Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BYRD. The junior Senator from Louisiana wishes to have some time, I understand. How much time does she desire?

Mr. BYRD. I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished Senator.

Mr. BYRD. I thank the distinguished Senator from Alaska. How much time do I have now?

Mr. BYRD. I yield 4 minutes to the Senator from Massachusetts.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, to the credit of the administration and the Congress, a scant 3 days after the assault on New York, a $40 billion emergency supplemental spending package was approved. My colleague, Mr. Stevens, has called attention to that. At that time we could not fathom the anthrax-laced letters that were to disrupt the U.S. mail, cause the Hart Senate Office Building to close, taint letters up and down the east coast, and cause death and illness to postal workers and several other citizens who simply were unfortunate enough to open their mail. At that point we did not know the extent of bin Laden's terror network in the United States and in 59 other countries. In the early days after the tragedy, we did not fully understand what the impacts would be on our Federal law enforcement entity. We were only just beginning to come to grips with the holes in our border security, the inadequacies of our customs inspection procedure, the potential for misuse of our largely unprotected nuclear facilities, food supplies, water supplies, and networks of communications and transportation. We had not fully come to grips with our deficit of small pox vaccines or the stretched-thin capacity of the CDC and local public health facilities and hospitals. We had no idea of the loss of life and financial devastation that had actually occurred in New York. We knew there was a deep hole in Lower Manhattan; that deep hole is still there today. It was early at that time and we acted quickly, as we should have and did, but we did not have the full picture. Since that time we have learned much. We have learned that there are hundreds of vulnerabilities here at home. We have learned that bin Laden has thousands of faces in terrorist cells throughout the world and here at home. At a time when we are engaged in a war in Afghanistan, at a time when we are hunting bin Laden and his ilk worldwide, at a time when the administration has warned that any nation that harbors or funds terrorists might be subject to a military response from the United States, at a time when tensions in the Middle East are at powderkeg levels, I do not believe that a cut in the proposal for Homeland defense is wise or prudent. We are in uncharted waters in stormy seas with a potential hurricane of violence just across the horizon. We know not what may be required of the brave men and women who wear the uniform of this great Nation abroad nor on how many fronts, including the homefront, simultaneously. We may need every dollar of defense and more before it is over, but defense is defense, whether it is defense in Afghanistan or defense in New York or California or Alabama or Georgia or West Virginia. Airwars are effective, up to a point. They are also expensive. We must not shortchange our national defense--at home or aboard. Throughout our short history, Americans have always been able to pull out of such nosedives through a rallying of our spirit, the American spirit. Positive leadership--positive leadership by our Government, positive leadership that is not blinded by political party interests-- is needed. American determination has taken on challenge after challenge and turned history our way, time after time, because we all came together. Consider the Herculean task of building the Panama Canal; President Kennedy's call to put a man on the Moon, the Presidents' call to end the long twilight struggle of the Cold War; the phenomenal progress against cancer and other dread diseases. Americans are at their best when we actively take on a problem and marshal our energies, unblinded by political partisanship toward a goal. But what is missing this time is bipartisanship in Washington. We talk a lot about it; we don't practice it. The people are united. As usual, they know what is important. But we do not seem to be able to pull together in this town, even in this time when the people of the United States are united. We are facing such a challenge now. Our people have responded bravely. We are aggressively pursuing terrorists and a government that sanctions terrorists in Afghanistan. But there is a need to do more here at home. The Nation needs to actively engage in a coordinated campaign to protect our people from the scourge of terrorist attacks on all possible homefronts. We have been sent a horrifying message from the skies above New York and Washington, DC. In the evil content of tainted mail, we have seen this horrifying message. Up and down the east coast of this Nation, we have seen it. To call these unbelievable acts a wake-up call is an understatement in the extreme. We have been roused from our sleep by a tornado of violence. We dare not risk an anemic response. To be tepid now is to be foolish. To be timid now is to tempt fate. The first responsibility of any government is to ensure the safety of the people. And tangential to that responsibility is to assure their peace of mind. We cannot now afford the luxury of complacency. We dare not slip into a sense of false confidence. Every possible effort must be brought to bear to thwart this new and different kind of enemy, and we have not yet done enough. Mr. President, how much time do I have?

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I want to say what I am about to say without giving an appearance that I am saying it with rancor or that I am attempting to lecture my colleagues. I am often charged in the press with ``lecturing'' my colleagues. I think of that great man in Roman history whose name was Helvidius Priscus. He was a Roman Senator. The Emperor at that time was the Emperor Vespasian. He and Helvidius Priscus, the Senator, were very much at odds over a given issue, and the Roman Senate was about to decide this issue. The Emperor saw Helvidius Priscus as Priscus was about to enter the Senate. The Emperor stopped Helvidius Priscus and said: Don't go in to the Senate today. Helvidius Priscus--ah, there was a man of courage. There was a man who saw his duty first, a man who saw his duty to the people, his duty under the Roman Constitution. And he saw through the cynical fog and kept his eyes on his duty. And he said: O Emperor, you have the power to make a Senator and to unmake a Senator. But as long as I am a Senator--and you appointed me--it is my duty to go into the Senate. Vespasian said: All right, but don't answer any questions. Helvidius said: If I am not asked any questions, I will keep quiet. But if I am asked a question, I must answer it. Vespasian said: Then, if you answer it, you will die. Helvidius Priscus responded: O Emperor, it is in your power to do what you will. It is my duty to say and do where my conscience leads me. If I am asked a question, I will answer it. The question was asked. Helvidius Priscus answered the question--not in accordance with the Emperor's will. Helvidius did his duty. Vespasian kept his promise that he would execute Helvidius. And Helvidius Priscus died because he stood with his own conscience where duty lay, rather than with an emperor's demand with which he strongly disagreed. I say that today so that the record for all time will be reminded of a Roman Senator who did his duty as his own conscience directed him, rather than obey a ruler's command--even though the ruler had appointed him to the high office of Senator. Thank God we in this country of ours are not appointed as Senators by any President. When I was majority leader of the Senate and the President of the United States was Jimmy Carter, I said: I am the President's friend, but I am not the President's man. I am the Senate's man. I don't hold myself to be a great paragon of anything. But I do believe in a Senator's constitutional oath. I am not appointed by any President, whether it is Mr. Carter, whether it is Mr. Clinton. I will be courteous, I will try to be fair with any President, but no President will tell me, as a Senator, how to vote. Now, that ought to be the attitude of every Senator. I have seen other Senators here, on both sides of the aisle, who have stood by that duty. But I have seen a change in this body. Where are our heroes? Where are our Senators of today, Mr. President? Having been a Member of this Senate, now, 43 years, about to enter my 44th year in the Senate, my 50th year in the Congress, and in my own 85th year, I must say that it troubles me, more than anything else, to look about me and see men and women who are elected by the people of their respective States, to come here and to represent the people, who would bow the knee before any President of any party. We have no king in this country. To those who say, ``Well, he has threatened a veto, why should we push on?'' that is as much as to say that any time a President says he will veto a measure, we as Senators should not press forward with what we believe is right, we should not do what we think is right, instead, we must listen to that threat of veto and do what the President tells us to do. That makes an emperor of a man who is not an emperor. How much time do I have?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, would the President repeat for the benefit of all of us, those of us who couldn't very well hear what was being said, would the Chair repeat what he just said.

Mr. BYRD. I see no reason why the U.S. Customs Service should not look at the issue of reverse inspection and I would support their doing so.

Mr. BYRD. I understand the concerns raised by the Senators from California. I urge the Department of Justice and other national security agencies to give due consideration to projects such as the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center that ensure a reliable system of intelligence sharing between local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies. reverse commute pilot project

Mr. BYRD. The Senator from New York is correct. That provision is intended to address the Washington, D.C. Metro System, which receives a direct federal payment elsewhere in the bill.

Mr. BYRD. The Senator from New York is correct.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield to me for that purpose, I ask unanimous consent that the substitute be agreed to, that it be considered as original text for the purpose of further amendment, and that no points of order be waived.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, Senator Stevens, Senator Inouye, and I have worked during the afternoon with our staffs to bring to the Senate an amendment which would provide for the carrying out of the purposes that I announced earlier when I presented the amendment which was brought down by the failure of the Senate to waive a point of order. We have drawn up an amendment which stays within the $40 billion which was voted by Congress 3 days after the attack. A point of order was made against the amendment I had offered. I sought to waive the point of order, and it was the Senate's judgment the motion to waive not be adopted. Consequently, what is left before the Senate now is the House bill. So in an effort to move ahead with something for homeland security and in the attempt to at least try to do something on all three of our original purposes--namely, fund adequately defense appropriations, live up to our agreement to New York as much as we can under the circumstances, and to provide a homeland defense bill, which while not going as far as we had earlier hoped, at least does something for the cities and rural areas of this country-- Senator Stevens, Senator Inouye, and I are proposing the following amendment. It is the Byrd/Stevens/Inouye amendment to Defense appropriations. We are living within the $40 billion structure we have already voted on several weeks ago. The amendment allocates $20 billion. It was according to the law we passed that the Appropriations Committee would pass upon the final $20 billion of that $40 billion, and this is the final bill. We are attempting to follow the law in that respect and provide in this bill how that money should be allocated.

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

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I yield to no man when it comes to putting the defense of this Nation ahead of all other things. I have no problem with the Senate proceeding--I expected it to at some point--with the Defense bill. I expected Senators to have an opportunity to offer their amendments. But I also think at the moment, this matter that we have thought so much about, worked hard to develop some approach; namely, homeland defense--we are at a point where we think this is the matter that is most important before the Senate. I did not hold up this Defense appropriations bill to this point. The House did that, but I have the right--I can hold the floor also. I want to reach a sensible, commonsense conclusion to this, and I am willing to sit down with our counterparts and do so. I make no threats. The Senator is not impressed by threats. Neither am I. I am not wanting to hold up the bill ad infinitum, but it only came to us a few days ago. Our committee has responded magnificently. The Senator can say what he wishes and do what he wishes, but there are others in here who are just as firm in our patriotism for this country as is the Senator from Arizona. If he wants to talk about pork, we will talk about pork at an appropriate time. I hear that theme song over and over and over, and I see items in the newspapers that are not accurate when they talk about pork. They are not accurate today, but this is no time to go into that. There is something more important. If the Senator wants to object, he can object. If he thinks that will gain time, let him see. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Senate has spoken on the point of order. I ask the leadership--and I will yield to the Senator from Nevada without losing my right to the floor--if we could have a period of time during which Senators may speak, perhaps as in morning business-- misstating the true purpose of morning business, but that is understood by all--so that I could meet off the floor with my own leadership, hopefully for a brief time, after which I would hope that I could meet with my own leadership, Senators Daschle and Reid, together with my chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and with the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, in other words, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Stevens, and that in the meantime, Senators can continue speaking or whatever the leadership would like to be doing. I would say that we would need probably an hour and a half, maybe a little longer, to consider the matter as it faces us now. I wonder if the leadership wishes to respond to that.

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Senator.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have great respect for every Senator. I have tremendous respect for Mr. Gramm, the Senator from Texas who made the point of order. I have the highest respect for Ted Stevens on that side of the aisle. I have said that many times. I don't indulge any rancor at all in my heart, nor should any Senator toward any other Senator. But I must say that I am troubled greatly when we have come to the point in this Republic of ours when men and women who are elected and who swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution while standing at that desk with their hand on the Holy Bible, let their political partisanship cloud their vision. The President didn't elect me. I don't say that out of disrespect for him. He didn't elect me. The people of West Virginia elected me. They elected me to use my best judgment on great national issues. They did not elect me to say whatever the President wants me to say, or to allow any President to tell me how to vote. It hurts me in my heart to think that men and women fail to see where their duty lies under the Constitution. I beg all Senators' forgiveness, but after being here 49 years this year, I cannot help but say that that troubles me. When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf, And the world makes you King for a day, Then go to the mirror and look at yourself, And see what that guy has to say. For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife, Who judgement upon you must pass. The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the guy staring back from the glass. He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest, For he's with you clear up to the end, And you've passed your most dangerous, most difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend. You may be like Jack Horner, and ``chisel'' a plum, And think you're a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum If you can't look him straight in the eye. You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years, And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you've cheated the man in the glass.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank all the Senators.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, while Senators are working out some matters, I ask unanimous consent that I may speak for not to exceed 8 minutes on another matter.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I did not speak on the day that was the most famous of all such days, the day of Senator Thurmond's birthday. I was busy on appropriations matters. I did not want to let this week go by without my saying just a few words about Senator Thurmond. It was 99 years ago that Strom Thurmond was born in Edgefield, SC. Ninety-nine years old. What a feat, 99. Abraham lived to be 175 years old. Isaac lived to be 180. Jacob lived to be 147, and Joseph lived to be 110. Moses lived to be 120. Joshua lived to be 110. And Strom Thurmond has lived now to be 99. What a feat. That makes him old enough to be my big brother. Well, when Strom Thurmond was born on December 5, 1902, the Wright Brothers had not yet made their historic flight at Kitty Hawk. He has lived to see men walking on the Moon. He has lived to see American space vessels exploring the far reaches of our galaxy. When he was born, Theodore Roosevelt was President of the United States. Since then, we have had 16 more Presidents. When he was born, the Kaiser still ruled in Germany. Since then, that country has seen the rise and fall of the Weimar Republic, the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, a divided Germany, and now a united Germany. When Strom Thurmond was born, the Czar still ruled in Russia. Since then, that country has experienced the Russian Revolution of 1917--that was the year I was born--the Bolshevist government, the Communist government, the Soviet empire, and now Russia again. Almost as intriguing has been the extraordinary career of our remarkable colleague. During the same time period, Senator Thurmond has been a teacher, an athletic coach, an educational administrator, a lawyer, a State legislator, and a circuit court judge. Joseph wore a coat of many colors, but Strom Thurmond has held all of these offices, these professions, before coming to the U.S. Senate. He won his first elective office, county superintendent, the same year that Herbert Hoover won his first elective office, 1928. Strom Thurmond was a soldier in World War II where he took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He was a Presidential nominee in 1948. He was Governor of his beloved State of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951. He has been a Democrat, Dixiecrat, and a Republican. Most of all, he has been and is a great American. All of this would have been more than enough experiences and achievements in one lifetime for most mortals, but incredibly Strom Thurmond's greatest days were still ahead of him. In 1954, he won his first election to the U.S. Senate as a write-in candidate. That is saying something for any man who can win on a write-in seat in the Senate, making him the only person in history to be elected to the Senate as a write-in candidate. He pledged to the people of South Carolina that if they elected him as a write-in candidate, he would resign and he would run again and win the election the old-time way. And he did just what he promised he would do. So now he has become the longest serving Senator in history and the oldest person ever to have served in the Senate. It is more than just longevity that has made Strom Thurmond an extraordinary Senator. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he has fought for a stronger military, to keep our country free, and he has fought for tougher anti-crime laws to make our streets safer. As President pro tempore of the Senate, he has brought dignity and style and a southern refinement to this important position. For these and other achievements, he has had high schools, State and Federal buildings, as well as streets and dams and town squares named in his honor. A few years ago in 1991, the Senate designated room S-238 here in the U.S. Capitol as the ``Strom Thurmond Room'' in recognition of the selfless and dedicated service he has provided to our Nation and its people. I remember that day, a long time ago, when Strom Thurmond suffered the loss of his wife. I used to see her sitting in the galleries. I can see her right now sitting in that first seat. We are not supposed to call attention to the people in the galleries, but I can remember having seen her sitting in that very first seat where the gentleman is sitting right at this minute and watching the Senate. I remember the day that that lady passed away. I came to the Senate. Strom Thurmond was sitting right back here where Senator Joe Lieberman is sitting tonight. I walked up to him, gripped his hand, and told him I was sorry. And he was his spartan self. He thanked me and continued in his service. On this his 99th birthday, I wish to say what a privilege and an honor it has been to have served with this remarkable man for all of these remarkable years, a man whom the good Lord has blessed with this long lifetime of service to his people. He has always been an outstanding legislator, a southern gentleman, and foremost, a good friend. Count your garden by the flowers, Never by the leaves that fall; Count your days by the sunny hours, Not remembering clouds at all. Count your nights by stars, not shadows; Count your life by smiles, not tears; And on this beautiful December evening, Strom, count your age by friends, not years. Happy birthday, Senator. May God always bless you. (Applause, Senators rising.)