Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may I address a question to the distinguished Republican leader without losing my right to the floor?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. Leader, what is wrong with that? What is wrong with the proposition that the minority leader has suggested?

Mr. BYRD. Well, Mr. President, I have no quarrel with giving the Senators time. But I hope we will attempt, in every way possible, to avoid that showdown the distinguished minority leader has referred to. This matter--

Mr. BYRD. Well, Mr. President, I know of nothing in my 47 years in this body, in my 53 years in this Congress, that has pained me more than this issue. I am pained, pained by the political partisanship. What this country needs is not partisanship but statesmanship. I have great faith in the Senate. I have great faith in the two leaders. The minority leader has made a suggestion. Why don't we proceed with it? I am sorrowful we have come to the point where we seemingly forget the American people. We talk about the feelings of those nominees who have not been given an up-or-down vote. I am sorry about their feelings. But Senators have a right to speak, have a right to object. And the distinguished Republican leader talks about the need for an up-or-down vote, an up-or-down vote, an up-or-down vote. I have heard the President say something about that. Mr. President, here is my guide, the Constitution of the United States. What does it say? Does it say that each nominee shall have an up-or-down vote? Does it say that? I ask the Senator from Tennessee, I ask any Senator to respond to that question. Does this Constitution accord to each nominee an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor?

Mr. BYRD. I ask unanimous consent that I may yield without losing my right to the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Let me finish. I will be happy to yield. They were not given an up-or-down vote. So the Senate did not give its consent. That is all right. That is within the Constitution. The Senate did not give its consent. So what is the difference, if the Senate, through its committee system, decides not to give a presidential nominee an up-or- down vote in the committee, then? The Senate may decide not to indicate its confirmation by an up-or-down vote, just simply be silent. It has not confirmed, has it? It has not given its consent, has it? So what is the difference? If a nominee is not given confirmation by a committee, what is the difference? You are not giving consent there. If you are not given an up-or-down vote on the committee, what is the difference? I am unable to understand the difference. Let's do what the Constitution says. Let's do what the Constitution says. When we talk about what these nominees deserve, what do the American people deserve? That should matter. What do the American people deserve? They deserve to move on. Look at the problems that confront this country. Mr. FRIST addressed the Chair.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, if the Senator wishes me to yield, I would be glad to. I have the floor.

Mr. BYRD. I ask unanimous consent that I may yield to the distinguished majority leader for a statement without losing my right to the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Praise God. Here it is, freedom of speech.

Mr. BYRD. I am willing to give nominees, if there is a handful of them--

Mr. BYRD. I said I am willing to give them an up-or-down vote, just a handful.

Mr. BYRD. I don't mean six of them, five of them, or four of them or three of them. I have never attacked the Senator's desire to be looked upon as a leader who was fair. I have never attacked him.

Mr. BYRD. Just as the Senator has had a little difficulty in recalling whether I said this or that, I didn't have a written text before me when I spoke to the President. I don't remember if I said a few or all or three or four. I don't remember. I am willing to have some votes up or down. Let's get around this Damocles sword that hangs over the Senate of the United States and act as reasonable men and women and vote some of them up or down. Whatever the leader decides is fine. Let's don't talk about this nuclear option. Let's don't bring that down at this time. I am not referring to the legacy of the distinguished Senator in a disparaging way. I am not doing that at all. The leader----

Mr. BYRD. Yes, but let me finish my sentence.

Mr. BYRD. The leader has it within his power to go forward on all seven or six or five or four, whatever it is, or he has the power to do it on less than that number. It seems to me that a reasonable compromise could be reached among Senators. I am interested in helping to effectuate such a compromise. If it means an up-or-down vote on one or two or three or four, whatever, it seems to me to be reasonable if we can give and take--that is what we are expected to do, give a little here, give a little there--and let's get out of this morass, this terrible threat to the freedom of speech in the Senate of Senators. That means freedom of speech on the part of my people back home who expect me to speak for them. I hope the leader will think about that. My goodness, they have a shirt tail full of nominees, and we are going to wreck traditions? Talking about traditions, the tradition of the Senate is freedom of speech, freedom of debate, freedom to dissent. Mr. President, this reminds me very much of a book in the Bible, a book that is titled Esther, the Book of Esther. I think it would be especially good for the distinguished majority leader to be reminded of the Book of Esther in the Bible. I won't go into it all here, but Esther was a Jew. She had a cousin who sat at the king's gate every day. He was a Jew. His name was Mordecai. The word went out that a man who had been favored by the king, a man named Haman--H-A-M-A-N, I believe it is. Here is my Bible. This is the King James version of the Bible. I don't read any other version of the Bible except the King James version. I speak as a born- again Christian. We hear that thrown around a lot around here. I am a born-again Christian and have been since 1946. My wife and I will soon be married, the Lord willing, in about 16 or 17 more days, 68 years. We were both put under the water in that old churchyard pool under the apple orchard in West Virginia, the old Missionary Baptist Church there. Both Erma and I went under the water. So I speak as a born-again Christian. You hear that term thrown around. I have never made a big whoop-de-do about being a born-again Christian, but I speak as a born-again Christian. Hear me all you evangelicals out there, hear me. So here we were, we were baptized. But getting back to Esther, her cousin, Mordecai, sat at the king's gate day after day, and he refused to do homage to the king. The king was Ahasuerus, and his wife's name was Vashti. The king asked Vashti to come in before all the big shots in the kingdom, and she refused to come. So his advisers advised him to put her away and get a new queen. So they brought in all the beautiful virgins--perhaps not all of them, but they brought enough to dazzle the king's eyes--and they chose Hadassah, that is Esther, after whom the book is titled. She was the king's new queen and she got word from Mordecai that word was going out from the king's top man named Haman that all the Jews were to be killed on a certain day. So Mordecai told her that, and she told the king and the king said: Who did this? Who said that? So the finger was put upon Haman. Haman was the chief leader there of King Ahasuerus. Well, time went on and old Haman was advised by his people to build a gallows and hang on those gallows Mordecai, and on that same day to kill all the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of Persia. I will go to the point of the story quickly. It ended with Haman, the man who built the gallows on which to hang Mordecai, himself being hanged on those gallows. It did not stop there. The ten sons of Haman were executed on those gallows, also. I say this to the distinguished Senator, hear me, hear me. I am willing to give some up-and-down votes on some judges. That is a little thing. But it is a big thing if it is carried too far. Judges do not have to go before the people to be voted on like the Senator from Tennessee, the Senator from Nevada, and I have to do. They are appointed for life, and this is the only place where they can be scrutinized. Well, in the case of Haman, he was executed on his own gallows. I say to the leader of the Republican Party in this Senate, the worm turns and there will come a day when the majority leader of the Senate will be on this side of the aisle. I have seen it happen back and forth time and again. It can happen again. That worm will turn. I say to the leader, please do not ``Hamanize,'' if I may coin a word, the Senate. Remember Haman. The leader and his party may someday be on the same gallows that we in the minority find ourselves on today, ``Hamanized.'' Do not travel that path because the leader and his party may someday be executed on the same gallows. Think about it. Do not ``Hamanize'' the Senate of the United States. I thank the distinguished leaders for listening. I hope my words will not have been in vain. I plead with them, please do not ``Hamanize'' the Senate of the United States. Take us out of that straitjacket. I know both leaders have been working but work some more. If I can help, let me in, count me in. I want to help. Talking about the American people, they are the ones who are suffering from this delay. We could be doing something about matters that confront most people every day. I appeal to both leaders to let reason reign for a while. Let us reach a judgment to get on with the business of the Senate, but for Heavens' sake do not kill freedom of speech in the Senate. Do I still have the floor, Mr. President?

Mr. BYRD. I say, finally, my apologies to the Republican leader and to the minority leader, and thank them for listening. But how much land does a man need? How much land does a man need? Tolstoy wrote a great story. How much land does a man need?

Mr. BYRD. I thank the distinguished leader. I have the floor. Thank God for the Senate, I said, when I was in that body over there. Finally, I say to my good leader, I will pose a rhetorical question. How much land does a man need? Leo Tolstoy wrote a story about a man named Pahom, I believe it was, but regardless of the man's name, this man had orchards and fields of grain and lands, but he had land hunger. He wanted more land. He kept getting more land, but he always wanted more land. The upshot of it was there appeared before him one day a stranger who offered him all the land that he could cover in a day, like that Tennessee land.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I made my case. I think it is a good case. I do recognize that some amendments that are offered are not germane. It was my hope that, by presenting the amendment, the Chair will rule it is germane. I will accept the ruling of the Chair. I will not attempt to override the Chair's ruling if he rules against my point, but I have made my case. I thank the distinguished Senator, and also I thank Senator Baucus, the manager on this side, for the consideration they have given. I will abide by the decision of the Chair.

Mr. BYRD. And West Virginia.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, would the Senator yield?

Mr. BYRD. I have done what Senators sometimes do. They make a mistake. They have done it to me, too, in referring to a Senator's State as a wrong State. Sometimes they say I am from the State of Virginia. I count that as a great compliment, but I am from the great State of West Virginia. In this case, I have mistakenly referred to the distinguished Senator from Vermont as the Senator from New Hampshire, both great States. I am talking about the Senator from Vermont. I believe I referred to him as the Senator from New Hampshire. OK, the Senator from Vermont. I correct the Record.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I would like to avert a showdown, if we can do it. Why do we have to have a showdown?

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield.

Mr. BYRD. I will yield to the good judgment of the managers of the bill. If you would like to wait until the arrival of those two Senators, that is fine for me. May I take this moment to congratulate him and congratulate his comanager sitting by my side, the very distinguished Senator from New Hampshire. Mr. President, you are doing your duty, I say, speaking in the second person, which I am not supposed to do in the Senate. I hope they will come to the floor and make themselves heard.

Mr. BYRD. Will the Senator yield for a correction?