-Caveat Lector- O'Neill, Sen. Byrd in Fiery Exchange Thu Feb 7, 6:22 PM ET
By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer A budget hearing exploded into a battle over humble beginnings between a lecturing senator and a treasury secretary whose eyes flashed — and grew moist — with raw emotion. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said later those weren't tears in his eyes, but "fire." During the Senate Budget Committee hearing Thursday, an angry Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., and O'Neill engaged in a remarkably bitter exchange for nearly 15 minutes. At several points, Byrd waved President Bush's new budget, which used a picture of Gulliver tied down by Lilliputians to criticize congressional constraints on decision-making by federal agencies. "I just want to remind you, Mr. Secretary, that a lot of us were here before you came," said Byrd, 84. "And with all due respect to you, you're not Alexander Hamilton," the nation's first treasury secretary. O'Neill, 66, paused to gather himself at the witness table, then answered in a voice quivering with indignation. "I've dedicated my life to doing what I can to get rid of rules that limit human potential," he said. "And I'm not going to stop." Byrd repeatedly said that he, and not O'Neill, a former chairman of Alcoa, had been elected by voters. "They're not CEOs of multibillion-dollar corporations," Byrd said of the voters. "They can't just pick up the phone and call a Cabinet secretary. In time of need, they come to us, the people come to us." O'Neill, who grew up poor in St. Louis, Mo., snapped back: "I started my life in a house without water or electricity. So I don't cede to you the high moral ground of not knowing what life is like in a ditch." "Well, Mr. Secretary," Byrd responded, "I lived in a house without electricity, too, no running water, no telephone, a little wooden outhouse." He was raised by his aunt and uncle in West Virginia's coal country. O'Neill appeared teary at several points. On the subject of regulations tying down government, he pointedly cited the unjustness of "rules that said, 'Coloreds cannot enter here.'" Although O'Neill did not mention it, a younger Byrd once belonged to the Ku Klux Klan, which he later renounced. The blunt and sometimes impolitic treasury secretary has had other confrontations with members of Congress, although none as passionate as Thursday's. He once characterized a Republican economic stimulus package as "show business," prompting one GOP congressman to call for his resignation. Bush stood by him. Byrd took umbrage at O'Neill's earlier complaints to a business group, when he said some rules were "like the Lilliputians tying us to the ground." Byrd said he believed those remarks were aimed at a Senate rule that bears his name. The Byrd rule limits items that can be put on a tax bill. O'Neill stood by his comments but said he was complaining more broadly about rules that inhibit progress. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om