked through the night last night. When I was not able to speak on the floor, we were in meetings, in phone calls, speaking with the White House and the House leadership and Republican colleagues and Democratic colleagues, trying to work through this situation. We put our best efforts forward. We are now down to this time, which is basically the end of this debate, having passed a bill by Senator Vitter and Senator Frist that will basically allow us to have the loans we seek, loans that are so necessary, but a bill that forces us to take it in a discriminatory fashion.…”