Political Quotes

“it has only been a few weeks since this Chamber was the platform and the focus for a debate on amending the Constitution of the United States. Members of this Senate came to the floor, mainly Republican but some Democrats, and argued it was politically impossible for the leaders in this country to reach an agreement on a balanced budget absent an amendment to the Constitution which would require it, which would involve the Federal judiciary, which would have added language to the Constitution, binding language on future Congresses. And yet here we stand today, just a few weeks later, many of us in favor of, some opposed, but speaking to an agreement to balance the budget. Did it take a constitutional amendment? Of course not, it took leadership, leadership from both political parties. I voted against that balanced budget amendment. I said then, as I say now, you do not need to amend the Constitution to meet your constitutional responsibility, and my responsibility is to make certain that we live within our means while our economy moves forward. And I am happy today that we can stand and discuss this balanced budget absent a constitutional amendment. I want to acknowledge on the floor my colleague, Senator Byrd, of West Virginia. If you were to list his accolades, I think the one he would be proudest of is his role as guardian of the Constitution. He carries that Constitution in his pocket every day.”