[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 22967]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              THE SABBATH

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I am not going to show any disrespect for 
the distinguished leader, majority leader, who is talking right now, so 
I will wait until he is finished.
  I was saying, I thank the distinguished majority leader for listening 
to what I am saying. I will be brief. I am not sure I will use 5 
minutes.
  Mr. President, in my office hangs the Ten Commandments. We have heard 
a lot about the Ten Commandments in recent years. I believe in the Ten 
Commandments. I believe we ought to respect those commandments, one of 
which says:

       Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.

  I am not saying I am a good man. My Bible says that no man is good. 
No man is good. But I think we ought to show some respect to those 
Christians in the body, and in our country, and many people who are not 
Christians, our Jewish friends, who believe in the Ten Commandments. As 
a matter of fact, the Ten Commandments originate, as we know, at the 
time when Moses went up on Mount Sinai and was given the tablets by God 
himself, by the Almighty himself. So we believe that.
  I am a Christian. I may not be the best one around. I don't claim to 
be. But I do claim to be a Christian. I believe that way, and I believe 
that we ought to observe the Ten Commandments. I think that this body, 
as the greatest legislative body in the world, together with the other 
body, in particular should set an example of respecting the various 
religions that make up our Nation. That is why I take the floor today.
  I think we are setting a bad example. I don't think we are showing 
proper respect to Christians in our country, and all over the world, 
for that matter, by publicly failing to observe that Commandment, that 
we keep the Sabbath Day holy and remember it.
  I want to say I am protesting the fact that we are going to have a 
vote on tomorrow. I told my leadership I had hoped we wouldn't have 
votes on tomorrow. I also offered to say, Well, it is fine to have 
votes after sundown. The old Sabbath ran until sundown. Let's have any 
votes after sundown. If we have to have votes, let's have them after 
sundown. I asked my leaders to consider that. They did, and for various 
reasons they decided not to--that we had to have the vote.
  I have to say as majority leader, when I was majority leader, I could 
have easily put this vote over to Monday simply by adjourning and not 
coming in tomorrow--which I would do, in this case. If this were an 
emergency, if something suddenly came up and it was a dire emergency, 
of course. You know the Bible says the ox may be in the ditch and we 
have to get it out of the ditch. But the ox is not in the ditch here. 
We have wasted a lot of time this year, and recently. We waste a lot of 
time. We are not in session when we could be in session. Then all of a 
sudden, here we are going to have this vote on Sunday. There are 
practicing Christians who like to go to church and want to observe this 
commandment.
  So I say of course I will be in to vote. I have cast more rollcall 
votes than any other Senator in the history of the country. I guess I 
will not miss this one. But I am protesting. It could have been 
otherwise. It didn't have to be. It didn't have to happen tomorrow. We 
could have had it earlier. We jam these. We have a way around here in 
the Senate lately of jamming. The leadership on the other side--I have 
to say the Republicans are in control of the body--they have a way of 
jamming us. Maybe we are all at fault a little bit. But there is no 
reason why we should have to come in on a Sunday, on the Sabbath, and 
have rollcall votes. I protest it today. I hope it won't be done again 
after this year. I hope I will still be living and still be serving in 
the body.
  I hope leadership will take this into consideration in the future and 
get our work done before the Sabbath comes and avoid having meetings on 
the Sabbath Day. It just isn't necessary. It is not a dire emergency. 
If it were, as I said, and the ox were in the ditch, I would say let us 
get it out and let us go in and vote. If it is important to the safety 
of the Nation, to the safety of the American people, or whatever, dire, 
we have to do it, of course. I think the Almighty would waive the 
Commandment as far as that is concerned. I understand we have duties, 
but I don't think it has to be done now.
  I want to complain about the way we have done the business of the 
Senate--lagged along and dragged along and come in and have voting 
sessions on late Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday, and we go out on 
Friday. We don't come in until Monday late. There are all kinds of 
reasons which I will bring up at another time perhaps and talk again 
about it.
  I am not thinking at this point that we are going to be able to waive 
this unless the majority leader will be of a mind to put this vote over 
until Monday.
  May I have 1 more minute, please.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I don't see why we can't have the vote 
today, or if not today, move it over until Monday. That could be done. 
The majority leader can easily do this, no question about it. I could 
do it when I was majority leader. I respect the majority leader, and I 
respect his doing whatever he has to do, but I am saying that a stitch 
in time would save nine.
  As one Senator, I say that we should uphold the Commandments. I have 
always felt that side of the aisle and this side of the aisle are 
highly observant of the 10 Commandments and make a big to-do about 
religion in this country. Why don't we have a little religion here 
today and put this vote over from tomorrow and not come in on Sunday? 
Can't we do that?
  I thank the Senators for allowing me to say these few words. I thank 
them. I will take my seat.

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