Robert C. Byrd

Some of us may not live so long as to witness and enjoy the full fruits of our labor and wisdom, but I hope that we shall work in such a fashion that our posterity will acknowledge that we acted responsibly in the Senate of the 95th…

The average voter feels disenfranchised by the present system of campaign financing. It is time for Congress to listen to the people--and I include those who do not speak on election day. Our Government is only as healthy and as strong as…

I believe, Mr. President, that in the atmosphere in which we presently find ourselves, with a great lack of confidence among the American people toward their Government, toward our political system, and toward public officials in general…

I do not want to see the Senate subjected to majority cloture. I have never supported the idea in the past. But I said yesterday that I shall never say "never" again.

Certainly, we must be aware of the economic impact on the American people of any program we propose in dealing with the energy crisis. But we must also be aware of the economic impact on our people of inaction on our part in failing to…

And may I say in closing, Mr. President, that this country deserves no less than the cooperation of both parties in the Congress working with the President, and vice versa-the cooperation of the President in working with the…

It is not our duty to find ways to equalize the income of Senators. Ours is a higher duty. We have a duty to the institution, rather than to ourselves.

We must develop a food policy which is long range and which encompasses all the possible forces-even the powerful force of weather. We must thoroughly investigate the possibility of long-term weather change.

I hope that each nation will mete out swift, severe, and certain justice to those who threaten or commit acts of terrorism. Moreover, I hope that all temptations by journalists and other writers to lend glamour to terrorists will cease.

Why should not all of this money, that is being spent for buses and accessories and gasoline and for national guardsmen and policemen, be spent to upgrade the schools in the local neighborhoods, to improve the facilities, to improve the…

If we cannot have a little confidence in one another here, without attributing to every action an ulterior partisan motive, then I say, as a Senator of the United States, that we are a failure.

If peace in the Middle East is to become a reality, and if American efforts to bring about that peace are to be more than just lipservice, it must be a part of our Government's responsibility to insure that no man, or no nation, can murder…

Lavish and uncalled for gifts by any American President to the heads of state of other countries, I am sure, will be frowned upon by the people of this country, to whom a President is ultimately responsible.

We ought to express by our words and actions our belief that there is an Almighty who governs the destiny of men and nations.

I believe that if our country is to remain a great country, it is going to have to remain a country that believes in God, and we have a duty to perpetuate the faith of our fathers.

I have not seen the wind, but I know it comes and goes. So it is with God-He exists. He has always been.

I care not what another man may believe. I care not what church he may or may not attend. But for myself, recognizing my own shortcomings, I still believe steadfastly that this Nation has been blessed by the Almighty.

I believe in the system. I have worked in the legislative system for 28 years. And if I were never to become a committee chairman, if I had never been elected to a position of leadership, I would still believe in and uphold and defend the…

It seems to me that if we really want to balance the budget, we ought to accept the responsibility which is ours.

To lower our defenses at home or abroad without assuring ourselves that corresponding steps toward a lower armed profile are being taken by the Soviets is both wishful thinking and bad negotiating. I believe that pursuit of the policy of…

History shows that the negotiations and agreements between nations that are disseminated to the people are seldom of equal significance with the negotiations and agreements that are conducted in private. Those of us who are outside these…

We have learned that we cannot be the world's policeman, nor can we make the world safe for American-style democracy.

The whole foreign assistance picture has become a hodgepodge of ill-conceived and often overlapping efforts and I believe the time has come for the United States to cease assisting countries that are fully capable of taking care of…

We must avoid the stigma that has so often darkened the records of many countries throughout history-that the soldier we honor in war, we ignore in peace.

We are all familiar with the expression, describing a chronically lazy individual, that "he thinks the world owes him a living." There is no question in my mind, if I may paraphrase that saying, that this Nation owes these Vietnam…