Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I come to the floor today to pay tribute to the life and the public service of Mark Hatfield. Mark Hatfield began his lifelong career of public service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war he returned to Oregon where he served in the State house of representatives, in the State senate, as the Oregon secretary of state, and eventually as Governor of the State. Fortunately for us--for the Senate and for the country--Mark Hatfield did continue his career of public service and went on to serve five terms in the U.S. Senate. During his time in the Senate, Mark Hatfield repeatedly demonstrated he possessed the courage of his convictions. We have heard that word ``courage'' used this afternoon by Oregon Senators and others as it relates to Mark Hatfield, and there are so many examples of that courage, including an unpopular position he took relative to the Vietnam war. But in 1995 he opposed the balanced budget constitutional amendment, which was then under consideration by the Senate. It was a difficult position then to take as it is today. But he followed the courage of his convictions, and this is what he said about the constitutional amendment they were debating in the Senate back in 1995: A balanced budget can come only through leadership and compromise. This compromise must come from each one of us. . . . In the end there is no easy answer, and there never will be.…”