Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Will the leader yield to me?

Mr. BYRD. I say to the leader: 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 [October] afternoon, [leader,] Count your age by friends, not years.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, has the motion been made to reconsider the vote by which the nominees were confirmed?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, somebody should ask the Senate return to legislative session.

Mr. BYRD. Very well, has the Senate returned to legislative session?

Mr. BYRD. Is this a legislative matter or an executive matter?

Mr. BYRD. Absolutely. Parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Random House College Dictionary defines the term ``hero'' first as ``a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities,'' and second as ``a small loaf of Italian bread.'' There is, of course, a wide disparity in these two definitions. I think I shall appropriately use the initial definition to describe the hero of whom I am about to speak, Senator John Herschel Glenn, Jr. I have had the honor of serving with him in the Senate for the last 24 years. He is a gentleman. He is a great public servant to all the Ohioans whose beliefs and values he has so ably represented in this body. As Senator Glenn prepares to officially retire from the Senate and take up his wings of flight once again, I shall take a few minutes to thank this distinguished Senator from Ohio for all that he has done for our Republic as a United States Senator and as a hero. I thank him for his achievements as a Senator. I thank him for his dedication to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, on which he has served since 1975. Following his personal motto: ``You Keep Climbing,'' Senator Glenn has moved up in the ranks. From 1987 to 1995 he served as the chairman of the committee, and then as the ranking Democratic member until the present time. As a member of the committee, Senator Glenn has worked to protect our Nation and its people, using his expert knowledge to combat the issue of nuclear proliferation, to protect our fellow Americans from all the environmental dangers that are associated with the byproducts of nuclear weapons, and is making the Government more accountable for waste and fraud. As a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, on which I am pleased to serve with him, Senator Glenn has worked to ensure that the United States military remained ready and strong in the perilous aftermath of the cold war. He has shared a concern over the dangers of chemical weapons. He has joined with others of us in attempting to ensure that our military has absorbed the lessons of the gulf war and is prepared to protect our troops from low levels of chemical weapons. On these two committees, Senator Glenn has served as a voice of reason and common sense. Senator Glenn is a hero for all of us to emulate as a result of his honor and dedication to his country, his family, and his own high standards. I have asked this question in the Senate before: ``Where have all the heros gone?'' To this question I have no definitive answer, but I do know where this hero is going to go . . . again. Senator John Glenn is a steam engine in britches; he is atomic energy in the flesh. The senior Senator from Ohio has been a daredevil virtually all of his life. Not one to know when to slow down, Senator Glenn has risked life and limb, both on the Earth's surface and in the vastness of space which encompasses it, for one thing, and one thing only--the United States of America. John Glenn has been uniquely blessed to have had the opportunity to soar above this Earth of ours, soar like an eagle, surveying the beauty of creation that is God's Green Earth. To quote William Shakespeare in ``twelfth night,'' Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Senator Glenn is one who has achieved greatness through his service to his country; he is truly a great American hero. Not only a veteran of World War II, having served in combat in the South Pacific after he was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1943, John Glenn is also a veteran of the Korean war. Having survived 149 combat missions as a marine, our hero--our hero, my hero, your hero--our hero wanted to move on to a more challenging career as a test pilot of fighter and attack aircraft for the Navy and Marine Corps. And then, looking for new and extreme ways to test his mortality, on February 20, 1962, Astronaut John Glenn gently squeezed his body into the Friendship 7 rocket and became the first American to orbit the Earth at almost 18,000 miles per hour. Think of that. When I was young, I read a book by Jules Verne titled, ``Around the World in 80 Days.'' John Glenn went around the world in 89 minutes. This may well have been the pinnacle of John Glenn's life and career. On that fateful Tuesday in 1962, not only was America waiting with nervously clenched fists for news on Lt. Col. John Glenn's condition after his return to Earth, but the whole world was watching. People from all nations prayed for the safe return of this brave man. Mr. President, I quote from an article entitled ``Man's `Finest Hour.' '' I have been saving this article, now, for almost 37 years-- ``Man's `Finest Hour','' by the late David Lawrence, which was originally published in the March 5, 1962, edition of U.S. News & World Report: Miracles do happen when the world shows its humility in prayer. The voices that besought Almighty God to save the life of Colonel Glenn can speak again, as even more of us petition him to save humanity from nuclear war. For those prolonged minutes of prayer on Tuesday, Feb. 20, constituted man's ``finest hour''. Now, if the Good Lord is willing, on October 29, our friend and colleague--and hero--John Glenn, still brimming with vital energy, will be leaving the relative comfort of Mother Earth far behind. It is always a melancholy time when the institution of the United States Senate has one of its finest Members move on. But it is a glad time when one of its Members moves on to something greater. ``Excelsior, ever upward.'' That is the motto of John Glenn. He has bigger fish to fry, so he is ready to get away from Washington, DC-- far, far away. Senator Glenn's return to space aboard shuttle Discovery will add another significant page to the annals of history. The capacity in which Senator Glenn will be operating on the Discovery is representative of the way in which he had lived the last three decades of his life, despite his global fame--modestly and without great fanfare. I am certain that he will perform his mission on Discovery with the same diligence and sense of duty that he has shown in serving his great State of Ohio in the United States Senate. The world in 1998 is a lot different from that world of 1962, when John Glenn was first catapulted into space. Similarly, the space shuttle Discovery is about as close in design to the Friendship 7 rocket as an old Oliver typewriter--I was trying to remember the name of an old typewriter I had around the house when I was a boy--about as close in design to the Friendship 7 rocket as an old Oliver typewriter is to a home computer. The one thing that shall remain constant in this most recent launch is that the world will once again be watching, gripping chairs, biting fingernails, and saying its prayers for the Glenn family. For John Glenn, and for all the crew members of Discovery, and for Annie, that sweet little wife of Johns. It is hard to relate, to those Americans who were not yet born in 1962, the thoughts and emotions of the world on Tuesday, February 20, of that year. Technology has become so advanced that flights into space are routine. Men and women are able to live for months at a time in floating space stations. America tends to take for granted the risks that our Nation's astronauts take to perform scientific experiments, carefully placing communications satellites into orbit, and repairing important instruments of observation--all of which make life on Earth much more enjoyable. In 1962, the risks were greater and there were many unknown factors that experience has now brought to light and revealed and smoothed over. Senator Glenn's return to space brings that all back, and reminds us of the tremendous changes wrought by Americans within the career of one man. So, this evening I take this opportunity to wish the best of luck to John Glenn and to Annie and to others of his family. I anxiously anticipate Discovery's safe return to Earth, and I extend my best wishes, and those of my wife Erma, to Senator Glenn and to Annie for many years of health and happiness after he returns to Earth and leaves the Halls of the Capitol behind. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Senator Glenn. Mr. President, I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask the Senate return to legislative session.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, what is the business before the Senate?

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair. Is there a limitation on time?

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Thank you.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Senate is not in order. Will the Chair repeat what the question is upon which the Senators will be voting?

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank all Senators for their patience. I thank the Chair and yield the floor. Mr. INHOFE addressed the Chair.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have recently read several articles in the press which are cause for concern. One such article appeared in the Sunday, October 4, edition of the Washington Post, titled ``Bid to Trump Inquiry Shelved.'' The piece discussed White House efforts to produce a letter signed by at least 34 Democratic Senators declaring that they would not vote to convict the President, should the House decide to write articles of impeachment. According to the report, Minority Leader Tom Daschle has discouraged such an attempt. I commend the Democratic leader, Mr. Daschle, for his wise and judicious counsel on this matter. He has done the White House, he has done the President, he has done all Senators, and, indeed, the entire nation a great, great service. I am concerned about the ugly and very partisan tone that has enveloped many discussions of this matter, and about the extreme polarization which has already occurred. The House Judiciary Committee has voted to begin an impeachment inquiry. I have had nothing to say about that. I don't intend to have anything to say about that. This is the House's business. There is a constitutional process in place. That process has begun. The ball is in the field of the House of Representatives at this point. We here in the Senate should await the decision of the House of Representatives as to whether or not articles of impeachment will, indeed, be formulated. Senators may at some point have to sit as jurors. Let me say that again. Senators may at some point have to sit as jurors in this matter and will be required to take an oath before they do. I read this oath into the Record a few days ago. I want to read it again, because the Senate will shortly be going out, not to return at least until after the elections, and perhaps not until the new Congress convenes in January. To repeat this oath at this point, might be well advised. The Bible says, ``a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver,'' and so I think it is a good time to repeat this oath, which will be incumbent upon every Senator, should articles of impeachment come to this Chamber. Here it is: I solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws: So help me God. Note the word ``impartial.'' We all need to remember the solemn responsibility we may be required to shoulder. I would suggest by way of friendly advice to the White House, don't tamper with this jury. Don't tamper with this jury. I have been in Congress 46 years. I have been in this Senate 40 years. There are some people here who take their constitutional responsibilities very seriously. This will not be politics as usual if articles of impeachment come to this body. My friendly words of advice to my colleagues are these: We may have to sit as jurors. Don't let it be said that we allowed ourselves to be tampered with, no matter who attempts the tampering, no matter how subtle the attempt. How can we commit ourselves to vote for or against articles of impeachment without having seen them, without having heard the managers on the part of the House prosecute the articles, without having heard the impeached person's lawyers and representatives or even the impeached person himself make the defense? How can we as Senators, who will be prospective jurors, commit ourselves at this point, or at any point, as to how we will vote on such articles? We cannot do it and live up to the oath that we will be required to take. It is a solemn matter, it is not politics as usual, and I personally will resent--and I hope every other Senator will personally resent--any effort on the part of anybody in these United States to tamper with Senators as prospective jurors. I will personally resent it on behalf of the Senate and on behalf of the Constitution. I urge all Senators to be on their guard. There has been a great deal of gratuitous advice given by people on the outside, and some on the inside, who know very little, probably, about the history of impeachment, about the history of the Senate, about responsibilities of Senators under the Constitution in such an event. We don't know what the House may decide to include in articles of impeachment when and if they ever come to the Senate. There can be an inquiry by the House, yet never be any articles formulated. That is up to the House. But if the House decides to formulate articles of impeachment, we have no choice here in the Senate but to vote up or down. We can't amend such articles. We have no way of knowing what the House may consider to be an impeachable offense. An impeachable offense does not have to be an indictable offense at law. So I warn Senators, and I warn those at the other end of the avenue, to exercise the utmost care lest somebody be unjustly prejudiced because of tongues that wag too easily and too early. I also condemn the circus atmosphere which has overtaken this city. There are attack dogs on both sides, on the talk shows and in the press, and their wild and rabid rhetoric is hardly contributing to an atmosphere of reason or respect. I believe that everyone must stop playing for advantage. And by that, I mean Republicans and Democrats alike; I mean people at both ends of the avenue and in between. If the Senate votes on impeachment articles, that will be the most solemn, the most sobering, and the most far-reaching vote that Senators in this body will ever cast. Voting for a declaration of war does not compete with voting to convict or not to convict a President. We won't be voting to convict a Federal judge and to remove that judge from office. In this case, it would be the ultimate vote on the ultimate question that could ever face this Senate. So I say to my colleagues: Be careful. Mr. President, just to illustrate how close we are to making a total farce of the situation, I note that Larry Flynt, publisher of a magazine called Hustler, has offered $1 million to anyone who will come forward with evidence of a sexual liaison with a Member of Congress or other high-ranking official. How much lower can we go? Now, that makes a farce of the Constitution. Such tactics and countertactics only serve to convince the people of this Nation that whatever course we eventually take will amount to nothing more than partisan politics at its very worst. Now, we all play partisan politics, but this is one thing that won't bear touching with partisan politics on either side, Republican or Democrat. This is the Constitution which we have sworn that we will support and defend. One may say, well, there is no impeachable offense. This is something we don't know. If Senators commit themselves prematurely and then find, in reading the articles, that there is one article that is very, very difficult to vote against, it may be your own seat that you are imperiling. I urge all Senators, many of whom are going home to stand for reelection, to avoid making commitments on this matter and to resist lobbying attempts, no matter how subtle, and no matter who attempts to lobby them. We must resist pressure from all sides. The people are watching. This should not, this cannot, this must not, become bad, boring, beltway ``politics as usual.'' This is a matter in which partisan politics should play no role. I say this to my Republican friends as well. There is far, far too much at stake for the President, for the Presidency, for the system of separation of powers, for Members of Congress, and for our country as well. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the article from the October 4, 1998 Washington Post.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, with the new school year now in full swing, our youngsters are brimming with the excitement of making new friends, radiating enthusiasm for new studies, and preparing for the challenges that lie ahead of them. Students are tackling new reading assignments and committing algebraic formulas to memory. During recess hour, they are frolicking in the school playground with new classmates and old friends, enjoying the waning days of shirt-sleeve weather. They feel safe and secure--free from threatening situations and out of harm's way. But as our children leave home each morning for the school day, we as parents, grandparents, educators, and legislators, must regretfully remember that, just a few months ago, some of our nation's schools looked more like virtual war zones with bloodshed and the tragic loss of life. From Paducah, KY, to Springfield, OR, the notion of schools as a safe haven was shattered by the sound of gunfire, and we must now begin to face the formidable challenge of rebuilding that serene and tranquil school environment that each and every student deserves. Today, responding to my concerns about this trend, I am unveiling a new branch of my web site which contains the most up-to-date and accurate information available from authoritative sources on school safety. I have designed this web site to be an electronic resource book, complete with descriptions of school safety initiatives underway in West Virginia, updates on federal funding available for violence prevention efforts, and the latest information on legislation moving through the Congress. I hope that this addition to my web site will serve as an important tool for parents, students, educators, and lawmakers in addressing the issue of school safety in West Virginia and in other States. In concert with the release of my school safety resources web site, I am also introducing companion legislation in the Senate today to Representative Bob Wise's recently introduced legislation, H.R. 4515, to provide for the establishment of school violence prevention hotlines. Often, a potentially harmful student confides in his closest friend about his intentions to launch a violent attack on school premises. Or perhaps, teachers notice a change in a student's demeanor or an action completely uncharacteristic of a happy, well-balanced child. Occasionally, the parents of an otherwise cheerful, amicable son or daughter detect hostility in their child's voice when talking about a particular group of students. All of these scenarios may be just a bad day on the surface or semantics misinterpreted, but they also may be the first signs of a potentially threatening student. My legislation would provide funds to local education agencies and schools that have established or proposed to establish school violence prevention hotlines. It is essential that parents, students, and teachers have an outlet where they can report threatening situations to authorities who will watch over the student's behavior and alert school officials. School violence hotlines can prevent a disturbed student in need of help from taking that next, sometimes fatal, step. I have long been concerned about the increasing incidence of violence in the classroom and have supported numerous efforts to combat this kind of outrageous behavior and strengthen discipline for all students. After receiving a disturbing report in 1990 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which stated that nearly twenty-four percent of West Virginia's students between grades nine and twelve carried a gun, knife, or other weapon to school at least once during that year for self-protection or use in a fight, I began looking for ways to better address the problem of school violence. In 1994, when Congress passed the Improving America's Schools Act in an effort to reauthorize and improve the existing Elementary and Secondary Education Act, I offered two amendments aimed at reducing the level of school violence. First, the Congress adopted my proposal directing local school districts to refer to the criminal justice system any student who brings a weapon to school. Possession of a weapon on school property is a crime, and when a crime occurs, the police should be notified. While school discipline is an appropriate and essential first step in reprimanding a student for such a violation, it is simply not enough. Possession of a firearm on school grounds is an outrage and a true impediment to the environment that teachers are striving to foster. The second amendment that I authored in 1994, which was approved by Congress, required the U.S. Secretary of Education to conduct the first major study of violence in schools since 1978. In July of this year, the National Center for Education Statistics, in concert with the Department of Education, released the results of this study, which was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1,234 regular public, elementary, middle, and secondary schools in all 50 States and the District of Columbia. In a snapshot of the 1996-1997 school year, the study revealed that, with more than half of U.S. public schools reporting at least one crime incident, and one in ten schools reporting at least one serious violent crime during that school year, violence continues to beset schools across this country, all too often resulting in fatal situations. Back in my day, no student would have considered such lawless and unruly behavior. We knew right from wrong, as it was instilled in us from our parents, sometimes with the aid of a switch that we were made to fetch ourselves. We were told that the classroom was a sacred precinct. I was told that if I got a whipping at school I would get a thrashing at home. The classroom was a place where quiet prevailed and where students cherished the opportunity they had to learn, and that was the attitude we adopted. Unfortunately, today, students, many of them it seems, must be threatened by an impending obligation before the criminal justice system to make them behave and, often, even that has proven inadequate in keeping guns out of the hands of children and off school properties. Mr. President, what is it going to take to keep our students safe-- metal detectors in every elementary and secondary school in the nation? Is that the direction in which our country is headed? In the wake of reports of violence and tragedy at schools across the country, Congress is, once again, honing in on the issue of school safety. In more recent efforts, as part of the Fiscal Year 1999 Commerce/Justice/State Appropriations Bill, the Senate approved $210 million for a new national safe schools initiative to assist community- level efforts. Of that funding, $175 million is to increase community policing in and around schools. Just a few weeks ago, as part of the Fiscal Year 1999 Labor/Health and Human Services,/Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported out legislation which contains more than $150 million for a comprehensive school safety initiative to support activities that promote safe learning environments for students. Such activities may include targeted assistance, training for teachers and school security officers, and enhancing the capacity of schools to provide mental health services to troubled youth. Since the release of the 1990 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, my home state of West Virginia has made great strides in addressing school violence, and is setting a true precedent for communities around the country in helping to establish safe schools which support learning for all children and the professionals who teach them. According to the West Virginia Department of Education, incidents involving a weapon have decreased by sixty-nine percent during the years 1994 through 1997, perhaps, in large part, due to short- and long-term initiatives underway in the State of West Virginia. Mr. President, our nation has been grappling with the issue of improved school safety for years, and I am frankly alarmed that American school children continue to face increasing crime and violence. It is time to stop wringing our hands over this issue and take action. We have a school system today run in many instances by hoodlums who are converting sacred temples for learning into terror camps with innocent children becoming casualties in scholastic ``free fire'' zones. We have teachers working in fear, too anxious even to teach their students properly. We must get guns out of the schools and put an end to this sense of panic which is pervading our nation's elementary and secondary education system. I am hopeful that these initiatives we have promulgated in the Senate this year will begin the mission of setting our nation back on track. One of the most important things that we can provide to our children is the opportunity for a good education. I was afforded the opportunity to obtain a good, solid education back when I was a student attending class in a two-room schoolhouse. Today, we have mammoth schools, with all kinds of high-tech equipment, computers, and amenities that I never had or had never even heard of, or couldn't even imagine in those years. Yet our students are not learning. We owe our young people today the chance to learn and excel in an environment free from guns, knives, and other weapons. One of the National Education Goals, as included in the Goals 2000 legislation enacted in 1994, states ``all schools in America will be free of drugs and violence and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol, and offer a disciplined environment that is conducive to learning by the year 2000.'' To accomplish that goal--it is almost going to be impossible--we must send a message loud and clear that we will not tolerate weapons in our schools. Protecting our children is not simply a matter of public policy. It is a matter of basic values, of teaching children right from wrong and punishing those who insist on doing wrong, of instilling them with respect for the law and providing them with limitations. Students must know that they will be punished for doing the wrong thing, or for choosing the bad route. Mr. President, in the blink of an eye, we have lost the lives of precious young children to school violence--children who may have grown to be teachers, doctors, businessmen and women, and perhaps even future Senators. We in Congress have a responsibility to stop this deadly trend from striking other innocent families. The time has long since come and gone for decency and sanity to re-enter the schoolhouse door-- let's get moving. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have some remarks, which may require 10 or 11 or 12 minutes. I ask unanimous consent that I may be recognized for such time as I may consume, and that the previous order to proceed with the Agriculture conference report be delayed until I complete my statement.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, reserving the right to object.

Mr. BYRD. I have no intention of objecting. I merely want a little clarification on the time. Will that mean we have to wait until 7:30 and then may have a rollcall vote or so after that?

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I withdraw my reservation.

Mr. BYRD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. BYRD

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

Mr. BYRD. Is there any time limit, Mr. President?

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Chair.