Cord Byrd: “I will probably vote against it, anyhow, because we are being pressured into voting for something that has not had a…”

“I will probably vote against it, anyhow, because we are being pressured into voting for something that has not had a committee hearing, not a single hearing, 484 pages. There has not been a single hearing on this bill. There have been no witnesses called to testify in support of this bill. There have been no witnesses who have had an opportunity to stand before a committee and oppose this bill. That is no way to legislate. Yet we are going to pass one of the most far-reaching pieces of legislation that we have passed in my 50 years in Congress. It will provide for a massive shift of power. To whom? To the President of the United States. If he were a Democrat, I would oppose this just as vociferously, just as strongly, just as bitterly as I oppose this piece of legislation right here. I don't oppose it because we have a Republican President. I am going to oppose it because it gives away the powers of the people. It provides for a massive shift of power to the executive branch. It upsets that delicate balance of power the Framers provided to the American people over 200 years ago. The popularity of a President is a fleeting thing, a fleeting thing. Our duty to our Nation is not. One serious problem with the legislation before the Senate is the expanded authority it gives to the executive branch to conduct its actions in secret. Here is where I hope the press, the fourth estate, will pay close attention. I have great respect for a free press.…”