On the recordNovember 17, 2011
I appreciate my friend for the courtesy of permitting me to speak on this. I am here in honor of the memory of the late, and I think great, United States Senator from Oregon, Republican Mark Hatfield. When the balanced budget amendment freight train was moving through Congress in 1995 and a number of people piled on, it passed here overwhelmingly, but it failed in the United States Senate by one vote. The only Republican who voted ``no'' was Senator Mark Hatfield, who was chair of the Appropriations Committee. He was visited repeatedly by some of the most ardent proponents of a, quote, balanced budget amendment importuning him for special treatment. {time} 1800 Senator Hatfield understood that, had that balanced budget amendment been approved, it would have been an excuse for people to feel like they'd done their job and that they could go about continuing business as usual. He took a lot of heat. He, in fact, offered his resignation to Bob Dole, which would have reduced the number of Senators, and the balanced budget amendment would have passed. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
