Cord Byrd: “in the early days of the Great Depression, I lived in the coal mining camps of southern West Virginia. I remember those…”

“in the early days of the Great Depression, I lived in the coal mining camps of southern West Virginia. I remember those days when we only had an old Philco radio up on the wall of the house. But the voice of President Franklin Roosevelt was a golden voice. When his voice came over the airways, the coal miners and their families gathered around and listened intently and always with hope. Roosevelt, in his first inaugural address, stated quite clearly: [T]he only thing we have to fear is fear itself--nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. Mr. President, the U.S. Senate must not be paralyzed. At a time when the Senate must lead by example, we must show the Nation that work can continue and that our Government will not close down. Congress is supposed to approve 13 appropriations bills--these are the regular appropriations bills--by the start of the fiscal year on October 1. But that fiscal year started several days ago. Yet we have only sent the Interior and the military construction appropriations conference reports to the President for his signature.”