Cord Byrd: “If the Senator will yield, nobody in the Senate believes more than I believe in the freedom of speech in the Senate, and…”

“If the Senator will yield, nobody in the Senate believes more than I believe in the freedom of speech in the Senate, and in the right to debate, and the right to stand on one's feet and speak as long as one has breath. I have fought that battle many times. I respect the fact that the distinguished Senator from Minnesota is protesting at this point and is speaking with great feeling. He speaks from the heart. He is doing his very best to represent his constituents. He is displeased with what he sees happening in connection with appropriations. I respect the right of the distinguished Senator from Illinois to do the same. And I am perfectly willing to sit here and listen to the Senators. But if the Senator will allow me, let me point out that I, too, voted against the conference agreement yesterday in the budget bill. I have spoken out against the tax cuts. I oppose the tax cut that our own President is advocating. I oppose the tax cut that the Republicans are advocating. I am against any tax cut at this particular time. We are just digging the hole deeper when we have a tax cut and we say we want to get out of that hole that represents the budget deficit. So I am against the tax cut. I voted against the conference report yesterday. Several Democrats voted against it because of the tax cuts that are likely to result from that agreement. But, Mr. President, I say to the two Senators that this agreement before us is better than the one that the President vetoed.”