Cord Byrd

4 years ago, I stood in this very spot and warned against an ill-advised invasion of Iraq. Today, the situation in Iraq has spiraled out of control, into a bloody, deadly, sectarian civil war. Yet the President and his team continue to…

President Bush has said the bill does not fund the troops, which is false. The Senate bill provides $2 billion more than the President requested for the troops and provides $1.8 billion more for veterans health care. I regret this…

Mr. President, the 110th Congress will consider legislation this session that raises passions and excites partisan fervor. It is likely that much of what the Congress considers this year and next will be subject to Presidential veto…

Tomorrow, April 13, the very distinguished senior Senator from Alaska, my dear friend, Senator Ted Stevens, will become, if it is the good Lord's will, the longest serving Republican Senator in the history of these United States. It will…

The Senate's version of this legislation provides $123 billion primarily for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for improving the health care for returning soldiers and veterans, for continued Hurricane Katrina recovery for the gulf coast…

I thank Senator Cochran, I thank Senator Stevens, and I thank the great Senator from Georgia, Senator Isakson, for their kind words. I thank the Chair and I thank God we were here today. I thank our Heavenly Father, especially, for this…

the poet Alfred Edward Housman, 1859-1936, wrote in his poem, ``A Shropshire Lad,'' the following verse: Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough, And stands about the woodland ride Wearing white for…

the fiscal year 2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill, just approved by the Senate, includes over $96 billion for the troops. It includes increases above the President's request for the Department of Defense, including increases…

West Virginians have always been a deeply spiritual people. Historically, we have stood fast in our devotion to the Creator, even when--or especially when--faced with adversity, deprivation, or misfortune. Just as we recognize that joyful…

Today Senator Warner and I have introduced an important and potentially landmark bipartisan resolution. My good friend and colleague from Virginia has correctly highlighted what is one of the most critical issues before us as we debate our…

I thank the Senators and want to assure them that I understand their concern. Although I cannot commit to any particular outcome, I will work with them during the conference committee to address their concerns, and those of the American…

today the Senate Rules Committee reported S. 223, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. I am a cosponsor of this legislation, and I voted in favor of reporting the measure. This bill would require Senate candidates to file…

In this 2007 supplemental, the Congress is providing nearly $100 billion to support our military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This brings total appropriations for the wars to nearly $170 billion for this year alone. When…

Providing agricultural disaster relief is not politics, no. It is good policy. The bill that is before the Senate also includes $2 billion for securing the homeland. In the State of the Union, the President said: The evil that inspired and…

Today we take up a supplemental bill to fund our troops in the field, to send a strong message about the direction of the war in Iraq, to improve the veterans and defense health care system, to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina…

after many long years of flawed budget policies that have eroded our Nation's infrastructure and recklessly taken from the health and safety of American working families, the Senate finally has an opportunity to change course. The…

once again, we welcome in the Spring. Blows the thaw-wind pleasantly, Drips the soaking rain, By fits looks down the waking sun: Young grass springs on the plain; Young leaves clothe early hedgerow trees; Seeds, and roots, and stones of…

I oppose Social Security privatization-- unequivocally and without question. The language in the DeMint amendment, which would encourage the Finance Committee to report legislation that would embrace private investment accounts within…

I am concerned about the use of the so- called function 920 account to offset amendments to the budget resolution. The budget resolution sets the aggregate level of discretionary spending for the coming fiscal year. Within that maximum…

At Andrews Air Force Base in 1990, I helped to craft the first statutory firewalls as part of the budget summit that resulted in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. That act created three categories of discretionary spending--defense…

Robert Browning, a brilliant British poet, once wrote a stirring poem about an unpleasant subject, namely: Rats. A key section of the poem reads as follows: Out of the houses the rats came tumbling. Great rats, small rats, lean rats…

along with my Democratic colleagues, I intend to vote for the Reid resolution, S.J. Res. 9. I have some concerns with the approach in this resolution--I firmly believe that the Congress must address the open-ended 2002 authorization to use…

46 years ago, President John F. Kennedy proposed to the Congress one of the most successful and influential programs in the history of our Nation. It was on March 1, 1961, that President Kennedy asked the Congress to establish the Peace…

More than 11 million cargo containers enter the United States each year. One hundred percent of the shipping manifests are screened to determine their risk. Approximately 17 to 19 percent of those containers determined to be high risk are…

over 3,000 Americans are dead--dead, dead--and over 23,000 Americans are wounded as a result of the war in Iraq. Our military leaders say that our Armed Forces are stretched almost to the breaking point. We have spent almost $400 billion…