Robert C. Byrd

Mr. President, we cannot afford to mortgage this Nation's future. The debt will be called when we least expect it.

We cannot say that there is an energy crisis, on the one hand, and then fail to make the tough, and sometimes painful decisions necessary to meet that situation.

I have had serious reservations about the gas rationing proposal. But I believe that a standby plan must be put in place as soon as possible-one that is fair and one that gets the job done.

However, we must not forget that there are still many dissidents who remain in Soviet prisons, that many Soviet citizens are imprisoned or restricted because of their political or religious beliefs.

There is no painless solution, no painless solution to our energy problems, and everyone will be asked to bear a part of the burden. If we are going to ask the American people to sacrifice, then the energy producers will have to make some…

The requirement of a balanced budget could tip the economy into a recession, if Congress were mandated to balance the budget without studying the consequences.

Mr. President, the hue and cry we have heard for a balanced budget is going to be a volume of moans and groans when the people find out what this means. Let us vote for a balanced budget with our eyes open, knowing and saying where the…

I do not want to go out of my way to offend anybody. We want to continue to cooperate with the Soviet Union where we can, to be friendly with the Soviet leaders. But the interests of the United States of America should come first.

We may have a Republican President at some far distant time in the future, or we may have a Democratic President. But, whichever, that President, as the Chief Executive of this country, is in the best position, I believe-and apparently the…

I hope that the leaders of Israel and Egypt will agree upon a treaty, because the security and the stability of the Middle East are so important, not only to those two countries but also to the whole region and, over and above that, the…

We should make it clear that, although U.S. power is finite, we know what our vital interests are and what we are going to do to protect them.

Let us make our judgments based on what is in the interests of the United States and not on the basis of how the Soviets might react.

I say again that we are entirely too sensitive--entirely too sensitive--about Russian concern. What we should be concerned with is the interests of the United States.

We should continue to work toward a balanced budget. I think the concept itself is good. It is only that I would very much be opposed to a constitutional amendment mandating Congress to enact a balanced budget, because it would…

Let us vote up or down on this issue, for all the world to see, and bear the weight of our decision, and not our indecision.

Mr. President, the word is going to go out to the American people that the Congress, after 30 years, is still unwilling to deal with the foremost problem facing this country.

I am not going to let the country collapse or the Republic go to the dogs.

Mr. President, we must remember that we cannot win this energy fight by withholding reinforcements from our first line of defense in the Nation's coal field.

I do not believe the Senate wishes to surrender its historic rights and prerogatives, its responsibilities and duties.

Mr. President, nothing can be politically right if it is morally wrong.

We have never run the canal solely for our own benefit. We have operated the canal as an international public utility for the benefit of all nations.

We must not be so insecure as a great nation as to insist upon an anachronism, a colonial presence in Panama. It is because we are a strong nation that we can act with vision, a vision that is in our country's best interests and that we…

We must realize that there is no way in which we can completely compensate our miners who suffer from black lung. This bill, however, at least recognizes the debt which we as a society owe them.

Mr. President, I am opposed to the subminimum for youths. Although it is a well-intentioned policy, it is not the way to resolve the problem of youth unemployment in our society.

Merely allowing youths of a certain age to work for a period of time at subminimum wage does nothing to further our objective to increase their long-term employment potential.