Political Quotes

“I had the great honor of serving in the other body for 8 years as an assistant to Senator Warren G. Magnuson. And during that time, Senator Byrd became the whip in the Senate. I can remember how he was faithfully writing notes every couple of days to Senator Magnuson, ``I put this in the Record for you.'' He was absolutely committed to the United States Senate, and he was a forceful advocate. I have served, as Chairman Obey has, in many conferences with Senator Byrd. And when there was something that he wanted--and oftentimes to protect the workers of West Virginia on coal mining issues--the Congress responded because he was such a forceful advocate. And one of the things I respected most about Senator Byrd was his knowledge of the history of the Senate, the history of the Congress, and his devotion to that history. He would oftentimes talk about historic events and tie them in to current days. You know, some people may have criticized him on spending issues, but he used to say, and I always used to quote him on this, the Congress can't give up the power of the purse because the power of the purse is in the Constitution; and it's part of the Constitution of the United States, a right that was earned in England when the people of England rose up against kings and demanded that Parliament have the power of deciding how the money was to be spent.”