[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 45 (Monday, April 24, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3408-S3409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE SENATE AS A SAUCER

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, an oft-repeated metaphor compares the U.S. 
Senate to a saucer in which a hot liquid is poured to cool. The 
earliest known written version of this story appears in an 1871 letter 
from constitutional law professor Francis Lieber to Ohio Representative 
and later President James A. Garfield. Lieber recounted a story he had 
heard about Thomas Jefferson's visit to Mount Vernon where Jefferson 
disagreed with Gen. George Washington over the need for a bicameral 
legislature, and Washington's response:
  ``You, yourself,'' said the General, ``have proved the excellence of 
two houses this very moment.''
  ``I,'' said Jefferson. ``How is that, General?''
  ``You have,'' replied the heroic sage, ``turned your hot tea from the 
cup into the saucer, to get it cool. It is the same thing we desire of 
the two houses.''
  The Washington-Jefferson dialogue drew further attention in the 
writings of the late 19th century American historian Moncure D. Conway, 
who altered the language and the beverage:

       There is a tradition that on his return from France, 
     Jefferson called Washington to account at the breakfast table 
     for having agreed to a second chamber.

  ``Why,'' asked Washington, ``did you pour that coffee into the 
saucer? Why did you do that?''
  ``To cool it,'' answered Jefferson.
  ``Even so,'' said Washington, ``we pour legislation into the 
senatorial saucer to cool it.''
  Francis Lieber never discovered the source of this delicious 
anecdote, but whether or not the incident really occurred, the story 
has been widely embraced because it conveys the essence--the essence--
yes, the essence--of the U.S. Senate. What is the essence? It is a 
deliberative body. It is a deliberative body sheltered from shifting 
public opinion by longer and staggered terms, and originally by being 
elected via the State legislatures. It serves as a counterbalance to 
the U.S. House of Representatives.
  The saucer story explains, in simple terms, the significance of the 
Senate, from its origins through its evolution into the most powerful 
upper body of any national legislature in the world. Do you get that? 
Think about that.
  Senators and other close observers of the institution have grappled 
with their own ideas about the Senate seeking to highlight its unique 
and enduring attributes, and to explain its role

[[Page S3409]]

in the American system of checks and balances. What is it? What is it? 
What is it that makes the Senate stand apart from other legislative 
bodies? What is it? What is it that makes the Senate stand apart from 
other legislative bodies? Why have its seemingly arcane rules and 
traditions survived, and what purpose do they serve? Over the next few 
months, the Lord willing--

  You see, from the Book of James in the Bible, don't say ``I'll go 
here'' or ``I'll go there,'' to this city or that city, and I will be 
this or that. You better qualify that. As my old mom used to say: 
Robert, you must say, ``if the Lord willing.'' If the Lord wills it, 
you will do thus and so--if the Lord willing, or God willing. That has 
stuck by me all through these 80 and more years: If the Lord wills it.
  Over the next few months, the Lord willing--I can't say that. You 
know, if I say over the next few months, who knows? But, if the Lord 
wills it--God willing, in other words--over the next few months I plan 
to offer a series of addresses in which I shall sample these ideas of 
the Senate with some explanation of each observer. Their ideas have 
ranged from the necessity of the Senate to its role as a balance wheel 
with the ``people's House,'' the other body. They have focused on the 
rules of the Senate and its civility and decorum. They have viewed the 
Senate as a protector of constitutional liberties, a source of 
stability, and a product of politics.
  As a deliberative body, the Senate has been hailed as a place for 
second thoughts, as a continuing body, and as an institution that 
values its traditions. The form of Senate elections, changed by 
constitutional amendment, and the rules for unlimited debate and 
cloture have been adjusted over the years, but the Senate still differs 
in fundamental ways from the House of Representatives. It stands out, 
the Senate does--the Senate stands out as a body of individuals with 
peculiar folkways that have fostered what has been described as the 
``Senate type.''
  A body of equals among individuals and among States, the Senate has 
been a difficult institution to lead. Its deliberations have frustrated 
impatient Presidents. Well, who cares? Senators don't care if they 
frustrate Presidents. Presidents come and go. Senators may stay on and 
on and on.
  Its deliberations have frustrated impatient Presidents, leaders of 
the House, and even, yes, leaders of the Senate who seek speedy 
enactment: Let's get it done. We are in a hurry. Let's get it done. Do 
it now.
  Remember that TV advertisement which said, ``Do it now, do it here; 
do it now, do it now?''
  There have been many efforts to modernize the Senate in order to meet 
new challenges. I have been here a long time. I have seen these efforts 
on the part of Senators. Some of them come over from the House of 
Representatives. They want to make this body into another House--let's 
get it done. Get it done; do it now; do it here; fast.
  Yes, there have been many efforts to modernize the Senate in order to 
meet new challenges. Able leaders have demonstrated courage and skill 
in forging alliances and building friendships to pass legislation. I 
did that when I was leader of the Senate. I forged alliances with such 
and such a Senator. I forged an alliance. Despite more than two 
centuries of pressure to change and ``modernize''--let's put quotation 
marks around that word, ``modernize''--despite more than two centuries 
of pressures to change and ``modernize,'' the Senate, as an 
institution, remains remarkably similar to the body created at the 
Constitutional Convention in 1787. It retains all of its original 
powers, including providing advice and consent--yes. You said it. You 
better read that again in the Constitution. It retains all of its 
original powers, including providing advice and consent to Presidents 
on nominations and on treaties, serving as a court of impeachment--you 
better believe it, Mr. President. The Senate can send you home. You 
better believe that.
  If the House impeaches you, the Senate will try you. The Senate, 
don't forget it, serves as a court of impeachment and has an equal say 
with the House on legislation. The Senate has an equal say with the 
other body on legislation.
  As my statements in the weeks ahead--Lord willing, God willing--will 
suggest, the distinctive features of the Senate have survived for so 
long because they have purpose and will endure as long as they serve 
the good of the Nation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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