Nancy Kassebaum: “I think what we are debating about is what authority the President has to tilt the balance of what we really have felt…”

“I think what we are debating about is what authority the President has to tilt the balance of what we really have felt was a balance. And I am sympathetic with what the Senator from Iowa is pointing out; that Goodyear worked it out and they did not at Bridgestone. But I argue that through this Executive order we now find the President completely intruding in a labor-management relationship. If we find legislation to decide to do so and have that debate and vote, that is a different matter. But I think the Senator from Iowa certainly recognizes that we have some question about what is in the Constitution and the separation of powers between the executive and the legislative branches. As much as I am sympathetic with the argument that the Senator from Iowa is pointing out, the argument I would want to make on this amendment is the way we are trying to intrude on law that does exist. That is my point. I think the case made is one that obviously resonates, but this is the wrong way to handle it.”