Cord Byrd

It does not say ``may not.'' The amendment mandates that outlays ``shall not exceed receipts.'' If we were to constitutionalize the mandate, any attempt to deviate from that requirement would bring the moral authority of the entire…

I am suggesting that that legislation may rely on estimates of outlays and receipts, and I am saying that the estimates are invariably wrong. Consequently, it is an uncorrectable flaw in the amendment. Consequently, the American people…

But, Madam President, it has to be an informed public opinion. It has to be an informed public opinion. And that is, more than anything else, why the Senate is the premier deliberative body of the world today. It is the forum of the States…

today we continue one of the most important debates in the history of the Senate. The debate involves whether to change the basic, fundamental, organic law of this Nation forever, and for the first time to write fiscal policy into the…

I introduce, on behalf of Senator Rockefeller and myself, a bill to grant the city of New Martinsville, WV, a 4-year extension to its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC] licenses to begin construction of two hydroelectric power…

This amendment is being sold to the American people as a way to balance the budget. Is that not a bit misleading?

I read this in the first section: ``Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year.'' I know there are some loopholes whereby we might vote by three-fifths of a majority of each House, about which I…

Modest enough. It did not get a single vote on the other side of the aisle in either House.

I hope that my remarks today will have helped to shed light on the devastation which will take place if we do not muster up the courage to say no to the balanced budget amendment now before the Senate. It does not make any difference, Mr…

Well, that goes back a long way, I say to the Senator. I believe he said that, ``If this amendment is adopted, then I would be willing to sacrifice so that my children and grandchildren can have a better future.'' Is he also saying that if…

No, no, I say to the Senator, you are flattering me now. We have lots of men and women in this Senate who have the courage to do it now. It is not just the Robert Byrds. We have enough men and women in the Senate to do it now. Let us be…

Will the Senator yield, with the indulgence of the Senator from Utah? Why do we not do it now? We need two-thirds vote in each body to adopt this amendment. Why do we not just use a majority now to take whatever actions are necessary to…

That is precisely what this amendment is being sold as. The American people are being told--and I have heard it said by many of the proponents on the floor this week already--that this is the way to balance the budget. ``We have to have…

I have listened to the claims of the proponents of the constitutional amendment for several days now. I compliment them on their dedication to their cause as they see it. I respect their viewpoints. I respect their sincerity. I realize…

I have taken the oath 13 times in 48 years: In the West Virginia House of Delegates, the West Virginia Senate, the United States House of Representatives and in the United States Senate. I know what it means. Mr. President, we should be…

somebody once asked Ralph Waldo Emerson the secret to success. And after a brief pause, Emerson replied, ``Make yourself necessary to somebody.'' I know that I speak for all of our colleagues in expressing to our friend and colleague…

I listened to a goodly number of our colleagues earlier today as they came to the floor to speak about the constitutional amendment on the balanced budget. I was glad to see the President last night give some time to that subject matter. I…

so what we are actually doing is walking away from these responsibilities at the Federal level and relegating them to the States and counties and municipal governments. Some would say, ``Yahoo, get the Federal Government off our backs.''…

as one of millions upon millions of Americans mourning today the passing of a great woman, I want to extend to our colleague Senator Edward Kennedy from Massachusetts, and to his extended family, my wife Erma's and my condolences on the…

we live in an era of technological miracles--inventions, phenomena, and developments whose inventors and initiators might have been burned at the stake as witches and warlocks in the so-called ``Dark Ages'' for even suggesting, much less…

We have too much efficiency now. The constitutional framers did not create the United States Senate to be an efficient organization. The Senate was intended to be a second House in which the Members would have longer terms and thus be more…

I must say that this Senator's concerns are not allayed. I will expound upon those concerns in due time, and I also expect to have an amendment prepared, and perhaps a couple of amendments, which, if agreed to, will allay my concerns.

I think this is a good agreement. I think it is a reasonable agreement. It seems to me it protects all Senators' rights. It is a reasonable approach. I again compliment both leaders and all Senators. Many Senators have participated in…

I want to say this, Mr. Leader. The leader and I have worked together many years in various capacities. No leader has ever offered as many cloture motions as I have and seen them all fail to be adopted. It is conceivable that a Senator…

This cloture vote, may I say to my friends on both sides, is nothing but a blatant attempt to shut the minority out of the chance to amend this legislation. There is a supreme arrogance about operating in this manner. We are being told by…