senator susan collins for their kind and generous introductions. it was moving and touching for me. it's hard to believe that the three of us have served together in this body for almost 20 years. when i arrived in the senate in 1977, i probably wouldn't have anticipated coming so close with a colleague from maine, two people from the northern most part of our country and the southernmost part of our country. [ protesters interrupt ] >> we apologize for the language we inadvertently published