Political Quotes

“The United States has changed a lot in the last 7 rac{1}{2} years. Mr. President, 7 rac{1}{2} years ago we were deep into deficits. We were spending more each year than we collected in taxes. We were running up the largest national debt in the history of the United States. We have $6 trillion in debt to show for that experience. Many people have lost faith in the ability of this institution to correct this problem and to respond to what was truly a national crisis. In fact, some went so far as to suggest we should amend the Constitution of the United States to pass what was known as the balanced budget amendment. On the floor today with me is Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, acknowledged to be probably the most gifted Senator when it comes to the rules of this body and knowledge of the Constitution. He fought a battle, sometimes lonely but ultimately successful, in stopping Members from amending the Constitution and giving power to the Federal courts to tell the Congress to stop spending. Some in this body thought that was the only way we could stop the red ink cascading over the Treasury in Washington, DC. Senator Byrd prevailed. The amendment was defeated. Amazingly, we stand today in this Senate, in this Capitol, in Washington, DC, with a complete change of events. We are no longer talking about the yearly deficits.”