Robert C. Byrd

I hear it said that we need courage to vote for this amendment. You talk about where courage is needed. You vote against this amendment. That takes courage.

I want to pass on to my grandchildren the same Constitution that the Framers crafted and that our forefathers passed on to me.

Let those students who are not only willing to learn but who are desirous of learning have the chance to learn in an atmosphere which is not threatening to life and limb.

If we really want to save the public school system in this country, it had better shape up. There needs to be discipline.

Liberalized world trade has provided much of the impetus for the post-World War II economic growth, and I hope that the United States can negotiate future agreements that will continue that trend. But we cannot pursue free trade at any…

Just as Toto pulled back the curtain to expose the not-so-mighty Wizard of Oz, the curtain must be pulled back on this resolution so that the American people, too, can see that it is political sorcery.

I believe close and openminded scrutiny of this proposal shreds it, reveals its many shortcomings, and unmasks its benign countenance to reveal the sinister seeds of a constitutional crisis in the making. Surely we will not travel this…

I have engaged in filibusters myself. I spoke 14 hours and 13 minutes on one occasion. And I suppose I can speak that long again, probably at the drop of a hat if we begin early enough in the day.

The Congress has a solemn duty and a sacred obligation to weigh in when American lives and American treasure are at stake.

We cannot turn the spigot off with the right hand and turn it on with the left.

Congress has a role here. I do not expect to just be the tail on any President's kite, Republican or Democrat.

We have a responsibility, first of all, to take care of the American people and problems here at home.

I have been in the Senate 35 years now. I have never supported making the United States a paper tiger. Show me a vote in which I have made the United States a paper tiger.

I believe that Dr. Elders is a sincere and well-intentioned public health official, but I do not believe, at this point, that she is the right person for Surgeon General of the United States.

We, as leaders, must build on the effort if we are to convince the American people that their sacrifice is worthwhile. We cannot go to the well again without evidence of some success.

We are slowly separating into a society of the haves and the have nots. Greed thrives. Living for today seems to be the dominant lifestyle.

I fear this Nation will never make anything like 700 years of survival. I fear that we have become fat and happy and largely uncaring about much of anything but day to day gratification.

Every Senator here would be wise to study Roman history because it holds lessons for us here today. The Roman Republic lasted over 700 years. It finally fell for a variety of reasons, but some of those circumstances have parallels with our…

Government spending is not inherently wasteful. To the contrary, Government does many good things; Federal spending supports many necessary and beneficial activities.

We cannot put these people back where they were before. We cannot take away the water. We cannot put back their crops or their homes or their businesses.

There is a legitimate need to address national disasters in a way that does not penalize other unrelated Federal spending. I also know there is the possibility for abuse of the emergency designation spending provision, and I do not want to…

How can we go to those who have lost their homes, their jobs, and maybe their businesses, and say that we are going to reduce those discretionary items that might have helped them to get back on their feet?

In these times of tight budget constraints, we must make some tough decisions. The Appropriations Committee is the place where those tough decisions are made. We do not authorize programs, we just try to figure out how we are going to…

In the past, these types of programs have tended to become top heavy with administrative costs, which escalate rapidly. The result is that we feed the bureaucratic machine that operates them, and fail to meet the needs of the citizens and…

If we truly want to help our citizens that are mired in poverty, we should not be accepting ever increasing numbers of replacement workers to take away those low skill jobs.