Robert C. Byrd

Yes, my heartstrings are torn, too, when I see on television and in the printed media what is going on. But we cannot police the world, Mr. President.

If we are to blunt the centrifugal forces that are corrupting our children and teenagers, and if we are to redeem the future before we pass the point of no return-and we are almost there--then I firmly believe that the traditional nuclear…

A good education is the best life-quality insurance program that we can bequeath to our children and the best national economic security program that we can afford for our country.

In our schools, we repay the precious heritage that our parents bequeathed to us-the ideals, the dreams, the visions, the skills, the knowledge, the questions, and the values-by passing that heritage on to the next generation.

If our children are our future, the quality of our schools will largely determine the quality of the future that our children will or will not enjoy. Good schools are the key to a fulfilling, prosperous future, both for our children and…

The United States should not, I believe, be digging more deeply into our own pockets, than are other nations with equal interest in establishing democracy and market-based economies in the states of the former Soviet Union, digging into…

Mr. President, I think the Democratic Party is a great party and has served the country a great deal, but never would I put my party, the Democratic Party, ahead of this institution or ahead of the Constitution, ahead of the country, or…

The Founders demonstrated great wisdom in drawing up a constitutional system in which the legislative branch, the branch of the people, had control over the purse. Are we wiser than the Framers?

Indeed, I believe that particularly in the case of those who came fleeing tyranny, there is a unique appreciation for the freedom and opportunity available in this country which makes those special Americans among our most patriotic…

I believe that we undermine this Constitution at our peril. I believe that the time has come for us to slow down, avoid a precipitous action like this, concentrate on our problems, debate openly and honestly our options, and work together…

I believe that we not only tamper with the Constitution; I believe that we are driving a trip-hammer right through the heart of that Constitution with this amendment because we are moving down the road of destruction of the separation of…

We need a plan, a plan, not a promise. We need leadership, not prestidigitation and legerdemain.

What we take out of the schools today, we will take out of the Nation a generation from today.

American society has problems, and we must solve those problems. But we have come too far for responsible leaders of this society to remain silent in the face of reckless calls for murder and mayhem.

We must not amend the Constitution in a way that could destroy the checks and balances and separation of powers, which are the very pillars on which this representative democracy rests.

Mr. President, we do not need a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. I am not saying the Constitution should never be amended in some particular.

The truth of the matter is-and the President and all Senators know it-we do not need an amendment to the Constitution in order to balance the budget. The President and the Congress presently have the power to do this; we only lack the…

Our children and grandchildren, who are not here to vote on this amendment, will not rise up and call us "blessed."

Did our forefathers pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to throw off the tyrannical hand of George III, only to be ruled by the heavy hand of a judicial oligarchy?

Tonight, I hope that the President will tell us his plan-that he will put his money where his lips are.

We must respond. We cannot continue to neglect or ignore the myriad economic and social problems in America's cities, not just Los Angeles, but cities all over this country, north, east, south and west.

How can we say to the American people that we can fund foreign emergencies, but we cannot find money for our own?

When I came to this body I said I would never vote for cloture on anything-never. And I maintained that position for quite a while. Then I came to the conclusion that one should never say "never," and should judge each issue as it came…

Unlimited debate is one of the cornerstones on which this institution, the U.S. Senate, rests.

Interestingly, the President currently has all the authority needed to send a balanced budget to Congress, but neither President Reagan nor President Bush has ever sent a balanced budget to Congress.