Robert C. Byrd

I believe that we in the Senate owe it to our constituents, owe it to the Nation, owe it to ourselves, and owe it to our children and their children to take a close look at the real impact of a balanced budget constitutional amendment…

We must begin to stop this ridiculous, obscene piling up of items we do not need by the Defense Department.

Can't we all end the brinkmanship, the petty squabbling, the endless playing for political advantage, the irresponsible immaturity of each of us insisting on getting exactly his own way?

Too often, we in public office run campaigns on our opponent's warts and pimples, instead of on real issues.

We heard the feel-good message during the Reagan years: There is a free lunch; there is no pain; you can have your lunch and eat it, too.

We have a commitment, Mr. President, to our children. Their voices cannot be heard here today. Only our voices can be heard.

We have a commitment to our country. We have a commitment to its people. We have a commitment to the young people of this country who are being deprived of the kind of education that they are capable of.

We insult our career fighting men and women when we tell them that we cannot think of anything for them to do in a civilian economy.

Mr. President, we did not destroy communism. Soviet communism destroyed itself when it overextended itself.

For those who want to reduce Government spending, here is your chance. Seize it. Embrace it. Clasp it to thy bosom.

We cannot be distracted by the false argument of whether this is a vote for or against Israel; we are all for Israel. This body and this country remain committed to Israel's right to exist, and to promoting peace and stability in the…

The age of military might as a determinant of world leadership has passed. The new age of economic might is upon us.

The 20th century has been a century of military warfare among the great powers. The 21st century will be a century of economic warfare among the great powers and we are already losing.

The American people know a bribe when they hear one, and I don't believe they view education funding or health care as a bribe.

Sometimes I think that those who cannot turn loose of the cold war, who cannot accept new conditions and new circumstances and a new world map, are a great deal like Epimenides. They think they have just awakened from a short nap, and are…

Fundamental change has occurred. We cannot hold back the tide. We must have the leadership and the vision to plan now.

I believe that if one is looking for pork to cut, then ample amounts of fat can be found in the defense budget. We have fattened the sacred cow of defense for over a decade, and I have voted to help fatten it at every opportunity.

I did not hear any weeping and wailing when West Virginians were torn from their communities because of recessions; because of the coming of machinery.

The much touted longest peacetime expansion in history has turned into the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and hope has been replaced by apprehension.

America is faced with nothing less than the awesome task of virtually reinventing itself. The Soviet Union is gone. A now over bloated military machine must be down-scaled, reshaped, and absorbed into a shaky domestic economy.

We seem to be the only major industrialized nation in the world that does not understand the connection between public investment and productivity growth.

For too long, we have chosen to ignore our own economic and human needs. We have chosen to ignore the needs of our children, and we have chosen to ignore the needs of our grandchildren, and their children.

We have an investment deficit in this country, not just a Federal funds deficit, not just a trade deficit, but also an investment deficit, an investment deficit that impinges upon our ability to compete. Public investment leverages private…

The Soviet Union has ceased to exist and we must now fashion appropriate roles, missions, and forces that reflect our changed security needs-security from the standpoint of our defense budget.

The world's trading bazaar has no use for outdated technology. We must finance civilian research and development to once again be competitive.