Date: 1982-09-22
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. I am glad to hear the majority leader make that statement. He would certainly have my support If he Is maJority leader. and it. as it is not inconceivable. I may be majority leader again. I. would have his support in working together to deal with this postcloture filibuster. It is an abomination to the Senate and to the legislative process. CLoURB VOrS Mr. President. let me tell you this. Senators votes 4gainst cloture are sometimes used against them by their opposition. Opponents either do not understand the Rules of the Senate or they deliberately and maliciously at tempt to mislead thepeople in a State as to the meaning of that or some other procedural vote. If I may just take a moment. I will give an example. When Jimmy Carter was in his campaign. he promised to pardon Vietnam draft evaders. After he was elected and prior to his inauguration. I talked with Mr. Carter and urged him not to carry out his campaign promise to pardon Vietnam draft evaders. The Senate convened in early Janu. ary. and the late Senator Jim Allen introduced a senseoftheSenate resolution which expressed opposition to a Presidential pardon of Vietnam draft evaders. The senseoftheSenate resolution. of course. as all Senators know. has no legal or binding effe*t on anything or anybody. A filibuster developed on that sense. oftheSenate resolution. . Mr. Carter was inaugurated on January 20. and on January 21 he carried out his campaign promise to pardon Vietnam draft evaders. On January 24 there was a vote to invoke cloture on that filibuster. I voted against that motion to invoke cloture because I knew that if there were ever a technician in the Senate who knew. who had perfected. and who had originated the postcloture filibuster. it was the late Senator Jim Allen. for whom I had a tremendous amount of respect. So I voted against invoking cloture. The next day I moved to table the resolution. saying at the time that I was 100 percent against the Presidential pardon and had so stated to the PreAident but that the matter was moot because the President had taken his actions. and even if he had not taken his actions there was not a thing under Gods great panoply of Heaven that the Senate could do about the constitutional power of pardon that flows only to the President of the United States. I did not like it when President Fcrd pardoned Mr. Nixon. bpt there was not a thing I could do about It. There was not a thing the Senate could do about it. There was not a thing the Senate and the House could do about It. That Is a constitutional power that flows only to the President of the United States. I must make this pointto saythat ones votes against the invoking of cloture will be Intentionally used against him in many instances in an election. and they are being used against me. However. I am voting stainst cloture. and I am stating for t1.e record why. It was on that occasion that I was concerned about a postcloture filibuster. We had a natural gas emergency facing this country. which threatened to close down Industries and put West Virginians out of work. We had to confirm the nomination of Mr. Marshall. for Secretary of Labor. We had business to do. so I did what I thought I had to do as . majority leader. The sense of the Senate resolution was a futile gesture under the circumatences I have described. We had six procedural votes. We had a motion to table the motion to proceed to take up the resolution and that failed. Then we .had another motion to table the motion to proceed. by another Senator. and that failed. We had a motion to table a motion to send the measure to the Judiciary Committee. I supported referral to the Judiciary Committee for the reason that the resolution was futile under the circumstances. A vote also occurred on the Allen motion to bring up the resolution. and I voted against the motion for the reasons I have stated. On January 25. I successfully moved to table the Allen resolution so that the Senate could get on with other pressing business. I will vote against cloture today. I voted against cloture yesterday. Votes for or- against cloture and other proce dural motions must always be viewed in the light of the. accompanying circumstances at a given time. . I find no quarrel with my Senators who vote for cloture or who support or oppose the underlying amendment which is being clotured. But I simply state for the record that we often will have our votes misunderstood. misconried. misinterpreted. and. in many instances. deliberately falsified. as my vote on that occasion was. the falsification being. in the campaign back in West Virginia. that I "voted foe the Presidential pardon of Vietnam draft evaders. The majority leader is wearing a heavy crown. He has responsibilities. and sometimes he has to take actions to got this process moving and keep It moving. I sympathize with him.I have tried to show the kind of cooperation with him that I feel the minority leader should show. It Is not my business always to cooperate. It is not my business always to support him. It to my function at times to oppose him. But. barring those situations. I feel it my duty to work with the majority leader. to cooperate with him. He carries. a very heavy load. a very heavy burden. I have a great deal of respect for the majority leader. He has been most considerate toward Members -on this side in every way he can. He also has to consider the Members on his own side. and I am sure at times he will catch the dickensfor want of a better wordfrom his own side by accommodating the Members on this side. So I will say for the record that I appreciate the way he has laid out the program. the way he is attempting to close down the Senate by the first. and that was what he and I assured the Senate several days ago we hoped to get done. So I hope my visit to the Speaker yesterday was helpful and that we will be able to accomplish this. And I hope. Indeed. that when we come back next year. the distinguished Senator from Tennessee will be the minority leader and that he will cooperate with me In working on rule XXII.