John Sarbanes: “I want to express my very deep appreciation to the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, Senator Byrd, for the…”

“I want to express my very deep appreciation to the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, Senator Byrd, for the extraordinary statement which he made earlier today on this issue. It is my prediction that, if this measure passes and is implemented, history will look back on this moment and say that was a critical turning point in our constitutional system and that it was the Senator from West Virginia, above all others, who stood on the floor and warned of what this would bring about; that it was the Senator from West Virginia who understood our existing constitutional system the best and saw the dangers inherent in this proposal. Part of what is happening here is that we are engaged in symbolism, not the reality of addressing important national problems. There is a skilled craftsmanship in addressing problems of public policy which members of a legislative body are supposed to bring to the task. Anyone can get up and holler about problems. The question is, can you formulate an appropriate response? As the distinguished Senator from Louisiana said, this proposal is not really about balancing the budget. You balance the budget by tough-minded decisions on the budget, which the President and the Congress have been making in recent years.…”