Robert Byrd: “Just the whisper of opposition brings the world's greatest deliberative body to a grinding halt.”

Bob, I will never know the rules as well as you do. I will make a deal with you. I will not surprise you if you will not surprise me.

I have said that, as long as the Senate retains the power to amend and the power of unlimited debate, the liberties of the people will remain secure.

The Framers recognized that a minority can be right and that a majority can be wrong.

The reconciliation process was designed to facilitate legislation to reduce deficits. Instead, the process has been used to enact multi-trillion-dollar tax cuts that led to record deficits over the last 8 years.