Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Is the time so short?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object. I am perfectly agreeable to everything that has been said with reference to my amendments. I wonder if we can get a little more time for debate on the motion to invoke cloture. We have nothing but 15 minutes for Mr. Lott and 15 minutes for Mr. Daschle. I would like to have a few minutes to express opposition to cloture. I know it will be futile, but can we work out an additional 30 minutes? The two leaders can close, but this agreement only gives the two leaders a chance to talk on cloture. That is a key vote. I would like to have a few minutes on that, and perhaps other Senators would like time on either side.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Arizona for his question. I say to the Senator, he has amendments, and he has already submitted his amendments. I would like to have a chance to vote on these amendments before the cloture vote. I hope we will get the cloture vote delayed at least a few hours tomorrow until Senators, such as Mr. Levin, who have amendments will have a fair shot at explaining their amendments and have a vote on them before cloture. I do not know whether the Senate will be disposed to do that or not. Let me see if I can answer the distinguished Senator from Arizona. I have another amendment I would like to get voted on, too. I would like to offer it to the amendment that is pending. I say to the distinguished Senator from Arizona--and he is a very distinguished Senator--the other amendment would be to provide a sunset provision. So if the Senate is going to waive its constitutional powers to the extent that I think would be required if the Lieberman amendment were to be agreed upon, I would like at least for the Senate to have a sunset provision so there would be a time limit when the Lieberman amendment would run its course. If the Congress wanted to renew that, Congress could do it, of course, but at least my amendment would say 12 months, and the President could extend that for 12 months. That is a rough explanation of my amendment. So that would be 12 months for the President under my amendment, providing for the President on his own to extend that for an additional 12 months, but at the end of that time it is over unless the Congress renews or extends it. I would like to have that amendment also voted upon. I am very willing to enter into some kind of an agreement, say, to vote up or down on both amendments. There would be a vote on the Lieberman amendment and then a vote on cloture tomorrow at some point.

Mr. BYRD. Yes.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I had indicated to the distinguished Senator from Virginia that I would like to be recognized after Mr. Levin. I believe he is last on the list. I have no problem with the Senator--if the Senator will agree to allow him--Mr. Sarbanes to follow Mr. Levin and then I would like to be recognized at that time.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the Senator from Tennessee yield, without losing his right to the floor?

Mr. BYRD. Reserving the right to object.

Mr. BYRD. May I respond now?

Mr. BYRD. He did not yield for that purpose.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Before I yield the floor, I call up amendment No. 4868 and ask that it be stated by the clerk.

Mr. BYRD. I am going to give up the floor very shortly.

Mr. BYRD. That is less than 4 weeks away. It is most unfortunate.

Mr. BYRD. That is one of the penalties this Chamber will pay, that the Senator will pay, that the American people will pay as a result of a rule, a rule which I support and have supported. But here we are, caught in a situation where without adequate debate, we have been pushed to a cloture vote in the drive--and I don't mean to criticize any person, it is a stampede--in the drive to have this decision made before the Members of Congress go home for the November elections.

Mr. BYRD. It is, indeed, most unfortunate.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I yield for a question.

Mr. BYRD. I have no intention of holding the floor. I do intend to offer an amendment, however, before I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Of course, I am entitled to yield for a question, but I would like to yield to the Senator from South Carolina. He has been on his feet.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts. He has put his finger on several important points, one of which is this: The American people are just now awakening to the fact that the Senate and the House are about to pass a resolution that turns the power of the people, as measured by their elected representatives in Congress, over to a Commander in Chief--the power to determine when to go to war, the power to declare war. They are just now becoming awake to that fact. The American people are just now beginning to focus on this. They have not been focused on this. They have not been focused on this. And they are just now beginning to. Also, the article that the Senator raises, from today's newspaper, indicates there are many things that have a bearing upon this question that are just now coming to the surface. Organizations, persons, people with expertise, scientists, and so on, are just now beginning to focus, and their story is just now beginning to get through. I think we owe it to ourselves. Why would we want to deny ourselves here in Congress the opportunity to have more facts, the opportunity to study this matter more seriously, the opportunity to debate it, the opportunity to draw up amendments? Here we are faced, under rule XXII, with having to offer our amendments by 1 o'clock today, in the first-degree amendments. Now, I had to rush to get two amendments ready. I have many other matters that are demanding my time. And other Senators are in the same situation, or even worse situations. So I plead with the Nation's representatives here in the Senate, with the leadership in the Senate, with the leadership in the other body. I plead with Senators to make every effort to try to get a unanimous consent request to waive this cloture vote on tomorrow. We are shortchanging the American people. We are shortchanging ourselves as representatives of the American people. We are shutting ourselves out of the opportunity. And it is no fault of any particular Senator. It is the rule that we are up against here, and only by unanimous consent can we waive it. But I plead in the name of the people of this country, in the name of the young men and women whose lives may be put on the line by the decision that this Senate will make tomorrow morning at 10:15. It is too weighty. It is too far-reaching. It is only fair to the people of America, who are going to be asked to give, in some instances, everything they have, if a war ensues. I tell you my friends, I don't want that on my conscience, not I. I apologize to Senators who have been standing here waiting. I yield to the Senator from South Carolina.

Mr. BYRD. I do not intend to hold the floor too much longer. I yield to this Senator, and then I will yield to my friend.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, there are many questions the American people want answered. There are many questions the American people are entitled to have answers to. I am only pleading here that the Senate give itself time to explore these questions on behalf of the people whom we serve. Give ourselves time. We haven't had time. We have been rushed through this thing. Now, because of the rules of the Senate, we are going to have to vote tomorrow morning at 10:15 on a question that involves peace or war, a question that involves great sacrifices for this country. Nobody knows how great those sacrifices may be. And there are many questions that need to be answered. What will we do once Iraq is defeated? What will we do with Iraq? Will our service men and women be required to go there? Will they have to stay there 2 months after the defeat of Iraq? 6 months? 1 year? 2 years? 5 years? 10 years? Who is going to pay for reviving the economy of Iraq? Where are the moneys coming from to pay the costs of what may be a war of short duration? of what may be a war of long duration? What is the President's plan? What is the administration's plan? Are we going to use the heavy ground option or the heavy air option, or both the heavy ground option and the heavy air option? Go over to the hospitals surrounding this Capitol and take a look at the emergency rooms. See how many people are in those emergency rooms. See how short on personnel those hospitals are. I know. I have had my wife in a hospital just recently with an appendectomy. Those hospitals are short on beds. What about the veterans hospitals? What about an upsurge, if it comes, in casualties of Americans? Are we prepared for this? Are we prepared? What is going to happen on the war here at home, homeland security, the security of our country? Look around us here. Just look at the morning papers. The television is full of it. The people of this area are concerned about their children, about the public schools, and they are being asked not to come to school, not to have recesses. Here we are talking about war in Iraq, when the focus is being taken off the war here at home. The people's eyes are on home, what is happening around us. Here is a sniper in this area. He has already killed six people at least, and they don't know what he looks like, where he lives, nothing about him, except he is a marksman. He is sure a marksman. Here we are being told: Tomorrow morning at 10:15 we are going to come to the moment of decision. I say it is not right to the American people that we do that.

Mr. BYRD. There is no question. No farther back than August 21, I read in the newspapers that the President was concerned about the agitation, about all of the commotion--these are my words--that is taking place here concerning his--the President's--plan. Secretary Rumsfeld on that occasion referred to this agitation as a ``frenzy''. That is my recollection. Go back and check; no farther than August 23. Here we were being told there were no such plans. As we approach it, the drive is on. We are being stampeded. They are saying, Oh, the vote will take place this week. Why all the hurry? I hope we will have an opportunity to debate this resolution. We haven't had a full opportunity to debate this resolution. It has just been modified overnight. Nobody has really had an opportunity to debate each whereas clause. There are amendments that are going to be offered. We are not going to have a chance to debate those amendments. The distinguished Senator from Michigan has an important amendment.

Mr. BYRD. Yes. I yield for a question.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the distinguished Senator is indubitably correct. There can be no more solemn, no more serious, no more far- reaching a decision than the one which the Senate is approaching. All of the talk about how many hours or how many days we spent on some previous resolution or subject is entirely aside the point; entirely aside the point. What I am saying here--and every Senator here knows it--is tomorrow morning at 10:15, we will follow the rules of the Senate. We are going to vote on cloture on the Lieberman resolution, as modified. It has been modified. I don't know how many Senators know that. This resolution has been modified. I only learned about it today. It has been modified in such a way that there is no longer a preamble, or what is considered a preamble. The words ``whereas''--I would like to discuss each of these whereas clauses. The whereas clauses have all been changed to ``since,'' which means the preamble is now a part and parcel of the resolution. There is no separate preamble here. So the wheels have been greased. The wheels of legislative action of debate have been greased. So here we are now faced with a vote tomorrow morning at 10:15. How many of us are going to be here beyond 6:00 today? It is only 5 minutes to 3 now. How many of us will be here beyond 6:00 today? Then tomorrow, what time are we coming in? 9:00, 10:00? So we see how little time this Senate is going to be able to focus its full attention on this far-reaching resolution which carries within its pages the fate, the possible fate of this Nation; the fate of hundreds or thousands, or tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of servicemen and our National Guardsmen throughout this country. We are holding their fate in our hands. I say that the rules of the Senate in this instance are being utilized so strictly they are made more demanding. Why do we have to rush these cloture motions on a matter of this great moment? Why couldn't we have waited and debated this? What is all the hurry? I say to Senators, and I appeal to the people out there who are watching through those lenses, I appeal to the people in the 50 States and the territory and possessions of this country to rise up and to let themselves be heard. Don't vote for cloture. Let us put off this cloture vote. That is not asking too much. That is not asking too much. I hope Senators will consider this seriously. Let's not vote on this tomorrow morning at 10:15.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Prior to that time?