Thomas Daschle: “Today we begin a new session of Congress. I know all my colleagues are eager to move ahead with the Nation's business.…”

“Today we begin a new session of Congress. I know all my colleagues are eager to move ahead with the Nation's business. In some ways, we face circumstances that earlier generations of Americans faced as well. At the beginning of our Nation's existence, after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the former colonies busied themselves establishing legislatures and drafting constitutions. It must have been a heady time. Men, for they were all men at that time, who had been colonial appointees began to see themselves for the first time as legislators, potential leaders, people who could steer their States' destinies. In the State of Pennsylvania, the legislature spent several months thrashing over the outlines of a new constitution but found itself, months later, without a finished product. Meanwhile, the life of the State continued. Citizens woke each morning, attended to their affairs, transacted their business, and seemed not to notice that they were without a constitution. Ben Franklin pointed out the evident danger: "Gentleman," he said, "You see that we have been living under anarchy, yet the business of living has gone on as usual. Be careful; if our debates go on much longer, people may come to see that they can get along very well without us." It is somewhat in this spirit that I approach the beginning of the 104th Congress. We, too, will be judged less by our rhetoric than by our accomplishments.”