    [Senate Document 111-14]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

    Robert C. Byrd

                              LATE A SENATOR FROM

                                 WEST VIRGINIA

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                               MEMORIAL ADDRESSES

                               AND OTHER TRIBUTES

                              hon. robert c. byrd

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                                   1917-2010

                              hon. robert c. byrd

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                                       z

                                   1917-2010
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    Robert C. Byrd
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                                   Memorial Addresses and

                                       Other Tributes

                                     HELD IN THE SENATE

                                AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                    OF THE UNITED STATES

                               TOGETHER WITH MEMORIAL SERVICES

                                         IN HONOR OF

                                       ROBERT C. BYRD

                       Late a Senator from West Virginia

                         One Hundred Eleventh Congress

                                 Second Session

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                                Compiled under the direction

                                           of the

                                 Joint Committee on Printing
                                          CONTENTS
                 Biography.............................................
                                                                          v
                 Proceedings in the Senate:
                    Tributes by Senators:
                        Akaka, Daniel K., of Hawaii....................
                                                                         43
                        Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee
                         .............................................
                                                                    17, 130
                        Barrasso, John, of Wyoming.....................
                                                                        131
                        Baucus, Max, of Montana........................
                                                                         69
                        Begich, Mark, of Alaska........................
                                                                        140
                        Bennett, Robert F., of Utah....................
                                                                        143
                        Bond, Christopher S., of Missouri..............
                                                                         71
                        Boxer, Barbara, of California
                         ...............................................
                         ....
                                                                    47, 122
                        Brown, Scott, of Massachusetts.................
                                                                        142
                        Brown, Sherrod, of Ohio........................
                                                                         52
                        Brownback, Sam, of Kansas......................
                                                                         87
                        Bunning, Jim, of Kentucky......................
                                                                        133
                        Burris, Roland W., of Illinois.................
                                                                         28
                        Cardin, Benjamin L., of Maryland...............
                                                                         49
                        Carper, Thomas R., of Delaware.................
                                                                         97
                        Casey, Robert P., Jr., of Pennsylvania.........
                                                                         44
                        Chambliss, Saxby, of Georgia...................
                                                                        137
                        Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi..................
                                                                        102
                        Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
                                                                         65
                        Cornyn, John, of Texas.........................
                                                                        136
                        Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut
                         .....................................
                                                                    14, 101
                        Dorgan, Byron L., of North Dakota..............
                                                                         30
                        Durbin, Richard, of Illinois...................
                                                                     37, 55
                        Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
                                                                         59
                        Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
                                                                         78
                        Feinstein, Dianne, of California...............
                                                                         94
                        Graham, Lindsey, of South Carolina.............
                                                                        109
                        Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
                                                                         89
                        Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
                                                                        132
                        Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas
                         ..............................................
                                                                    71, 135
                        Inouye, Daniel K., of Hawaii...................
                                                                         47
                        Isakson, Johnny, of Georgia....................
                                                                         56
                        Johnson, Tim, of South Dakota..................
                                                                         80
                        Kaufman, Edward E., of Delaware................
                                                                     78, 94
                        Kerry, John F., of Massachusetts...............
                                                                        105
                        Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
                                                                         68
                        Landrieu, Mary L., of Louisiana
                         ......................................
                                                               57, 113, 129
                        Lautenberg, Frank R., of New Jersey............
                                                                        116
                        Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
                                                                     33, 34
                        LeMieux, George S., of Florida.................
                                                                         72
                        Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
                                                                        103
                        Lincoln, Blanche L., of Arkansas...............
                                                                        137
                        McCain, John, of Arizona.......................
                                                                        138
                        McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
                                                                          7
                        Mikulski, Barbara A., of Maryland..............
                                                                         57
                        Murkowski, Lisa, of Alaska.....................
                                                                        126
                        Murray, Patty, of Washington...................
                                                                         52
                        Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
                                                                         74
                        Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
                                                                        111
                        Reid, Harry, of Nevada
                         ...............................................
                         ..........
                                                                 3, 82, 124
                        Rockefeller, John D., IV, of West Virginia.....
                                                                         10
                        Schumer, Charles E., of New York...............
                                                                         82
                        Snowe, Olympia J., of Maine....................
                                                                        124
                        Specter, Arlen, of Pennsylvania................
                                                                         26
                        Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
                                                                         72
                        Tester, Jon, of Montana........................
                                                                         42
                        Udall, Tom, of New Mexico......................
                                                                         76
                        Webb, Jim, of Virginia.........................
                                                                        121
                        Whitehouse, Sheldon, of Rhode Island...........
                                                                        121
                 Proceedings in the House of Representatives:
                    Tributes by Representatives:
                        Boccieri, John A., of Ohio.....................
                                                                        165
                        Capito, Shelley Moore, of West Virginia........
                                                                        151
                        Dicks, Norman D., of Washington................
                                                                        153
                        Frank, Barney, of Massachusetts................
                                                                        164
                        Gohmert, Louie, of Texas.......................
                                                                        165
                        Holt, Rush D., of New Jersey...................
                                                                        163
                        Hoyer, Steny H., of Maryland...................
                                                                        148
                        Jackson Lee, Sheila, of Texas..................
                                                                        162
                        Johnson, Eddie Bernice, of Texas...............
                                                                        162
                        Kaptur, Marcy, of Ohio.........................
                                                                        155
                        Lewis, Jerry, of California....................
                                                                        150
                        Mollohan, Alan B., of West Virginia............
                                                                        156
                        Obey, David R., of Wisconsin...................
                                                                        151
                        Pelosi, Nancy, of California...................
                                                                        147
                        Rahall, Nick J., II, of West Virginia
                         ..............................
                                                              146, 156, 159
                 Memorial Services
                    Charleston, West Virginia..........................
                                                                        173
                    Memorial Baptist Church............................
                                                                        203
                    U.S. Capitol.......................................
                                                                        171
                                          BIOGRAPHY

                   In the Halls of Congress, Robert C. Byrd will be best
                 known for his fierce defense of the Constitution and the
                 institution of the Senate. The Almanac of American
                 Politics stated that Robert Byrd ``may come closer to the
                 kind of senator the Founding Fathers had in mind than any
                 other.'' Senators from both parties have paid tribute to
                 Robert Byrd's devotion to the Constitution. He endeavored
                 to make sure that the wisdom of the Constitution's Framers
                 was not forgotten and that the people's liberties were
                 protected.
                   On June 12, 2006, Robert Byrd became the longest-serving
                 U.S. Senator in the history of our Nation and, in November
                 2006, he was elected to an unprecedented ninth full term
                 in the Senate. But it was on November 18, 2009, that
                 Senator Byrd became the longest-serving Member of Congress
                 in the history of our great Republic, surpassing the
                 record of the late Senator Carl Hayden's service of 20,773
                 days. Senator Byrd went on to serve 20,996 days, setting a
                 new record of service in the Congress.
                   During his tenure, which spanned 12 administrations, his
                 colleagues elected him to more leadership positions than
                 any other Senator in history--secretary of the Senate
                 Democratic Conference; Senate majority whip; chairman of
                 the Senate Democratic Steering Committee; chairman of the
                 Senate Democratic Policy Committee; chairman of the Senate
                 Democratic Conference; Senate minority leader; twice as
                 Senate majority leader; President pro tempore emeritus;
                 and President pro tempore--a position third in line of
                 succession to the Presidency, and the second highest
                 ranking official in the U.S. Senate and the highest
                 ranking Senator in the majority party. He was President
                 pro tempore at the time of his death in June 2010.
                   But the post that gave him the most satisfaction was
                 chairman of the Appropriations Committee, with its power
                 of the purse--a post he held during five Congresses,
                 longer than any other Senator, and which he gave up only
                 in 2009 as his health declined. He continued to serve as
                 the senior member of the powerful Senate Appropriations
                 Committee, and was the chairman of the Senate
                 Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Robert
                 Byrd also served on the Senate Budget, Armed Services, and
                 Rules and Administration Committees.
                   Throughout his career, Senator Byrd cast 18,689 roll
                 call votes--more votes than any other Senator in American
                 history--compiling an amazing 97 percent attendance record
                 in his more than five decades of service in the Senate.
                   Born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr., in North Wilkesboro,
                 North Carolina, Robert Byrd's natural mother, Ada Kirby
                 Sale, died in the great influenza epidemic of 1918 when he
                 was barely a year old. Her dying wish to her husband
                 Cornelius was to give the baby to his sister Vlurma Sale
                 Byrd and her husband, Titus Dalton Byrd. They renamed the
                 baby Robert Carlyle Byrd after their only son who had
                 died, and raised him in the coal camps of West Virginia
                 where his adopted father was a coal miner.
                   Growing up in the West Virginia coalfields, Robert Byrd
                 not only learned the values that guided him in his life,
                 but that is where he also met his life's love, Erma Ora
                 James. They both attended Mark Twain High School and
                 married shortly after graduation in 1937. For nearly 69
                 years, the Byrds were inseparable, traveling the hills and
                 hollows of West Virginia and crossing the globe together.
                 Mrs. Byrd passed away on March 25, 2006.
                   Robert Byrd was the valedictorian of his high school
                 class at the age of 16, and after 10 years of classes at
                 night at the American University while serving as a U.S.
                 Senator, Senator Byrd earned his law degree in 1963. He
                 was profoundly self-educated and well read. His Senate
                 speeches sparkled with citations from Shakespeare, the
                 King James Version of the Bible, and the histories of
                 England, Greece, and Rome.
                   Knowing the importance of education, Senator Byrd helped
                 thousands of young people earn their own college diploma.
                 Through the Scholastic Recognition Award, which the
                 Senator started in 1969, the valedictorian at each West
                 Virginia public and private high school receives a savings
                 bond and a special congratulations from the Senator. Then,
                 in 1985, Senator Byrd launched the first and only Federal
                 merit-based scholarship, the Robert C. Byrd Honors
                 Scholarship Program. Since its inception, tens of
                 thousands of students across the country have helped to
                 pay their tuition bills through this unique initiative.
                   At an early age, Robert Byrd learned to play the fiddle,
                 and he carried it with him everywhere. He played in
                 churches, homes, and hamlets throughout southern West
                 Virginia. While campaigning for political office he made
                 his fiddle case his briefcase. His skill with the
                 instrument helped to get people's attention on the stump,
                 and eventually led to performances at the Kennedy Center
                 and on national television. Senator Byrd even recorded his
                 own album, Mountain Fiddler. And, in October 2008, Robert
                 Byrd was on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry as he was
                 presented with the Dr. Perry F. Harris Distinguished
                 Fiddler Award for his fiddle-playing passion.
                   If his West Virginia values defined Senator Byrd, then
                 the Constitution of the United States gave him a
                 foundation to fight for liberty and freedom. Always close
                 to his heart, the Constitution guided Robert Byrd. Its
                 words and wisdom served as the foundation for his fierce
                 defense of principle and of the people's liberties. It did
                 not matter from where the danger came. If the people's
                 freedoms were jeopardized, if the Constitution's delicate
                 balance was threatened, one would find Senator Robert Byrd
                 leading the defense. Some considered his finest hour,
                 leading the charge against the invasion of Iraq. He
                 denounced the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing
                 the President to make war on Iraq. It ``amounted to a
                 complete evisceration of the Congressional prerogative to
                 declare war,'' he wrote in Losing America.
                   From his humble beginnings to the halls of power, Robert
                 Byrd never forgot where he came from or where he was
                 going. He was a statesman, a patriot, a defender of the
                 Constitution, a proud son of West Virginia, and one of the
                 most important leaders in America.
                   Senator Byrd was blessed with a loving family, including
                 two daughters, Mrs. Mohammad (Mona Byrd) Fatemi and Mrs.
                 Jon (Marjorie Byrd) Moore; six grandchildren: Erik,
                 Darius, and Fredrik Fatemi; Michael Moore (deceased), Mona
                 Byrd Moore Pearson, and Mary Anne Moore Clarkson; five
                 great granddaughters: Caroline Byrd Fatemi, Kathryn James
                 Fatemi, and Anna Cristina Honora Fatemi; Emma James
                 Clarkson and Hannah Byrd Clarkson; and two great
                 grandsons, Michael Yoo Fatemi and James Matthew Fatemi.
                   Senator Byrd was the author of five books: The Senate,
                 1789-1989, consisting of four volumes; The Senate of the
                 Roman Republic: Addresses on the History of Roman
                 Constitutionalism; Losing America: Confronting A Reckless
                 and Arrogant Presidency; Robert C. Byrd: Child of the
                 Appalachian Coalfields; and coauthor with Steve Kettmann,
                 Letter to a New President.
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                                     MEMORIAL ADDRESSES

                                             AND

                                       OTHER TRIBUTES

                                             FOR

                                       ROBERT C. BYRD
                                  Proceedings in the Senate
                                                      Monday, June 28, 2010
                                           prayer
                   The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, offered the following
                 prayer:
                   Let us pray.
                   Immortal, invisible God only wise, the fountain of every
                 blessing, we thank You for the life and legacy of Senator
                 Robert C. Byrd, our friend and colleague whose death we
                 grieve today. We praise You for his more than five decades
                 of exemplary service to our Nation and the citizens of
                 West Virginia, for the way he carried out his duties with
                 integrity and faithfulness. We are grateful that he knew
                 when to ask the tough questions, and to challenge the
                 status quo.
                   Lord, You gave him courage to make course corrections
                 both privately and publicly and empowered him to oppose
                 without bitterness, to compromise with wisdom, and to
                 yield without being defeated. I thank You that he was my
                 friend.
                   Lord, we pray for his loved ones, our Senate family, and
                 all who mourn his passing. May his many contributions to
                 our Nation not be forgotten by this and succeeding
                 generations. May all of us who had the privilege of
                 knowing our Nation's longest serving legislator emulate
                 his passion, patience, and perseverance. Give him a crown
                 of righteousness and permit him to hear You say, ``Well
                 done, good and faithful servant.''
                   We pray in Your merciful Name. Amen.

                   Mr. REID. I ask that the Senate observe a moment of
                 silence for Senator Byrd.
                   (Moment of silence.)
                   Mr. President, our Senate family grieves today with the
                 Byrd family over the loss of one of the most dedicated
                 Americans ever to serve this country; one of the most
                 devoted men ever to serve his State; one of the most
                 distinguished Senators ever to serve in the Senate.
                   Robert Byrd's mind was among the greatest the world has
                 ever seen. As a boy, he was called upon, when he was in
                 elementary school, to stand before the class and recite
                 not paragraphs from the assignment of the night before but
                 pages of the night before. He did this from memory.
                   From his graduation as valedictorian of his high school
                 class at the age of 16 to his death this morning as the
                 Senate's President pro tempore at age 92, he mastered
                 everything he touched with great thoughtfulness and skill.
                 This good man could drive from his home here in Washington
                 to West Virginia and back--it took 8 hours--reciting
                 classic poetry the entire time, and not recite the same
                 poem twice.
                   I was asked by Senator Byrd to travel to West Virginia
                 to do an exchange with the British Parliament. There were
                 a number of us there, eight or nine Senators, and a like
                 number of British Parliamentarians. I can remember that
                 night so well. We had the music up there he liked the
                 best--bluegrass music--and they played. It was a festive
                 evening.
                   Then it came time for the program. Senator Byrd said,
                 ``I am going to say a few things.'' And he passed out
                 little notebooks. He had notebooks passed out to everyone
                 there with a little pencil. He wanted to make sure
                 everything was just right; that people, if they had
                 something to write, had something to write on and write
                 with. And he proceeded, standing there without a note, to
                 pronounce the reign of the British monarchs, from the
                 beginning to the end. He would give the dates they served.
                 On some of the more difficult spellings, he would spell
                 the name. And he would, as I indicated, if it was
                 something he really wanted to talk about that they had
                 accomplished that he thought was noteworthy, he would tell
                 us about that. That took about an hour and a half to do
                 that. The British Parliamentarians were stunned. They had
                 never heard anyone who could do anything like that, an
                 American talking about the reign of the British monarchs.
                 Those of us who were Senators, nothing surprised us that
                 he could do from memory.
                   I can remember when he decided he was no longer going to
                 be the Democratic leader, Senator Dole did an event for
                 him in the Russell Building, and all the Senators were
                 there, Democratic and Republican Senators. He told us a
                 number of things he did not do, and he told us a number of
                 things he did do. For example, he read the Encyclopedia
                 Britannica from cover to cover twice. He studied the
                 dictionary. He read that from cover to cover during one of
                 our breaks.
                   I have told this story on an occasion or two, but to
                 give the depth of this man's memory--I had been to Nevada,
                 and when I came back, he asked me, ``What did you do?''
                   I said, ``Senator Byrd, I pulled a book out of my
                 library on the way back. I didn't have anything to read.
                 It was a paperback. I read the Adventures of Robinson
                 Crusoe.''
                   And as those of us who can remember him, he looked at me
                 and he held his head back a little bit and his eyes rolled
                 back and he said, Robinson Crusoe. He proceeded to tell
                 me--I had just read the book--how long he had been on that
                 island: 28 years, 3 months, 1 week, and 2 days, or
                 whatever it was. I was stunned. I did not know. I went
                 back and pulled the book out to see if he was right, and
                 he was right. He probably had not read that book in 35 or
                 40 years, but he knew that. What a mind. It was really
                 stunning, the man's memory.
                   The head of the political science department at the
                 University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Andy Tuttle, taught a
                 graduate course, based on Senator Byrd's lectures on the
                 Roman Empire.
                   He gave 10 lectures here on the Senate floor on the fall
                 of the Roman Empire. He gave a lecture because he was
                 concerned because of the line-item veto, and he felt the
                 line-item veto would be the beginning of the end of the
                 Senate. He proceeded to give 10 lectures on that on the
                 Senate floor, every one of them from memory. Timed just
                 perfectly. They ended in 1 hour. That is how much time he
                 had been given. The original Roman Emperors served for 1
                 year. He could do it from memory. He knew who they were,
                 how long they served, knew how to spell their names--truly
                 an unbelievably brilliant man.
                   He is the only person who earned his law degree while he
                 was a Member of Congress. His thirst for knowledge was
                 simply without equal.
                   Senator Byrd once observed that the longer he lived, the
                 better he understood how precious the gift of our time on
                 Earth was.
                   I quote Senator Byrd, ``As you get older, you see time
                 running out. It is irretrievable and irreversible. But one
                 should never retire from learning and growth.'' Robert
                 Byrd never retired from anything. He served in the Senate
                 for more than half a century and in the House of
                 Representatives for 6 years before that, and he dedicated
                 every one of those days to strengthening the State and the
                 Nation he loved so dearly. He never once stopped fighting
                 for the good people of West Virginia and for the
                 principles in our founding documents. He was forever
                 faithful to his constituents, his Constitution, and his
                 country. He fought for what he thought was right, and when
                 he was wrong, he was wise enough to admit it, and he did
                 admit it a few times.
                   Senator Byrd's ambition was legendary. He took his oath
                 in this Chamber on January 3, 1959, the same day Alaska
                 became our 49th State. He told the Charleston Gazette
                 newspaper in that freshman year, ``If I live long enough,
                 I'd like to be Chairman of the Senate Appropriations
                 Committee.'' Thirty years later, he was, and then he lived
                 and served for 21 more years. His legislative
                 accomplishments are many, and those achievements fortify
                 his incomparable legacy. But he is perhaps best known in
                 this Chamber as the foremost guardian of the Senate's
                 complex rules, procedures, and customs. He did not concern
                 himself with such precision as a pastime or mere hobby; he
                 did so because of the unyielding respect he had for the
                 Senate--a reverence the Senate always returned to him and
                 now to his memory.
                   With Robert Byrd's passing, America has lost its
                 strongest defender of its most precious traditions. It now
                 falls to each of us to keep that flame burning.
                   Throughout one of the longest political careers in
                 history, no one in West Virginia ever defeated Robert Byrd
                 in a single election. In Washington, his fellow Democrats
                 twice elected him to lead us when we were in the majority
                 and once more when we were in the minority. Having seen
                 both sides, he knew better than most that legislating is
                 the art of compromise. Many years ago, in this Chamber
                 where he served longer than any other Senator, Senator
                 Byrd taught a heartfelt history lesson to guide our
                 future. It was a lesson about both the Constitution and
                 this institution. He said:

                   This very charter of government under which we live was
                 created in a spirit of compromise and mutual concession.
                 And it is only in that spirit that continuance of this
                 charter of government can be prolonged and sustained.

                   In his tenure he saw partisanship and bipartisanship,
                 war and peace, recession and recovery. His perspective and
                 legacy are invaluable to the way we carry ourselves as
                 U.S. Senators. It is instructive that the man who served
                 the longest and saw the most concluded we must work
                 together as partners, not partisans, for the good of our
                 States and our country.
                   In 1996, Robert Byrd spoke to a meeting of incoming
                 Senators and reminded them that the Senate is still the
                 anchor of the Republic. Senator Byrd was the anchor of the
                 Senate. There will never be another like him.
                   He was a Member of this Nation's Congress for more than
                 a quarter of the time it has existed, and longer than a
                 quarter of today's sitting Senators and the President of
                 the United States have been alive. His political career
                 spanned countless American advances and achievements. A
                 dozen men called the Oval Office his own while Senator
                 Byrd called the Capitol Building his office--and he would
                 be the first to remind us that those two branches are
                 equal in the eyes of the Constitution. I have heard him
                 say so many times that we work with the President, not
                 under the President.
                   The nine times the people of his State sent him to the
                 Senate and the more than 18,500 votes he cast here will
                 never be matched.
                   As the President pro tempore and I, and each of us
                 fortunate enough to be here, have the privilege of knowing
                 first hand, it was an incomparable privilege to serve with
                 him and learn from this giant. By virtue of his endurance,
                 Robert Byrd knew and worked with many of the greats of the
                 Senate. Because of his enduring virtue, he will be forever
                 remembered as one of them.

                   Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I too wish to say a few
                 words about our departed colleague. The first thing to say
                 is that we are sorry, first and foremost, to the family
                 and also to the staff of Senator Byrd for their loss. The
                 next thing to say is that it is a sad day for the Senate.
                 Everybody who has been here for a while has a few Robert
                 Byrd stories. A couple come to mind I thought I would
                 share.
                   Along with Senator Reid and Senator Dodd, Senator Byrd,
                 in the early part of the decade, responded to my request
                 to come down to the University of Louisville, my alma
                 mater, to speak to the students and to a broader audience.
                 At his age and particularly given the fact that I was a
                 member of the opposition party, there was, frankly, no
                 particular reason for him to do that. But he did and made
                 an extraordinary impression on the students and
                 inconvenienced himself on my behalf, which I always
                 appreciated.
                   My second--and really my favorite--recollection of
                 Senator Byrd, I found myself a few years ago in a curious
                 position, at variance with virtually everybody on my side
                 of the aisle. I had reflexively, as I think many Members
                 had, responded negatively to a decision of the U.S.
                 Supreme Court in the late 1980s essentially holding that
                 flag burning was a permissible First Amendment expression
                 of political speech. The first time that amendment came
                 before the Senate, I voted for it. Then I began to have
                 some pangs of discomfort about my position. Having spent a
                 good portion of my political career focusing on political
                 speech and the First Amendment, I, frankly, decided I was
                 wrong and in subsequent votes have opposed it.
                   A few years ago, it became clear it was going to be
                 defeated in the Senate by the narrowest of margins. I
                 remembered that Senator Byrd was always carrying around a
                 Constitution in his pocket and had a feeling that upon
                 reflection, he might reach the same conclusion I did. So I
                 lobbied Senator Byrd. I thought initially it would be a
                 futile act, but he reexamined his position. As a result,
                 he too changed his position, and as it turns out, there
                 was not a vote to spare the last time the Senate
                 considered whether it would be appropriate to amend the
                 First Amendment for the first time in the history of the
                 country to kind of carve a niche out of it to make it
                 possible to punish an act we all find despicable. But,
                 nevertheless, the most unfortunate of speech is probably
                 what the First Amendment was all about initially. So
                 Senator Byrd did change his position. There was not a vote
                 to spare, and the amendment was defeated. And from my
                 point of view, the First Amendment was saved on that
                 important occasion.
                   We will all remember Senator Byrd for a variety of
                 different things. As the majority leader pointed out, he
                 was a unique individual in so many different ways. Those
                 are two of my favorite stories about Robert Byrd.
                   More than anyone else in any of our lifetimes, Robert
                 Byrd embodied the Senate. He not only wrote the book on
                 it, he was a living repository of its rules, its customs,
                 and its prerogatives. So it would be a mistake to think
                 that Senator Byrd became synonymous with the Senate simply
                 because he served in it longer than anybody else. Rather,
                 it was a fitting coincidence that a man who cherished and
                 knew this place so well would become its longest serving
                 Member.
                   Yet it is probably true that he will be remembered above
                 all for his longevity.
                   Everyone seems to have a different way of communicating
                 just how long a time he spent here. For me, it is enough
                 to note that Robert Byrd had already spent nearly 12 years
                 serving in elected office in West Virginia and in the
                 House of Representatives before he was elected to the U.S.
                 Senate during the Eisenhower administration.
                   Over the years, he would walk the floor with 4 future
                 Presidents, 4 of the 12 he would serve alongside in a 57-
                 year career in Congress. I won't enumerate all the
                 legislative records Senator Byrd held, but I would venture
                 to say that the figure that probably made him proudest of
                 all was the nearly 70 years of marriage he spent with a
                 coal miner's daughter named Erma.
                   If he was synonymous with the Senate, he was no less
                 synonymous with West Virginia. Here is how popular Robert
                 Byrd was in his home State: In the year Robert Byrd was
                 first elected to the U.S. Senate, 1958, he won with 59
                 percent of the vote, a margin that most people around here
                 would consider a landslide. In a record nine Senate
                 elections, it was the smallest margin of victory he would
                 ever get.
                   Members will offer tributes of their own in the coming
                 days.
                   I will close with this. Last year, in becoming the
                 longest serving Member of Congress in history, Senator
                 Byrd surpassed another legendary figure, Carl Hayden of
                 Arizona. Hayden was known to many as the ``silent
                 Senator,'' a phrase few would use to describe Senator
                 Byrd.
                   But what the two men shared was a devotion to the United
                 States and, in particular, to the legislative branch of
                 our Government, which the founders envisioned and
                 established as coequal with the other two.
                   A few years ago, Senator Byrd's official portrait was
                 unveiled at an event in the Old Senate Chamber. And I
                 think that portrait pretty well sums up the image Senator
                 Byrd wanted to leave of himself. It is the image of a
                 dignified man, in the classical mold, supported by three
                 things: the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and his wife. A
                 lot of people looked at Senator Byrd's record-long tenure
                 in Congress, his immense knowledge of poetry, history, and
                 the Senate, and wondered where he got the strength. With
                 this painting, he gave us the answer. He showed us the
                 anchors.
                   As I noted at that ceremony, Senator Byrd once wrote
                 that if the question was whether to be loved or respected,
                 he always chose to be respected. Yet his real
                 accomplishment is that, in the end, he managed to be both.
                   So I join my colleagues, my fellow Americans, the people
                 of West Virginia, and the Byrd family today in remembering
                 our colleague. We will surely miss him.
                   I yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.

                   Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, on this day, West
                 Virginia has lost probably its most prominent son and the
                 Senate has lost probably its most able statesman. For
                 myself, I have lost an admired colleague and a treasured
                 friend. More than nine decades of a remarkable life and
                 five decades as an accomplished public servant in the
                 Senate only serve as one form of proof that Robert C. Byrd
                 was and always will be an icon, particularly in his own
                 State. A man of great character, faith, and intellect, who
                 rose to the heights of power, yet never forgot where he
                 came from, his story holds a profoundly significant place
                 in both West Virginia and American history. But it was in
                 the coalfields of southern West Virginia where a young
                 Robert C. Byrd first gained the skills, the moral
                 character, the toughness, and the shrewdness that would
                 make him a truly great man.
                   After his mother passed away, he was raised by his aunt
                 and uncle, a coal miner, he movingly called ``the most
                 remarkable man I have ever been privileged to know.'' From
                 them Senator Byrd learned early in life what it meant to
                 be loyal, to have a ferocious work ethic, really almost
                 beyond imagination, and possess a deep faith in God. And
                 it was these values--these innately West Virginia values,
                 I argue--that guided his every action and made him such a
                 unique and strong fighter for our State and who got such
                 joy in doing that fight.
                   He was proud of West Virginia. He was proud of his
                 ideals. He was proud of the service he could render to the
                 people from whom he came. He believed with all his heart
                 that our breathtaking mountains, our rivers, and our deep
                 valleys, and especially our well-rooted people, who face
                 adversity always and face it with strength and courage,
                 make our State a place like none other in the world.
                   He loved the music of the mountains and played his
                 fiddle, in fact, very brilliantly. He was a master violin
                 player. He loved to quote the ancients, lending depth to
                 his analysis and observations, with knowledge of history
                 and philosophy to rival any professor. Just as easily as
                 he could quote Cicero from memory, he could sing every
                 verse of ``Amazing Grace'' from memory, too, and often
                 did.
                   Everything about Senator Byrd was a testament to his
                 faith in God. This man, who wrote and debated countless
                 laws, lived with 10 clear Commandments in his heart. His
                 aunt and uncle kept the King James Bible in their home and
                 instilled in him an enduring reverence for God. He always
                 remembered that as important as the Senate and our
                 constitutional government might be, there was always a
                 higher law that took precedence.
                   He started his career humbly by any definition--as a
                 butcher, a welder, other things too--and then campaigned
                 by playing his foot-stomping music, the fiddle, to get
                 elected to the West Virginia Legislature--that is how he
                 did it--the very same body that decades later would deem
                 him the ``West Virginian of the 20th Century.''
                   It was at Mark Twain High School where a lifetime of
                 love first began for Robert C. Byrd and his future wife,
                 Erma Ora James. Calling her the ``wind beneath this Byrd's
                 wings,'' as he put it, Senator Byrd was never shy to tell
                 you that Erma--a beloved coal miner's daughter herself--
                 was the reason he reached all of his goals. He believed
                 that with all of his heart. So from the fiddle-playing
                 young man to a history-making American icon, she loved and
                 supported him every step of the way until her passing in
                 2006.
                   I know and I observed maybe earlier than some that
                 Senator Byrd lost just a bit when Erma died. Watching him
                 hurting was painful. His wife died from the same disease
                 my mother died from; that is, Alzheimer's, and we talked
                 about it, especially a few years ago when he was talking
                 more frequently. I always felt bad that I could not give
                 him comfort and that I could not say something to him that
                 would relinquish his pain, which was evident and obvious--
                 very obvious in private. But I could not do that because
                 you cannot do that for diseases like that one. There were
                 not words to describe the difficulty such a devastating
                 loss can bring, and I commend my friend for continuing on
                 so strongly--as he did--for so long.
                   Erma was his soulmate, his best friend, and trusted
                 counselor. Their marriage was something to behold. My wife
                 Sharon and I loved watching them together. He became a
                 different person. They radiated an extraordinary faith in
                 God, in each other, and in the beautiful family they built
                 together, which in the end was what he loved the most.
                 Indeed, it was the time Robert Byrd spent with Erma; their
                 daughters, Mona and Marjorie, their husbands, and their
                 grandchildren and great-grandchildren that brought sheer
                 joy, pure unadulterated joy, to his life. So with sadness
                 in my heart, I also have joy at the thought of my friend
                 united with his precious Erma and with his dear grandson
                 he lost at a young age. We all know, those of us who have
                 been here for several years, the agony he went through at
                 the death of that young man, setting up a shrine in his
                 office. It affected him deeply. It was interesting that a
                 man who could be so oriented toward policy could be so
                 utterly moved by sadness in his own life and I think in
                 the lives of others.
                   It was in the Halls of the U.S. Senate where Robert C.
                 Byrd became known as the ``Soul of the Senate,'' a fierce
                 defender of the Constitution, a respected historian, and
                 an absolutely fearless legislator. He held, as has been
                 said many times before, more leadership posts than any
                 other Senator, cast more votes than any other Senator, and
                 served longer than any other Senator. And one could go on
                 in many ways in that theme. He literally wrote the
                 authoritative book on the rules and procedures of the
                 Senate. He taught all of us who were freshmen in this body
                 about that in classes which he would conduct standing in
                 the well of the Senate. He loved and he revered this
                 institution. Everybody says that. It is true.
                   Some people pass through this institution. They
                 experience this institution. He lived this institution.
                 Yet, still, his entire career was fundamentally an act of
                 commitment to the State of West Virginia and its people, a
                 day-in and day-out effort to do the best he possibly could
                 for the people of the Mountain State; always put upon,
                 often looked down upon, even disdained by others who did
                 not understand where they came from, what their lives were
                 like, and, for example, what it was like to be a coal
                 miner. People do not understand West Virginia well. Most
                 people do not go there. Senator Byrd sprung from West
                 Virginia and, yes, was an intensely devoted statesman.
                   He put himself through law school while also serving in
                 Congress. I know a few others have done that, but I just
                 sort of deny that. I think it is amazing that Senator Byrd
                 did that; therefore, any others who did it do not get my
                 attention.
                   He understood that people with the fortitude to ask
                 questions and to debate and to dissent one from another
                 makes America stronger. He had that courage himself,
                 standing up time and time again to defend the ideals upon
                 which our Nation was founded. And often those ideas were
                 very different from those of others. No matter with
                 Senator Byrd; he always spoke for what he felt was
                 correct.
                   As the minority leader has pointed out, the Senator
                 always had the Constitution in his pocket, close to his
                 heart. And he outlasted Presidents and Supreme Court
                 Justices. He served with an absolute insistence on the
                 equality of the three branches of government as envisioned
                 by our Founding Fathers, and he, therefore, helped us as a
                 body be more than our separate parts. He spread the words
                 of our Constitution to young children and his colleagues
                 alike. His patriotism was strong and confident, infusing
                 his every action with deep devotion for our Nation and its
                 people.
                   A Senator from a State that has sent legions of sons and
                 daughters to war--out of courage, out of love of country,
                 sometimes just out of a need to get work--he supported our
                 troops whether he agreed with their cause or not, fought
                 for our veterans, and worked hard to make sure those who
                 served our country got the respect, the support, the
                 supplies they needed and they deserved.
                   He also earned the loyalty of West Virginians with a
                 record of support for education and economic opportunity
                 that few Senators, at any time, in any State, in my
                 judgment, could ever match. To him, every school building
                 or education grant was a chance for a better life for some
                 West Virginia child or maybe quite a lot of children. He
                 cared about that, and he helped that become true.
                   Every overpass, every road represented an opportunity
                 for a more dynamic economy for our cities and towns, which
                 might be taken casually in some places but not in West
                 Virginia because only 4 percent of our land is flat, and
                 unless there is a road or a bridge, you cannot build
                 anything anywhere or virtually do anything anywhere. Every
                 business park or government office meant the possibility
                 of a better job for West Virginians trying to raise their
                 families--people he fought for all his life.
                   Senator Byrd also believed health care is one of the
                 most important ways to strengthen a community, and his
                 support for medical research resulted in breakthrough
                 medical opportunities. He spread this research all across
                 West Virginia, to West Virginia University, to Marshall
                 University, to institutions of all kinds. He believed in
                 medical research and did more than most of our colleagues
                 even know.
                   So in a State with rugged terrain, full of people like
                 the family who raised him, doing their best for their
                 family, for their country, for their God, Robert C. Byrd
                 decided that somebody needed to do the best for them, and
                 he did so each and every day of his life.
                   To me, he was a perfect colleague and a reliable friend,
                 a walking example of the kind of America I believe in, and
                 a living testament to the values that made West Virginia
                 my own home forever. It has been my greatest privilege to
                 serve with Robert C. Byrd in the U.S. Senate. I respected
                 him and I fought side by side with him for causes we both
                 believed in, and obviously I am profoundly saddened that
                 he is gone.
                   So in closing, Mr. President, I think he leaves a void
                 that probably cannot be filled. But I am lifted by the
                 knowledge of his deep and abiding faith and that he is in
                 the hands of the One who inspired these words in ``Amazing
                 Grace'':

                   Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
                   And mortal life shall cease,
                   I shall possess within the veil,
                   A life of joy and peace.

                   I think that gives all of us some comfort. It certainly
                 does me.
                   So peace and Godspeed, Senator Byrd, and peace to your
                 family, your loyal staff, and to the loving people of West
                 Virginia, who held you high for so long and will continue
                 to do so.
                   I thank the Chair and yield my time.

                   Mr. DODD. Mr. President, let me begin by expressing my
                 deep sorrow and my condolences to Robert C. Byrd's family.
                 And that family includes, obviously, not only his direct,
                 immediate family but obviously the literally legions of
                 people who worked for Robert C. Byrd--worked with him in
                 both the House of Representatives and this body for the
                 more than five decades he served in the U.S. Congress.
                   I suspect I am one of a handful of people left who
                 remember the day when I was 8 years old, in the gallery of
                 the House of Representatives, watching my father be sworn
                 in as a new Congressman, watching my father and a young
                 35-year-old West Virginian named Robert C. Byrd be sworn
                 in as a Member of the House on January 3, 1953. Six years
                 later, at the age of 14, I was in the gallery of this
                 Chamber when I watched my father and his great friend be
                 sworn in together on January 3, 1959, as Members of the
                 Senate. Two-and-a-half years later, as a 17 year old
                 sitting on the very steps where these young pages sit
                 today, in the summer of 1961, I worked with Robert C.
                 Byrd. In fact, with his departure and his death, he is now
                 the last remaining Member of the Senate who was there that
                 day when I first arrived as a page in summer 1961 when all
                 these chairs were filled by 100 Senators. For the last 25
                 years, I have sat next to him at this very seat to be the
                 recipient of his good counsel, his advice, his humor, his
                 contributions in so many ways to me, as he was to so many
                 others with whom he served during his tenure in the
                 Congress.
                   So this is a very poignant day, one that begins, in a
                 sense, a sense of bookmarks to me and a sense of public
                 life. It won't be the same for the remaining 6 or 7 months
                 of my tenure here to not have this wonderful human being,
                 Robert C. Byrd, as my seatmate in the Senate.
                   So I rise today to mark the passing and to celebrate the
                 prolific life of Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia. As I
                 have said to his family and to his staff, and, of course,
                 to the people of West Virginia, for whom he has been such
                 a champion throughout his public life, Robert Byrd loved
                 three things above all else during the 30 years we spent
                 together in this Chamber. He loved his wife Erma, he loved
                 the State of West Virginia, and he loved deeply the
                 Senate. I might say that each in turn loved him back.
                   Our sadness at his passing is tempered by our joy that
                 he now joins his beloved Erma. What a love story it was.
                 They met in high school. They married in 1937, well before
                 I was even born. They spent nearly 70 years on an
                 incredible journey together, and even after passing a few
                 years ago, his love for her was apparent in everything he
                 did.
                   In 1946, when Robert Byrd first ran for office, West
                 Virginia ranked at the bottom in nearly every economic
                 indicator you could possibly think of. It was a bleak
                 landscape pockmarked by coalfields and populated by hard-
                 working people from hardscrabble backgrounds and
                 communities struggling to make ends meet.
                   Then a young grocer from the town of Sophia arrived on
                 the scene, asking his neighbors in those communities
                 around Sophia for their votes in his race for the West
                 Virginia House of Delegates. As the Washington Post noted
                 in its obituary this morning, Robert C. Byrd met nearly
                 every person--I would suspect every person--in his
                 district, campaigning alone, with no one else, talking
                 about the issues he cared about and those that would
                 affect and did affect the people he wanted to represent;
                 and when all else failed, wowing potential voters with his
                 fiddle prowess.
                   He won that election, as he would every single
                 election--every single election for which he ever ran. The
                 people of West Virginia never could say no to Robert C.
                 Byrd, and he could never say no to them. As a State
                 legislator, a Congressman, and as a Senator, Robert C.
                 Byrd fought for West Virginians, and our Nation, I might
                 add, at every single turn.
                   If you travel the State of West Virginia today, you will
                 see his name on schools and bridges and highway signs. You
                 will perceive his influence when you see the government
                 buildings and research laboratories he brought to West
                 Virginia--investments that contributed to the State, to
                 our national economy, and to our Nation. But don't just
                 look for his name on the sides of buildings or overpasses.
                 Listen for it in the appreciative words of his
                 constituents, his extended family, and of a grateful
                 Nation for his service.
                   No State has ever had such a deep appreciation for the
                 Senate Appropriations Committee because no State has ever
                 had such an effective appropriator and fighter. Robert C.
                 Byrd came to Congress with my father, as I pointed out, in
                 January 1953, and they both arrived in the Senate on the
                 same day as they had in the House, on January 3, 1959. In
                 summer 1961, I mentioned I was a Senate page sitting on
                 the Senate floor. I still remember the eloquent speeches
                 of the freshman Senator from West Virginia.
                   It is incredible to imagine that he was once a freshman
                 Senator. Even then, he had the same gentlemanly manner; he
                 was kind to pages, as I recall, the same knack for
                 triumphant oratory, and the same respect for the rules and
                 traditions of the Senate. But he soon became a fixture and
                 a mentor to new Senators as well. I expect that over the
                 next few days many Senators will take this floor with a
                 Constitution in their pockets, as I do, that they received
                 from Robert C. Byrd. Here is my tattered and rather worn
                 copy signed by Robert C. Byrd: ``To my friend, Chris Dodd,
                 with great personal esteem. Sincerely, Robert C. Byrd.'' I
                 have carried this with me every day of my life for the
                 last quarter of a century, given to me by my colleague in
                 this Chamber, along, I might add, with a stern but kind
                 lecture about Senate protocol. I have mine right here, as
                 I said. It is a tattered and withered copy after this many
                 years.
                   For the past quarter of a century I have occupied some
                 prime real estate on the floor of the Senate. This desk
                 right next to me today, adorned with these flowers and
                 this black cape, marks the seat Robert C. Byrd sat in for
                 many years. As have all of us, I have been awed by his
                 deep knowledge of this institution and his deeper
                 commitment to preserving its place in our legislative
                 system.
                   So, in many ways, Robert Byrd's story is one of
                 constancy, of preservation, and of tradition. You could
                 define his life by longevity, I suppose--his 69 years of
                 marriage, his more than 51 years of service in the Senate,
                 his 64 years of public service to the people of West
                 Virginia. But he wouldn't have wanted it that way. This
                 country has changed over the many years in which Robert C.
                 Byrd helped to lead it and to shape it, and he grew and
                 changed with it, I might add. His story in so many ways
                 parallels the American story over these many years--the
                 story of a Nation on a long and difficult journey, always
                 trying to seek that more perfect union that our Founders
                 described more than two centuries ago.
                   He wouldn't have wanted us to forget about the positions
                 and affiliations that marked the early part of his life
                 and career, and he did not as well. We should learn from
                 our mistakes, as he did, draw inspiration from his
                 journey, and credit him, I might add, for being willing to
                 admit wrong and embrace right when he had the opportunity
                 to do so, because, like our country, Robert C. Byrd grew
                 wiser as he grew older.
                   So we can remember him not only as a tremendously
                 effective legislator, not only as a powerful speaker, not
                 only as a parliamentary wizard, but also as a human being
                 who fought for equality with the true sense of urgency of
                 a convert. He was a man unafraid of reflection, a man who
                 voted to make Martin Luther King's birthday a Federal
                 holiday because, as he put it--I remember him saying it so
                 well--``I'm the only one who must vote for this bill.''
                   Here was a man unafraid of progress, a man who, in one
                 of his final acts in the Senate, voted to overturn the
                 ``don't ask, don't tell rule'' in our military. Here was a
                 man unafraid of conscience, a man who, as the guns of war
                 prepared to fire in 2003, delivered one of history's most
                 courageous and memorable pleas for peace.
                   So let us not remember Robert C. Byrd for how much he
                 stayed the same throughout his life. Let us remember him
                 for how the years changed him, and how he changed America
                 for the better through so many years of his service.
                   Let us remember him as West Virginia's greatest
                 champion, the Senate's gentlemanly scholar, Erma's
                 husband, and above all, a true friend to each and every
                 one of us who knew and loved him so well.
                   Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.

                   Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, in 1981, after a
                 surprising election, the Republican leader, Howard Baker,
                 became the majority leader of the Senate, and the
                 Democratic leader, Robert C. Byrd, became the minority
                 leader.
                   According to Senator Baker, he walked to Senator Byrd's
                 office and said to him, ``Bob, I will never know the
                 Senate rules as well as you do, so I will make you an
                 offer. I will not surprise you if you will never surprise
                 me.''
                   Senator Byrd looked at Senator Baker and said, ``Let me
                 think about it.''
                   The next morning, Senator Byrd called Senator Baker and
                 said, ``It is a deal.'' And that is the way they operated
                 the Senate in those 4 years when Senator Baker was the
                 majority leader and Senator Byrd was the minority leader.
                 They operated the Senate during that time under an
                 agreement where Senator Byrd was careful to try to give
                 every Senator the right of amendment. He thought that was
                 very important. In return, Senator Byrd was able to get
                 unanimous consent agreements on amendments that many
                 Senators thought were frivolous or unnecessary or not
                 germane, which permitted him and Senator Baker to have a
                 fairly orderly management of the Senate during that time.
                   Senator McConnell a few minutes ago talked about the
                 time Senator Byrd reexamined the Constitution and changed
                 his mind on the First Amendment and flag burning. Senator
                 Byrd and Senator Baker during that time both read David
                 McCullough's book and changed their minds on the Panama
                 Canal Treaty, at great political cost to both of them. I
                 bring this up today because I never saw Senator Byrd,
                 after I was elected to the Senate a few years ago, when he
                 did not ask me about his friend and colleague Howard
                 Baker.
                   We will miss Senator Byrd's fiddling and his love of
                 mountain music. He campaigned in Tennessee a long time ago
                 for Albert Gore, Sr., who was running for the Senate and
                 who also played the fiddle. Senator Byrd played the fiddle
                 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and came back to
                 Nashville in October 2008 and sang along with a group of
                 fiddlers who were playing songs at his request. I went
                 over there with him. He knew all the songs and all the
                 fiddlers knew him. A few days later I came to him on the
                 Senate floor and talked to him about an old mountain song
                 called ``Wreck on the Highway'' that Roy Acuff made famous
                 in the 1930s or 1940s, and Senator Byrd began to sing the
                 song--he knew all the words--so loudly that the staff was
                 afraid the galleries would all notice it.
                   We will miss his love of U.S. history, not just any U.S.
                 history, but in his words ``traditional American
                 history.'' He was the sponsor of the Teaching Traditional
                 American History Program, which is part of the Elementary
                 and Secondary Education Act. He has provided nearly $600
                 million to 1,000 local school districts to improve the
                 professional development of American history teachers. He
                 and the late Senator Kennedy and I were working on a piece
                 of legislation which we have introduced to consolidate all
                 the Federal programs that support the teaching of U.S.
                 history, hoping that our children can grow up learning
                 what it means to be an American.
                   Senator Byrd is also responsible for the celebration of
                 September 17 as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.
                   Senator Byrd had no time for revisionists who didn't
                 believe America was exceptional. He believed this is one
                 country, unified by a common language and a few
                 principles. He did not want our country to become a United
                 Nations, but always to be the United States of America. He
                 wanted us to be proud of where we came from, but prouder
                 to be American.
                   We will especially miss Senator Byrd's love of and
                 understanding of the Senate. One of the most special
                 occasions I ever experienced was the opportunity as a
                 freshman Senator in 2003 to attend an indoctrination, one
                 might say--or orientation would be the proper
                 description--on what it means to be a Senator. Senator
                 Byrd began by saying, ``You are presently occupying what I
                 consider to be hallowed ground.''
                   I wish to ask unanimous consent to have printed in the
                 Record following my remarks the remarks of Senator Byrd at
                 the orientation of new Senators on December 3, 1996.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
                 ordered.
                   (See exhibit 1, next page.)

                   Mr. ALEXANDER. Senator Byrd served long enough to know
                 that, as he put it, ``As long as the Senate retains the
                 power to amend and the power of unlimited debate, the
                 liberties of the people will remain secure.'' He believed
                 that when he was lecturing Republicans in 2005 who were
                 trying to change the rules when there was a controversy
                 about President Bush's appointees to the Federal
                 judiciary, and he said the same thing to young Democrats
                 who grew impatient this year and wanted to change the
                 rules to limit unlimited amendment and unlimited debate.
                   Perhaps his last Senate appearance was before the Rules
                 Committee on May 19, 2010, where his opening statement on
                 the filibuster and its consequences warned against a rules
                 change.
                   I ask unanimous consent to have that statement printed
                 in the Record following my remarks.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
                 ordered.
                   (See exhibit 2, page 24.)

                   Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I was 12 years old when
                 Senator Robert Byrd was elected to the House of
                 Representatives. I was a senior in Maryville, TN, when he
                 was elected to the Senate. When I came here as a Senate
                 aide 42 years ago, he had just been elected to his second
                 term and was working his way up the party leadership.
                   He was an imposing man. He had a wonderful photographic
                 memory. But, after one got to know him especially, he was
                 a kind man.
                   All of us can be replaced, but it is fair to say the
                 Senate will never be the same place without Robert C.
                 Byrd.
                   I yield the floor.
                                          Exhibit 1
                 Remarks by U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd at the Orientation
                              of New Senators, December 3, 1996
                   Good afternoon and welcome to the U.S. Senate Chamber.
                 You are presently occupying what I consider to be
                 ``hallowed ground.''
                   You will shortly join the ranks of a very select group
                 of individuals who have been honored with the title of
                 U.S. Senator since 1789 when the Senate first convened.
                 The Creator willing, you will be here for at least 6
                 years.
                   Make no mistake about it, the Office of U.S. Senator is
                 the highest political calling in the land. The Senate can
                 remove from office Presidents, members of the Federal
                 judiciary, and other Federal officials, but only the
                 Senate itself can expel a Senator.
                   Let us listen for a moment to the words of James Madison
                 on the role of the Senate.

                      These [reasons for establishing the Senate] were
                    first to protect the people against their rulers:
                    secondly to protect the people against the transient
                    impression into which they themselves might be led
                    [through their representatives in the lower house].
                    A people deliberating in a temperate moment, and
                    with the experience of other nations before them, on
                    the plan of government most likely to secure their
                    happiness, would first be aware, that those charged
                    with the public happiness, might betray their trust.
                    An obvious precaution against this danger would be
                    to divide the trust between different bodies of men,
                    who might watch and check each other ... . It would
                    next occur to such a people, that they themselves
                    were liable to temporary errors, through want of
                    information as to their true interest, and that men
                    chosen for a short term [House members], ... might
                    err from the same cause. This reflection would
                    naturally suggest that the Government be so
                    constituted, as that one of its branches might have
                    an opportunity of acquiring a competent knowledge of
                    the public interests. Another reflection equally
                    becoming a people on such an occasion, would be that
                    they themselves, as well as a numerous body of
                    Representatives, were liable to err also, from
                    fickleness and passion. A necessary fence against
                    this danger would be to select a portion of
                    enlightened citizens, whose limited number, and
                    firmness might seasonably interpose against
                    impetuous councils. [emphasis added]

                   Ladies and gentlemen, you are shortly to become part of
                 that all-important, ``necessary fence,'' which is the U.S.
                 Senate. Let me give you the words of Vice President Aaron
                 Burr upon his departure from the Senate in 1805. ``This
                 house,'' said he, ``is a sanctuary; a citadel of law, of
                 order, and of liberty; and it is here--it is here, in this
                 exalted refuge; here, if anywhere, will resistance be made
                 to the storms of political phrensy and the silent arts of
                 corruption; and if the Constitution be destined ever to
                 perish by the sacrilegious hand of the demagogue or the
                 usurper, which God avert, its expiring agonies will be
                 witnessed on this floor.'' Gladstone referred to the
                 Senate as ``that remarkable body--the most remarkable of
                 all the inventions of modern politics.''
                   This is a very large class of new Senators. There are 15
                 of you. It has been 16 years since the Senate welcomed a
                 larger group of new Members. Since 1980, the average size
                 class of new members has been approximately 10. Your
                 backgrounds vary. Some of you may have served in the
                 executive branch. Some may have been staffers here on the
                 Hill. Some of you have never held Federal office before.
                 Over half of you have had some service in the House of
                 Representatives.
                   Let us clearly understand one thing. The Constitution's
                 Framers never intended for the Senate to function like the
                 House of Representatives. That fact is immediately
                 apparent when one considers the length of a Senate term
                 and the staggered nature of Senate terms. The Senate was
                 intended to be a continuing body. By subjecting only one-
                 third of the Senate's membership to reelection every 2
                 years, the Constitution's Framers ensured that two-thirds
                 of the membership would always carry over from one
                 Congress to the next to give the Senate an enduring
                 stability.
                   The Senate and, therefore, Senators were intended to
                 take the long view and to be able to resist, if need be,
                 the passions of the often intemperate House. Few, if any,
                 upper Chambers in the history of the Western World have
                 possessed the Senate's absolute right to unlimited debate
                 and to amend or block legislation passed by a lower House.
                   Looking back over a period of 208 years, it becomes
                 obvious that the Senate was intended to be significantly
                 different from the House in other ways as well. The
                 constitutional Framers gave the Senate the unique
                 executive powers of providing advice and consent to
                 Presidential nominations and to treaties, and the sole
                 power to try and to remove impeached officers of the
                 government. In the case of treaties, the Senate, with its
                 longer terms, and its ability to develop expertise through
                 the device of being a continuing body, has often performed
                 invaluable service.
                   I have said that as long as the Senate retains the power
                 to amend and the power of unlimited debate, the liberties
                 of the people will remain secure.
                   The Senate was intended to be a forum for open and free
                 debate and for the protection of political minorities. I
                 have led the majority and I have led the minority, and I
                 can tell you that there is nothing that makes one fully
                 appreciate the Senate's special role as the protector of
                 minority interests like being in the minority. Since the
                 Republican Party was created in 1854, the Senate has
                 changed hands 14 times, so each party has had the
                 opportunity to appreciate first hand the Senate's role as
                 guardian of minority rights. But, almost from its earliest
                 years the Senate has insisted upon its Members' right to
                 virtually unlimited debate.
                   When the Senate reluctantly adopted a cloture rule in
                 1917, it made the closing of debate very difficult to
                 achieve by requiring a super majority and by permitting
                 extended post-cloture debate. This deference to minority
                 views sharply distinguishes the Senate from the
                 majoritarian House of Representatives. The Framers
                 recognized that a minority can be right and that a
                 majority can be wrong. They recognized that the Senate
                 should be a true deliberative body--a forum in which to
                 slow the passions of the House, hold them up to the light,
                 examine them, and, through informed debate, educate the
                 public. The Senate is the proverbial saucer intended to
                 cool the cup of coffee from the House. It is the one place
                 in the whole government where the minority is guaranteed a
                 public airing of its views. Woodrow Wilson observed that
                 the Senate's informing function was as important as its
                 legislating function, and now, with televised Senate
                 debate, its informing function plays an even larger and
                 more critical role in the life of our Nation.
                   Many a mind has been changed by an impassioned plea from
                 the minority side. Important flaws in otherwise good
                 legislation have been detected by discerning minority
                 Members engaged in thorough debate, and important
                 compromise which has worked to the great benefit of our
                 Nation has been forged by an intransigent Member
                 determined to filibuster until his views were accommodated
                 or at least seriously considered.
                   The Senate is often soundly castigated for its
                 inefficiency, but in fact, it was never intended to be
                 efficient. Its purpose was and is to examine, consider,
                 protect, and to be a totally independent source of wisdom
                 and judgment on the actions of the lower House and on the
                 executive. As such, the Senate is the central pillar of
                 our constitutional system. I hope that you, as new Members
                 will study the Senate in its institutional context because
                 that is the best way to understand your personal role as a
                 U.S. Senator. Your responsibilities are heavy. Understand
                 them, live up to them, and strive to take the long view as
                 you exercise your duties. This will not always be easy.
                   The pressures on you will, at times, be enormous. You
                 will have to formulate policies, grapple with issues,
                 serve the constituents in your State, and cope with the
                 media. A Senator's attention today is fractured beyond
                 belief. Committee meetings, breaking news, fundraising,
                 all of these will demand your attention, not to mention
                 personal and family responsibilities. But, somehow, amidst
                 all the noise and confusion, you must find the time to
                 reflect, to study, to read, and, especially, to understand
                 the absolutely critically important institutional role of
                 the Senate.
                   May I suggest that you start by carefully reading the
                 Constitution and the Federalist Papers. In a few weeks,
                 you will stand on the platform behind me and take an oath
                 to ``support and defend the Constitution of the United
                 States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; to bear
                 true faith and allegiance to the same; and take this
                 obligation freely, without any mental reservation or
                 purpose of evasion; and to well and faithfully discharge
                 the duties of the office on which you are about to enter:
                 So help you God.''
                   Note especially the first 22 words, ``I do solemnly
                 swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of
                 the United States against all enemies, foreign and
                 domestic ...''
                   In order to live up to that solemn oath, one must
                 clearly understand the deliberately established inherent
                 tensions between the three branches, commonly called the
                 checks and balances, and separation of powers which the
                 Framers so carefully crafted. I carry a copy of the
                 Constitution in my shirt pocket. I have studied it
                 carefully, read and reread its articles, marveled at its
                 genius, its beauty, its symmetry, and its meticulous
                 balance, and learned something new each time that I
                 partook of its timeless wisdom. Nothing will help you to
                 fully grasp the Senate's critical role in the balance of
                 powers like a thorough reading of the Constitution and the
                 Federalist Papers.
                   Now I would like to turn for a moment to the human side
                 of the Senate, the relationship among Senators, and the
                 way that even that facet of service here is, to a degree,
                 governed by the Constitution and the Senate's rules.
                   The requirement for super majority votes in approving
                 treaties, involving cloture, removing impeached Federal
                 officers, and overriding vetoes, plus the need for
                 unanimous consent before the Senate can even proceed in
                 many instances, makes bipartisanship and comity necessary
                 if Members wish to accomplish much of anything. Realize
                 this. The campaign is over. You are here to be a Senator.
                 Not much happens in this body without cooperation between
                 the two parties.
                   In this now 208-year-old institution, the positions of
                 majority and minority leaders have existed for less than
                 80 years. Although the positions have evolved
                 significantly within the past half century, still, the
                 only really substantive prerogative the leaders possess is
                 the right of first recognition before any other Member of
                 their respective parties who might wish to speak on the
                 Senate floor. Those of you who have served in the House
                 will now have to forget about such things as the Committee
                 of the Whole, closed rules, and germaneness, except when
                 cloture has been invoked, and become well acquainted with
                 the workings of unanimous consent agreements. Those of you
                 who took the trouble to learn Deschler's Procedure will
                 now need to set that aside and turn in earnest to
                 Riddick's Senate Procedure.
                   Senators can lose the floor for transgressing the rules.
                 Personal attacks on other Members or other blatantly
                 injudicious comments are unacceptable in the Senate. Again
                 to encourage a cooling of passions, and to promote a calm
                 examination of substance, Senators address each other
                 through the Presiding Officer and in the third person.
                 Civility is essential here for pragmatic reasons as well
                 as for public consumption. It is difficult to project the
                 image of a statesmanlike, intelligent, public servant,
                 attempting to inform the public and examine issues, if one
                 is behaving and speaking in a manner more appropriate to a
                 poolroom brawl than to U.S. Senate debate. You will also
                 find that overly zealous attacks on other Members or on
                 their States are always extremely counterproductive, and
                 that you will usually be repaid in kind.
                   Let us strive for dignity. When you rise to speak on
                 this Senate floor, you will be following in the tradition
                 of such men as Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. You will be
                 standing in the place of such Senators as Edmund Ross of
                 Kansas and Peter Van Winkle of West Virginia, 1868, who
                 voted against their party to save the institution of the
                 Presidency during the Andrew Johnson impeachment trial.
                   Debate on the Senate floor demands thought, careful
                 preparation and some familiarity with Senate rules if we
                 are to engage in thoughtful and informed debate.
                 Additionally, informed debate helps the American people
                 have a better understanding of the complicated problems
                 which besiege them in their own lives. Simply put, the
                 Senate cannot inform American citizens without extensive
                 debate on those very issues.
                   We were not elected to raise money for our own
                 reelections. We were not elected to see how many press
                 releases or TV appearances we could stack up. We were not
                 elected to set up staff empires by serving on every
                 committee in sight. We need to concentrate, focus, debate,
                 inform, and, I hope, engage the public, and thereby forge
                 consensus and direction. Once we engage each other and the
                 public intellectually, the tough choices will be easier.
                   I thank each of you for your time and attention and I
                 congratulate each of you on your selection to fill a seat
                 in this august body. Service in this body is a supreme
                 honor. It is also a burden and a serious responsibility.
                 Members' lives become open for inspection and are used as
                 examples for other citizens to emulate. A Senator must
                 really be much more than hard working, much more than
                 conscientious, much more than dutiful. A Senator must
                 reach for noble qualities--honor, total dedication, self-
                 discipline, extreme selflessness, exemplary patriotism,
                 sober judgment, and intellectual honesty. The Senate is
                 more important than any one or all of us--more important
                 than I am; more important than the majority and minority
                 leaders; more important than all 100 of us; more important
                 than all of the 1,843 men and women who have served in
                 this body since 1789. Each of us has a solemn
                 responsibility to remember that, and to remember it often.
                   Let me leave you with the words of the last paragraph of
                 volume II, of The Senate: 1789-1989: ``Originally
                 consisting of only twenty-two members, the Senate had
                 grown to a membership of ninety-eight by the time I was
                 sworn in as a new senator in January 1959. After two
                 hundred years, it is still the anchor of the Republic, the
                 morning and evening star in the American constitutional
                 constellation. It has had its giants and its little men,
                 its Websters and its Bilbos, its Calhouns and its
                 McCarthys. It has been the stage of high drama, of comedy
                 and of tragedy, and its players have been the great and
                 the near-great, those who think they are great, and those
                 who will never be great. It has weathered the storms of
                 adversity, withstood the barbs of cynics and the attacks
                 of critics, and provided stability and strength to the
                 nation during periods of civil strife and uncertainty,
                 panics and depressions. In war and in peace, it has been
                 the sure refuge and protector of the rights of the states
                 and of a political minority. And, today, the Senate still
                 stands--the great forum of constitutional American
                 liberty!'

                                              a

                                          Exhibit 2
                   Statement of Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), Senate
                      Rules and Administration Committee, May 19, 2010
                             The Filibuster and Its Consequences
                   On September 30, 1788, Pennsylvania became the first
                 State to elect its U.S. Senators, one of whom was William
                 Maclay. In his 1789 journal Senator Maclay wrote, ``I gave
                 my opinion in plain language that the confidence of the
                 people was departing from us, owing to our unreasonable
                 delays. The design of the Virginians and of the South
                 Carolina gentlemen was to talk away the time, so that we
                 could not get the bill passed.''
                   Our Founding Fathers intended the Senate to be a
                 continuing body that allows for open and unlimited debate
                 and the protection of minority rights. Senators have
                 understood this since the Senate first convened.
                   In his notes of the Constitutional Convention on June
                 26, 1787, James Madison recorded that the ends to be
                 served by the Senate were ``first, to protect the people
                 against their rulers, secondly, to protect the people
                 against the transient impressions into which they
                 themselves might be led ... They themselves, as well as a
                 numerous body of Representatives, were liable to err also,
                 from fickleness and passion. A necessary fence against
                 this danger would be to select a portion of enlightened
                 citizens, whose limited number, and firmness might
                 seasonably interpose against impetuous councils.'' That
                 ``fence'' was the U.S. Senate.
                   The right to filibuster anchors this necessary fence.
                 But it is not a right intended to be abused.
                   During this 111th Congress in particular, the minority
                 has threatened to filibuster almost every matter proposed
                 for Senate consideration. I find this tactic contrary to
                 each Senator's duty to act in good faith.
                   I share the profound frustration of my constituents and
                 colleagues as we confront this situation. The challenges
                 before our Nation are far too grave, and too numerous, for
                 the Senate to be rendered impotent to address them, and
                 yet be derided for inaction by those causing the delay.
                   There are many suggestions as to what we should do. I
                 know what we must not do.
                   We must never, ever, tear down the only wall--the
                 necessary fence--this Nation has against the excesses of
                 the executive branch and the resultant haste and tyranny
                 of the majority.
                   The path to solving our problem lies in our thoroughly
                 understanding it. Does the difficulty reside in the
                 construct of our rules or in the ease of circumventing
                 them?
                   A true filibuster is a fight, not a threat or a bluff.
                 For most of the Senate's history, Senators motivated to
                 extend debate had to hold the floor as long as they were
                 physically able. The Senate was either persuaded by the
                 strength of their arguments or unconvinced by either their
                 commitment or their stamina. True filibusters were
                 therefore less frequent, and more commonly discouraged,
                 due to every Senator's understanding that such
                 undertakings required grueling personal sacrifice,
                 exhausting preparation, and a willingness to be criticized
                 for disrupting the Nation's business.
                   Now, unbelievably, just the whisper of opposition brings
                 the ``world's greatest deliberative body'' to a grinding
                 halt. Why?
                   Because this once highly respected institution has
                 become overwhelmingly consumed by a fixation with money
                 and media.
                   Gone are the days when Senators Richard Russell and
                 Lyndon Johnson, and Speaker Sam Rayburn gathered routinely
                 for working weekends and couldn't wait to get back to
                 their Chambers on Monday morning.
                   Now every Senator spends hours every day, throughout the
                 year and every year, raising funds for reelection and
                 appearing before cameras and microphones. Now the Senate
                 often works 3-day weeks, with frequent and extended recess
                 periods, so Senators can rush home to fundraisers
                 scheduled months in advance.
                   Forceful confrontation to a threat to filibuster is
                 undoubtedly the antidote to the malady. Most recently,
                 Senate Majority Leader Reid announced that the Senate
                 would stay in session around the clock and take all
                 procedural steps necessary to bring financial reform
                 legislation before the Senate. As preparations were made
                 and cots rolled out, a deal was struck within hours and
                 the threat of filibuster was withdrawn.
                   I heartily commend the majority leader for this
                 progress, and I strongly caution my colleagues as some
                 propose to alter the rules to severely limit the ability
                 of a minority to conduct a filibuster. I know what it is
                 to be majority leader, and wake up on a Wednesday morning
                 in November, and find yourself a minority leader.
                   I also know that current Senate rules provide the means
                 to break a filibuster. I employed them in 1977 to end the
                 post-cloture filibuster of natural gas deregulation
                 legislation. This was the roughest filibuster I have
                 experienced during my 50-plus years in the Senate, and it
                 produced the most bitter feelings. Yet some important new
                 precedents were established in dealing with post-cloture
                 obstruction. In 1987, I successfully used rules VII and
                 VIII to make a non-debatable motion to proceed during the
                 morning hour. No leader has attempted this technique
                 since, but this procedure could be and should be used.
                   Over the years, I have proposed a variety of
                 improvements to Senate rules to achieve a more sensible
                 balance allowing the majority to function while still
                 protecting minority rights. For example, I have supported
                 eliminating debate on the motion to proceed to a matter
                 (except for changes to Senate rules), or limiting debate
                 to a reasonable time on such motions, with Senators
                 retaining the right to unlimited debate on the matter once
                 before the Senate. I have authored several other proposals
                 in the past, and I look forward to our committee work
                 ahead as we carefully examine other suggested changes. The
                 committee must, however, jealously guard against efforts
                 to change or reinterpret the Senate rules by a simple
                 majority, circumventing rule XXII where a two-thirds
                 majority is required.
                   As I have said before, the Senate has been the last
                 fortress of minority rights and freedom of speech in this
                 Republic for more than two centuries. I pray that Senators
                 will pause and reflect before ignoring that history and
                 tradition in favor of the political priority of the
                 moment.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

                   Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, since hearing this morning
                 about the passing of Senator Byrd--he died shortly after 5
                 a.m.--I have been reflecting on the man I knew.
                   Those who have the great privilege to serve in the
                 Senate have occasion to meet and interact with great
                 people. The expression ``giant'' is used not too
                 frequently about Senators. It certainly would apply to
                 Senator Byrd, but I believe it is insufficient. Searching
                 my own mind for a more apt term, ``colossus'' might better
                 fit Robert Byrd.
                   His career in the Congress of the United States was
                 extraordinary, really astounding. To think that he was
                 elected in 1952 and was sworn in while Harry Truman was
                 still President of the United States and has served since
                 that time, with many things that happened, during the
                 administrations of President Eisenhower, President
                 Kennedy, President Johnson, President Nixon, President
                 Ford, President Carter, President George H.W. Bush,
                 President Ronald Reagan before, President George W. Bush,
                 President Clinton, and now President Obama.
                   One of the distinctions he made early on was the fact
                 that in the Senate, we serve with Presidents; we do not
                 serve under Presidents. I think that was a calling card by
                 Senator Byrd as a constitutionalist on the separation of
                 powers. He was a fierce fighter for that separation of
                 powers.
                   When the line-item veto was passed, he took up the
                 battle to have it declared unconstitutional, as an
                 encroachment on article I powers in the U.S. Congress on
                 appropriations. The bills which we present to the
                 President have a great many provisions, and Senator Byrd
                 was looking upon the factor of the President perhaps
                 taking some provisions he did not like too well in order
                 to take the whole bill. I am sure on Senator Byrd's mind
                 was the largess which came to the State of West Virginia.
                 That is part of our Federal system, part of our democracy,
                 part of our Constitution of the advantage of seniority,
                 where Senator Byrd had been elected and reelected on so
                 many occasions.
                   I recall Senator Byrd and his swift action shortly after
                 the 1986 election. I was on the Intelligence Committee at
                 that time. Senator Byrd stepped into the picture to see to
                 it that the witnesses who testified on what was later
                 known as the Iran Contra controversy were placed under
                 oath. He had a sense that there was a problem that had to
                 be investigated by Congress, again, under the doctrine of
                 separation of powers.
                   I recollect his position on the impeachment proceeding
                 as he stood at this chair and recited the provisions of
                 the Constitution, about the impeachment for high crimes
                 and misdemeanors, and then started to talk about the
                 action of the respondent in the case, President Clinton,
                 and the charges which were levied. He came to the
                 conclusion that the constitutional standard had been met
                 and then voted not guilty--with a sweep on the conclusion,
                 a judgment of a higher principle involved that President
                 Clinton had not lost the capacity to govern, and he ought
                 to stay in office.
                   I recall in October 2002 we debated the resolution
                 authorizing the use of force for President Bush. The
                 resolution did not say force would be used but gave the
                 President the authority to use force as he decided it
                 appropriate.
                   I was concerned about that. The scholars who had written
                 on the subject for the most part said it would be an
                 inappropriate delegation of constitutional authority for
                 the Congress to say to the President: You may start a war
                 at some future date.
                   The starting of a war depended on the facts and
                 circumstances at hand when the decision was made. Senator
                 Byrd and I discussed that at some length and finally
                 concluded there ought to be some flexibility. Both of us
                 voted for that resolution on the ground that empowering
                 the President without authority, we might have the
                 realistic chance of avoiding a war.
                   While serving with Senator Byrd on the Appropriations
                 Committee, I recall one year when he chaired the
                 Appropriations Committee--I think in the late 1980s--the
                 allocations made were not in accordance with the budget
                 resolution which had been passed. Some of us on the
                 Appropriations Committee thought we ought to have those
                 allocations in accordance with what Congress had set in
                 the budget resolution. Senator D'Amato, Senator Kasten,
                 and I staged a minor revolution. It did not last too long.
                 The vote was 26 to 3. But we expressed ourselves.
                   I recall hearing Senator Byrd and participated in a
                 discussion with him on the Senate floor about the right to
                 retain the floor, whether you could yield to someone or
                 whether you had to have an order of consent before you
                 retained your right to the floor. Discussing or debating
                 Senator Byrd on procedural issues was indeed an education.
                 He was always regarded as the foremost expert on Senate
                 procedure and the rules of this body.
                   His service--most recently in coming in ill, in a
                 wheelchair for a series of cloture votes at 1 a.m.--
                 historians, I think, will write about the passage of the
                 comprehensive health care bill and the cloture votes and
                 passage in the Senate on Christmas Eve early in the
                 morning--finally, we had a concession we would not vote at
                 11:59 on Christmas but would vote earlier in the day. Even
                 the objectors wanted to leave town. Senator Byrd came here
                 performing his duty, although he certainly was not well
                 and it was a tremendous strain on him. He came and made
                 the 60th vote.
                   It is a sad occasion to see a black drape on Senator
                 Byrd's desk and flowers. I am sure in days to come there
                 will be many comments, many eulogies about Senator Byrd.
                 He leaves a great void. But reflecting on the experiences
                 I have had with him, there is much to celebrate in his
                 life. He was a great American, a great Senator. We will
                 all miss him very much.

                   Mr. BURRIS. Mr. President, early this morning, our
                 country lost an icon and a national treasure. Our friend
                 and colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd, became a legend in
                 his own time. And in many ways, he came to embody the
                 institution of the Senate.
                   As a leader, and as a guardian of Senate procedure and
                 tradition, Senator Byrd was without equal. For more than
                 half a century, he helped shape Federal policy, and guided
                 the course of a Nation.
                   But on the day he was born, in 1917, this unique place
                 in history was far from assured.
                   Raised in the coal country of West Virginia, few could
                 have predicted that this intelligent but unassuming young
                 man would rise to the very highest levels of our
                 democracy. He was an avid fiddle player, and valedictorian
                 of his high school class. But he could not afford to go to
                 college until many years later. So as a young man, he
                 found work as a meatcutter, a gas station attendant, and a
                 store owner. And the store owner is very dear to me
                 because our family were store owners, and I know how tough
                 that business is. He welded Liberty and Victory ships
                 during the Second World War, and several years later
                 entered politics at the State level.
                   That is where Robert Byrd found his true calling: public
                 service.
                   He was first elected to the House of Representatives in
                 1952, and has served the people of West Virginia in this
                 Chamber since 1959. Over the course of his extraordinary
                 career, he worked alongside 12 Presidents. He served in
                 Congress longer than anyone in American history, cast more
                 than 18,000 votes, and was elected to more leadership
                 positions than any other Senator.
                   Most recently, he assumed the role of President pro
                 tempore of the Senate, ranking him third in the line of
                 Presidential succession. At every turn, he dedicated
                 himself to the sanctity of our Constitution, and fought to
                 uphold its principles and the weight of Senate tradition.
                   It is difficult to measure the vast impact he has had on
                 the lives of every single American.
                   No, he was not right on every issue. His past was not
                 without mistakes and errors in judgment. But it is a
                 credit to Senator Byrd that, over the years, he gained the
                 wisdom to recognize the moments when he strayed from the
                 right path. It is the mark of greatness that he worked
                 hard to overcome these errors and set America on course
                 for a more prosperous, more inclusive future.
                   In recent years, Senator Byrd raised his voice against
                 the unilateral invasion of Iraq.
                   He fought to preserve the filibuster, ensuring that the
                 voice of the minority will always have a place in this
                 august Chamber. He offered his support to a young Senator
                 from Illinois named Barack Obama, as he fought to become
                 the first African-American President of the United States.
                   Senator Byrd's historic tenure spanned 12
                 administrations, thousands of bills, and more than half a
                 century. Thanks to his leadership, and the leadership of
                 others he has inspired and mentored over the years, we
                 live in a very different world today.
                   The year he launched his first campaign for the House of
                 Representatives, gas cost about 25 cents a gallon, Winston
                 Churchill was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and I
                 was only 15 years old.
                   Senator Byrd has left an indelible mark on this Nation,
                 and for that we will be forever grateful.
                   But today, as we remember and celebrate the
                 contributions he has made, we also offer our condolences
                 to his friends and loved ones in this time of mourning. We
                 offer our sympathies to the people of West Virginia, who
                 have lost a staunch advocate. We offer our fervent hope
                 that a new generation of Americans, Liberal and
                 Conservative; Black and White; from all races and
                 religions and backgrounds, will take up the legacy of
                 patriotism and service that was left to us by Senator
                 Byrd; that today's young people will inherit his fierce
                 loyalty to the Constitution, and recognize their
                 responsibility to confront every challenge we face.
                   So I ask my colleagues to join with me in honoring the
                 life of our dear friend, Senator Robert Byrd.
                   And I call upon every American to learn from the example
                 set by this son of the West Virginia hills who overcame
                 poverty, lack of education, and the prejudice of his times
                 to become one of the greatest public servants in our
                 history.

                   Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, today I rise on the floor
                 of the Senate recognizing that we have white roses and a
                 black drape adorning the desk of the late Senator Robert
                 C. Byrd.
                   I had told him personally in the past that when my
                 service is done I will have considered it a great
                 privilege to have served in this body at the same time
                 that Robert Byrd served in this body. He was a lot of
                 things. He was smart and tough and honest. Because he
                 legislated and because of his career here, this is a
                 better country, I am convinced of that.
                   All of us know Senator Byrd grew old here and became
                 someone with health problems in recent years and yet even
                 last week would come to this Chamber and cast his vote. In
                 recent weeks I had several visits with him on the floor of
                 the Senate.
                   All of us know as well that he loved his country. He,
                 most of all, loved the Senate. He wrote a four-volume book
                 of history on this body, and I say to anybody listening,
                 if they enjoy history and enjoy knowing anything about the
                 wonderful history of this body, read what Senator Byrd has
                 written. It is extraordinary.
                   He loved the Constitution of the United States, and he
                 never appeared on the floor of the Senate without having a
                 copy of that Constitution in his suit pocket. He always
                 had a copy of the Constitution with him.
                   He was also someone who did not just love the history of
                 the Senate but loved Roman history. I recall sitting on
                 the floor of the Senate many years ago when I first came
                 here, listening to Senator Byrd talk about Roman history
                 and the lessons in it for us.
                   I learned a lot listening to Senator Byrd on the floor
                 of the Senate about a lot of things, including Roman
                 history.
                   I also learned that he had one of the most extraordinary
                 memories you have ever known. And I thought today--because
                 we are saddened but also mourning the loss of a friend and
                 someone who served this country so well--I would read
                 something he read on the floor of the Senate a couple of
                 times, but he read the preamble to it and then recited it
                 from memory, this great story. He did it because he was
                 talking about a crime that occurred with respect to a dog,
                 an animal. He talked a lot about his dog Billy, that he
                 loved very much, and then he told us the story about a man
                 named Vest, George G. Vest, who was to become a Senator
                 later.
                   I will read what Senator Byrd said. He said:

                   At the turn of the century, George G. Vest delivered a
                 deeply touching summation before the jury in the trial
                 involving the killing of a dog, ``Old Drum.'' This
                 occurred, I think, in 1869. There were two brothers-in-
                 law, both of whom had fought in the Union Army. They lived
                 in Johnson County, Missouri. One was named Leonidas
                 Hornsby. The other was named Charles Burden.
                   Burden owned a dog, and he was named ``Old Drum.'' He
                 was a great hunting dog. Any time that dog barked one
                 could know for sure that it was on the scent of a raccoon
                 or other animal.
                   Leonidas Hornsby was a farmer who raised livestock and
                 some of his calves and lambs were being killed by animals.
                 He, therefore, swore to shoot any animal, any dog that
                 appeared on his property.
                   One day there appeared on his property a hound. Someone
                 said, ``There's a dog out there in the yard.'' Hornsby
                 said, ``Shoot him.''
                   The dog was killed. Charles Burden, the owner of the
                 dog, was not the kind of man to take something like this
                 lightly. He went to court.

                   This was Old Drum that was killed.

                   He won his case and was awarded $25. Hornsby appealed,
                 and, if I recall, on the appeal there was a reversal,
                 whereupon the owner of the dog decided to employ the best
                 lawyer that he could find in the area.
                   He employed a lawyer by the name of George Graham Vest.
                 This lawyer gave a summation to the jury.

                   Senator Byrd recited the summation to the jury, and he
                 did it without a note. It so reminded me of all the things
                 I heard on the floor from Senator Byrd--yes, The Ambulance
                 Down in the Valley, a piece of lengthy prose without a
                 note, and this without a note. He recited the summation to
                 the jury by George Vest:

                   Gentlemen of the jury. The best friend a man has in the
                 world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son
                 or daughter whom he has reared with loving care may prove
                 ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those
                 whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may
                 become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has
                 he may lose. It flies away from him perhaps when he needs
                 it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment
                 of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall
                 on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may
                 be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure
                 settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely
                 unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish
                 world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never
                 proves ungrateful or treacherous, is the dog.
                   Gentlemen of the jury, a man's dog stands by him in
                 prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He
                 will sleep on the cold ground when the wintry winds blow
                 and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his
                 master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to
                 offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in
                 encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the
                 sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince.
                   When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches
                 take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as
                 constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the
                 heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast
                 into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog
                 asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to
                 guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies.
                 And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his
                 master in its embrace and his body is laid in the cold
                 ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way,
                 there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his
                 head between his paws and his eyes sad but open, in alert
                 watchfulness, faithful and true, even unto death.

                   Well, I read this summation to the jury in the case of
                 Old Drum. But Senator Byrd recited it, as he did in all of
                 these similar circumstances, completely from memory.
                   Senator Byrd came to the floor, and he had a way with
                 words that does not so much exist in the Senate anymore. I
                 was sitting on the floor one day when another Senator came
                 to the floor and said some very disparaging things about a
                 President of the United States. They referred to the
                 President in a way that was very disparaging. Senator Byrd
                 did not like that, no matter who the President was. He
                 came to the floor, and I am sure the person who was
                 disparaging the President at that point never understood
                 what had happened to him after Senator Byrd was done.

                   Mr. LEAHY. I remember that.

                   Mr. DORGAN. But Senator Byrd came to the floor, and he
                 stood up, and he said this, ``I have served here long
                 enough to see pygmies strut like Colossus.'' And he said,
                 very like the fly in Aesop's fable, sitting on an axle of
                 a chariot, ``My, what dust I do raise.''
                   And it occurred to me he had just told someone what they
                 had done was unbelievably foolish. I am not sure they
                 understood it. But he wrapped it in such elegant language,
                 as he always did.
                   In addition to serving at a time early on in his career
                 when things were different, when there was perhaps less
                 anger and less partisanship and committee chairmen and
                 ranking members got together and decided what we needed to
                 do for the country and did it together and came to the
                 floor together, he was also, on the floor of the Senate,
                 someone who knew the rules. He studied the rules because
                 he understood that knowing the rules to this Chamber and
                 how this process works was also important to be successful
                 here.
                   Aside from that, he was a skillful legislator--very
                 skillful. I watched him walk out of this Chamber from that
                 door and very often stop as a bunch of Senate pages--high
                 school kids who serve in the Senate--would gather around
                 and then he would spend 15, 20 minutes telling them a
                 story about the Senate, about the history of this great
                 place. Too many of us walk back and forth around here,
                 walking very briskly because we are late to go here or
                 there and we are working on a lot of things. Senator Byrd
                 always took time to talk to the pages--not just talk to
                 them but tell them stories about what this great Senate
                 has meant to this great country.
                   He also loved very much his late wife Erma and talked
                 about her a lot to many of us.
                   He loved to play the fiddle. Early on when I came to the
                 Senate, if you expressed even the least interest in music,
                 he would get you down to his office and put a tape in his
                 recording device to show us that he played the fiddle on
                 the program Hee Haw. He was so proud of that. He was
                 someone who loved West Virginia, loved his country, and
                 was a friend to all of us.
                   Today is a very sad day for those of us who see a desk
                 that was occupied by a great U.S. Senator for so many
                 decades, now occupied with a dozen roses and a black
                 cloth, signifying that we have lost this great man.
                 America has lost a great public servant. As one Member of
                 the Senate, I say it has been a great privilege--my great
                 privilege--to serve while Senator Byrd served in this
                 body.
                   Madam President, I yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.

                   Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I appreciate the words of
                 the Senator from North Dakota. I recall sitting here on
                 the floor, I tell my friend from North Dakota, who may
                 well have been here at that time when Senator Byrd spoke
                 of the pygmies strutting like a Colossus. We both know who
                 he meant and we both know the effect it had, and I thank
                 him for reminding us of that.
                   I believe all of us who served with him and knew Senator
                 Byrd were saddened by the news of his passing. No Senator
                 came to care more about the Constitution or was a more
                 effective defender of our constitutional government than
                 the senior Senator from West Virginia. How many times did
                 we see him reach into his jacket pocket and hold up the
                 Constitution? He would say, ``This is what guides me.''
                   I said in the Judiciary Committee today that many of us
                 carry the Constitution and we can turn to it and read from
                 it. Senator Byrd, if asked, would recite it verbatim from
                 memory from page 1 straight through.
                   Senator Byrd was a Senator's Senator. During the time
                 before he stopped playing, some of us would be at an event
                 with him where he would play the fiddle. I recall one of
                 those times when he played the fiddle, and now his
                 successor as President pro tempore, Senator Inouye, played
                 the piano, playing compositions only requiring one hand,
                 and the two of them played in the caucus room now named
                 after our late Senator Ted Kennedy. I heard him play in
                 the happy times and the enjoyable times when he would try
                 to bring Senators of both parties together and act like
                 human beings.
                   I have also sat here with him when he reminded Senators
                 of what the Constitution stood for, what our role was in
                 the Constitution, when he spoke against going to war in
                 Iraq without reason and without a declaration of war. It
                 was one of the most powerful speeches I have heard him
                 give. In over 36 years of serving with him, I heard many
                 speeches.
                   Others will speak of his records for time served in the
                 Senate and in Congress and the number of votes he cast. I
                 think of him more as a mentor and a friend. I recall in
                 fall 1974 becoming the Senator-elect and coming down here
                 to talk to Senators and meeting with Senator Byrd and
                 Senator Mansfield, Senator Mansfield being the leader,
                 Senator Byrd the deputy leader. I recall one of the things
                 he told me--both of them did. ``Always keep your word.''
                 Robert Byrd, Robert Carlyle Byrd, if he gave you his word,
                 you could go to the bank with it, but he would expect the
                 same in return, as he should. That is something all of us
                 should be reminded of and all of us should seek to
                 achieve.
                   I was honored to sit near him on the Senate floor.
                 Sitting near him in the same room we would engage in many
                 discussions about the Senate and the rules or about the
                 issues of the moment, or about our families. But now I sit
                 here and I look at the flowers on his desk; I look at the
                 drape on that desk. Over the many years I have had the
                 privilege of representing the State of Vermont in this
                 body, I have had to come on the floor of the Senate to see
                 the traditional drapery and the flowers on either side of
                 the aisle when we have lost dear colleagues; more than
                 that, we have lost dear friends. Party is irrelevant. The
                 friendship is what is important. It tugs at your heart and
                 it tugs at your soul to see it. Walking in here and
                 looking down the row where I sit and seeing that, I don't
                 know when I have felt the tug so strong.
                   Marcelle and I were privileged to know Bob and Erma, his
                 wonderful Erma. We would see them in the grocery store in
                 Northern Virginia. Our wives would drive in together for
                 Senate matters. I recall sitting with him in his office
                 one day when we spoke of the death of his grandson and how
                 it tore him apart to have lost him in an accident. He had
                 his portrait in his office with a black drapery. We sat
                 there--this man who could be so composed--we sat and held
                 hands while he cried about his grandson. At that time I
                 did not have the privilege of being a grandfather. Today,
                 I think I can more fully understand what he went through.
                 I remember the emotion and the strength of it. This was
                 not just the person whom we saw often as the leader of the
                 Senate, the chairman of a major committee, ready and in
                 control, but a human being mourning somebody very dear to
                 him.
                   He was a self-educated man. He learned much throughout
                 his life, but then he had much to teach us all. It has
                 been spoken about how he talked to the pages, but he would
                 talk to anybody about his beloved Senate. He did more than
                 that. He wrote the definitive history of the Senate. We
                 all learned from him. He was a symbol of West Virginia. He
                 was an accomplished legislator. He was an extraordinary
                 American.
                   As a form of tribute I suspect Senator Byrd himself
                 would appreciate--let me quote from Pericles' funeral
                 oration from Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War
                 about the inherent strength of democracy. Senator Byrd was
                 well familiar with this passage, and with its relevance to
                 our Constitution and our form of government. I heard him
                 use it before. Pericles is said to have spoken this:

                   Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with
                 the institutions of others. Our government does not copy
                 our neighbors, but is an example to them. It is true that
                 we are called a democracy, for the administration is in
                 the hands of the many and not of the few. But while there
                 exists equal justice to all and alike in their private
                 disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized; and
                 when a citizen is in any way distinguished, he is
                 preferred to the public service, not as a matter of
                 privilege, but as a reward of merit. Neither is poverty an
                 obstacle, but a man may benefit his country whatever the
                 obscurity of his condition.

                   Senator Byrd believed in this country. He believed that
                 a youngster who had been adopted, who lived in a house
                 without running water, who had to work for every single
                 thing he obtained, could also rise to the highest
                 positions in this body, a body he loved more than any
                 other institution in our government, save one: the
                 Constitution. The Constitution was his North Star and his
                 lone star. It was what guided him.
                   Senator Byrd was such an extraordinary man of merit and
                 grit and determination who loved his family. I recall him
                 speaking of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren and
                 he would proudly tell you about each of them. I remember
                 even after he was a widower walking by and leaning over
                 and saying, ``How are you?'' He would say, ``I am fine.
                 How is Marcelle?'' And Senators from both sides of the
                 aisle would come just to talk with him.
                   He drew strength from his deep faith. He took to heart
                 his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the
                 United States. The arc of his career in public service is
                 an inspiration to us all, and it will inspire Americans of
                 generations to come.
                   So, Robert, I say goodbye to you, my dear friend. I am
                 not going to forget your friendship. I am not going to
                 forget how you mentored me. But, especially, I will not
                 forget, and I will always cherish even after I leave this
                 body, your love of the Senate.
                   Senator Byrd, you are one of a kind.
                   I yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

                   Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, Members of the Senate are
                 coming to the floor today from both sides of the aisle to
                 acknowledge a moment in our history: the passing of Robert
                 C. Byrd of West Virginia. Senator Byrd was the longest
                 serving Senator in the history of the United States of
                 America; a man who cast more than 18,000 votes; a man who
                 served as majority leader, as chairman of the
                 Appropriations Committee, as President pro tempore. He
                 was, in fact, the Senate. He embodied the Senate in his
                 life. It was his life.
                   Each of us, before we can become a Senator, takes a walk
                 down this aisle and goes over to the side here where the
                 Vice President of the United States swears us in. You put
                 your hand on a Bible and you take an oath to uphold and
                 defend the Constitution of the United States. You have to
                 say that or you can't be a Senator. For many people, it is
                 a formality. For Robert C. Byrd, it was a commitment, a
                 life commitment to a document, the Constitution of the
                 United States. He used to carry one in his pocket every
                 day of his life. That is the kind of commitment most
                 people will not make because they think: Well, maybe I
                 will change my mind. For Robert C. Byrd, there was no
                 changing his mind. He was committed to that Constitution.
                   For him, it was the North Star, it was the guiding
                 light, it was the document that created this Nation, and
                 he had sworn on his Bible to uphold and defend it, and he
                 meant it. That is why he was so extraordinary.
                   He understood this Constitution because he understood
                 what our government is about. He made a point of saying
                 whenever a new President would come in, even a President
                 of his own party: I will work with the President but as a
                 Senator; I do not work for the President. We are equal to
                 the President because we are an equal branch of
                 government. I will be glad to work with the President, but
                 I have a responsibility as a Senator.
                   I remember so well in what I consider to be the finest
                 hour I witnessed when it came to Robert C. Byrd. It was in
                 October 2002. It was a little over a year after 9/11.
                 President George W. Bush was asking this Senate to vote
                 for a resolution to invade Iraq. At the time, the pressure
                 was building. Public sentiment was strongly in favor.
                 Remember, there was talk about weapons of mass
                 destruction, nuclear weapons, attacks on our allies and
                 friends, even on the United States if we did not move, and
                 move quickly. There was a prevailing growing sentiment to
                 go to war.
                   But the Senator from West Virginia stood up, took out
                 his Constitution, and said, ``This is a mistake. We should
                 not be going to war.''
                   He proceeded day after day, week after week, and month
                 after month to stand there at that desk and lead the
                 charge against the invasion of Iraq. It was an amazing
                 display of his talent, which was prodigious, and his
                 commitment to this Constitution as he saw it, and the fact
                 that he was politically fearless.
                   I agreed with him on that issue. I was inspired by him
                 on that issue. I can recall when my wife and I went to a
                 Mass in Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago, we were in
                 the pew kneeling after Communion. The church was quiet as
                 people were returning from Communion. An older fellow,
                 whom I did not know, stood next to me in the aisle and
                 looked down at me and said in a voice that could be heard
                 across the church, ``Stick with Bob Byrd.''
                   I came back and told him that story, and he just howled
                 with laughter. I said, ``Senator Byrd, your reach is
                 beyond West Virginia and beyond the Senate. It is in
                 Chicago and across the country. What you are saying is
                 resonating with a lot of people.''
                   In the end, 23 people voted against that war--1
                 Republican and 22 Democrats. For a while, we were not
                 popular. Over time I think that vote became more
                 respected. Robert C. Byrd was our leader, and he used this
                 Constitution as his inspiration.
                   He had such a sense of history. My favorite story
                 related to about 16 or 18 years ago. I was a Member of the
                 House of Representatives then on the Appropriations
                 Committee, and Robert C. Byrd was the chairman of the
                 Senate Appropriations Committee. He was a powerful man. We
                 were supposed to meet downstairs in a conference
                 committee, House and Senate, the conferees from both
                 Appropriations Committees, on a transportation bill.
                   To no one's surprise and without any apology, Senator
                 Byrd had quite a few West Virginia projects in that bill.
                 Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia, a Republican, sat on
                 the committee on the House side. When he looked at the
                 West Virginia projects, he got upset. He said it publicly
                 in the Washington Post and other places that he had
                 thought Senator Byrd had gone too far.
                   That was a pretty bold move by Congressman Wolf to make
                 those statements in the minority about the chairman of the
                 Senate Appropriations Committee. I could not wait for that
                 conference committee because the two of them would
                 literally be in the same room. In fact, it turned out to
                 be even better. They were not just in the same room, but
                 Senator Byrd's staff had reserved a chair directly across
                 the table from Congressman Wolf.
                   The place was packed, waiting for this confrontation.
                 Senator Byrd came in last and sat down very quietly in his
                 chair and waited his turn. Congressman Wolf at some point
                 asked for recognition and went after the Byrd West
                 Virginia projects. Frank is a passionate man. I served
                 with him and agreed with him on many issues and disagreed
                 on others. I respected him. He was passionate and
                 committed and made it clear he thought this was unfair and
                 unjust.
                   Senator Byrd, in his three-piece suit, sat across from
                 him with hands on the table showing no emotion until after
                 15, 20 minutes, Congressman Wolf was exhausted by his
                 protests about these Byrd projects, at which point Senator
                 Byrd leaned over and said to whomever was presiding at
                 that moment, ``May I speak?'' And they said, ``Of
                 course.''
                   Then he said--and I am going to paraphrase this. I think
                 it is pretty close to what he said. There was no video
                 camera there. I wish there had been. He said, ``In 1830,
                 in January of 1830, January 19, 1830, which, if my memory
                 serves me, was a Thursday, Daniel Webster and Mr. Hayne
                 engaged in one of the most famous debates in American
                 history.'' And off he went.
                   For the next 15 minutes, without a note, Robert C. Byrd
                 tried to explain a very basic principle, and it was this:
                 The Senate is created to give every State the same number
                 of Senators--two Senators. The House is elected by popular
                 vote. A small State such as West Virginia does not have
                 much of a chance in the House of Representatives. It is
                 small in a body of 435 Members. But in the Senate, every
                 State, large and small--Virginia and West Virginia,
                 Illinois, New York, California--each has two Senators.
                   The point Senator Byrd was making was: If I do not put
                 the projects in in the Senate, we will never get them in
                 in the House. That is what the Great Compromise, the
                 Constitution, and the Senate and the House are all about.
                   It was a masterful presentation, which led to a
                 compromise, one might expect, at the end of the day in
                 which Senator Byrd did quite well for his State of West
                 Virginia.
                   Years passed, and I was elected to this body. I came
                 here and I saw Senator Byrd sitting in that seat one day,
                 and I said, ``I want to tell you the most famous debate I
                 can ever remember--there was not a camera in the room, and
                 I do not think anyone recorded it.'' I recalled his debate
                 with Frank Wolf.
                   I said, ``What I remember particularly is when you said,
                 `January 19, 1830, which was a Thursday, if I recall.'''
                   He said, ``Yes, I think it was a Thursday.''
                   I said, ``I don't doubt it was a Thursday, but that
                 little detail was amazing.''
                   He kind of smiled. He did not say anything more. About
                 an hour passed before the next roll call, and he called me
                 over to that desk. He had brought out a perpetual calendar
                 and found January 19, 1830, and said, ``Mr. Durbin, it was
                 a Thursday.''
                   I said, ``I didn't dispute it, Senator.''
                   It was an example in my mind of a man who understood
                 this Constitution, understood his use of that Constitution
                 for his State--some would say he overused it, but he was
                 fighting for his State every day he was here--his command
                 of history and his command of the moment.
                   That was Robert C. Byrd. They do not make them like that
                 anymore. There just are not many people in our generation
                 who can even claim to be in that position.
                   I recall it and I remember very well another
                 conversation I had with him. You see, history will show
                 that in his early life, Robert C. Byrd was a member of the
                 Ku Klux Klan. Many of his detractors and enemies would
                 bring that up. He would be very open about it, not deny
                 it, but say that he had changed, and his votes reflected
                 it.
                   I once said to him, ``Of all these thousands and
                 thousands of votes you have cast, are there any you would
                 like to do over?''
                   ``Oh, yes,'' he said. ``Three. There was one for an
                 Eisenhower administration appointee which I voted against,
                 and I wish I voted for him. I think that was a mistake.''
                 ``And,'' he said, ``I was wrong on the civil rights
                 legislation. I voted the wrong way in the 1960s.''
                 ``And,'' he said, ``I made a mistake and voted for the
                 deregulation of the airline industry which cut off airline
                 service to my State of West Virginia.'' Those were three.
                   If you have been in public life or even if you have been
                 on this Earth a while, I think you have learned the value
                 of redemption. Robert C. Byrd, in his early life, made a
                 mistake with his membership in the Ku Klux Klan. He was
                 open about it, and he demonstrated in his life that he was
                 wrong and would do better in the future. That is
                 redemption--political redemption--and, in my mind, it was
                 total honesty.
                   There were so many other facets to this man too. Senator
                 Leahy talked about him playing the fiddle. That is the
                 first time I ever saw him in person. He came to
                 Springfield, Illinois, in 1976, when he was aspiring to
                 run for President of the United States. He stood out from
                 the rest of the crowd because he got up and said a few
                 words about why he wanted to be President. Then he reached
                 in and grabbed his fiddle and started playing it.
                   I tell you, it brought the house down. I don't remember
                 who else was there. I think Jimmy Carter was there. But I
                 do remember that Bob Byrd was there.
                   When I came to the Senate, I thought: I cannot wait to
                 see or hear him play that fiddle again. I learned that
                 after his grandson died in an automobile accident, he
                 said, ``I will never touch it again, in memory of my
                 grandson.'' That is the kind of family commitment he made
                 as well. He would sing and occasionally have a Christmas
                 party downstairs, and a few of us would be lucky enough to
                 get invited. He would sing. He was a man who had gone
                 through some life experiences and family experiences that
                 were very meaningful to him.
                   I remember another day when I was on the floor of the
                 Senate and there was a debate about the future of the
                 National Endowment for the Arts. Senator Ashcroft of
                 Missouri wanted to eliminate the National Endowment for
                 the Arts and take away all its money. I stood up to debate
                 him. I was brand new here, not smart enough to know when
                 to sit down and shut up. I started debating: I thought it
                 was wrong, the arts are important, so forth.
                   Through the door comes Bob Byrd. He walks in here and
                 asks if he could be recognized. Everything stopped when he
                 had asked for recognition. They said, ``Of course.''
                   He said, ``I want to tell you what music meant to me. I
                 was an orphan, and I was raised in a loving family. Early
                 in life, they went out and bought me a fiddle. Music has
                 always been a big, important part of my life.'' Out of
                 nowhere, this man gives this beautiful speech, and then he
                 quotes poetry during the course of the speech.
                   As one can tell, all of us who served with him are great
                 fans of Robert C. Byrd and what he meant to this Senate
                 and what he meant to this Nation. West Virginia has lost a
                 great servant who was so proud of his home State. Time and
                 again that was always the bottom line for him: Is this
                 going to be good for the future of my little State of West
                 Virginia? He fought for them and put them on the map in
                 some regards and some projects. He was respected by his
                 colleagues because of the commitment to the people who
                 honored him by allowing him to serve in the Senate.
                   There may be a debate as to whether there is a heaven.
                 If there is a heaven and they have a table for the greats
                 in the Senate, I would ask Daniel Webster to pull up a
                 chair for Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia.
                   Madam President, I yield the floor.

                   Mr. TESTER. Madam President, I have a short speech to
                 give today about a giant of a man. I rise today out of
                 deep respect for our colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd.
                 Sharla and I extend our condolences to the Byrd family and
                 to all the people of West Virginia. We join you in
                 mourning but also in a celebration of his life and his
                 successes as a public servant.
                   Senator Byrd liked to call me ``the Mountain Man,'' and
                 when somebody from the Mountain State calls you that, it
                 is an incredible compliment.
                   Senator Byrd and I had a few things in common: We were
                 both from very small towns, we both married our high
                 school sweethearts, and we both made a living at one time
                 as meatcutters. He must have had an eye for the butchering
                 business because he liked to guess my weight. And wouldn't
                 you know, he always came within 3 pounds. You could say
                 Senator Byrd convinced me to spend a little more time in
                 the gym.
                   Senator Byrd was elected to Congress 4 years before I
                 was even born, and he always shared his wisdom with those
                 of us who admired it. I am honored to call Senator Byrd a
                 respected teacher and a trusted friend.
                   I was Presiding Officer on the day the farm bill came
                 before the Senate. Instead of signing the farm bill
                 himself, Senator Byrd let me sign the bill. Although it
                 went unspoken, I know it was because he saw me as the
                 farmer in the Senate. It was truly an honor for me to be
                 able to do that.
                   Another thing Senator Byrd and I had in common was our
                 upbringing in rural America. He was always proud to fight
                 for folks making a living off the land and in the
                 mountains and in the woods. He was a powerful advocate,
                 and he represented West Virginia with tireless passion. He
                 valued hard work and common sense. Those values are a
                 matter of survival in America. They are values you take
                 with you as you go to Congress, and Senator Byrd showed us
                 that.
                   Madam President, we will miss Senator Byrd very much.
                 His work over the decades on the Hill has made the entire
                 country a better place for us and for our kids and
                 grandkids.
                   Before I came to Capitol Hill 3\1/2\ years ago, many
                 folks came up to me and said, ``You are going to have an
                 experience of a lifetime. You will meet some incredible
                 people.'' And I will tell you that one of the most
                 incredible men I have met since I have been here was
                 Senator Byrd.
                   We miss you.
                   I yield the floor.

                   Mr. AKAKA. Madam President, I rise to pay tribute to
                 Senator Robert C. Byrd, my mentor, supporter, and good
                 friend.
                   Senator Byrd was the dean of the Senate, our foremost
                 constitutional scholar. No one in the history of our
                 country served longer in Congress.
                   For more than a half century, Robert C. Byrd kept the
                 Senate in line. He always kept a copy of the Constitution
                 in his jacket pocket, close to his heart. He was
                 meticulous, a master of the rules of this historic
                 institution. Through hard work and dedication, Senator
                 Byrd became an institution himself.
                   When I joined the Senate 20 years ago, to my great
                 fortune, Senator Byrd took me under his wing. He guided me
                 through procedural rules and taught me how to preside over
                 the floor. I still have the notes he gave me when I was a
                 freshman Senator. He was adamant that the Presiding
                 Officer should always be respectful of the speakers, while
                 maintaining strict adherence to the rules of the Senate.
                   Senator Robert C. Byrd was a patriot who cared for and
                 loved this country, the United States of America. He
                 worked hard for the people of West Virginia, who showed
                 their support for him election after election.
                   Senator Robert C. Byrd was a spiritual man. Each week a
                 number of Senators got together for a morning prayer
                 breakfast. Senator Byrd was a regular participant when he
                 was well. His favorite hymn was ``Old Rugged Cross.'' I
                 enjoyed singing it with him many times.
                   We shared a love for music and the arts. His fiddle
                 playing was legendary.
                   He loved his family. He loved his children and
                 grandchildren. He loved his dogs. Closest always was his
                 wife Erma who was always by his side until her death in
                 2006. They spent many wonderful years together, and now
                 they are together again.
                   My thoughts and prayers are with the Byrd family.
                   Senator Byrd, we love you and we miss you.
                   Thank you very much, Madam President.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

                   Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I wish to offer a few words in
                 remembrance of Senator Byrd.
                   We do mourn his passing. We see at his desk today a
                 reminder of his passing. To say that Robert Byrd was a
                 towering figure in the history of the Senate does not
                 begin to describe his impact, his influence and, indeed,
                 the memory he leaves behind, the legacy he leaves behind
                 for those of us in the Senate, for his home State of West
                 Virginia, and I know for millions of Americans.
                   He was a strong advocate for not just his point of view
                 but, more important, for the people of West Virginia. He
                 arrived in the Senate in 1959--before I was born. I was
                 pleased to have the opportunity and honor, the chance to
                 serve with him for a couple of years.
                   He was a strong advocate. He was also a remarkable
                 orator. Even in the last couple years of his life when
                 some thought he might have been slowing down a little,
                 when he got the microphone, he could deliver a speech like
                 no other. He was a tremendous orator who believed in what
                 he was saying, believed in the traditions of the Senate,
                 but mostly, and most importantly, believed in fighting for
                 the working men and women and the families of West
                 Virginia.
                   We also knew him as a scholar--a scholar of not just
                 this institution, maybe the leading scholar of all time
                 when it comes to the institution of the Senate, but also
                 as well as a constitutional scholar.
                   His was a life of commitment, of real fidelity, first
                 and foremost I believe to his family. He spoke often of
                 his wife Erma. In the portrait that is just outside the
                 door, there are three items in his area of control in the
                 picture. He has his hand on the Bible, the Scriptures, he
                 has a copy of the Constitution, and a picture of his
                 beloved wife Erma, about whom he spoke so often.
                   He was committed and had a life of commitment to his
                 family and his faith. But he was also committed to the
                 people of West Virginia for so many years, so many battles
                 on their behalf and especially the families of West
                 Virginia.
                   Of course, he also led a life of commitment and fidelity
                 to the Constitution and knew it better than anyone I have
                 ever met and certainly better than some of our more
                 renowned constitutional scholars.
                   Of course, we know of his commitment to this
                 institution, to the Senate. He loved this institution and
                 wrote volume after volume about the Senate. We know that
                 the multivolume work he did, the one volume in and of
                 itself--hundreds of pages on the history of the Senate--is
                 a compilation of speeches he gave on the floor of the
                 Senate, some of them written out, but some of them he
                 could give by memory.
                   We know of his capacity to extemporaneously talk about
                 so many topics, whether it was history or poetry or
                 Scripture or the history of the Senate.
                   We will miss his scholarship, we will miss his service,
                 and we will miss his fidelity to his country and to his
                 home State. I, along with others here, am honored to have
                 served with him in this body. For me it was 3\1/2\ years.
                 To be in his presence, to listen to him, to learn from him
                 is a great gift. We mourn his passing. I do not think any
                 of us will believe there will ever be a Senator quite like
                 him. He served 50 years in this body, in addition to
                 serving the people of West Virginia in the House of
                 Representatives, as well as in the legislature in West
                 Virginia.
                   We say farewell and God bless and Godspeed to Robert
                 Byrd and his memory. We are praying for and thinking this
                 day and I know many future days about his legacy and his
                 family.
                    SENATE RESOLUTION 572--RELATIVE TO THE DEATH OF THE
                 HONORABLE ROBERT C. BYRD, A SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST
                                          VIRGINIA
                   Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Rockefeller,
                 Mr. Akaka, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Baucus, Mr.
                 Bayh, Mr. Begich, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Bingaman,
                 Mr. Bond, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brown of Massachusetts, Mr.
                 Brown of Ohio, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Burr, Mr.
                 Burris, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey,
                 Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Cochran, Ms. Collins, Mr.
                 Conrad, Mr. Corker, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Crapo, Mr. DeMint, Mr.
                 Dodd, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Enzi, Mr.
                 Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand,
                 Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gregg, Mrs. Hagan, Mr.
                 Harkin, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Inouye,
                 Mr. Isakson, Mr. Johanns, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaufman, Mr.
                 Kerry, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Kyl, Ms. Landrieu, Mr.
                 Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Mr. LeMieux, Mr. Levin, Mr.
                 Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Lugar, Mr. McCain, Mrs.
                 McCaskill, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Mikulski, Ms.
                 Murkowski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Nelson
                 of Florida, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Reed, Mr. Risch, Mr. Roberts,
                 Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Sessions, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr.
                 Shelby, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Tester,
                 Mr. Thune, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Udall of New Mexico,
                 Mr. Vitter, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Warner, Mr. Webb, Mr.
                 Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the
                 following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
                                         S. Res. 572
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd served the people
                 of his beloved state of West Virginia for over 63 years,
                 serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates, the West
                 Virginia Senate, the United States House of
                 Representatives, and the United States Senate;
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd is the only West
                 Virginian to have served in both Houses of the West
                 Virginia Legislature and in both Houses of the United
                 States Congress;
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has served for
                 fifty-one years in the United States Senate and is the
                 longest serving Senator in history, having been elected to
                 nine full terms;
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has cast more than
                 18,680 roll call votes--more than any other Senator in
                 American history;
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has served in the
                 Senate leadership as President pro tempore, Majority
                 Leader, Majority Whip, Minority Leader, and Secretary of
                 the Majority Conference;
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has served on a
                 Senate committee, the Committee on Appropriations, which
                 he has chaired during five Congresses, longer than any
                 other Senator; and
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd is the first
                 Senator to have authored a comprehensive history of the
                 United States Senate;
                   Whereas, the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has played an
                 essential role in the development and enactment of an
                 enormous body of national legislative initiatives and
                 policy over many decades; and
                   Whereas his death has deprived his State and Nation of
                 an outstanding lawmaker and public servant: Now therefore,
                 be it
                   Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow
                 and deep regret the announcement of the death of the
                 Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Senator from the State of West
                 Virginia.
                   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate
                 these resolutions to the House of Representatives and
                 transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the
                 deceased.
                   Resolved, That when the Senate adjourns today, it stand
                 adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of
                 the deceased Senator.

                   Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, my heart is heavy with
                 sadness following the passing of a dear friend, Robert C.
                 Byrd, Senator from West Virginia.
                   We have been friends for nearly 50 years and I am
                 overcome with memories. Nearly 48 years ago Senator Byrd
                 was one of the first to greet me in the Chamber of the
                 U.S. Senate.
                   Since that first moment of friendship we have worked
                 together on many projects. And since those early days, I
                 have called him ``my leader.''
                   He was my mentor. Over the years he provided me
                 countless opportunities and tasked me with positions of
                 critical national oversight while guiding my actions with
                 the temperance he learned as the longest serving Senator
                 in history.
                   He was a Senator's Senator. His many accomplishments
                 were historic and he fought tirelessly to improve the
                 lives of working families in West Virginia. We shared the
                 belief that we must provide for the people who trust us to
                 represent their communities in Washington.
                   I owe much to my leader, Senator Byrd. He will forever
                 have my gratitude and respect and I will miss him dearly.
                 My thoughts and prayers are with the Byrd family during
                 this difficult time.
                   Mr. President, as America mourns, I ask my colleagues to
                 join me in paying tribute to Senator Byrd.

                   Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I know several colleagues
                 have come to the floor today to note the passing of a
                 giant among us, Robert Byrd. I want to take a moment here
                 to speak straight from the heart about Robert Byrd and my
                 experience working with him. As we look at his desk with
                 the flowers there, we of course think back to not too long
                 ago when we lost another giant, Ted Kennedy. I think what
                 distinguishes these two from others is their unbelievable,
                 undying commitment to the people they represented and to
                 this country.
                   I think, when all is said and done, that is what it is
                 about. It is not about how long you serve. Of course, in
                 the case of both Senator Kennedy and Senator Byrd, it was
                 very long. Senator Byrd made history as the longest
                 serving Senator, and that should be duly noted. But it is
                 well beyond that. It is about this fierce sense of ``fight
                 for your people'' that they both had.
                   When I came to the Senate, of course Robert C. Byrd was
                 a legend for sure. He always met with the incoming
                 Senators, to give them the rules of the road about
                 procedure, about how to conduct yourself when you were in
                 the chair, about the dignity of the Senate, and most of
                 all about reverence for the Constitution. As many know and
                 many saw, the image I will always have of Robert C. Byrd
                 is of him reaching inside his suit pocket and bringing out
                 the Constitution--which, along with the Bible, was what he
                 cherished most. He taught us that everything we do here
                 comes from the Founders, and he taught us to love and
                 respect the Constitution and he did it in a way that was
                 truly inspiring.
                   I can tell you, coming from the largest State in the
                 Union, we have our share of problems. We have floods and
                 fires and droughts, we have pests in our agricultural
                 industry, we have problem after problem--earthquakes, need
                 I say that? Every single time we had one of these
                 disasters, Senator Feinstein and I knew we had to go to
                 our colleagues and say: Please understand, California
                 needs the help of the U.S. Government because the damage
                 is so massive. Of course, we all do that whenever our
                 State has a problem, because we are the United States of
                 America.
                   However, there are times when you do not have an ear
                 that is listening. Senator Byrd, as the chairman of the
                 Appropriations Committee, opened his doors to us, opened
                 his heart to us, opened his experience to us, and was
                 always there for us. I so remember that, time after time.
                   I went to see him about our water problems. We have lots
                 of water problems. We have cities and suburbs that need
                 the water. We have fishermen who need the water. We have
                 agriculture that needs the water. All the stakeholders
                 have very difficult debates over water. Senator Feinstein
                 and I again have teamed up on this and we have always had
                 a willing listener in Robert C. Byrd, who understood and
                 helped us get the stakeholders to the table to find ways
                 to preserve, to conserve, and increase the supply in a
                 smart way for all those stakeholders.
                   These things are very big to the people of California,
                 who probably have not connected Robert Byrd to California.
                 But in all of these cases where we were so in need, he was
                 there for us.
                   I remember his leadership in trying to bring the troops
                 home from Iraq. Twenty-three of us stood up and said no to
                 that war because we thought it meant taking our eye off
                 Osama bin Laden and what was happening in Afghanistan and
                 turning around and going into Iraq. We worried very much
                 about what would happen with our troops and that it would
                 be a very long war and there was no exit strategy.
                   Senator Byrd organized us and he opened his office here
                 in the Capitol and said we need to talk about ways that we
                 can bring this war to an end. We need to talk about what
                 is happening to our troops. He cared so much. For me, to
                 have been in his presence and to watch him work has been
                 an amazing experience. So I rise to pay tribute to him.
                   He has so many wonderful family members who care so much
                 about him. When he lost his wife, it took a huge toll on
                 Robert Byrd, and you saw it in his face. A light went out
                 inside. His grandchildren and children stepped up, but
                 that hole in his heart was there. It was evident to all of
                 us. He stayed here through thick and thin, came in--
                 wheeled in, in a wheelchair, fading, suffering, to be in
                 this place that he loved so much; that he respected so
                 much.
                   I say, and I know, there is not a Member on either side
                 of the aisle who did not respect Robert C. Byrd for his
                 brilliance, for his strength, for his fierce
                 representation of his State and, by the way, for his
                 extraordinary life, coming up the way he did. Talk about
                 the American dream--a child of dire poverty, close to the
                 mines. He always fought for those miners. What a legacy he
                 leaves.
                   I don't have any notes in front of me. I am speaking
                 from the heart today. I will have a more complete
                 statement, but I did want to make my views known today and
                 send my condolences to the family. It is a great loss for
                 everyone.

                   Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise with a heavy heart to
                 pay tribute to our friend and colleague who died early
                 this morning, Senator Robert C. Byrd, the longest serving
                 Member in the illustrious history of the U.S. Congress,
                 the longest serving Senator, and the only Senator in U.S.
                 history elected to nine full terms. Considering that
                 Senator Byrd won his first election to the West Virginia
                 House of Delegates in 1946, it may be that he was the
                 longest serving elected official in history. His passing
                 is a profound loss to all Americans, to his beloved
                 constituents in West Virginia, and particularly to the
                 institution of the U.S. Senate and those of us who serve
                 here. The Senate had no greater champion than Robert Byrd,
                 no one with his understanding of the Senate's unique
                 character, role, promise, history, and parliamentary
                 procedures.
                   When Robert Byrd was elected to the Senate in 1958,
                 after serving in the House for 6 years, he was part of a
                 large, distinguished class that included such future
                 giants as Hugh Scott, Gene McCarthy, Edmund Muskie, and
                 Philip Hart. He surpassed them all.
                   According to the Senate Historical Office, Robert Byrd
                 was the 1,579th person to become a U.S. Senator. Since he
                 was elected to the Senate, another 335 individuals have
                 become U.S. Senators. All in all, Robert Byrd served with
                 over 400 other Senators. And I am certain that each one of
                 them held their colleague, as I do, in the highest esteem.
                   Senator Byrd's modest beginnings in the hardscrabble
                 coalfields of Appalachia are well known. After his mother
                 died during the 1918 flu pandemic, Senator Byrd went to
                 live with an aunt and uncle who adopted him and raised him
                 in a house without running water or electricity. He pumped
                 gas and butchered hogs. During World War II, he was a
                 welder and built cargo ships in Baltimore and Tampa Bay.
                 After the war, he successfully ran for the West Virginia
                 House of Delegates and, 4 years later, the State's senate,
                 before entering Congress in 1953. All in all, he ran for
                 and was elected to office 15 times--not counting
                 primaries--without suffering a single defeat. Suffice it
                 to say that his life is the quintessential American
                 success story. I think every young American should learn
                 about Senator Byrd's life as an example of what hard work
                 and persistence and devotion can accomplish in this
                 country. He understood better than most people the
                 importance of being educated, not just for embarking on a
                 successful career, but as an end to itself. He was well
                 read and could recite from memory long passages from the
                 Bible and from great poets and authors. He was a fine
                 historian, not just of the Founding Fathers and the U.S.
                 Senate, but of ancient Greece and Rome and England.
                   Senator Byrd married his high school sweetheart, Erma
                 Ora James, shortly after they both graduated from Mark
                 Twain High School--where he was valedictorian--in 1937. He
                 was too poor to afford college right away and wouldn't
                 receive his degree from Marshall University until 60 years
                 later--when he was 77. In between, he did something no
                 other Member of Congress has ever done: he enrolled in law
                 school--at American University--and in 10 years of part-
                 time study while serving as a Member of Congress, he
                 completed his law degree, which President John Kennedy
                 presented to him. Senator Byrd was married to his beloved
                 Erma for nearly 69 years, and was blessed with two
                 daughters, six grandchildren, and seven great-
                 grandchildren.
                   During his Senate tenure, Robert Byrd was elected to
                 more leadership positions than any other Senator in
                 history, including majority and minority leader, whip, and
                 President pro tempore. He cast 18,689 roll call votes.
                 Only 29 other Senators in the history of the Republic have
                 cast more than 10,000 votes; Strom Thurmond is the only
                 other Senator to cast more than 16,000 votes. Senator
                 Byrd's attendance record over five decades--97 percent--is
                 as impressive as the sheer number of votes he cast.
                   Senator Byrd's legislative accomplishments, from
                 economic development and transportation to education and
                 health care, are legendary. He steered the Panama Canal
                 Treaty through the Senate and waged a lonely battle
                 against the war in Iraq, leading an unsuccessful
                 filibuster against the resolution granting President
                 George W. Bush broad power to wage a preemptive war
                 against Iraq. He claimed that his vote against the Iraq
                 war resolution was the vote of which he was most proud for
                 having cast over the course of his career. When U.S.
                 military strikes on Iraq commenced on March 19, 2003, he
                 stated:

                   Today I weep for my country. I have watched the events
                 of recent months with a heavy heart. No more is the image
                 of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The
                 image of America has changed. Around the globe, our
                 friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions
                 are questioned. Instead of reasoning with those with whom
                 we disagree, we demand obedience or threaten
                 recrimination.

                   Senator Byrd was unabashedly determined to use his power
                 as a Senator and as the chairman or ranking member of the
                 Appropriations Committee to help lift his State out of
                 grinding poverty. And he delivered for his constituents.
                 It is no surprise, then, that he won 100 percent of the
                 vote of West Virginians in one election--1976--or
                 frequently carried all 55 of West Virginia's counties. And
                 while he fervently supported the coal industry, he
                 recognized the devastating environmental and social impact
                 of mountaintop removal mining techniques and he called for
                 an end to that practice.
                   In the meantime, he wrote five books, including the
                 definitive history of the U.S. Senate.
                   Perhaps the highest tribute to Senator Byrd can be found
                 in his biographical section of the Almanac of American
                 Politics, which states: ``Robert Byrd ... may come closest
                 to the kind of senator the Founding Fathers had in mind
                 than any other.'' His fealty to the U.S. Senate and to the
                 Constitution has served as an inspiration, a lesson, and a
                 guiding light to all of us who have been privileged to
                 follow him in this Chamber.
                   In the last 10 months, we have lost two towering figures
                 here in the Senate: Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd--one of
                 the Senate's greatest legislators and without doubt its
                 greatest defender. Former Senator Paul Sarbanes, whose
                 seat I am privileged to hold, remarked that Senator Byrd
                 liked to say that he never served under any President, but
                 was honored to serve with many Presidents. We can honor
                 these twin giants by carrying on their legacies, by
                 fighting to make America a better place for all Americans,
                 and by defending the Senate's role as a coequal, not
                 subservient, branch of government.
                   When Senator Byrd became the longest serving Member of
                 Congress last November, I quoted Robert E. Lee in my floor
                 statement. Lee said, ``Duty is the most sublime word in
                 our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do
                 more. You should never wish to do less.'' Senator Robert
                 C. Byrd has done his duty in all things--to the Senate, to
                 himself, to his family, to his State, to his Nation, and
                 to God.
                   I am honored to join his and my colleagues here in the
                 Senate, West Virginians, and all Americans in mourning the
                 death, celebrating the life, and paying tribute to this
                 great Senator and this great man.

                   Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I ask unanimous
                 consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be
                 agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the
                 table, with no intervening action or debate.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
                 ordered.
                   The resolution (S. Res. 572) was agreed to.
                   The preamble was agreed to.
                             ADJOURNMENT UNTIL 10 A.M. TOMORROW
                   Mr. BROWN of Ohio. If there is no further business to
                 come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it
                 adjourn under the provisions of S. Res. 572 as a further
                 mark of respect to the memory of Senator Robert C. Byrd.
                   There being no objection, the Senate, at 7:13 p.m.,
                 adjourned until Tuesday, June 29, 2010, at 10 a.m.
                                                     Tuesday, June 29, 2010
                   Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I come to the floor this
                 morning to pay my respects to a most amazing man who the
                 Senate Chamber has lost, Senator Robert C. Byrd. It
                 certainly is a sad day for the Senate, for all the people
                 of West Virginia who loved this man so much, and for the
                 entire country, as we mourn the loss of the Nation's
                 longest serving Senator.
                   Robert C. Byrd was a historian, a poet, and he truly was
                 a master of the Senate. We have heard a lot about this
                 remarkable man. A lot of it bears repeating today. He was
                 the longest serving Member in the history of this
                 institution. He had courage. He had humility. He had
                 intelligence. He had a vision that helped lead the Senate
                 for many years. But he also showed us that one can change
                 over time and admit their wrongs and move on and fight for
                 what they believe is right.
                   His principled stands are what I will remember most
                 about him. I was so proud, back in 2002, to stand with him
                 and a total of 23 Senators who voted against the Iraq war.
                 I will not forget how strong he was, reminding us that as
                 a country we do not have to act out of fear. I was proud
                 to stand with him many times since then, when he would
                 knowingly wink at me and remind us of the 23 who stood
                 tall in the Chamber that day.
                   His floor speeches were legendary. I remember so many
                 times throughout my tenure with him as he railed on the
                 floor about whatever passion he had at the moment, whether
                 it was his little dog he would tell us a story about or
                 some part of history he wanted to remind us of, always
                 with a point at the end. I remember his compassion as he
                 spoke, and his flailing arms. He always reminded us that
                 we are human beings here. He had a true way with words,
                 and he literally wrote the book on the Senate. Most
                 important, he protected this institution from every
                 attack.
                   To his very last days here he was weighing in on
                 proposed changes to the filibuster rule, a rule he played
                 a central part in reforming three decades ago.
                   But the true honor of serving with Senator Byrd came
                 from his personal touch. I personally remember my very
                 first meeting many years ago with Senator Byrd. I came
                 here as a brandnew Senator in 1993. I wanted to serve on
                 the Appropriations Committee, the committee he chaired. It
                 is a very powerful committee. It was a big ask for a
                 freshman Senator coming in. I was told that in order to
                 get that seat, I would have to call him up and ask for a
                 personal meeting. That was pretty intimidating, coming
                 here brand new and asking for a meeting with the chair of
                 the entire Appropriations Committee.
                   He granted the meeting. I remember walking over to the
                 Capitol to his office and not knowing what to expect. I
                 couldn't have known what to expect because, when I walked
                 in, I found this warm, wonderful, cordial human being. He
                 regaled me with stories from his youth and talked about
                 being a coal miner's son and the poverty he grew up in. He
                 showed me his fiddle he was so proud of but that he played
                 no more. He recited poetry from memory. I remember sitting
                 in his office and thinking: I can't believe I am sitting
                 here with a part of history. Then, of course, he grilled
                 me on my stance on the balanced budget amendment and the
                 line-item veto before he said, ``Yes, I would like you to
                 serve on my committee.''
                   I have been so proud to serve on that committee with him
                 ever since. He taught me so much about protocol, about
                 managing legislation, about the rules of the Senate, about
                 respect. Yes, respect was what I think I learned from him
                 most. He was a taskmaster. He believed passionately in the
                 rules of the Senate, but he also believed in working
                 together for the common good.
                   In the first year I was here, Senator Hatfield,
                 Republican from Oregon, and Senator Byrd were the chair
                 and ranking member on the Appropriations Committee.
                 Senator Byrd called and asked me to come to lunch in his
                 office with a small group of Senators, with Senator
                 Hatfield and myself and several Democrats and Republicans.
                 I was so honored to be asked, and I came over not knowing
                 what to expect. Senator Byrd and Senator Hatfield, a
                 Republican and Democrat, a chair and a ranking member of
                 the most powerful committee, the Appropriations Committee,
                 sat and talked to us about what they felt was being lost
                 from the Senate and that, as new Members, it was our
                 responsibility to return the Senate to. That was respect
                 and listening to each other. They told us in words about
                 how ``one year I might be chair,'' said Senator Byrd,
                 ``but I know full well an election will change things and
                 Senator Hatfield will become chair. So we better work
                 together, and we better respect each other, as we put our
                 bills together. Because you never know when you are going
                 to be in the minority or the majority.''
                   Their words were powerful. But even more powerful was
                 sitting there listening to these two gentlemen, a
                 Republican and Democrat, listen to each other, laugh
                 together, have lunch together, and pass on a lesson to
                 those following us about what we all need to be when we
                 call ourselves U.S. Senators.
                   Senator Byrd earned many titles over the years: majority
                 whip, majority leader, chairman of the Appropriations
                 Committee. But I know the title he cherished the most was
                 husband. His love of his family trumped everything else.
                   I so remember one time my husband, who lives out in the
                 State of Washington--as my colleagues know, I travel home
                 every weekend to be with my family--one weekend my husband
                 came out here to be with me. Why? Because it was our
                 anniversary. I was going to be here voting so he traveled
                 here from Washington State and came into the Capitol. As
                 he was coming in, I met him. Senator Byrd happened to be
                 leaving the Senate Chamber. He saw my husband and he
                 welcomed him and said, ``What are you doing out here in
                 the other Washington?'' My husband said, ``It is our
                 anniversary.'' Senator Byrd said, ``Well, which
                 anniversary is it?''
                   Rob said to him, ``It is our 32d.'' Senator Byrd paused
                 and nodded, and he said, ``That is a good start.''
                   He had been married for 67 years. He was going home to
                 be with his wife. That is a moment I will cherish, because
                 it sets in perspective all that I know about Senator Byrd.
                 He taught by example. He taught by words. He knew humor
                 and how to use it. But most of all, he had respect for
                 every one of us here.
                   He was a gentleman. He certainly was tough, but he
                 treated everyone with dignity and respect. Everyone here
                 on this floor has been molded by his presence. We have
                 learned so much from him, and he will be missed.
                   But I know for certain his work and his passion and his
                 spirit will never be gone from this Senate he loved so
                 much, and I know as I walk on this Senate floor, I will
                 try and remember, as he taught me so well, respect of
                 others above all.
                   Madam President, I yield the floor.

                   The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from
                 Illinois.

                   Mr. DURBIN. Thank you very much.
                   Madam President, yesterday I joined Senator Murray and
                 others in giving my tribute to Senator Byrd, and I will
                 not repeat my remarks. But I look forward to other Members
                 coming to the floor with their own memories and
                 reminiscences of this great man who served this Nation and
                 the State of West Virginia so honorably for so long and
                 the fact that I was honored to serve with him for 14 years
                 in the Senate.
                   Madam President, I know an issue that was always
                 important to Robert Byrd was the working men and women of
                 West Virginia. If there was one thing that innervated him
                 and inspired him, it was the memory of his youth and
                 growing up in the most impoverished circumstances where he
                 could not attend college and had to go to work straight
                 out of high school. It was not until many years later that
                 he completed college and law degrees as a Member of
                 Congress. It was an extraordinary feat to be able to
                 achieve that. ...

                   Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I come to my seat today on
                 the floor of the Senate to take a few minutes to share my
                 thoughts on the late Senator Robert Byrd and his tragic
                 death a few days ago. I come with a perspective different
                 than those who served with him for decades because this is
                 my first term in the Senate. I was elected in 2004.
                   In our caucus, which then was in the majority, we were
                 asked to take responsibility for presiding, just as the
                 current Presiding Officer is doing today. The day I picked
                 was Friday mornings, not knowing we would not be here on a
                 lot of Friday mornings except for a normal business
                 session. But I did it on every Friday morning. For 2 years
                 I presided over the Senate from about 10 in the morning
                 until about 12:30 in the afternoon.
                   Friday morning is the day Robert Byrd would come to the
                 floor of the Senate and share and reshare some of his
                 great speeches. I was here to listen to the entire speech
                 on the tribute to mothers on Mother's Day. I heard him,
                 oftentimes, talk so wonderfully about his lovely wife. I
                 heard him talk about the Roman Empire, its rise and its
                 fall. I heard him make speeches on the rules of the
                 Senate, the details that no one in this room could ever
                 come close to.
                   But, for me, the most important contribution of the
                 Senator from West Virginia was the fact it didn't matter
                 how experienced you were or what your party was, if you
                 had a question on the rules of the Senate, you could go to
                 the seat of Senator Byrd and you could get an answer that
                 you could put in the bank. He loved sharing his knowledge.
                 He loved the institution of the Senate. He never saw it
                 from a partisan standpoint, he always saw it from a
                 traditional and an institutional standpoint.
                   There will be a lot of great tributes paid to Senator
                 Byrd over the next few days and they will all be well
                 deserved. I certainly share in the sympathy that all
                 extend to his extended family for this tragic loss. But
                 many in this Senate today and many who served in the years
                 since he was first elected have benefited from the wisdom
                 and ``gentleman-ness'' that Robert Byrd represented. He is
                 a tradition in the Senate. He is a tradition in the State
                 of West Virginia. He will be missed, but I will be forever
                 thankful to Robert Byrd for what he took the time to share
                 with me, to help me understand the ways of the Senate. He
                 truly was a Senator's Senator and I extend my sympathy to
                 his family and the people of West Virginia on the tragic
                 loss of this great Senator.
                   I yield the floor.

                   Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, as we continue the
                 important work of the Senate this week on a number of
                 important bills, one of them being the small business
                 package that is before this body now, we are always
                 mindful, as we come to the floor with the beautiful
                 flowers on Senator Byrd's desk, of the great loss we are
                 all experiencing. His colleagues here and in his home
                 State of West Virginia, the Nation, and, as you know, many
                 people around the world are mourning the death of a great
                 Senator, a very well-known Senator, a very well-respected
                 Senator, and a very historic figure.
                   So as we all do our work today, it is with heavy hearts
                 that we work. I told my staff today walking into the
                 building, it seems so empty and particularly quiet, and it
                 is because of the great respect this Senator enjoyed in
                 his life and now enjoys in his death.
                   But as even Senator Byrd would say if he were here, the
                 work of the Senate, which he loved very much, needs to go
                 on because it is the work of the people in a very special
                 way. ...

                   Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I stand today with my
                 colleagues with a very heavy heart to express my
                 condolences to the Byrd family and to the people of West
                 Virginia for losing a great American patriot. It is a very
                 sad day for America, for West Virginia, and for the
                 Senate.
                   For all of us who knew Senator Byrd, we knew he had five
                 great loves: this country, the Constitution, the Senate,
                 the people of West Virginia, and his beloved wife Erma.
                   Senator Byrd was my mentor and my teacher. When I
                 arrived in the Senate, I was the first Democratic woman
                 elected to the Senate in her own right. He took me under
                 his wing and taught me the rules of the Senate.
                   He said to me, ``Senator Mikulski, he or she who knows
                 the rules will rule. And you will know how to do it.''
                   His advice to me--when I asked him how to be successful
                 in the Senate--was this, ``Senator Mikulski, stay loyal to
                 the Constitution and stay loyal to your constituents and
                 you will do okay.'' From the very first day, he wanted me
                 to succeed. He was so welcoming. He made sure I became a
                 member of the Appropriations Committee, and he helped me
                 learn how to use my position to meet the day-to-day needs
                 of my constituents and the long-term needs of our Nation.
                   Senator Byrd's career was remarkable. We all know the
                 facts: the longest serving Member of Congress in history,
                 the majority leader in the Senate, chairman of the
                 Appropriations Committee, President pro tempore of the
                 Senate, elected nine times to the Senate. Yet he never,
                 ever forgot where he came from. He represented the people
                 of West Virginia.
                   Raised in poverty in the coalfields of West Virginia by
                 an aunt and uncle, he was born with four great gifts: a
                 deep faith, a love of learning, a strong work ethic, and
                 the fact that he was born in the United States of America,
                 where someone who was, by all intents and purposes, an
                 orphan, could become a U.S. Senator. He worked as a gas
                 station attendant, a meat butcher, and a welder--I might
                 add, a welder in the Baltimore shipyards. He went to night
                 school for college and law school while he was in the
                 Senate.
                   Senator Byrd wrote and passed many laws, but most
                 important to him was that he was an appropriator. He used
                 his position to help the people of West Virginia, and he
                 did not apologize for that. He brought jobs, roads, and
                 opportunity to one of the poorest States in the Nation. He
                 did not call it pork; he called it opportunity. And this
                 Senator would certainly agree with him.
                   But Senator Byrd also voted his conscience and
                 encouraged other Members to do the same. In his more than
                 18,000 votes, he was most proud of his vote against the
                 Iraq war. He was 1 of 23 Senators, and I joined him in
                 that vote. At that time, it was deeply unpopular. Those of
                 us who voted against the war were vilified. But we did the
                 right thing, though it was not easy.
                   If you love the Senate, you love Bob Byrd. He often
                 reminded us that the legislative branch is a coequal part
                 of the government. He fought hard against those who wanted
                 to give up Senate prerogatives, such as the line-item
                 veto. No one understood Senate procedure better and no one
                 protected Senate traditions more than Senator Bob Byrd.
                   He wanted to pass it on. With the new Senators, he gave
                 each one of us a lecture on the Constitution and gave us a
                 copy of the Constitution. He wanted us to know it and to
                 love it in the way he did. He also taught us the decorum
                 of the Senate--yes, the decorum of the Senate--and how,
                 through our processes and procedures, it was meant to
                 promote civility among us.
                   To me, as I said, he was a wonderful teacher. I remember
                 going to him when I was ready to offer my first amendment
                 on the floor, and I asked for his advice on how I could
                 present it and how I could not, quite frankly, be rolled.
                 He gave me good, concrete advice. On the day I offered my
                 first amendment, there was Senator Byrd in the background.
                 He was always there. As I said, Senator Byrd always had my
                 back. I was so grateful for having his advice and having
                 his encouragement.
                   He lived an extraordinary life and left an extraordinary
                 legacy. He stood for citizenship, not partisanship. And
                 maybe that is what we should all do. Follow the
                 Constitution. Stay loyal to our Constitution and our
                 constituents. Use the rules of the Senate to promote
                 civility and good government. Make sure that at the end of
                 the day, we respect the opportunity and greatness of the
                 United States of America.
                   I mourn the passing of Senator Byrd, but his legacy will
                 live on in the rules and the traditions and the many bills
                 he sponsored.
                   The people of West Virginia have had great Senators.
                 Senator Rockefeller is a great Senator. And Senator Byrd
                 will always be remembered, that he built a ``bridge to
                 somewhere'' for all of the people of West Virginia.

                   Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I am here today to pay respects
                 to Senator Byrd, whose desk is now adorned with a black
                 cloth and flowers. I know we will all long remember Monday
                 as the day we received some very sad news, for on that
                 day, as the morning began, we each learned in our own way
                 that our good friend and colleague Robert Byrd had passed
                 away just a few hours earlier. It should not have been a
                 sudden shock. We all had time to prepare for this moment.
                 We knew he had been having a period of ill health, but it
                 still seemed as if he would be here forever. That is the
                 kind of man Robert Byrd was.
                   A man of great gifts, he loved the written word and
                 could recite his favorite poems from memory--at length. It
                 was amazing how many speeches, reflections, and famous
                 quotations were there at his command, in his quiver, ever
                 ready and waiting for him to recite so he could emphasize
                 an important point about an issue that needed to be made.
                 That is the kind of man Robert Byrd was.
                   While it is true he was the longest serving Member of
                 Congress in history, he was so much more than that. He was
                 the historian of the Senate who knew more about our roots
                 as a legislative body than anyone else. He was a master
                 legislative craftsman, and whenever he spoke, we all
                 listened carefully to see what he had to say about the
                 matter we had taken up for deliberation. That is the kind
                 of man Robert Byrd was.
                   No one had more respect and regard for the Senate and
                 our legislative traditions and procedures than he did. He
                 knew the rules, he knew why they were crafted that way,
                 and he knew how to make good use of them to further the
                 agenda he believed to be in the best interests of the
                 people of our Nation. Once again, that is the kind of man
                 Robert Byrd was. That is why it is so difficult to sum up
                 his life in just a few well-chosen words.
                   There is no greater tribute we can pay to Robert Byrd
                 than for the spirit of friendship and camaraderie, which
                 were staples of his Senate service, to bring us all to the
                 Senate floor to express our regrets and send our
                 condolences to his family. It will also give us a chance
                 to share our memories of someone we will never forget.
                   I will always remember the orientation he organized for
                 the incoming class of new Senators each session for as
                 long as he was able. Besides a strong historical welcome,
                 he presented each of us with one volume of his four-volume
                 history of the Senate. If we read it and were able to
                 answer questions about it, then--and only then--would we
                 get the other three volumes. I remember asking him how he
                 wrote them. He said he presented all of it as a series of
                 floor speeches delivered without any notes, with most
                 corrections made simply to clear up what the floor
                 reporters thought they heard. He had a photographic
                 memory, and that made it all possible. Perhaps it came
                 from his years of study of the violin. In any event, it
                 made him a better speaker because he spoke slowly and
                 deliberately, carefully editing his sentences as he spoke.
                 His style created a natural bond between himself and the
                 listener, and that is what made him such a styled and
                 gifted communicator.
                   It may be a cliche, but he was a southern gentleman
                 through and through. He had no tolerance for any rude or
                 impolite conduct on the floor. He instructed and expected
                 all of us to be courteous and respectful--not because of
                 politics but because of the great institution of which we
                 are a part. He knew what a great honor and a privilege it
                 is to serve in the Senate, and he expected everyone else
                 to realize it as well and to act accordingly.
                   When you presided over the Senate, he expected you to
                 pay attention to each speaker. Sometimes, the Presiding
                 Officer is the only one in the Chamber. There was a time
                 when there was a telephone under the Presiding Officer's
                 desk. As the story goes, Senator Byrd was speaking when
                 the phone under the desk rang. When the Presiding Officer
                 answered it, Senator Byrd made sure to make him aware of
                 the importance of courtesy in such a situation. The
                 Presiding Officer then said, ``Senator Byrd, the phone is
                 for you.'' That is when the phone was taken out and a rule
                 went into effect that no electronic devices were to be
                 used on the Senate floor.
                   Then there were his special speeches. He always
                 commemorated each holiday the evening before a recess
                 would begin. Each speech was very poetic and, in fact,
                 usually had some poem he had memorized years before that
                 would come to mind and be recited from memory. He was good
                 at it, so good that we looked forward to his poetic
                 observations on the passing of time.
                   That unique speaking style of his also helped him to
                 build a good relationship with our pages. His ``going
                 away'' speech for each graduating class often left many of
                 them in tears. Their fondness for him only grew when they
                 learned that if the Senate was in session after 10 p.m.,
                 they had no early morning classes the next day. They were
                 always delighted, therefore, when the hour grew late and
                 Senator Byrd rose to speak. They knew he could easily add
                 the 10 or 15 or even 30 minutes needed to get them past 10
                 o'clock and a welcome reprieve from the early morning
                 classes.
                   My favorite speech Senator Byrd gave happened when I was
                 presiding. Over the previous weekend, he had visited some
                 of his grandkids and asked about their studies. He was a
                 firm believer in education and was an example of lifelong
                 learning himself. One of his grandkids had shared a math
                 experience with him. He was so surprised, he asked to see
                 the math book. He brought the book to the floor to read
                 parts of it to us. He was distressed at how math had
                 migrated into a social textbook. He pointed out that you
                 had to get to page 187 to find anything that resembled the
                 math he had learned. The parts prior to that were social
                 discourse. Anyone who heard the speech would remember his
                 indignation.
                   I remember being at an interparliamentary trip held in
                 West Virginia hosting the British Parliament. We went to a
                 mountain retreat for dinner. Senator Byrd welcomed them
                 and then got out his violin and shared some fiddle music
                 he thought was appropriate for the occasion. He was very
                 good.
                   Senator Byrd was an expert on the rules of the Senate.
                 At our orientation, he encouraged us to learn the rules.
                 Because of his encouragement and as a way to learn the
                 rules, I volunteered often to chair the Senate floor.
                 Following his instructions, I brought a list of questions
                 with me since during the quorum calls you can ask
                 questions of the captive-audience Parliamentarian.
                   I once saw a Senator come to the floor to debate an
                 amendment, and Senator Byrd was there to debate against
                 it. The Senator wanted to revise his amendment. For half
                 an hour, the Senator tried different tactics to change his
                 amendment, and Senator Byrd thwarted every attempt. The
                 Senator was frustrated, asked for a quorum call, and left
                 the floor.
                   At that point, I asked the Parliamentarian if there was
                 any way the Senator could have changed his amendment. The
                 Parliamentarian explained that all he had to do was
                 declare his right to revise his amendment. I asked why the
                 Parliamentarian did not tell him that. What I learned is
                 the Parliamentarian can only give advice when asked. My
                 first stop at the Senate floor often is at the
                 Parliamentarian as a result.
                   During much of Senator Byrd's career, he was either the
                 chairman of the Appropriations Committee or the ranking
                 member. He was very good about taking care of orphan
                 miners. Those are primarily coal miners whose companies
                 have gone out of business owing benefits. After a couple
                 of lessons from the Senator, I worked with him to take
                 care of the orphan miner health problem in a bill that
                 speeded up mine reclamation in many States, extended an
                 expiring tax on coal companies with their guarded
                 permission, and then released impounded trust fund money
                 promised by law to the States impacted, to produce the
                 Nation's energy, as well as take care of the orphan
                 miners.
                   At another time, Senator Isakson and I worked with
                 Senators Byrd, Rockefeller, and Kennedy to make the first
                 changes in mine safety law in 28 years. He was very proud
                 of the difference he was able to make in the lives of coal
                 miners back home, and he never forgot them whenever we
                 were debating an issue that might have an impact on their
                 lives.
                   In the days and weeks to come, I can think of no greater
                 compliment we could pay another Senator or greater tribute
                 we can pay to Senator Byrd than to watch someone in action
                 on the Senate floor who develops and implements a well-
                 drawn strategy and say: That is the way Robert Byrd would
                 have done it.
                   For my part, I will always remember the great love
                 Senator Byrd had for our Constitution. I do not think
                 anyone knew it better or more detailed than he did. When I
                 was mayor of Gillette, I began a habit of carrying around
                 a copy of the Constitution with me. I discovered that a
                 lot of us knew what it said but not too many of us had a
                 grasp for the details. It had a lot of meaning for me
                 right from the start because it represents the blueprint
                 from which our Nation and system of government were
                 constructed. Then when I came to the Senate, I came to
                 know the Constitution in a completely different way. It
                 was now my job description, as Senator Byrd put it. So I
                 always kept it handy.
                   I have no doubt that Senator Byrd had a similar reaction
                 years before my own. I am sure he knew the better he
                 understood our Constitution and the procedures of the
                 Senate, the more effective he would be as a Senator. He
                 knew the importance of understanding the rules of our
                 legislative process in every detail. The better he became
                 at mastering the process by which our laws were made, the
                 better he knew he would be at producing the outcome he was
                 committed to achieving for the people of West Virginia and
                 the Nation. I am sure that is why he always carried a copy
                 with him.
                   The line-item veto was passed before I got to the
                 Senate, but Senator Byrd had sued to have it stricken.
                 Most of his Senate career had been as chairman of the
                 Appropriations Committee or the ranking member. He pointed
                 out that Congress, according to the Constitution, is
                 supposed to make spending decisions, not the President. He
                 always pointed out that we do not work for the President
                 of the United States; we work with the President as a
                 separate but equal branch of government. He would guard us
                 against infringement by the President using the third
                 branch of government, and he was successful.
                   Although his life was marked by many triumphs, he was
                 not without his personal tragedies. I have always believed
                 that the work we do begins at home, and that is why I will
                 never forget the strength of his marriage and what a
                 tremendous loss it was for him when his wife passed away.
                 No one knew him better than she did, and without her by
                 his side life became ever more difficult. His health began
                 to fail.
                   I remember going to his wife's funeral. It was very well
                 done. When my wife and I were on our way home, we
                 commented that the endearing and astounding thing about
                 the funeral was that it was about her. He made sure her
                 achievements, her family, her efforts and successes were
                 the focus. As famous as Senator Byrd was, the comments
                 that were made that day were about her and not about him.
                 That says a lot about the relationship they had.
                   Although his health was declining, he was here as often
                 as he was able, an active part of the day-to-day workings
                 of the Senate. He would not and could not take it easy, no
                 matter what anyone told him. His heart was in the Senate;
                 his soul was in West Virginia. To stop what he loved to do
                 was for him and the people back home unthinkable.
                   One of Senator Byrd's favorite quotations comes to mind
                 today. He loved the Bible and quoted from it often. When
                 going through a difficult time in his life, he remembered
                 the words from the Book of Ecclesiastes: ``To everything
                 there is a season and a time for every purpose under
                 heaven.'' Now Senator Byrd has come to another time, as he
                 has reached the end of his seasons on God's green Earth.
                 He will be greatly missed, and he will never be forgotten.
                   I cannot conclude my remarks without paying a final
                 tribute to Senator Byrd by recalling his love of poetry
                 and the written word. We can all remember the way he would
                 enjoy sharing a favorite verse with us, much like this
                 one. Although the author is unknown, I am certain Senator
                 Byrd would not only recall it but know it well:

                 Life is but a stopping place,
                 A pause in what's to be,
                 A resting place along the road,
                 To sweet eternity.

                 We all have different journeys,
                 Different paths along the way,
                 We all were meant to learn some things,
                 But never meant to stay.

                 Our destination is a place,
                 Far greater than we know.
                 For some the journey's quicker,
                 For some the journey's slow.

                 And when the journey finally ends,
                 We'll claim a great reward,
                 And find an everlasting peace,
                 Together with the Lord.

                   My wife Diana joins in sending our heartfelt sympathy to
                 his family and many friends and for all the people who
                 worked for him and with him over the years. We will miss
                 him--the knowledge he had, the institutional memory he
                 had, the experiences and history he had been a part of and
                 in many instances was the main participant--the leader.
                 Probably only once in the history of a country does
                 someone like this come along. If he were here, he would
                 deny it but be pleased if we noted the similarity of what
                 he had done to what had been done in the ancient Roman
                 Senate about which he often talked.
                   In the end for Senator Byrd it was never about how much
                 time he spent in the Senate or on Earth but how well he
                 used the time he was given.
                   I yield the floor.

                   Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the loss
                 of our senior colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd. I had the
                 privilege and honor of serving with Senator Byrd for over
                 24 years in the Senate. I believe this body has lost a
                 giant.
                   For more than five decades, Robert C. Byrd served his
                 country, fought to protect the institution of the Senate,
                 and worked tirelessly for the people of West Virginia. The
                 people of West Virginia were never very far from the mind
                 of Robert C. Byrd. I know because I worked with him every
                 day for 24 years. Senator Byrd and his passing leave a
                 tremendous void for this body and for the Nation. He will
                 be greatly missed.
                   Senator Byrd was a great man, an exceptional person,
                 somebody who had lost his parents and, through sheer will,
                 made himself into a great man. He was a legend in the
                 Senate, the longest serving Senator in the history of the
                 United States and the longest serving lawmaker in
                 congressional history. The people of West Virginia elected
                 him to the Senate an amazing nine times and three times
                 before that to the House of Representatives. He served in
                 almost every leadership post in the Senate, including
                 twice as majority leader and for almost two decades as
                 chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He took an
                 incredible 18,500+ votes, a record which will never be
                 broken. At least that is my forecast. I do not know how
                 anybody will ever break a record of more than 18,500
                 votes.
                   Senator Byrd may be remembered most as the protector of
                 the institution of the Senate. This is an institution he
                 loved. More than that, this is an institution he revered
                 as part of the constitutional structure of this country.
                 He believed it had a special place in defending the
                 Constitution of the United States. He believed it played a
                 special role in preventing unwise legislation from
                 becoming law, and he believed it deeply.
                   He knew more about Senate history and Senate rules and
                 procedures than any other Member, and he used that
                 knowledge skillfully to defend this institution and to
                 ensure it continued to function in a manner consistent
                 with what the Founding Fathers intended. Senator Byrd did
                 not come to those beliefs lightly. He came to those
                 beliefs after the most thorough and very rigorous study of
                 our history. He was a master orator. How many of us can
                 remember Senator Byrd coming to this floor and having
                 Members come to the floor to listen to him because very
                 often his speeches were a history lesson--and not just
                 drawn from American history but from world history, going
                 back to the Roman Empire? When he was in really high
                 excitation, he loved to go through the various Roman
                 emperors and what brought them down, what led to the
                 decline of the Roman Empire, and what lessons we could
                 draw from that.
                   His speeches were riddled with quotes from great
                 leaders, references to American history and law, and
                 descriptions of that ancient Roman Senate--much of it from
                 memory. How many times did I hear Senator Byrd stand in
                 that spot or in the leader's spot and recite from memory a
                 lengthy poem or a speech from history? What a remarkable
                 man. The extent and the breadth of his knowledge was truly
                 amazing.
                   Senator Byrd was also an expert on budget matters. In
                 fact, he was one of the principal authors of the 1974
                 Budget Act which established the congressional budget
                 process. He created and vigorously defended the Byrd rule,
                 which bears his name--a budget rule designed to stop the
                 abuse of the fast-track reconciliation process.
                   Let me just remind my colleagues of something Senator
                 Byrd did during the Clinton administration when the
                 administration had a health care proposal that was bogged
                 down. It could not pass because it would require 60 votes
                 in the Senate, and there were not 60 votes to be had. The
                 administration wanted to use the reconciliation process,
                 the fast-track process that allows legislation to be
                 passed with only a simple majority. Senator Byrd said no,
                 under no circumstances would he permit that to happen
                 because he believed that was a violation of the whole
                 basis of the reconciliation process which he had been
                 involved in and which he had helped design and which was
                 put in law solely for deficit reduction, in his view. He
                 believed any other use was an abuse of the process--the
                 process of reconciliation. So he said no to the President
                 of his own party on that President's No. 1 domestic
                 priority.
                   There is a lesson in that for all of us. When we were in
                 the midst of the consideration of using the reconciliation
                 process for that purpose during the Clinton administration
                 years, Senator Byrd told me, as a member of the Budget
                 Committee, ``Senator, always remember partisanship can go
                 too far. Our obligation, our first obligation, is to the
                 Nation and to this institution. If that means we have to
                 disagree with the President of our own party, so be it.''
                   I hope colleagues learn from that lesson as well.
                 Partisanship can go too far.
                   As the Budget Committee chairman, I had the privilege
                 and honor of working particularly close with Senator Byrd
                 after he joined the committee in 2001. The original idea
                 of the Budget Committee was that the chairman of the
                 Finance Committee would serve there, the chairman of the
                 Appropriations Committee would serve there, and the
                 chairmen of other relevant major committees would serve
                 there so that the Budget Committee would put together the
                 priorities of the United States. Senator Byrd had an acute
                 understanding of that history.
                   But also Senator Byrd never forgot who sent him to
                 Washington. He tenaciously fought for West Virginia
                 throughout his career and ensured his small, rural State
                 had a powerful voice in the Halls of the Capitol. He never
                 forgot where he came from. I remember well his exchange at
                 a Budget Committee hearing in 2002 with then-Treasury
                 Secretary Paul O'Neill, and Senator Byrd proudly and
                 emotionally described his own humble upbringing because
                 Senator Byrd came from very straightened circumstances. He
                 came from a very modest background. He was an orphan. In
                 fact, he carried a name which was not his birth name. His
                 birth name was a different name than Robert C. Byrd. But
                 when relatives took him in, they gave him their family
                 name.
                   Robert C. Byrd remembered those earliest days. He
                 remembered what it was to struggle. He remembered what it
                 was to have very little. He remembered what it was to
                 wonder where your next meal was coming from and whether
                 you were going to have a roof over your head. Senator Byrd
                 remembered, and he was faithful to those memories.
                   Senator Byrd loved his wife Erma. He loved his daughters
                 Mona and Marjorie and his grandchildren and great-
                 grandchildren.
                   I want to say to the members of the family, Senator Byrd
                 was intensely proud of you. I hope the children and
                 grandchildren will get that message, that Senator Byrd was
                 intensely proud of each and every one of you. He spoke
                 about you often and in loving terms, and you should know
                 that.
                   Of course, we all know he loved his little dog Billy,
                 and he loved his dog Trouble. In fact, I think he had
                 multiple dogs named Trouble.
                   Senator Byrd loved West Virginia, he loved this
                 institution, and he loved our country. I am deeply
                 saddened by the passing of Senator Byrd. His immense
                 knowledge and his spirit will be missed. His values will
                 be missed. But I am comforted in knowing that our friend
                 Robert is now reunited with his beloved wife Erma. I know
                 his legacy will live on in this body and this Nation
                 forever.
                   I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is
                 recognized.

                   Mr. KYL. Mr. President, during a recordbreaking six
                 decades of public service, Senator Byrd served this Nation
                 with diligence and spirit. As a legislator, Senator Byrd
                 had many notable qualities, particularly his legendary
                 oratory skills and his masterful knowledge of Senate
                 procedure. Having authored a four-volume history of this
                 Chamber, he understood its nuances and intricacies, and he
                 was an articulate spokesman for protecting procedural
                 rules.
                   Senator Byrd kept a copy of the Constitution in his
                 pocket, and he could recite it from memory. He was always
                 first to remind us that the Framers intended the Senate to
                 be different from the House of Representatives and to
                 stand as a bastion of individual and minority rights. He
                 celebrated these distinctions serving as they do the
                 fundamental principle of checks and balances within the
                 legislative branch.
                   At a recent Rules Committee hearing, Senator Byrd said:

                   The Senate is the only place in government where the
                 rights of a numerical minority are so protected. The
                 Senate is a forum of the States, where regardless of size
                 or population, all States have an equal voice. ... Without
                 the protection of unlimited debate, small States like West
                 Virginia might be trampled. Extended deliberation and
                 debate--when employed judiciously--protect every Senator,
                 and the interests of their constituency, and are essential
                 to the protection of the liberties of a free people.

                   Senator Byrd's insights, expertise, and constitutional
                 scholarship will truly be missed. They are a great part of
                 his legacy, one that I hope will be honored for
                 generations.
                   On a personal note, I will mention that while Senator
                 Byrd and I did not share a perspective on many matters of
                 public policy, we had a common appreciation for bluegrass
                 music. I always enjoyed talking with him about that
                 subject. He was a talented fiddler, playing on stage, on
                 television, and while campaigning for office. He even
                 recorded an album entitled Mountain Fiddler. He gave me a
                 copy, and I was very impressed with his skill.
                   Robert Byrd's knowledge, his hard work, his high spirit,
                 and dedication to the people of West Virginia will always
                 be remembered. My wife Caryll and I extend our thoughts
                 and prayers to his family.

                   Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I, too, wish to say some
                 words on the passing of our good friend and former leader,
                 Robert C. Byrd.
                   It is difficult to sum up in words the thoughts and
                 feelings one has for a departed friend whom one has known
                 so long. I had the pleasure of serving with Senator Byrd
                 my entire career in the Senate. I knew, I liked, and I
                 respected Robert C. Byrd for more than 30 years.
                   It is doubly difficult to put into words thoughts that
                 adequately reflect such a presence in the Senate. Robert
                 C. Byrd was a singular Senator. He was a Senator's
                 Senator. There was no title he prized more than that of
                 ``Senator.''
                   When I came to the Senate, Robert C. Byrd had succeeded
                 my mentor, Mike Mansfield, as majority leader. As Robert
                 Byrd was fond of noting, he served as majority leader and
                 then minority leader and then back as majority leader. He
                 saw the leadership of the Senate from both sides, and his
                 experience seasoned his leadership.
                   As proud as he was to earn the title of ``Senator,'' he
                 was even more proud that as a Senator he represented the
                 people of his State. I deeply believe that is one of the
                 finest things one can say about a fellow Senator. For more
                 than 50 years, he was a strong voice for the people of
                 West Virginia.
                   Robert Byrd was a strong voice for democracy. He knew
                 the rules of the Senate better than any person alive. He
                 fought to preserve the traditions and customs of what he
                 truly believed is the world's greatest deliberative body.
                   As my colleagues know, Robert Byrd cast more votes than
                 any other Senator in the history of our Republic. I can
                 recall when he cast his 18,000th vote. That vote just
                 happened to have been on a motion to invoke cloture on an
                 amendment offered by this Senator. The Senate did not
                 invoke cloture that day. That is the way the Senate's
                 rules often work. No matter the outcome, Senator Byrd was
                 foremost in the defense of those rules. And Senator Byrd
                 was foremost in the defense of the Constitution of the
                 United States.
                   Senator Byrd was a student of history more than any
                 other Senator. Those of us who were here will not soon
                 forget Senator Byrd's series of addresses on the history
                 of the Senate. And those of us who were here will not soon
                 forget his series of addresses on the Senate of the Roman
                 Republic. He knew that Senate too.
                   Senator Byrd was a teacher. I can recall meeting with
                 Senator Byrd on a highway bill. He and I both long
                 believed passionately in the importance of our Nation's
                 highways. At this one occasion, I recall being impatient
                 about enacting the highway bill on which we were working.
                 I can also recall the sage advice Senator Byrd gave me
                 about the process, about the procedures, and about the
                 personalities of how to get that bill through the Senate.
                 As I look back on that meeting, I think of all the
                 occasions Senator Byrd took the time to teach others of us
                 about the Senate. He taught his fellow Senators. He taught
                 visiting dignitaries from other countries.
                   I might add parenthetically that it was not too many
                 years ago when he was visiting Great Britain with some
                 Senators and meeting with some Parliamentarians in Great
                 Britain, and the subject of British monarchs came up, and
                 it was only Senator Byrd who knew them all. He stood up,
                 and he gave the name of every British monarch and the
                 dates they served, up to the present. No other person in
                 the room, including the members of the British Parliament,
                 could do so. Robert C. Byrd did.
                   He taught class after class of Senate pages.
                   Robert Byrd will leave a legacy in the laws of the
                 United States. He will leave a legacy in the rules and
                 precedents of the Senate, and he will leave a living
                 legacy in all the people who learned about the Senate at
                 the knee of this great master.
                   Robert Byrd was an orator. One might say he was the last
                 of a breed. He spoke in a style that recalled his roots
                 before microphones and amplification. He spoke memorably.
                 He spoke like orators used to speak.
                   Many of us recall celebrated speeches of Robert C. Byrd.
                 I will read an extended quotation from one speech that
                 sums up Robert Byrd's strong feelings for the Constitution
                 and the Senate he loved so well.
                   On October 13, 1989, many of us gathered to hear Robert
                 C. Byrd speak. This is what he said:

                   Mr. President, I close by saying, as I began, that human
                 ingenuity can always find a way to circumvent a process
                 ... . But I have regained my faith. We are told in the
                 Scriptures: ``Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy
                 fathers have set.''
                   The Constitution is the old landmark which they have
                 set. And if we do not rise to the call of the moment and
                 take a stand, take a strong stand against our own personal
                 interests or against party interests, and stand for the
                 Constitution, then how might we face our children and
                 grandchildren when they ask of us as Caesar did to the
                 centurion, ``How do we fare today?'' And the centurion
                 replied, ``You will be victorious. As for myself, whether
                 I live or die, tonight I shall have earned the praise of
                 Caesar.''

                   And Robert C. Byrd concluded:

                   As [Aaron] Burr bade goodbye to the Senate over which he
                 had presided for 4 years, this is what he said. And I
                 close with his words because I think they may well have
                 been written for a moment like this. He said, ``This House
                 is a sanctuary; a citadel of law, of order, and of
                 liberty, and it is here--it is here--in this exalted
                 refuge--here, if anywhere, will resistance be made to the
                 storms of political phrensy and the silent arts of
                 corruption; and if the Constitution be destined ever to
                 perish by the sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the
                 usurper, which God averts, its expiring agonies will be
                 witnessed on this floor.''

                   So today, Mr. President, I will close my words for my
                 friend, Robert C. Byrd, noting that in life he was
                 victorious. As for myself, whether I succeed or not,
                 whether I live or die, today I can count no greater praise
                 than to say I served with Robert C. Byrd.
                   Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas is
                 recognized.

                   Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I think the remarks that
                 were given by my colleague from Montana about Senator Byrd
                 were certainly appropriate, and I know anytime we lose one
                 of our Members who has been sitting with us for so long,
                 there is a void to fill.
                   What I appreciated about Senator Byrd is how much he
                 respected the Senate itself and protected the rights of
                 the Senate against anyone who he believed overstepped the
                 rights of the Senate and the decorum and protocol of the
                 Senate. He was truly a defender of this body. He loved it,
                 and I think we all respected him for that.

                   Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise to say a few words about
                 our departed colleague.
                   This week the Senate lost its longest serving Member not
                 only of the Senate but of the Congress. More than that,
                 the Nation lost a true servant of the people.
                   From humble beginnings, Senator Byrd was, first and
                 foremost, a champion for the people of West Virginia.
                 Throughout his many years of service, there has been no
                 greater student, teacher, and protector of the Senate
                 institution. Senator Byrd was not only a guardian of the
                 Senate institution, he was a guardian of the rights our
                 Nation holds dear, which is why his most constant
                 companion was the Constitution of the United States in his
                 pocket.
                   I had the opportunity, when I first arrived in the
                 Senate in 1990, to work on the acid rain trading
                 provisions in the Clean Air Act. It was known as the Byrd-
                 Bond amendment. We called it the Bond-Byrd amendment back
                 in Missouri. The acid rain trading system has worked
                 because there was technology available. The cost enabled
                 the equitable sharing of the major utilities which had to
                 install expensive equipment that provided more benefit
                 than they needed so they could sell off the other parts of
                 their credits to smaller companies that could not afford
                 to install expensive equipment. That was just a small
                 success for Senator Byrd.
                   He was a true champion. He will be missed on the Senate
                 floor. My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Byrd's
                 family, his staff, and the people of West Virginia.

                   Mr. LeMIEUX. Mr. President, I see the roses on the desk
                 of our colleague from West Virginia, as I did in the Armed
                 Services Committee meeting I left a few minutes ago and
                 will return to shortly. It makes me think that what we do
                 here on a day-to-day basis seems very small compared to
                 the legacy Senator Byrd has left us over his many years as
                 the longest serving Member of Congress. We will do our
                 best in the time we have to honor his legacy and thank him
                 today and every day going forward for what he has done for
                 this institution. He kept the flame. He understood the
                 importance of this body constitutionally, and he
                 understood that the rules and procedures of this body were
                 its lifeblood and really understood them and recognized
                 them more than anyone else who has served in this Chamber
                 and spent his life's work protecting them and
                 memorializing them. To him, we owe a great commendation.

                   Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute
                 to a great Senator and a friend and mentor of mine,
                 Senator Robert C. Byrd. When I look at his desk, a place
                 from which he spoke such powerful words so many times, it
                 is hard to believe he will not be on the floor of the
                 Senate speaking powerfully about what he believed in--the
                 people of West Virginia and the great issues of our day.
                 He will be sorely missed.
                   He was orphaned as a child and grew up poor. He often
                 told us about his foster father, who was a coal miner, who
                 had to work hard to scrape together food and shelter for
                 their family. He always spoke of working men and women and
                 those who were working hard and having a hard time making
                 ends meet. I know his heart was always with them.
                   From a young age, Senator Byrd learned the importance of
                 hard work, dedication, and perseverance--skills that would
                 serve him well throughout his long and very distinguished
                 life.
                   After graduating from high school at the top of his
                 class in 1934, he married his high school sweetheart Erma.
                 Many of us knew her, and those who didn't knew of her
                 because he would speak continually about the love of his
                 life, his sweetheart Erma. After school, he went on to
                 work at a number of odd jobs. He worked as a butcher
                 during the Great Depression, earning less than $15 a week.
                 He worked as a gas station attendant. During World War II,
                 he was a welder in a shipyard in Baltimore. But he never
                 forgot his childhood and where he came from. He knew how
                 education had transformed his own life, and he never
                 stopped trying to give every American that same
                 opportunity.
                   After high school he couldn't afford to go to college.
                 But after he was elected to the House of Representatives
                 in 1952, he put himself through law school--the only
                 Member of Congress ever to do that while in office. He
                 joked that Erma put three children through school--himself
                 and their two daughters.
                   His wife was the most important person in the world to
                 him, and I know he was deeply saddened when Erma died in
                 2006, as were all of us who served in the Senate with him
                 at that time.
                   He was a great mentor, a great friend, a great advocate
                 for working families of Michigan and of America. I was
                 proud to join with him many times as we fought for
                 American workers, whether they were mine workers in West
                 Virginia or auto workers in Michigan.
                   He loved West Virginia, the people and the landscape.
                 One of his favorite Bible verses was from Psalms: ``I will
                 lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my
                 help.'' In my office I proudly display a painting that
                 Senator Byrd gave to me, which he painted himself while
                 working in Baltimore so he could remember those hills and
                 mountains of his childhood. Today, when I see that
                 painting, I remember that Senator who gave so much for the
                 people of West Virginia and the people of America. I was
                 proud to stand with him as one of the 23--as he reminded
                 me frequently--the 23 who opposed the original war in Iraq
                 and stood up for our men and women who have bravely served
                 us around the world as well.
                   Senator Robert C. Byrd--the Senate is a better place
                 because of him and he will be sorely missed.

                   Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, 10 years ago I
                 gave my maiden speech on the floor of the Senate. I was at
                 a desk on the far side of the Chamber. In the course of
                 that speech, I happened to mention that it was my maiden
                 speech. I had been here about a month. I went on. I can
                 even remember the subject. It was the deficit, since we
                 were in a unique position that we actually had a surplus
                 in the Federal Government and I did not want to see that
                 surplus piddled away. I started talking about the budget
                 and why it was necessary to keep the surplus, to utilize
                 the surplus to pay down the national debt over a 10-year
                 period.
                   Some minutes later, after I had said this was my maiden
                 speech, all of a sudden the doors to the Chamber flung
                 open and in came Senator Robert Byrd. As I was giving this
                 first speech on the floor of the Senate, the greatest
                 deliberative body in the world, he went over to his desk--
                 the one that is draped with black cloth, and upon it sits
                 the vase of flowers to note his passing--he sat there and
                 he looked at me and listened to the rest of that oration.
                   As I concluded, the Senator from West Virginia rose and
                 said, ``Will the Senator from Florida yield?''
                   And I said, ``Of course I yield.''
                   He proceeded, off the top of his head, from that
                 incredible, detailed memory, to lay out the history of
                 maiden speeches on the floor of the Senate. He had been
                 back in his office, and he had heard me, in the course of
                 the audio from the television, say this was my maiden
                 speech. He came up and went into this long discourse about
                 the importance of maiden speeches and who were the ones
                 who had given them and how long into their service as a
                 new Senator they had waited to give them.
                   Later on, as we were debating that budget, the great
                 orator from West Virginia took the floor and began talking
                 about a tax cut the Senate was considering; a tax cut he
                 voted against, and so did this Senator from Florida. The
                 Senator from West Virginia talked about this tax cut that
                 was going to be a staggering $1.6 trillion. This is what
                 the great senior Senator from West Virginia said. ``That
                 is $1,600 for every minute since Jesus Christ was born,''
                 Senator Byrd declared. He went on to say, ``If we go for
                 this big tax cut ... that money ... is gone.''
                   We all like tax cuts, but what we have to have is a
                 balance of tax cuts and spending cuts, given the position
                 then that we had a surplus, and how to responsibly use
                 that surplus to pay down the national debt. What we have
                 is a reversal of that. We, of course, have a huge deficit
                 because the revenues are not coming in to match the
                 expenditures and, thus, additional problems that have
                 accrued from not listening to the Senator who sat in that
                 black-draped desk. No one else spoke like Senator Byrd or
                 was as original as he was.
                   As we mark the passing of our dear colleague who, it has
                 been said many times, was the longest serving Federal
                 lawmaker since the founding of the Republic, as we mourn
                 his passing, many will remember the Senator from West
                 Virginia by the numbers and by the records he set. He made
                 history. He brought depth and grace to the Senate. He is
                 forever enshrined as a major part of its history.
                   I can tell you that 10 years ago, we freshmen had the
                 blessing of being tutored--no, more than tutored; we were
                 students, we were pupils of the master teacher. He taught
                 us the rules, so important to the conduct of business in
                 this body. But he taught us something more. He taught us
                 decorum. He taught us how to preside as the Presiding
                 Officer. He taught us to be respectful, that when you are
                 presiding, you absolutely listen to the speaker. He taught
                 us so much.
                   He was elected to no fewer than nine terms in the
                 Senate. He served first in the House for 6 years. He had
                 cast over 18,000 votes. He presided over both the longest
                 session of the Senate and the shortest. We had no fewer
                 than 12 Presidents since he first took office.
                   But the numbers do not tell the full story. Robert Byrd
                 was one of the greatest advocates for just plain folks and
                 especially if they came from West Virginia. He gave them
                 his all, after his first and foremost love, his devotion
                 to his wife Erma. In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson,
                 Robert Byrd always put public service ahead of personal
                 fortune.
                   On my desk in my Senate office, as I would suspect on
                 many other Senators' desks, are copies of Senator Byrd's
                 addresses on the history of the Senate--more than 100 of
                 those speeches delivered over a 10-year period. Those are
                 the only books that are set on my personal desk with book
                 ends of two American eagles. That study has been called
                 the most ambitious study of the Senate ever undertaken.
                 Every day, those books remind me of the living history of
                 this institution and its vital role in our democracy.
                   Senator Byrd made rare and noble contributions to his
                 family, his friends, his State, his country, and to this
                 Senate. He was, in a living person, the walking history
                 book of the Senate, which he could recite. Now, as he has
                 gone on to the ages, he will be known as the historian of
                 the Senate. And now forever for history, he will be one of
                 the major parts of the Senate's history.
                   We mourn his passing, we miss him personally, we grieve
                 for his family, and we are thankful there was a public
                 servant who surely the Lord would say: Well done, thy good
                 and faithful servant.

                   Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, I rise today to
                 join my colleagues as we mourn the death and celebrate the
                 life of a man who touched all of ours; a man who loved his
                 country, loved the Senate, and dedicated his life to
                 preserving its traditions; a man who above all cherished
                 his State and who every day considered it his highest
                 honor to represent her people.
                   On Monday morning, Senator Robert Byrd took his rightful
                 place in our history books as a titan of the Senate. On
                 Thursday we will honor him as his body lies in state in
                 this Chamber where he served longer than any other Senator
                 in our history. Today, we grieve his loss with his family
                 and with the entire country.
                   My family's history with Senator Byrd goes back many
                 years. My father, before he became Secretary of the
                 Interior, served with Senator Byrd, then Congressman Byrd,
                 in the House of Representatives. A half century later, my
                 father's honor became my own. I am proud to have had the
                 privilege of serving in this Chamber with Senator Byrd, of
                 experiencing first hand his distinguished service and
                 remarkable career.
                   Senator Byrd will be remembered for many things. He will
                 be remembered for his historic length of service; for his
                 rise from humble roots to the pinnacles of political
                 power; for his encyclopedic knowledge of Senate rules and
                 procedure; and for his love of his wife of 68 years, Erma.
                   What I will remember Senator Byrd for is his willingness
                 to stand up and fight for what he believed in. Two of the
                 most pressing issues of the past decade are perfect
                 examples--the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. From the very
                 beginning, Senator Byrd was a voice of opposition to the
                 Iraq war. He delivered what will become one of his most
                 memorable speeches in the days leading up to the Senate's
                 vote to authorize its funding. He spoke out against a war
                 at a time when any opposition to the President's path
                 meant putting his own political future in jeopardy. But he
                 did not waiver.
                   Here is part of what he said:

                   No one supports Saddam Hussein. If he were to disappear
                 tomorrow, no one would shed a tear around the world. I
                 would not. My handkerchief would remain dry. But the
                 principle of one government deciding to eliminate another
                 government, using force to do so, and taking that action
                 in spite of world disapproval is a very disquieting thing.
                 I am concerned that it has the effect of destabilizing the
                 world community of nations. I am concerned that it fosters
                 a climate of suspicion and mistrust in U.S. relations with
                 other nations. The United States is not a rogue nation,
                 given to unilateral action in the face of worldwide
                 opprobrium.

                   Eight years and thousands of American lives lost later,
                 his words read as prophetic.
                   But he didn't stop there. Last year--this time with his
                 party holding the reins of power in both the White House
                 and the Congress--he did the same thing. Seven years had
                 passed, and Senator Byrd was older and more fragile than
                 ever before. None of that stopped him from getting to the
                 Senate floor that day. How did I know this? I had a front
                 row seat as the Presiding Officer of the Senate that day.
                   This time, he questioned the proposed buildup of troops
                 in Afghanistan--a proposal I myself had questioned many
                 times as well. Here is what Senator Byrd said:

                   I have become deeply concerned that in the 8 years since
                 the September 11 attacks, the reason for the U.S. military
                 mission in Afghanistan has become lost, consumed in some
                 broader scheme of nation-building which has clouded our
                 purpose and obscured our reasoning.

                   He continued:

                   ... President Obama and the Congress must reassess and
                 refocus on our original and most important objective--
                 namely emasculating a terrorist network that has proved
                 its ability to inflict harm on the United States.

                   Time will tell if Senator Byrd's concerns about
                 Afghanistan prove as prescient as those he expressed about
                 Iraq almost a decade ago. Time also will tell if we heed
                 those concerns.
                   What is clear is that Senator Byrd understood the
                 importance of asking the tough questions, regardless of
                 their impact on himself personally or professionally. In
                 this regard, we could all learn a little bit from Senator
                 Byrd.
                   I know my Senate colleagues will agree with me when I
                 say this institution, this country, this democracy lost a
                 powerful advocate this week, and all of us in this Chamber
                 lost a good friend.
                   Today I join with my colleagues in expressing my deepest
                 sympathy to Senator Byrd's family for their loss and
                 remembering a man whose legend and legacy will endure
                 beyond us all.

                   Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I wish to spend a few
                 minutes talking about a truly great Federal employee, and
                 that is Senator Robert C. Byrd.
                   He personified all the things I try to talk about once a
                 week, because Robert Byrd was a Federal employee. Robert
                 Byrd was a creature of the U.S. Senate. Robert Byrd had
                 his family, and he was a great family man, but the Senate
                 was also his family, and he cared about everybody here.
                   I remember the first time I ever had contact with
                 Senator Byrd was in 1972. On election day in 1972, Joe
                 Biden, a 29-year-old candidate for the U.S. Senate, was
                 elected to the Senate running against one of the most
                 popular officials we ever had in the State of Delaware, a
                 wonderful public servant and Federal employee, Caleb
                 Boggs, who had been a Congressman and Governor before he
                 became a Senator.
                   Just 6 weeks later, on December 18, when his wife and
                 two sons and daughter were bringing their Christmas tree
                 home, the car was hit by a tractor trailer and Senator
                 Biden's wife and daughter were killed.
                   Shortly after that, my church, St. Mary Magdalen in
                 Wilmington, Delaware, had a memorial service for his wife
                 and daughter. I will never forget, it was a dark night. It
                 was in December. It was just an ugly night out. The church
                 was full, and it was a very moving ceremony. After it was
                 over, I found out that Senator Robert Byrd had driven
                 himself to Wilmington, Delaware, come into the church,
                 stood in the back of the church for the entire service,
                 and then turned around and drove home. And there are
                 hundreds of stories like that where Robert Byrd
                 demonstrated his great love for the Senate and for the
                 people of the Senate.
                   There are traditions he instilled in the Senate and
                 traditions he kept alive in the Senate. I remember when he
                 was majority leader, I will tell you what, there were lots
                 of things that just never happened because Senator Byrd
                 was going to make sure we stuck to the traditions of the
                 Senate. So I wish to recognize Senator Robert Byrd as a
                 great Federal employee.

                   Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I join all Americans in
                 mourning the passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd. For more
                 than five decades, Senator Robert Byrd served his home
                 State, his beloved West Virginia, with a dedication that
                 is unsurpassed in our Nation's history.
                   Senator Byrd was legendary for that commitment to his
                 State, for his outstanding service as both the Senate's
                 majority and minority leader, and for his staunch defense
                 of the U.S. Constitution throughout his many years of
                 public service.
                   When I arrived in the Senate, Senator Byrd was in the
                 midst of his sixth term, President pro tempore of the
                 Senate, chairman of the Appropriations Committee and
                 already a giant of the institution. It was an honor to
                 work beside him in this body.
                   Senator Byrd was the longest serving Member of Congress
                 in our Nation's history, elected to an unprecedented ninth
                 term in the Senate in 2006. It was a long road from his
                 humble beginnings in rural West Virginia to his long and
                 distinguished service here. Along the way, Senator Byrd's
                 life was characterized by hard work and a steely
                 determination.
                   And of all the things he was determined to do, perhaps
                 the most significant was his determination to get an
                 education. Senator Byrd prized education, and fought to
                 get one for himself despite difficult odds. That long
                 effort culminated in Senator Byrd earning his law degree,
                 after 10 years of night classes as he served in Congress
                 by day. He was 46 years old when he graduated, and
                 President John F. Kennedy presented him with the diploma.
                   He shared that love of learning as a champion of
                 continuing education, and through the establishment of the
                 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program, which provides
                 scholarships to high school seniors who show promise of
                 continued excellence in postsecondary education.
                   Senator Byrd was dedicated to the Senate and served an
                 invaluable role as a historian of the institution. He
                 wrote a distinguished multivolume history of the Senate,
                 and also authored several other books. In fact when I
                 drafted my proposed constitutional amendment on Senate
                 vacancies, I consulted one of his volumes on Senate
                 history. He had written a chapter on the 17th Amendment to
                 the Constitution that was very helpful in putting the
                 issue of Senate vacancies in a historical context.
                   As a student of Senate history, both the U.S. Senate and
                 the Roman Senate, he was also a passionate defender of the
                 powers of the legislative branch. One would expect no less
                 of a man so devoted to our Constitution. Senator Byrd was
                 eloquent as he spoke about the need to stand up for our
                 Constitution and its principles here in the Senate, and
                 faithfully carried a copy of the Constitution with him
                 every day. He was very proud of his efforts to encourage
                 students to learn more about this document and our great
                 democracy.
                   In Senator Byrd's lifetime of leadership, he worked on
                 many important issues. As the Senate's majority leader, he
                 helped to lead the fight against the undue influence of
                 money in politics in an effort with then-Senator David
                 Boren of Oklahoma. Together they sponsored campaign
                 finance legislation and worked to pass it in what has been
                 described as ``one of the most extraordinary exhibitions
                 of perseverance on the Senate floor, as Byrd led the
                 Senate through eight unsuccessful votes to end a
                 filibuster.'' While that legislation stalled, it was one
                 of the efforts that paved the way for later reforms, and I
                 am grateful for his efforts.
                   I respected him for that, and for so many of the
                 principled stands he took during our service together,
                 including his opposition to the Iraq war. He brought
                 tremendous wisdom and insight to our work here and I know
                 how much those gifts will be missed.
                   Robert C. Byrd was a man who sought to learn every day
                 of his life, and in turn taught all of us a great deal. He
                 taught us about our Nation's history, about the people he
                 represented, and about the institution of the Senate he
                 loved. While Senator Byrd's passing is a loss for the
                 Nation, his legacy of innumerable achievements will live
                 on for many years to come. My thoughts are with his family
                 and many friends today.

                   Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, on Monday we lost a
                 colleague and dear friend with the passing of Senator
                 Robert C. Byrd. My deepest sympathy goes out to his
                 family, friends, dedicated staff, and the people of West
                 Virginia. Senator Byrd was truly a giant among Senators.
                 His presence will be greatly missed.
                   Few have had the command of history that Senator Byrd
                 possessed, and I suspect none have matched his knowledge
                 of the U.S. Constitution and the Senate in which he
                 served. Senator Byrd never passed up the opportunity to
                 give a history lesson, delivering impassioned speeches
                 peppered with poetry, lessons from ancient Rome, and his
                 unique understanding of the workings of this Chamber. He
                 also never forgot to remind us of the importance of
                 Mother's Day, the beauty of the first day of spring, or
                 how devoted he was to his beloved wife Erma.
                   Senator Byrd held fiercely to his beliefs. Yet, he had
                 the humility and wisdom to change beliefs he realized were
                 wrong. History will remember Senator Byrd, not only for
                 his numerous records of service, but for his unwavering
                 commitment to education, public infrastructure, and the
                 State of West Virginia.
                   This year, 19 outstanding high school students from my
                 home State of South Dakota joined the ranks of thousands
                 of Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship recipients that are
                 furthering their education, in part because of Senator
                 Byrd's belief in the value of higher education. He
                 embodied that belief in his own life, earning a law degree
                 while serving in Congress and striving to continue
                 learning each day.
                   Senator Byrd also understood the value of investing in
                 the small, sometimes overlooked communities of his State.
                 Where others saw ``pork,'' he saw jobs, opportunities, and
                 hope for hard-working Americans. He understood--better
                 than most--that without roads, clean water, and reliable
                 utilities, rural communities will struggle to reach their
                 full potential.
                   Though he would later ``walk with Kings, meet Prime
                 Ministers and debate with Presidents,'' Senator Byrd never
                 forgot his roots in the hills of West Virginia. West
                 Virginia lost a true champion, but his mark on the State
                 will last far longer than even his half century in
                 Congress.
                   I am honored to have served with Senator Byrd. This
                 institution is a better place for his time here.
                      SENATE RESOLUTION 574--RELATIVE TO THE MEMORIAL
                    OBSERVANCES OF THE HONORABLE ROBERT C. BYRD, LATE A
                           SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
                   Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. McConnell) submitted the
                 following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
                                         S. Res. 574
                   Whereas, The Senate has heard with profound sorrow and
                 deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable
                 Robert C. Byrd, late a Senator from the State of West
                 Virginia: Now, therefore, be it
                   Resolved, That the memorial observances of the Honorable
                 Robert C. Byrd, late a Senator from the State of West
                 Virginia be held in the Senate Chamber on Thursday, July
                 1, 2010, beginning at 10:00 a.m., and that the Senate
                 attend the same.
                   Resolved, That paragraph 1 of Rule IV of the Rules for
                 the Regulation of the Senate Wing of the United States
                 Capitol (prohibiting the taking of pictures in the Senate
                 Chamber) be temporarily suspended for the sole and
                 specific purpose of permitting the Senate Photographic
                 Studio to photograph this memorial observance.
                   Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms be directed to make
                 necessary and appropriate arrangements in connection with
                 the memorial observances in the Senate Chamber.
                   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate
                 these resolutions to the House of Representatives,
                 transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the
                 deceased, and invite the House of Representatives and the
                 family of the deceased to attend the memorial observances
                 in the Senate Chamber.
                   Resolved, That invitations be extended to the President
                 of the United States, the Vice President of the United
                 States, and the members of the Cabinet, the Chief Justice
                 and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United
                 States, the Diplomatic Corps (through the Secretary of
                 State), the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval
                 Operations of the Navy, the Major General Commandant of
                 the Marine Corps, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and
                 the Commandant of the Coast Guard to attend the memorial
                 observances in the Senate Chamber.
                 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 65--PROVIDING FOR THE USE OF
                   THE CATAFALQUE SITUATED IN THE EXHIBITION HALL OF THE
                     CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER IN CONNECTION WITH MEMORIAL
                  SERVICES TO BE CONDUCTED IN THE U.S. SENATE CHAMBER FOR
                   THE HONORABLE ROBERT C. BYRD, LATE A SENATOR FROM THE
                                   STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
                   Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. McConnell) submitted the
                 following concurrent resolution; which was considered and
                 agreed to:
                                       S. Con. Res. 65
                   Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
                 concurring), That the Architect of the Capitol is
                 authorized and directed to transfer the catafalque which
                 is situated in the Exhibition Hall of the Capitol Visitor
                 Center to the Senate Chamber so that such catafalque may
                 be used in connection with services to be conducted there
                 for the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, late a Senator from the
                 State of West Virginia.
                               ORDER FOR PRINTING OF TRIBUTES
                   Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
                 tributes to Robert C. Byrd, late a Senator from West
                 Virginia, be printed as a Senate document, and that
                 Members have until 12 noon, Friday, August 6, 2010, to
                 submit said tributes.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
                 ordered.
                                                   Wednesday, June 30, 2010
                   Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, it is with deep sadness that
                 I rise to honor my colleague and friend, Senator Robert C.
                 Byrd. I look at the simple eloquence of the roses and the
                 black felt on his desk, and he rises above that and hovers
                 above us in just about everything we do.
                   The admiration that all of us in this body have for
                 Senator Byrd is genuine and palpable. We miss him dearly,
                 and I know I speak for the entire Senate when I say our
                 thoughts and prayers are with Senator Byrd's family as
                 they mourn his passing.
                   Mr. President, no one loved the Senate more than Robert
                 Byrd. He devoted his life to this august institution and,
                 in doing so, became an institution himself. He is a
                 legend--a man who embodied the best ideals of this body.
                 It is fitting that on this day we remember Senator Byrd
                 the Senate is undertaking one of its most important
                 constitutionally mandated responsibilities: the
                 confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court Associate
                 Justice.
                   Senator Byrd would remind us that we are in a process
                 where the first branch of government is giving its advice
                 and consent to a selection from the second branch of
                 government in choosing someone to sit on the highest part
                 of the third branch of government.
                   He loved the Constitution, he loved the Senate, he loved
                 America, and he came from the bosom of America.
                   I am struck by the history of this moment. We read about
                 the great Senators who served in this body--the Websters
                 and the Clays, the LaFollettes and the Wagners. Well, I
                 cannot help but feel privileged to have served, in my
                 brief time--certainly compared to the Senators here--with
                 a legend, with a man whose name will go down in history
                 beside those men as one of the great men in this body and
                 one of the great men in history.
                   On Thursday, Mr. President, Senator Byrd will make one
                 final visit to this Senate Chamber that he so loved. There
                 could be no more appropriate way for us to say goodbye to
                 him and honor him than to yield the Senate floor to him
                 for one last time.
                   People asked, why not the Rotunda? It was not that he
                 did not deserve tribute in the Rotunda, and, for sure,
                 tens of thousands would have lined up. But this is the
                 body he loved, and this is the body where his final day
                 here should be.
                   I would like to share a few brief thoughts and reflect
                 on Senator Byrd's service to the people of West Virginia
                 and the Nation.
                   The most important thing we should all remember about
                 Robert Byrd is his life story, for it embodies America,
                 the best of America. It embodies the American dream.
                 Because of his intelligence, his indefatigable energy, and
                 up-by-the-bootstraps determination, he rose from a
                 childhood marred by abject poverty to being three
                 heartbeats away from the Presidency.
                   He made mistakes in his earlier career, which he freely
                 admitted later. Who has not? But he just grew and grew and
                 grew. That is what great men do: they grow larger and
                 stronger and better as they go through life. That could
                 certainly be said of Senator Byrd.
                   Unlike many of the great men who preceded him, Senator
                 Byrd did not grow up as a member of a privileged class. He
                 was an orphan, raised in the Appalachian coal towns of
                 West Virginia. He graduated from high school at 16 as the
                 valedictorian, but like so many Americans of his day, he
                 was too poor and could not afford college.
                   So as a young Member of Congress, he worked his way
                 through law school, and, at age 46, he earned the
                 diploma--with honors--that had eluded him in his youth.
                   I remember his love of West Virginia. When I was new in
                 this body, just learning it--and part of the way I learned
                 it was by going to Senator Byrd's class on the rules of
                 the Senate; legendary to each freshman class of his time--
                 but one day I was just seated at my desk, and Senator Byrd
                 rose to speak. It was a Friday afternoon. I believe it was
                 in the springtime. Business was finished and everyone was
                 rushing home. As you know, Mr. President, I usually rush
                 home. I love to be in New York. But as I was getting ready
                 to leave, Senator Byrd rose, and his speech captivated me.
                   For 45 minutes he gave a speech on the beauty of West
                 Virginia in the springtime. The theme of the speech was to
                 urge visitors from other States to come experience it. It
                 was an amazing speech. It was almost like poetry. I am
                 sure Senator Byrd probably did not have to sit and spend
                 days preparing it. It just flowed off his lips, his love
                 of West Virginia, combined with his eloquence. It is one
                 of the speeches I will always remember in the Senate, and
                 I am just lucky and glad I was here for that moment.
                   Then, speaking of my State of New York, Senator Byrd did
                 not just touch West Virginia, he touched every State.
                 Because he was here for so long, of course, he had such
                 power but cared about each of the Members and their
                 States.
                   The most striking moment I had with Senator Byrd
                 occurred in the wake of 9/11. It was the day after that
                 Senator Clinton and I went up to New York, and we saw the
                 devastation. We could smell death in the air, see the
                 anguished looks of people holding signs: Have you seen my
                 husband? Have you seen my wife? The towers were gone, but
                 people did not know who had survived and who had not. Most
                 did not, of course.
                   Then the next call we got, as we came back, was from
                 Senator Byrd. Senator Byrd said, ``Please come to my
                 office.'' We went to his office on the first floor of the
                 Capitol. He came to Senator Clinton and I and said,
                 ``Chuck, Hillary, I want you to consider me the third
                 Senator from the great State of New York.''
                   We knew we needed help, and we needed it fast. Even
                 before we went to visit President Bush and asked him for
                 the help that New York needed, Senator Byrd, on his own,
                 invited us over and pledged his help. Like always, he
                 lived up to his word, not just in the next days or weeks
                 or months, but years. I would go to him 3, 4 years later
                 and say there is still this part of the promise made to
                 New York that hasn't been fulfilled. There he was, and he
                 did it. Without a doubt, the dear city I love, New York
                 City, would not have been able to recover as quickly or as
                 well without that man from the coalfields of West
                 Virginia, Senator Robert C. Byrd, helping us. He showed a
                 level of selflessness that is rarely seen, and I think I
                 can speak on behalf of Secretary Clinton and the people of
                 New York in telling Senator Byrd how grateful we are to
                 him.
                   We all have so many memories of Senator Byrd, so many
                 things. We only served together a little less than 12
                 years, 11\1/2\ years, but he was like a jewel. He had so
                 many different facets that every one of us was touched by
                 him in many ways.
                   So I relate my last strong memory of Senator Byrd. The
                 Presiding Officer remembers as well because it was at a
                 hearing of the Rules Committee where we are now having a
                 series of hearings under the suggestion of the Presiding
                 Officer and leadership to decide whether we should reform
                 the filibuster rule and what we should do about it.
                 Senator Byrd, frail at that point, about a month ago, came
                 to our hearing room. He sat next to me and then gave one
                 of the best orations I have heard in a committee. He was
                 92. He turned the pages of his speech himself. That wasn't
                 so easy for him. It was clearly--knowing the way he
                 thought and his way of speaking--written completely by
                 him. It was an amazing statement. It was impassioned,
                 erudite, balanced, and, as the Presiding Officer
                 remembers, it electrified the room. It was an amazing tour
                 de force. The man cared so much about the Senate. Despite
                 the fact he was ailing, there he was because he loved the
                 Senate. His remarks, if my colleagues read them, were
                 balanced. He understood the problems, but he understood
                 the traditions, and he tried, as usual, to weave the two
                 together.
                   There are few Senators who could do that, in the more
                 than 200-year history of this body, the way he could.
                 There are also few Senators in this body who fought as
                 hard for their States as Senator Byrd did. I certainly
                 admire the people who are here who become national leaders
                 but never forget where they came from. There is a tendency
                 among some who come to Washington to sort of forget where
                 they came from. Not Senator Byrd. All across West
                 Virginia, men and women are able to realize the American
                 dream because he fought for them. He was unrelenting and
                 unapologetic in his desire to improve the lives of West
                 Virginians by making generous investments in
                 infrastructure and research. He brought that State into
                 the future and afforded generations of West Virginians
                 good-paying jobs, allowing them to provide for their
                 families and have the dignity all Americans deserve.
                   Some of the more elite parts of the media would make fun
                 of what he did, but I thought our colleague, Senator
                 Rockefeller, said it best. I am paraphrasing; I read this
                 in the newspaper. He said Senator Byrd realized that until
                 you get a road and a water system to these isolated towns,
                 you couldn't open the door of the future for them, and he
                 knew that. Senator Byrd relentlessly, in town after town
                 after town, did that. He fought to increase access to
                 health care and ensure the people had the right to vote,
                 and he made sure every child in West Virginia had the
                 right to live up to his God-given potential through a
                 quality education.
                   Every one of us could go on and on about Senator Byrd's
                 accomplishments, but I think what is even more important
                 than accomplishments is who he was as a person. He was
                 someone who knew where he stood but showed a profound
                 willingness to evolve, and that is a sign of extraordinary
                 character. It is all too easy for an elected official to
                 plug his ears and say: Sorry, that is my position; that is
                 the way it has always been, and that is the way it will
                 always be. Not Senator Byrd. He was unafraid to take new
                 arguments into consideration and expand his world view
                 accordingly.
                   What also struck me about him was his fundamental
                 humility, the best example of which is probably his
                 relationship with my dear friend and mentor, Ted Kennedy,
                 another legend in this body who is so sorely missed. Ted
                 somewhat unexpectedly ran against Senator Byrd to be the
                 Democratic whip in 1969. Senator Kennedy won. Two years
                 later there was a rematch and Senator Byrd became the
                 whip. One would think after this kind of animus that the
                 two of them would never come together, but in their lives
                 in the Senate they established a deep meaningful bond, a
                 tribute to both of them.
                   Senator Kennedy would tell me stories about Senator Byrd
                 and some of the things he had done, serious and humorous.
                 To me it is so profound that within a year we have lost
                 the two giants among whom I was proud and lucky to serve.
                   I will never forget when Senator Byrd, sick as he was,
                 was outside the steps of the Capitol to salute Ted Kennedy
                 after he passed earlier this year. It was Senator Byrd who
                 provided the crucial vote to fulfill Ted Kennedy's
                 lifelong passion: comprehensive health care reform. As
                 every Senator sat at their desk for the final passage
                 vote, the clerk called the roll. When Senator Byrd's name
                 was called, he raised his voice as loud as he could and
                 declared, ``Madam President, this is for my friend Ted
                 Kennedy. Aye!''
                   Those two friends, those two legends today are together
                 again in heaven, and I would love to be able to hear the
                 conversations and reminiscences between them.
                   Robert Byrd will be remembered forever. He will be
                 remembered as a man who loved this institution and guarded
                 its history. He will be remembered as a man who always
                 stood up for his State. He is a man who will be remembered
                 as someone who lived the American dream and fought to make
                 that dream a reality for countless others. Perhaps most of
                 all, he will be remembered as a loving father,
                 grandfather, and husband.
                   Today the Senate mourns, the people of West Virginia
                 mourn, the Nation mourns.

                   Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise to speak about
                 Senator Byrd, as many of my colleagues have, and make a
                 few comments about an extraordinary individual. Just the
                 sheer numbers are very impressive. He was married for 68
                 years, elected to 9 terms, had more than 20,000 days of
                 service in the Senate, approaching 19,000 roll call votes
                 cast, and had a 97 percent attendance record.
                   Senator Byrd was the majority leader from 1977 to 1980,
                 and again from 1987 to 1988. He was President pro tempore
                 four different times when his party was in the majority.
                 The Senator from West Virginia was known for his defense
                 of the Constitution and the institutional prerogatives of
                 the Senate. He was the author of five books, and he was an
                 avid fiddler. The first place I ever saw Senator Byrd was
                 playing the fiddle on television. Boy, he could play. It
                 was impressive to see somebody of his stature playing an
                 instrument so brilliantly.
                   In his biographical statement on his Web site, I found a
                 statement that I want to expand and build off of. It says:

                   In every corner of West Virginia, the people of the
                 Mountain State know that there is one man on whom they can
                 always depend: U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd. He has always
                 remained true to his faith and his family, while working
                 to build a better future for his State and his country.

                   His remaining true to his faith and family was at the
                 core of Senator Byrd and his longevity, and at the core of
                 his service.
                   While he spoke often and wrote well about the
                 institutional prerogatives of the Senate better than
                 anybody in the history of this body, it is that his life
                 centered around his core, remaining true to his faith and
                 his family. He was married for 68 years to his spouse,
                 Erma, who stayed by his side constantly, and of whom he
                 would speak often.
                   Senator Byrd and I would speak about his faith on the
                 floor frequently. He was a man of deep faith and a man of
                 strong convictions, and that was his centerpiece. He would
                 often speak on this floor about his faith.
                   I think what you saw in Senator Byrd in that statement
                 about his faith and his family is a cultural requirement
                 for the United States. This is a nation of strong faith, a
                 nation that values family. At the core of this country is
                 that cultural need and necessity, and the leaders of the
                 country need to have at their core a strong bearing within
                 them, and that is a part of their service. That was a big
                 part of Senator Byrd's service. His comments reflected the
                 way he lived. Often people say that the way you live
                 speaks louder than any words you say. That is what I found
                 with Senator Byrd. The way he lived was speaking louder
                 than any words.
                   It was the Senator's commitment within his family and
                 his willingness to live that and his faith that spoke
                 louder than any of his words. When we would talk about
                 these things, you could see that they were at the depth of
                 his soul and being. Whether we agreed or disagreed on a
                 number of things--and there were many disagreements I had
                 with him on policy issues, no question about that--you
                 could never challenge his core convictions. His faith and
                 commitment to his family were things that were obvious by
                 the way he lived. You could have this sort of gentlemanly
                 debate about topics that would come up, but you could
                 never question or challenge the character and heart and
                 soul of that.
                   What I found most endearing was Senator Byrd's
                 commitment to faith and family. He will be greatly missed
                 in this body. His treatise on the Senate that he gave to
                 all new Members--and to me as a new Member coming into the
                 Senate--I started it and got through a portion, not all of
                 it, but it was excellently written, well presented, and
                 certainly a good education as to what we should do in
                 preserving the constitutional integrity that the Founders
                 intended for this body to be. He, of course, was the
                 greatest defender of it.
                   Others have spoken more eloquently about Senator Byrd,
                 but I don't think any eloquence could match the eloquence
                 with which he lived his life--particularly toward his
                 faith and his family. That is what we should recognize the
                 most.

                   Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, with the passing of our
                 colleague, Robert Byrd, a mighty oak in the forest of
                 Senate history has fallen. There are flowers on his desk,
                 but there is a tremendous void in our midst.
                   As we all know, Senator Byrd was the longest serving
                 Senator in the history of this body. But what was most
                 remarkable about Robert C. Byrd was not his longevity but
                 his unique stature and accomplishment in the Senate. No
                 individual in our long history has been a more tenacious
                 champion of the traditions, prerogatives, and rules of
                 this body.
                   Senator Byrd was very fond of noting how many Presidents
                 he had served under. He always answered, ``None.'' As he
                 explained it, he had never served under any President but
                 he had served with 12 Presidents as a proud member of a
                 separate and coequal branch of government.
                   Likewise, no individual has had greater reverence for
                 the Constitution and for our Founders' vision for an
                 assertive, independent legislative branch. As the Almanac
                 of American Politics says in its profile of Senator Byrd:
                 ``He may come closer to the kind of Senator the Founding
                 Fathers had in mind than any other.'' For so many years,
                 if anyone on the Senate floor needed to look up something
                 in the Constitution, we knew where to turn. Senator Byrd
                 always carried a copy in his left breast pocket, directly
                 over his heart.
                   It was Senator Byrd's reverence for the Constitution
                 that led to what I consider to be arguably his finest hour
                 in the Senate--his outspoken opposition to the rush to war
                 in Iraq in 2002 and his fierce warning to his fellow
                 Senators that we would regret surrendering our power on
                 this war to the President. Senator Byrd's speeches at that
                 time opposing the invasion became a sensation around this
                 country and on the Internet. A white-haired Senator, well
                 into his eighties, became an icon and a folk hero to young
                 people in universities all across America. Why? Because
                 when President Bush was at the peak of his popularity and
                 power, Senator Byrd dared to say that the emperor--any
                 President--has no clothes when it comes to declaring war.
                 Senator Byrd said the reason given for the invasion--
                 Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction--was trumped
                 up, and he predicted the war would be a colossal mistake.
                   I remember those impassioned speeches he gave at that
                 time. If only we had taken the advice of the wise Senator
                 from West Virginia, how many young American lives--over
                 3,000--would not have been lost, perhaps 10 times that
                 many injured, carrying the wounds and scars of that war
                 for the remainder of their lives, not to mention the
                 nearly $1 trillion spent out of our Treasury for that war
                 in Iraq.
                   Later, in his outstanding book, Losing America--I
                 recommend this book to every young person. I see our pages
                 sitting here. Pick up that book by Robert C. Byrd. It is
                 called Losing America. He just wrote it about 5 or 6 years
                 ago. It became an instant bestseller. It is a great book.
                 In that book, Losing America, Senator Byrd decried the
                 Senate's willingness to cave in to the President. He did
                 not care about whether the President was a Democrat or
                 Republican. He said cave in to any President--it is
                 readiness, as he put it, ``to salute the emperor.'' He
                 referred back to his earlier book he had written on the
                 Roman Senate, noting that it was ``the progressive decline
                 of the already supine [Roman] Senate'' that led to the
                 decline of the Roman Republic, and he warned that the same
                 could happen in America.
                   I have always had a special affinity for Senator Byrd
                 because we were both the sons of coal miners, both raised
                 in humble circumstances. I will miss seeing Robert Byrd at
                 his desk or in the well and going up to express my best
                 wishes and converse with him. He would always grab my
                 hand; he would look at me and say, ``We have coal miners'
                 blood running in our veins.'' We were the only two sons of
                 coal miners to serve in the Senate, at least at this time.
                 He always said that to me. I am going to miss that.
                   In reading about the Senator's early years--lifting
                 himself out of poverty before running for the West
                 Virginia Legislature in 1946--I was reminded of Thomas
                 Edison's remark that ``opportunity is missed by most
                 people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like
                 work.'' In his early days, Robert Byrd was dressed in
                 overalls, and he worked. But he made his opportunities. He
                 made his own opportunities with that relentless work, his
                 self-education, and striving always.
                   I will always appreciate the way he tutored me in the
                 ways of the Senate when I arrived in this body in 1985. I
                 was assigned to the Appropriations Committee, one of the
                 few freshman Senators to ever get that assignment. I will
                 not go into how all that happened, but I can remember
                 going to visit Senator Byrd--who then, of course, was the
                 ranking minority member, when I first came to the Senate,
                 on the Appropriations Committee--to ask for his guidance
                 and his willingness to work with me and to instruct me on
                 how to be a good member of the committee. For the next 25
                 years, he was either the chair of the committee or the
                 ranking member. So I was privileged to learn at the elbow
                 of a master appropriator and legislator.
                   During his more than 58 years in Congress, Senator Byrd
                 witnessed astonishing changes, when you think about it.
                 Our population during his service grew by more than 125
                 million. He served for 25 percent of the time we have been
                 a republic. There has been an explosion of new
                 technologies. America grew more prosperous, more diverse,
                 more powerful. But across those nearly six decades of
                 rapid change, there was one constant: Senator Byrd's
                 tireless service to his country; his passion for bringing
                 new opportunities to the people of West Virginia; his
                 dedication to this branch of government, the U.S.
                 Congress, and to this Chamber, the U.S. Senate.
                   Robert Byrd was a person of many accomplishments with a
                 rich legacy. In my brief time today, I wish to speak of
                 one area of his advocacy which I have had ample
                 opportunity to observe in my capacity both as the longtime
                 chair or ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee
                 for Education and as a longtime member and now chair of
                 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
                   During all these years, Senator Byrd was passionately
                 committed to improving public education in the United
                 States and expanding access to higher education,
                 especially for those of modest means.
                   As we all know, as I said, he was raised in the
                 hardscrabble coalfields of southern West Virginia. His
                 family was poor, but they were rich in faith and values.
                 His adoptive parents nurtured in Robert Byrd a lifelong
                 passion for education and learning. He was valedictorian
                 of his high school class but too poor, too underprivileged
                 to go to college right away. Again, keep in mind, those
                 were the days before Pell grants and guaranteed loans or
                 even Byrd scholarships. He worked as a shipyard welder,
                 later as a butcher in a coal company town. It took him 12
                 years to save up enough money to start college. As we all
                 know, he was a U.S. Senator when he earned his law degree.
                 No other Member before or since has ever started and
                 finished law school while a Member of Congress.
                   But degrees do not begin to tell the story of the
                 education of Robert C. Byrd. He was the ultimate lifetime
                 learner. As I told him once, it was as though he had been
                 enrolled during the last seven decades in the Robert C.
                 Byrd School of Continuing Education. That always brought a
                 smile on that one. I guarantee no one could ever get a
                 better, more thorough education at any one of our
                 universities.
                   Senator Byrd's erudition bore fruit in no less than nine
                 books that he wrote and published over the last two
                 decades. We know he wrote the book on the Senate, a
                 masterful, four-volume history of this institution that
                 has become a classic. What my colleagues may not know is
                 he also authored a highly respected history of the Roman
                 Senate.
                   There are some who joked--and I am sure he would not
                 mind me saying this because we said it to him many times
                 in the past--there are some who think Robert C. Byrd
                 served in the Roman Senate. I can tell you, that part of
                 the Byrd legacy and legend just is not so. We always said
                 that. It always brought a smile, and he always chuckled
                 when we talked about that. He was an expert on the Roman
                 Senate. He knew it, and he knew who served in the Roman
                 Senate and how it worked to bring down the Roman Empire.
                   I have talked at length about Senator Byrd's education
                 because this explains why he was so passionate about
                 ensuring every American has access to a quality public
                 education, both K-12 and higher education. Coming from a
                 poor background, Senator Byrd believed that a cardinal
                 responsibility of government is to provide a ladder of
                 opportunity so that everyone, no matter how humble a
                 background, has a shot at the American dream. Obviously,
                 the most important rungs on that ladder of opportunity
                 involve education, beginning with quality public schools,
                 including access to college and other forms of higher
                 education.
                   During my quarter century now in this body, no one has
                 fought harder for public education than Senator Robert
                 Byrd. As longtime chairman, ranking member and, most
                 recently, the senior member of the Appropriations
                 Committee, he was the champion of education at every
                 turn--fighting to reduce class sizes, improve teacher
                 training, bringing new technologies into the classroom,
                 boosting access to higher education.
                   In 1985, my first year here in the Senate, he created
                 the only national merit-based college scholarship program
                 funded through the U.S. Department of Education. Congress
                 later named it in his honor. The Robert C. Byrd Honors
                 Scholarship Program is a federally funded, State-
                 administered scholarship program that rewards high school
                 seniors who have exhibited exceptional academic
                 excellence. Currently, there are more than 25,000 Byrd
                 scholars across the United States eligible for a $6,000
                 grant during 4 years in college.
                   I can remember speaking with him about this and the
                 funding of it, and he reminisced more than once with me
                 about how he was valedictorian of his class, and that he
                 so wanted to go on to higher education but, because of his
                 economic circumstances and where he lived, it wasn't
                 available. So he wanted to make sure that young men and
                 women today who exhibit that great excellence in academic
                 performance were not denied the opportunity to go to
                 college simply because of the circumstances of their
                 birth.
                   Senator Byrd has something in common with Winston
                 Churchill. Both were prolific writers, and both were major
                 players in the events they chronicled in their writings.
                   Senator Byrd was also a great student of literature, and
                 he loved to recite long poems from memory. I could never
                 understand how he could remember all of the poetry he
                 would recite here on the floor, in a committee meeting, or
                 sometimes in a meeting when a subject would come up and he
                 would remember a poem that perfectly fit the temper of
                 what people were talking about.
                   I am sure Senator Byrd knew The Canterbury Tales, a lot
                 of it probably by heart. In The Canterbury Tales,
                 describing the Clerk of Oxford, Chaucer might just as well
                 have been describing Robert C. Byrd. Chaucer wrote:
                 ``Filled with moral virtue was his speech; And gladly
                 would he learn and gladly teach.''
                   Senator Byrd's speeches were a wonder to behold, full of
                 eloquence and erudition and moral virtue. Senator Byrd
                 never stopped learning and he never stopped teaching.
                 Americans for generations to come will continue to learn
                 from his writings and his example.
                   Senator Robert C. Byrd was a great Senator, a great
                 American, a loving and wonderful family man. He has both
                 written our Nation's history and has left his mark on it.
                 The United States of America has lost a patriotic son. We
                 have lost a wonderful friend and a mentor. Tomorrow, here
                 in the hallowed Chamber of the U.S. Senate, which he so
                 loved and served for so many years, Robert C. Byrd will
                 lie in state. We would do well to honor his memory by
                 making a renewed commitment to making the U.S. Senate work
                 and to work for all of the people of this country. May he
                 rest in peace with his beloved Erma, and may the Senate
                 always remember and honor his lifetime of service.
                   Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware is
                 recognized.

                   Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I spoke about Senator Byrd
                 yesterday. One of the ways you measure anyone is by their
                 friends. The manner in which Senator Harkin just spoke
                 about Senator Byrd shows what a great man Senator Byrd
                 was, to have a friend as thoughtful and as caring as
                 Senator Harkin. They are both a credit to the Senate. ...

                   Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my
                 colleagues in mourning the loss of one of the Senate's
                 legendary Members--Robert C. Byrd, the honorable senior
                 Senator from the great State of West Virginia.
                   It wasn't too long ago that I looked right over there
                 and I saw a desk draped in black with roses and it was one
                 titan of the Senate--Senator Ted Kennedy. Today, I look
                 down here and I see a desk draped in black with white
                 roses and it is a second titan of the Senate.
                   I had the privilege of serving with Senator Byrd on the
                 Appropriations Committee for some 16 years. I have had
                 occasion to watch him. He could be very tough, he could be
                 very caring, and he could have that twinkle in his eye. He
                 could depart from the present text into Greek tragedy;
                 into old Roman speaking. He had an incredibly curious
                 mind. I think he is going to be greatly missed from this
                 body.
                   I think of him representing the State of West Virginia
                 in the Senate for more than 51 years and serving 6 years
                 in the House of Representatives. During all those 57
                 years, he served with the kind of devotion and passion
                 that he showed in his last year here in the Senate, when
                 he was very troubled by declining health. He has truly
                 left an indelible imprint on the State of West Virginia
                 and on this body. No one has ever shown more determination
                 or greater love for the U.S. Senate than Robert C. Byrd.
                 His tenure has been legendary.
                   He held a number of key leadership positions, including
                 secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus, Senate majority
                 whip, twice as Senate majority leader, the Senate's
                 minority leader, and three times as chairman of the Senate
                 Appropriations Committee.
                   During the period of 1989 to 2010, Senator Byrd was
                 President pro tempore of the Senate--the most senior
                 Democrat and third in the line of Presidential succession;
                 also as President pro tempore emeritus when the Democrats
                 were in the minority.
                   Senator Byrd cast more roll call votes than any other
                 Member of this institution--18,689 in total. That is truly
                 remarkable. Just think about how many of this Nation's
                 laws he helped shape.
                   He was a veritable expert on the inner workings of the
                 Senate. There was no one who was more well versed in this
                 institution's intricate rules, protocols, and customs than
                 Robert Byrd. He literally wrote one of the most
                 comprehensive books on the Senate. He knew Riddick's Rules
                 of Procedure, virtually all 1,600 pages.
                   Many of us in the Senate have also spoken of his ardent
                 devotion and consummate knowledge of the Constitution of
                 the United States. His well-worn, treasured copy of this
                 document was kept in his vest pocket, and year after year
                 I would see him pull it out. The only thing that would
                 change is that his hand, as the years went on, shook a
                 little bit more. But his devotion to that document did
                 not.
                   He was a staunch defender of the prerogatives of the
                 three equal branches of government, and he was very quick
                 to note that he served alongside, not under, 12
                 Presidents.
                   When he first joined the House of Representatives in
                 1953, Harry S. Truman was President. His tenure in
                 Congress then followed alongside the Presidencies of
                 Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson,
                 Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald
                 Reagan, George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George W.
                 Bush, and finally Barack Obama. That is an amazing list of
                 people to have served with.
                   Bob Byrd was not only one of the Senate's famous power
                 brokers, but I think his fondness for classical history,
                 music, and poetry has impacted every one of us. As I said,
                 he frequently interspersed his Senate remarks with
                 passages from ancient Roman history, philosophy, and often
                 poetic verse. It used to amaze me how, late at night, he
                 could move from his set text and repeat some poem, word
                 for word, verse after verse.
                   The nine decades of Robert Byrd's lifetime witnessed
                 great change both at the personal level and at the
                 national level. He lived to see and strongly support the
                 inauguration of our country's first African-American
                 President--something I know meant a great deal to him. He
                 was not always on the right side of the civil rights issue
                 at every stage of his life, but he became a champion for
                 equality, a lion for progress. His transformation was
                 truly inspirational.
                   Senator Byrd was born into very humble beginnings in
                 1917. He grew up during the Great Depression. He was the
                 adopted son of a coal mining family in a small town in
                 southern West Virginia. He was the valedictorian of his
                 high school class but was not able to afford college at
                 the time. This impoverished childhood might have hindered
                 others, might have stopped a weaker person, but not the
                 indomitable Robert Byrd. His inner thirst for knowledge
                 propelled him throughout his epic career. In fact, he
                 managed to find time during his tenure in the Senate to
                 finally fulfill his bachelor's degree from Marshall
                 University in 1994, at the tender age of 77. That shows
                 something, I think. He previously received a law degree
                 from American University's Washington College of Law in
                 1963.
                   The loss of his beloved wife Erma Byrd in 2006, I think,
                 was a dramatic blow to him. I had occasion to talk with
                 him during that time, and there was no question that this
                 was a great love, that it was an enduring love, and that
                 it was a lifetime commitment. I discussed with him how he
                 provided, day after day, week after week, and month after
                 month, the personal care to his wife as she became more
                 infirm and came toward the end of her life. This truly was
                 a major gift of love. ...
                   Once again, I offer my sincerest condolences to his two
                 daughters Mona Fatemi and Marjorie Moore, his
                 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and to the people
                 of West Virginia.
                   This Nation--not only West Virginia, but all of us--owe
                 Senator Robert Byrd a great debt of gratitude for his
                 service.
                   I know I will very much miss that indomitable spirit,
                 that insightful guidance, and the intense commitment to
                 the Senate.
                   This man will be missed.
                   I yield the floor.

                   The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware is
                 recognized.

                   Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I am pleased to follow my
                 colleague, Senator Feinstein, in tribute to Robert Byrd,
                 whom I always called ``Leader'' and who always called me
                 ``Governor.'' He was our leader. He was a leader for a
                 long time and will always be that in a very real sense to
                 many of us.
                   I was born in Beckley, West Virginia, just about a dozen
                 miles or so from a community called Sophia, which is where
                 Robert and Erma Byrd once ran a little mom-and-pop
                 supermarket back in the late 1930s, early 1940s. I think
                 he was the butcher. He ran that supermarket and later on,
                 I think in World War II, he was a welder during the war.
                 As we know, in the late 1940s he had the opportunity to
                 run for the West Virginia Legislature and ran. He was a
                 great fiddler and went around his community, his district,
                 playing the fiddle. He always called himself a hillbilly.
                   Ironically, I was down in the central part of our State
                 just about a month ago and had a chance to attend a picnic
                 for senior citizens, a cookout. A lot of people were
                 there. I was sitting at different tables and walking
                 around. I was sitting at this one table, and I learned
                 this lady sitting to my left was from West Virginia.
                   I said, ``Where are you from?''
                   She said, ``Sophia.''
                   I said, ``That's right outside of Beckley, where I was
                 born.''
                   She said, ``Yes, I knew Robert and Erma Byrd when they
                 ran that mom-and-pop supermarket.''
                   I said, ``You're kidding.''
                   She said, ``No, I did.''
                   I asked her to share some thoughts with me about it, and
                 she did.
                   Two weeks later I was back in the Senate and Senator
                 Byrd was coming in in a wheelchair. In the last part of
                 his life he lost the ability to walk. He never lost his
                 voice, never lost his mind either. But he came in, and I
                 stopped to say hello to him, see how he was doing, and I
                 said, ``Leader, I just met a woman over in Delaware the
                 other day who knew you from your little supermarket in
                 Sophia, West Virginia.''
                   I told him about it, and he smiled. He said, ``Do you
                 remember her name?''
                   Ironically, I could not remember it. But if I had, he
                 would have. He was amazing.
                   Some people think the reason he got elected to office so
                 many times, in the State legislature and the U.S. House of
                 Representatives and in the Senate, was because he was so
                 good at, frankly, looking out for West Virginia
                 economically, making sure they were not left behind. He
                 was also a pretty good politician.
                   He was also good at names. I remember once, when we had
                 a funeral for my mom who died about 4 years ago, and we
                 had a celebration of her life just outside of Beckley. We
                 had it in the home, a very large home of a family that had
                 19 kids. One of them married my cousin, Dan Patton. Some
                 people have a diningroom; they had like a banquet hall for
                 their meals. We were all gathered in this banquet hall,
                 paying tribute to my mom, reflecting on her memory, and I
                 was walking around the house afterward, and I came across
                 a Congressional Record tribute on the wall of this house.
                 It was a tribute from Robert Byrd honoring this family. I
                 was just blown away. I couldn't wait to get back to the
                 Senate the next week and say to Senator Byrd, ``You will
                 never guess whose house I was in.''
                   I told him the name of the house, the family, and he
                 said, ``I remember that guy. He is a barber. They have 19
                 kids.''
                   This guy was just amazing. I used to call him on his
                 birthday. I used to call him not just on his birthday but
                 when he and Erma had an anniversary. I would call him on
                 Christmas and other special occasions just to see how he
                 was doing and let him know I was thinking about him.
                   I think it was his 90th birthday, and I called him and I
                 said, ``Leader, I think it is your birthday today.''
                   He said, ``Yes, it is.''
                   I said, ``How old are you, anyway?''
                   I knew.
                   He said, ``Well, I'm 90.''
                   I said, ``I just hope when I am 90 I can just sit up and
                 take nourishment.''
                   ``Mr. President,'' he said, ``I hope you can, too.''
                   He was amazing.
                   He and Joe Biden share the same birthday. Sometimes I
                 would call Senator Byrd on his birthday and say,
                 ``Leader?'' He said, ``Governor, is that you?''
                   I said, ``That's me. I always get this confused, who is
                 older, you or Biden?''
                   He said, ``I still got him by a couple of years, but he
                 is catching up on me.''
                   I guess now he will really have a chance to catch up.
                   I came here as a freshman Senator. I had been in the
                 House, and a Governor before. I came in as a freshman in
                 2001. I was about the age of the pages down here. I
                 remember Senator Byrd really took a bunch of us under his
                 wing. He became sort of my mentor. I think the fact we had
                 this West Virginia connection made it even more special
                 for me, and I think maybe for him.
                   He taught us how to preside. He explained to us the
                 rules of the Senate. He knew the rules better than anybody
                 else and he was able to work the rules, use the rules to
                 get things done--or not, to keep things from getting done.
                 Boy, he was good. He taught us how to behave in the
                 Senate, and he did that--not just for us but for people
                 who had been here for 20, 30, 40 years. If they were
                 acting up, making too much noise on the Senate floor, he
                 would stop them dead in their tracks.
                   He once said to me the most important role for the
                 Presiding Officer is to keep order. That is what he said.
                 He said, ``If you can keep order, the rest is pretty
                 easy.'' I always remembered that.
                   He presented to me my Golden Gavel. The Presiding
                 Officer has a Golden Gavel. You get it after presiding so
                 many hours in the Senate. But I was very honored to
                 receive mine from Senator Byrd.
                   When I got here in 2001 I think he was 83, an age when
                 most people are ready to sit back and take it easy. He was
                 just picking up speed. As Senator Feinstein said, he could
                 take to the Senate floor without a note, give a speech on
                 just about any subject, throw in all kinds of anecdotes
                 with respect to ancient Rome and Greek mythology, recite
                 poems and stuff.
                   I once said to him, ``How do you remember all those
                 poems?''
                   He would say, ``I just make them up.''
                   He was just kidding. He actually was able to remember
                 them. I sometimes have a hard time remembering where I am
                 supposed be for my next meeting.
                   He was from West Virginia, the southern part of West
                 Virginia. As others have said, his views on race as a
                 younger man and as a new person in the Senate were not the
                 same views that he left with. He matured, grew up.
                   He once said to me, ``The worst vote I ever cast, I
                 actually voted against and spoke against the Civil Rights
                 Act of 1964.''
                   I think he sort of went to his grave regretting that.
                 But I think he went to his grave having atoned, if you
                 will, for that sin. He changed his views with respect to
                 race. In part it was a matter of conscience--he was a
                 person of deep faith--but I think also probably he
                 changed, in part, because of the prodding and cajoling of,
                 among others, one of his best friends, Senator Ted
                 Kennedy.
                   As I said earlier, I loved to call him on special days.
                 I would almost always call him when I was back in West
                 Virginia, call him on my cell phone, call him at his home
                 in McLean. It wasn't his birthday or anything and I would
                 call him.
                   I would say, ``Leader?''
                   He would say, ``Is that you, Governor?''
                   I would say, ``Yes, I am driving down to West Virginia
                 on the Virginia Turnpike heading toward Beckley.''
                   He would say, ``No kidding.''
                   I said, ``I am trying to remember which exit to get off
                 of. The first one is Harper Road, then there is another
                 one. The third one, I can't remember that. What is that?''
                   He would say, ``That's my road, the Robert C. Byrd Drive
                 exit.''
                   I would always have a good time with him for that.
                 Others have spoken about all the leadership roles he
                 played here, all the votes he cast, all that he did. He
                 did so much for West Virginia. I love to go back to West
                 Virginia. I think the friendliest people I have ever met
                 in my life are from West Virginia. It is kind of a
                 hardscrabble place. They have come a long ways, in no
                 small part because of his enormous help. He has been
                 accused of trying to hijack Washington and move it to West
                 Virginia and bring in all kinds of Federal agencies and
                 jobs.
                   He was really trying to make sure West Virginia did not
                 get left out, and I think thanks to his intervention, they
                 did not.
                   He made life a lot better for the folks who live in West
                 Virginia today, and who lived there for the last 58 years.
                 He also made life better for a generation of Americans,
                 maybe a couple of generations of Americans, in looking
                 back, and maybe even looking forward as well. He is going
                 to make their life better, looking forward, for the people
                 in this country who need health care, the people in this
                 country who need a decent place to live, a chance to buy a
                 home, a chance to get an education, the opportunity to
                 improve their station in life.
                   More than anybody I know, for a guy who was born,
                 orphaned in North Carolina as an infant, who was traded
                 off by his mom in her last will and testament--she wanted
                 him to be raised by her sister who lived in West Virginia,
                 and her sister took this young man in. His name was not
                 Robert Byrd. But she took in her nephew. She and her
                 husband raised Robert Byrd in tough situations,
                 hardscrabble situations, and he sort of raised himself by
                 the bootstraps and worked hard all of his life to make
                 something of himself and to serve as a model for us in the
                 end, and a model for our country.
                   I yield the floor.

                   Mr. DODD. ... As someone who has spent three decades of
                 my life at this very desk--and it is the only desk I have
                 ever sat at since the day I arrived. This desk was planted
                 over in that far corner as the 100th Senator in the body
                 up until I--some 20 years ago when, through seniority, you
                 get to move your desk around. I ended up in this seat,
                 this spot about 20 years ago, next to this remarkable man
                 whose life we are going to celebrate and are celebrating
                 those days, Robert C. Byrd. He has been my seatmate for
                 the last two decades.
                   As I said the other day, I was an 8-year-old child
                 sitting in the galleries of the other body watching my
                 father, on January 3, 1953, and a 35-year-old new
                 Congressman from West Virginia be sworn in as newly minted
                 Members of Congress. Some 6 years later, I sat in that
                 gallery up here, in the family gallery, watching my father
                 be sworn in as a Senator from Connecticut, along with a
                 new Senator from West Virginia named Robert C. Byrd, never
                 imagining, as a 8-year-old or as a 14-year-old, that I
                 would spend 20 years of my life at a desk next to the man
                 who has served longer than any other human being in the
                 history of our Nation.
                   Process meant a lot to Robert C. Byrd. The Constitution
                 meant a great deal. I carry with me, and every day I have
                 for 20 years, the Constitution that Robert C. Byrd gave me
                 and autographed to me. It is rather threadbare and worn
                 today, but he revered this document. He could absolutely
                 quote it verbatim. He gave me a copy, as he did to all new
                 Members when they arrive, and the importance of
                 understanding the role of this body in our constitutional
                 framework.
                   He was such a great advocate of the civility and the
                 respect for each other as we try to fashion answers to our
                 Nation's problems. We have been through two major bills in
                 the last Congress. There have been a lot of other bills to
                 consider, but the health care debate and the financial
                 reform debate, I would argue, are the two largest in this
                 Congress, and they are two models of how an institution
                 can operate. ...
                   Briefly, cloture is a method by which you end a
                 filibuster. In this Chamber, under our rules, we respect
                 the rights of the minority, including a minority of one.
                   Members can talk as long as they can stand up, under
                 most circumstances, and continue. Robert C. Byrd, in fact,
                 held one of the records. It wasn't the record--Strom
                 Thurmond holds the record, a former Senator I served with
                 from South Carolina--but Robert C. Byrd conducted a
                 filibuster for more than 14 hours.

                   Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the Senate has lost its most
                 talented, dedicated, and best-informed Member about the
                 precedents, rules, and customs of the Senate, when the
                 distinguished President pro tempore, Robert Byrd, passed
                 away to join his beloved wife Erma in the heaven he was
                 confident existed for those who were true believers.
                   I had the good fortune to work closely with Robert Byrd
                 as a fellow member of the Appropriations Committee for 30
                 years. I served as the ranking minority member when he was
                 chairman and as chairman when he was the ranking minority
                 member. I preferred being chairman. I thoroughly enjoyed
                 the opportunities to conduct the hearings, schedule the
                 committee markups, and negotiate with our House colleagues
                 to formulate and pass the bills that funded the
                 departments of the executive branch, the judiciary, and
                 the Congress.
                   One of the highlights of my experience with Robert Byrd
                 was a trip we took to several European capitals. He was
                 comfortable discussing our mutual interests and
                 differences with the leaders of other nations. His mastery
                 of European history and politics was as impressive as his
                 well-informed understanding of American history and
                 politics.
                   On one leg of our trip, Senator Byrd asked my wife Rose
                 to come sit by him. He wanted to dictate something to her.
                 He started a recitation with names that were not familiar
                 to me, but eventually Rose realized that he was reciting
                 from memory the names of the monarchs of Great Britain,
                 the United Kingdom as we know it, and in the order in
                 which each had served throughout the entire history of
                 that great country. It was an unbelievable performance,
                 reflecting an awesome ability of recall, and a reverential
                 appreciation of a nation which has been our closest ally
                 in recent history.
                   Robert Byrd was not only my friend, but a mentor, an
                 example of dedicated, disciplined, and determined
                 leadership. I will miss him, but I will always remember
                 his legacy of seriousness of purpose, and his love for the
                 Senate, its role in the legislative process, its powers of
                 advise and consent, and its continuity that has helped
                 make our government the most respected in the world.

                   Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I want to take a few moments
                 to talk today about one of the best teachers I have ever
                 known: Senator Robert C. Byrd.
                   The man we lost this week is known for many things: as
                 the longest serving Member of Congress in the Nation's
                 history; as an accomplished legislator; as an author and
                 historian; as a self-made man who reached exalted heights,
                 yet never forgot the coal miners and the families of the
                 mountain home community from which he came. I think of him
                 as a teacher, one who began teaching me from the moment I
                 came to the U.S. Senate, and one whose lessons I sought
                 right up to the time he was taken from us this week.
                   Serving as a new Senator in the majority means, among
                 other things, hours spent in this Chamber, presiding over
                 the Senate. I was fortunate that for many of my early
                 years here, I spent much of that time in the Presiding
                 Officer's chair listening to Senator Byrd speak on the
                 history of this body, its traditions and practices, and
                 its historic debt to another great body that played a
                 major role in mankind's march toward democratic
                 government, the Roman senate.
                   I was learning from him two decades later, when Senator
                 Byrd led a small group of us who filed a lawsuit and later
                 a legal brief challenging a law we believed to be
                 unconstitutional: the law granting the President the so-
                 called line-item veto. He, like I and many others, saw
                 this law as bending the Constitution in ways that usurped
                 Congress' constitutional authority and responsibility. In
                 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed. The majority in that
                 case, citing its ``profound importance,'' concluded that
                 the line-item veto ``may or may not be desirable,'' but
                 that it was surely not consistent with ``the procedures
                 designed by the Framers of article I, section 7 of the
                 Constitution'' the so-called Presentment Clause.
                   I remember standing next to Senator Byrd at a press
                 conference celebrating that victory for the Constitution,
                 as he pulled out of his pocket the copy of that great
                 founding document he always carried with him. A copy of
                 the Constitution that sits today on my desk, in front of
                 me at all times, was inscribed to me by Senator Robert C.
                 Byrd.
                   I had hoped to visit with him this week to again listen
                 and learn. In February, Senator Byrd sent all of us, his
                 Senate colleagues, a letter setting out his position on
                 preserving the ability to engage in extended debate in the
                 Senate. It was yet another powerful defense of both the
                 enduring traditions of the Senate, and the need for
                 thoughtfulness in invoking those traditions. Senator
                 Byrd's letter sparked some thoughts of my own, and last
                 week, I discussed with his staff scheduling a meeting with
                 him this week to get his take. Once again, I was in need
                 of the insight and wisdom of Senator Robert Byrd.
                   How I wish he were here today to continue teaching us.
                 While that was not to be, the lessons of Senator Byrd's
                 life and long service will endure.
                   His career is a testament to hard work and
                 determination. This is a man who spent 10 years in night
                 school classes to earn his law degree, who when he focused
                 on an issue he did so with uncommon intensity. We can all
                 learn from his commitment and grit.
                   Like any good teacher, Senator Byrd never stopped trying
                 to learn. He was a man of strong convictions who knew the
                 value of admitting when he was in error. He acknowledged
                 that earlier in his life, he had taken positions and held
                 opinions on the subject of civil rights that he later
                 regretted. When he shared those regrets, he created a
                 powerful teachable moment. We can all learn from his
                 willingness to learn and grow to the very end of his life.
                   He was tireless in his defense of the role the
                 Constitution assigns to the Congress, and specifically the
                 Senate, in our democracy. In his letter to us in February,
                 he wrote: ``The Senate is the only place in government
                 where the rights of a numerical minority are so
                 protected.'' He called those protections ``essential to
                 the protection of the liberties of a free people.''
                   Whether it was Congress' constitutional obligations to
                 render judgments on matters of war and peace or to
                 exercise the power of the purse, Senator Byrd was a
                 relentless fighter for the role the Founding Fathers
                 carefully set out for us. He was not defending Senate
                 authority for its own sake. His passion was not for Senate
                 prerogatives for their own sake, but for the brilliantly
                 conceived constitutional balance of powers essential to
                 our freedoms. He passionately believed that we must not
                 yield one ounce of the authority that the Constitution
                 entrusts to the peoples' elected representatives. We can
                 all learn from the conviction, the dedication, and the
                 intellectual power he brought to that cause, to the end of
                 making it our cause. Let the mission he so eloquently
                 espoused be our mission, though our power to persuade be
                 far less than Senator Byrd's.
                   Robert Byrd had many loves--his late, beloved wife Erma,
                 West Virginia and its people, his God, and the
                 Constitution of the Nation he cherished. But the Senate is
                 his special legacy. For more than two centuries we have
                 kept our traditions intact: our unique respect for
                 extended debate and minority rights, and for the
                 legislative authority that the Constitution places in our
                 hands to exercise and defend. These traditions are
                 maintained because of Senators like Robert Byrd, Senators
                 who live them and fight for them. I learned more about
                 these weighty issues from this great teacher than from
                 anyone or anything in my years in the Senate.
                   Robert Byrd is no longer with us, teaching us, leading
                 us. But the lessons of Robert Byrd's life and career will
                 endure, guiding all of us now occupying these desks, and
                 Senators who will occupy these desks for ages to come.

                   Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, the Senate, in its 223-year
                 history, has never had a greater champion than Robert
                 Byrd. West Virginia, in its 147-year history, has never
                 had a more powerful advocate or public servant than Robert
                 Byrd.
                   Like so many Senators elected before and after me, I
                 learned very quickly how passionate Robert Byrd was about
                 this institution, its roots in the Constitution. As all of
                 us remember, he had that dog-eared copy of the
                 Constitution he carried in the front pocket of his suit,
                 and sometimes in the caucus or other times on the floor,
                 he would pull it out to help reinforce a point he was
                 making, even though we all knew he could recite the
                 Constitution by memory. But he consulted it often without
                 hesitation. In its words, he reminded us that he always
                 found wisdom, truth, and excitement--the same excitement
                 he felt as a young boy in Wolf Creek Hollow, reading by
                 kerosene lamp about the heroes of the American Revolution
                 and the birth of our Nation. Those words literally guided
                 him through the 57 years he spent in Washington as a
                 Member of the Congress and as a Senator.
                   It is fair to say that no one knew the Senate--its
                 history, its traditions, and its precedents--better than
                 Robert Byrd. It is all there in the four-volume collection
                 of his speeches on the Senate, which we were all
                 privileged to receive from him.
                   Every freshman Senator got a personal crash course on
                 the Senate's history from Robert Byrd himself. I was one
                 of five Democratic freshmen elected in 1984. The class of
                 1984 was privileged to share some lofty hopes and goals.
                 Four of the five of us eventually ran for President: Al
                 Gore, Paul Simon, Tom Harkin, and myself. All of us can
                 tell you that we arrived in the Senate with a thirst for
                 action and an impatience for delay. Then-Minority Leader
                 Robert Byrd didn't discourage any of that. In fact, he
                 encouraged it, and he helped all of us with our committee
                 assignments so we could push the list of our policy ideas
                 that we exuberantly believed we could and would pass into
                 law. But in meetings with us individually, he also helped
                 each of us to see the bigger picture, to impress upon us
                 the fact that one of our most important responsibilities
                 as Senators was to be caretakers of this institution--an
                 institution he regarded as both the morning star and the
                 evening star of the American constitutional constellation.
                   To Robert Byrd, the Senate was, as he said, ``the last
                 bastion of minority rights, where a minority can be heard,
                 where a minority can stand on its feet, one individual if
                 necessary, and speak until he falls into the dust.''
                 Indeed, earlier this year, when many of us felt
                 frustration over the Senate's rules governing
                 filibusters--specifically, the requirement of 60 votes to
                 cut off debate--Robert Byrd cautioned against amending the
                 rules to facilitate expeditious action by a simple
                 majority. In a letter sent to all of us, he observed that:

                   The occasional abuse of the rules has been, at times, a
                 painful side effect of what is otherwise the Senate's
                 greatest purpose--the right to extended, or even
                 unlimited, debate. The Senate is the only place in
                 government where the rights of a numerical minority are
                 still protected.

                   He added:

                   Majorities change with elections. A minority can be
                 right, and minority views can certainly improve
                 legislation ... . Extended deliberations and debate--when
                 employed judiciously--protect every Senator, and the
                 interests of their constituency, and are essential to the
                 protection of the liberties of a free people.

                   Robert Byrd also impressed upon us the fact that we did
                 not serve ``under'' any President; that as a separate but
                 equal branch of government, we served ``with'' Presidents,
                 acted as a check on the Executive's power. Robert Byrd was
                 the longest serving Member of Congress in all of our
                 Nation's history, and as such he served with 12
                 Presidents.
                   At no time in his career was Robert Byrd's defense of
                 legislative prerogatives more pronounced and more eloquent
                 than in arguing against granting the Bush administration's
                 broad power to wage preemptive war against Iraq. He chided
                 the Senate for standing ``passively mute ... paralyzed by
                 our own uncertainty,'' ceding its war powers to President
                 Bush.
                   Robert Byrd was, as we all know, a lot more than the
                 guardian of the Senate. He was a major figure in the great
                 panorama of American history over more than half a
                 century. He was a thinker--thinking and reevaluating more
                 in his eighties and nineties than many Senators do in a
                 lifetime. He was an ardent supporter of the Vietnam war
                 but surprised many with his fierce opposition to President
                 Bush's invasion of Iraq. He was a protector of West
                 Virginia's coal industry but came to accept the mounting
                 scientific data of global warming and took part in finding
                 a solution. To do otherwise, he said, would be ``to stick
                 our heads in the sand.''
                   Robert Byrd cast more than 18,500 votes in the Senate--a
                 record that will never be equaled. His last vote was June
                 17 against a Republican proposal to prevent the extension
                 of unemployment benefits. Earlier this year, even with his
                 health failing, he cast one of the most historic votes of
                 his career in support of legislation to expand health care
                 to all Americans--the life work of his old and departed
                 friend Ted Kennedy.
                   Whether he voted with you or against you, it was never
                 hard ideology with Robert Byrd. He had no use for narrow
                 partisanship that trades on attack and values only
                 victory. I learned that as a candidate for President in
                 2004 when Senator Byrd came to my defense after opponents
                 aimed religious smears at me. I was forever grateful to
                 him for doing that.
                   It all began one Sunday when Senator Byrd was home in
                 West Virginia and found that a brochure had been inserted
                 in a church bulletin saying that if elected President, I
                 would ban the Bible. Senator Byrd exploded. ``No one side
                 has the market on Christianity or belief in God,'' said
                 this born-again Baptist. Later at a rally in Beckley, he
                 accused my opponents of having ``improperly hijacked the
                 issue of faith'' and said that the suggestion that I
                 intended to ban the Bible was ``trash and a lie.''
                   But Senator Byrd was not done. He also went to the
                 Senate floor to denounce this kind of politics:

                   Paid henchmen who talk about Democratic politicians who
                 are eager to ban the Bible obviously think that West
                 Virginians are gullible, ignorant fools. They must think
                 that West Virginians just bounced off the turnip truck.
                 But the people of West Virginia are smarter than that. We
                 are not country bumpkins who will swallow whatever garbage
                 some high-priced political consultant makes up.

                   That was Robert Byrd telling it the way he thought.
                   Anytime Senator Byrd spoke, any of us who had the
                 privilege of serving with him remember his speeches were
                 filled with as many Bible references as historical
                 references. When the Senator spoke, the Senate came to a
                 halt. Senators would lean forward and listen, as they did
                 not necessarily do otherwise, and learn.
                   It is fitting that this teacher in the Senate, this
                 guardian of the Senate, will lie in state in this Chamber
                 on the floor of the institution he revered and which also
                 had so much respect for him. He is as much a part of this
                 Chamber in many ways as the historic desks or galleries or
                 the busts of Senate presidents.
                   He ran for public office 15 times, and he never lost. He
                 was first elected to the West Virginia Legislature in 1946
                 and served three terms in the House of Representatives
                 before his election to the Senate. It is no wonder that he
                 was such a keen observer of politics.
                   I remember when I decided to run in 2004, I went to talk
                 with Senator Byrd. His advice, in fact, was among the
                 first I sought. He advised me to ``go to West Virginia,''
                 ``get a little coal dust'' on my hands and face and ``live
                 in spirit with the working people.'' In keeping with his
                 advice, I did just that. What a great experience it was.
                   He was deeply proud of West Virginia and its people. He
                 proudly defended his work to invest Federal dollars in his
                 State, the kind of spending that some people deride as
                 pork. Robert Byrd knew it was something else. It was
                 opportunity for his people. He took pride in the way that
                 Federal funding helped to lift the economy of West
                 Virginia, one of the ``rock bottomest of States,'' as he
                 put it. He breathed new life into so many communities
                 across that State with funding for highways, hospitals,
                 universities, research institutes, scholarships, and
                 housing--all the time giving people the opportunities that
                 he knew so many West Virginians of his generation never
                 had. ``You take those things away, imagine, it would be
                 blank,'' he once said.
                   Robert Byrd's journey was, in many ways, America's
                 journey. He came of age in an America segregated by race.
                 But like America, he changed, even repenting, and he made
                 amends. Not only did he come to regret his segregationist
                 past, but he became an ardent advocate of all kinds of
                 civil rights legislation, including a national holiday
                 honoring Dr. Martin Luther King. And in the end, Robert
                 Byrd endorsed Barack Obama for President. ``I have lived
                 with the weight of my own youthful mistakes my whole life,
                 like a millstone around my neck,'' he wrote in 2008. ``And
                 I accept that those mistakes will forever be mentioned
                 when people talk about me. I believe I have learned from
                 those mistakes. I know I've tried very hard to do so.''
                   That is the expression of a man with a big heart and a
                 big mind.
                   The moments that define most men's lives are few. Not so
                 with Robert Byrd. He devoted his life to Erma and his
                 family and to public service, compiling an extraordinary
                 record of accomplishment and service in more than half a
                 century in Congress. His mastery of Senate rules and
                 parliamentary procedure was legendary. His devotion to his
                 colleagues and to this institution was unequaled. And his
                 contributions to his State and to the Nation were
                 monumental.
                   Robert Byrd spent most of his life making sure the
                 Senate remained what the Founding Fathers intended it to
                 be: a citadel of law, of order, of liberty, the anchor of
                 the Republic. And in doing so, he takes his place among
                 the giants of the Senate, such as Daniel Webster, John C.
                 Calhoun and, of course, his and our dear friend Ted
                 Kennedy.
                   May Robert Byrd rest in peace.

                   Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise to celebrate the life
                 and career of Senator Robert C. Byrd. I have been in the
                 body now since 2002, and Senator Byrd will go down in
                 history as not only the longest serving Senator to date--
                 maybe forever--but also as one of the most effective
                 Members of the Senate.
                   He was tough. During his prime, they tell me, there was
                 no tougher opponent and no better ally than to have
                 Senator Byrd on your side. And when he was on the other
                 side, you had a long day ahead of you.
                   He talked about his early life. He is a human being,
                 like the rest of us. I think what he was able to do for
                 his people in West Virginia, and the country as a whole,
                 will stand the test of time, and he will be viewed for
                 many things, not just one. That is the way it should be
                 for all of us.
                   I had the pleasure of getting to know him when I first
                 came to the Senate and I walked into one hell of a fight
                 over judges. The Senate was in full battle over the
                 filibustering of judges. The Senate had gone down a road
                 it had never gone down before--an open resistance to the
                 judicial nominations of President Bush across the board.
                 The body was about to explode. There were 55 Republicans
                 at the time, and we all believed that what our Democratic
                 colleagues were doing was unprecedented, unnecessary, and,
                 quite frankly, dangerous to the judiciary. I am sure they
                 had their view, too, and everybody has a reason for what
                 they do around here.
                   The Gang of 14--affectionately known by some, and
                 discussed by others--was formed during that major
                 historical moment in the Senate. I remember talking to
                 some observers of the Senate who were telling me that if
                 the rules were changed to allow a simple majority vote for
                 the confirmation of judges, that would take the Senate
                 down a road it had never gone down before, and where it
                 would stop, nobody knew. At the same time, there was
                 another constitutional concept that meant a lot to me and
                 to others, and that is that people deserve a vote when
                 they are nominated by the President.
                   Well, Senator Byrd and 13 other Senators--and he was a
                 big leader in this--came up with the compromise called
                 ``extraordinary circumstances.'' We agreed that we would
                 not filibuster judges unless there was an extraordinary
                 circumstance. We understood that elections had
                 consequences. What we had in mind was that we would
                 reserve our right to filibuster only if the person did not
                 meet the qualification test. I believe the advise and
                 consent role of the Senate has to be recognized, and I
                 respect elections but not a blank check. So there is
                 always the ability of any Senator here, or a group of
                 Senators, to stand up and to object--one party versus the
                 other--if you believe the person is not qualified.
                   The second issue we dealt with was that we all reserved
                 unto ourselves the ability to object if we thought the
                 person was an activist judge--a political person who was
                 going to be put on the bench and the robe used to carry
                 out the political agenda rather than to interpret the law.
                   The law meant a lot to Senator Byrd--the Constitution
                 did. One of my cherished possessions is a copy of the
                 Constitution signed by him, given to all the members of
                 the Gang of 14. That is just one example of where very
                 late in life he made a huge impact on the Senate. As
                 history records that moment, I daresay it is probably one
                 of his finest hours. Because the consequences of not
                 resolving that dispute the way we did could have changed
                 the Senate rules forever, and I think the judiciary for
                 the worse. So we have a lot to celebrate.
                   His family, I know, mourns the loss of their loved one;
                 the people of West Virginia, their best champion has
                 passed. But we all pass. It is what we leave behind that
                 counts, and I think he has left a lot behind and something
                 both Republicans and Democrats can be proud of. Even
                 though you disagreed with him, as I did on many occasions,
                 I had nothing but respect for the man. He was a true
                 guardian of the Senate and what it stands for.
                   I don't think we will ever find anybody who loved the
                 institution more than Senator Byrd. He will be missed. But
                 the best way we can honor his memory is to try to follow
                 in his footsteps when it comes to making sure the
                 constitutional role of the Senate is adhered to, and that
                 we understand the Senate is not the House, the Senate is
                 not the executive branch, the Senate is something special,
                 and let us keep it that way.

                   Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to an
                 extraordinary Senator--Robert Byrd of West Virginia.
                 Chairman Byrd was the longest serving Senator in the
                 history of this country. He served with extraordinary
                 distinction not only on behalf of the people of West
                 Virginia but on behalf of all of us.
                   The great lesson of his life is that through constant
                 self-improvement, through constant education, not only can
                 one rise to great heights but one can also contribute to
                 one's country and community.
                   Senator Byrd was born in very humble circumstances. At
                 his birth, I do not think anyone would have predicted he
                 would become the longest serving Senator in the history of
                 the United States. In fact, tragically, within a year of
                 his birth, his mother passed away, and he went to live
                 with his mother's sister. But in those difficult
                 circumstances in West Virginia, he rose above it through
                 tenacious effort, through hard work.
                   Through his life's path, he had an extraordinary
                 companion, the love of his life--Erma. Together they not
                 only had a family but they built a life of service to
                 others. I know how dear his dear Erma was to Senator Byrd.
                   Their children, Mona, Marjorie, their sons-in-law, their
                 grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren all at this
                 moment are reflecting on the wonderful person Robert Byrd
                 was, how much he meant to them, and also I hope
                 recognizing how much he meant to all of us. In this very
                 difficult moment, I am sure his memory and his example
                 will sustain them as it sustains all of us.
                   Senator Byrd, from these humble circumstances through
                 hard work in shipyards, in the coalfields of West
                 Virginia, rose up. He rose up because of his incredible
                 talent, not only intellectual talent, but I had the great
                 good fortune once to hear him play the fiddle. Anyone who
                 can play a fiddle like that has great hope of employment,
                 at least in the musical world. But he went beyond that.
                   Again the lesson Senator Byrd teaches us all is constant
                 striving. He was someone who received his law degree while
                 a Member of Congress, the first and perhaps only person to
                 go to law school while he was also serving the people of
                 West Virginia and the Congress.
                   He wrote what is regarded as the foremost history of the
                 Senate, not only this Senate but also the Roman Senate. He
                 did that because he was committed to finding out about
                 history, about life, about human challenges, about great
                 human endeavors, and using that knowledge to help others.
                   He was someone whom we all revered. When I arrived in
                 the Senate, he was gracious and kind and helpful. I can
                 always remember he would greet me as ``my captain.'' He
                 had a deep affection for those who served, even someone as
                 myself who did not serve at the same level of distinction
                 as Dan Inouye, John Kerry, John McCain, and others. He is
                 someone who helped and supported me, and I appreciated
                 very much his kindness.
                   I also appreciate the passion he brought in defense of
                 the Constitution of the United States and the passion he
                 brought to ensure the Senate and the Congress played its
                 rightful role in the deliberations of this government.
                   He would say quite often that he had not served under
                 numerous Presidents; he had served with them as a Senator,
                 in the legislature, a coequal branch of government. He
                 fought not simply for personal prerogatives, he fought for
                 principle, that this government would be based on, as our
                 Founding Fathers designed it, the interplay between the
                 executive, legislative, and judicial branches. His passion
                 for the Constitution was evident and obvious.
                   He also was passionate in the last few years about the
                 foreign policy of the United States. He spoke with
                 eloquence and with passion against our engagement in Iraq.
                 He saw it, as now it is becoming clearer and clearer, as a
                 strategic distraction from the true challenge, which was
                 to defeat our opponents, Al Qaeda and their affiliated
                 terrorist groups, and to do that to protect this country.
                   He was a remarkable man, born of humble origin, self-
                 educated, unceasingly educating himself and always seeking
                 to better and improve himself. I would suspect in his last
                 few days he was still striving to learn more.
                   I simply close by thanking him for his service, thanking
                 his family for supporting him in his service, and thanking
                 the people of West Virginia for their wisdom in sending
                 Robert Byrd to the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate.

                   Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I come to the floor this
                 afternoon to speak on a couple of different subjects.
                 Briefly I wish to say a few words about our extraordinary
                 and great colleague who has left the Senate and left this
                 world, but his spirit will be here for many years to come
                 and his presence will be felt here for decades, if
                 literally not centuries, and the extraordinary
                 contribution that Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia has
                 made to the Congress, to the Senate, to our country, and
                 to the world.
                   My colleague, the Senator from Rhode Island, gave a
                 beautiful tribute a few minutes ago. I was in the Chamber
                 and listened to what he said. I wish to add that not only
                 did Robert Byrd rise up through educating himself--in
                 these days that is almost a foreign concept to so many
                 people. You go to school, you get a degree--but he did all
                 of that and more. He read so much. He was so curious about
                 so many aspects of life, not just politics, not just
                 government, but industry, art, and music that literally he
                 was one of the most inspirational human beings I have ever
                 had the pleasure to know or ever read about in that sense.
                   Senator Reed said he lifted himself from literally an
                 orphan status in one of the poorest communities in the
                 world, West Virginia. Parts of it are much like a few
                 parts of our country that are extraordinarily poor, even
                 by world standards.
                   He came from a very humble, orphaned beginning with
                 virtually no chance at anything much, and ended up, we
                 know, sitting at that desk, which is one of the great
                 desks of honor in this Chamber. As people who work here
                 know, the longer one is here, the closer one gets to the
                 center aisle. Since he held up the center aisle literally
                 with his presence every day, one cannot get any more
                 senior than that desk. We look at it now these days and
                 are reminded of him.
                   He lifted himself, he lifted his family, but I would say
                 in that earnest curious way, he lifted an entire State and
                 an entire Nation. There are not many individuals who can
                 say that their life actually did that. But Robert Byrd is
                 one of them. West Virginia today is lifted so much higher.
                 The children of West Virginia, the families of West
                 Virginia, the communities of West Virginia literally were
                 lifted by the strength--the spiritual and intellectual
                 strength--and courage and tenacity of a man for whom there
                 is no peer in this room relative to that, or our Nation
                 across decades, through many of the great trials of this
                 Nation. He lifted this Nation to a better place and was
                 such a strong man and such a great man that he would even
                 admit when he made some very bad mistakes, which raises
                 him even higher in my eyes.
                   He said toward the end of his life many times that his
                 stand on civil rights was not right. He apologized
                 profusely for being on the wrong side of history on that
                 issue. He did not make many mistakes such as that. But he
                 was such a great man that he admitted when he did.
                   Senator Reed recalled that he always called him
                 ``captain,'' but Senator Byrd had a way of referring to
                 each of us in a special way. He would always say to me,
                 ``How are you today, Senator, and how is that fine father
                 of yours, Moon Landrieu?'' It would always make me feel so
                 wonderful that he would say he was such a great mayor.
                 ``How is Moon today and how is Verna?'' Can you imagine a
                 gentleman with so much on his mind that he would always
                 remember the parents I have and that we both admire so
                 much? It was a special way about him.
                   Finally, when Katrina happened and all of us on the gulf
                 coast were devastated--frankly, I could not find a great
                 deal of comfort at the level of the administration that
                 was in power. I never thought they quite understood the
                 depths of the destruction that occurred. It worried me
                 then and it still troubles me to this day. But the first
                 meeting I had with Senator Byrd, when I was trying to
                 explain to him how devastating this situation was--because
                 it wasn't a hurricane, it was a flood and the Federal
                 levees had collapsed--he just sort of put his hand out and
                 said, ``Senator, have a seat.'' He said, ``I do
                 understand, and I am going to work with you. I am going to
                 help you. I am going to be here for the people of
                 Louisiana and the gulf coast as we try to get this
                 right.''
                   Mr. President, we were shortchanged by other Members of
                 Congress and by the White House. They never quite
                 understood. When the first allocation of funding was given
                 out, it was just an arbitrary number thrown out that we
                 were going to take $10 billion and help the gulf coast,
                 but no State could get more than $5.4 billion. Well, when
                 you looked at the facts at the time, the numbers were so
                 disproportionate to the injury that Louisiana and our
                 people had suffered, had you done it on just a disaster
                 basis--which we should have done in calculating it--we
                 should have gotten $15 billion relative to that
                 distribution.
                   When I brought those numbers to Senator Byrd, he said,
                 ``We are going to work on it.'' And you know what, Mr.
                 President, he did. Unbelievable as it might be to the
                 people in this Chamber, because he was a very powerful
                 chairman of the Appropriations Committee, he could
                 actually do it, and he did.
                   I didn't have to explain that much or beg that much. I
                 just had to present the data to him that showed this is
                 how many houses were destroyed, this is how many homes
                 were lost, this is what the President gave to x, y, and z;
                 what do you think, Senator Byrd? Is what we are asking
                 fair for us? And he said, ``Absolutely.'' So he gave us
                 literally billions of dollars.
                   Today, St. Bernard Parish, the city of New Orleans, and
                 parishes all in the southern part of the State are
                 recovering because of one person, Senator Byrd, the chair
                 of the Appropriations Committee, who said, ``We are not
                 going to leave you at your hour of greatest need.''
                   I will never forget, and my State will never forget, the
                 generosity and the courage it took for him to stand with
                 us through that difficult time. So I wanted to, in a small
                 way, add my voice to the many tributes that Senator Byrd
                 has received, and those are the most important ones that I
                 wanted to share today.

                   Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, this is not my regular
                 seat in the Senate, but I came here to stand near the
                 place that Senator Robert C. Byrd occupied. His absence is
                 noted by the flowers and the black cloth that covers his
                 desk.
                   There is so much to say about Robert C. Byrd that to
                 have a serious discussion about who and what he was would
                 take far more time than we have available. He was an
                 unusual man, brilliant, genius, credited with encyclopedic
                 knowledge.
                   When I came to the Senate in 1983, I was not a young
                 man. I am now an older man. When I came, I wanted to meet
                 Senator Byrd. I came from the business world. I was
                 chairman and CEO of a significant corporation that carried
                 substantial esteem and respect for the record compiled by
                 the three of us boys from poor working-class families in
                 Paterson, New Jersey, an industrial city that had its
                 origins as an industrial place at the time of Alexander
                 Hamilton.
                   I was privileged to meet a lot of people who could be
                 described as lofty and holding positions of importance.
                 When I went in to Senator Byrd's office to introduce
                 myself--I had met him a couple of times before I was
                 elected to the Senate seat from New Jersey--it was with
                 great awe and respect that I sat in front of this
                 individual who had given so much to our country, who taxed
                 our wits and made us think more deeply about our
                 responsibilities than sometimes we have. He was a tower of
                 knowledge and strength.
                   I introduced myself to him, and we had a nice chat for a
                 while. He asked me about my background. I talked about my
                 life and my experiences, which are not anything like the
                 depth of Senator Robert Byrd's background. I came from a
                 poor family. I served in the Army. I received my education
                 at Columbia University because I was able to use the
                 scholarship that was given to soldiers who had served in
                 the military.
                   As I listened to Robert Byrd, what he had accomplished
                 in his lifetime dwarfed anything I had ever seen. He was a
                 man born into poverty, orphaned at an early stage in life,
                 and turned over to relatives to be brought up. He taught
                 himself how to play the violin and attended law school
                 part time at night for years, finally getting his law
                 degree from the university. He was an incredible figure in
                 our time.
                   We feel his absence already. In his latest years, he was
                 not fortunate enough to have the kind of health he had as
                 a younger man, but he always had the respect of everybody
                 who knew him.
                   When we look at his history, if one has time to go to
                 the computer and get a biography that is held in Wikipedia
                 and see the more than 30 pages' worth of his
                 accomplishments and history, it was a privilege and an
                 honor for those of us who knew him when we look at the
                 positions he held. He had elegance. He had grace. He had
                 resilience. He was tough. He had a meticulous grasp of
                 history.
                   I came out of the computer business. I used to tease
                 Robert C. Byrd. I called him ``my human computer.'' He had
                 so much knowledge that, frankly, I think it competed very
                 ably with the computers in the early 1980s when I came to
                 the Senate.
                   When I visited him in his office, he asked me if I knew
                 the history of the monarchs of the British Empire. I said
                 I did not know much about them. I knew the recent one, the
                 sitting monarch at the time. He proceeded for more than 1
                 hour to give me the history of the monarchs of the British
                 Empire, starting with William the Conqueror, 1066, and
                 recalling everybody who was King or Queen of England, of
                 the British Empire. He talked about how long they served,
                 the precise dates they served, whether they died by the
                 hand of an assassin, whether they died from a disease,
                 whether they died from an accident. He knew all of that
                 detail. I was sitting in total bewilderment as to how one
                 could capture and remember so much of that information.
                   When I asked to be excused because I had some other
                 business, he was ready to give me the history of the Roman
                 Senate. He did this not like most of us, with notes. He
                 had it in his brain while he recalled everything he
                 learned and did, the number of votes, where he cast them,
                 and on what issue. It was remarkable.
                   He served at a period of time when we had some of the
                 most remarkable people this body has seen. Not to suggest
                 we do not have talent equal to the stature of some of
                 those who served then. It is worthy of mention that he was
                 the majority leader in the Senate from January 1977 to
                 January 1981 and again from 1987 to 1989, a relatively
                 short period. He preceded and served with people such as
                 Howard Baker on the Republican side, Bob Dole, Mike
                 Mansfield, and George Mitchell. He was an equal with those
                 powerhouses and stood as one of them. He stood out.
                   He revered this Senate and the process with which we
                 then operated. We are far less committed to process. Bob
                 Byrd insisted we have the time, respect, courtesy, and
                 proper addressing of individuals, giving it a certain
                 loftiness that we otherwise would not have had.
                   Nobody knew more about this body than Robert C. Byrd. He
                 was this Chamber's protector. He protected the Senate's
                 rules, the Senate's integrity, and he protected the
                 Senate's civility. He taught each and every one of us how
                 the Senate works--the ins, the outs. It is hard to imagine
                 serving a single day without him. He had such respect for
                 the management of this country of ours.
                   We should be inspired by Robert C. Byrd's legacy to
                 become more cooperative and more civil in the days ahead.
                 We ought to reflect on those values tomorrow as we view
                 Senator Byrd's casket lying in repose in this Chamber that
                 he loved so dearly. He loved it so much that he reminded
                 all of us from time to time--he would pick up on a phrase.
                 Someone talked about serving under this President or that
                 President. He said, ``Sir, never, never under. We serve
                 with the President of the United States. We never serve
                 under them. We are a body of equal importance.'' And he
                 knew that from every possible position of responsibility
                 he held.
                   What we should do as a Senate is accept the best that
                 Robert C. Byrd brought to us, to share the image he
                 brought to all of us and to the stature of this body.
                   Robert C. Byrd's journey in life was simply remarkable.
                 He was born into deep poverty, growing up without the
                 comforts that many of us take for granted, such as running
                 water, and setting an example for all Americans of what
                 you might be if you make the effort and you have the
                 dedication to a higher purpose.
                   Although he was high school valedictorian at the age of
                 16, he had to skip college because he did not have the
                 means to pay for it. He overcame that obstacle by becoming
                 a self-taught man and a student of history. How did he
                 learn to play the violin all by himself, and learn what he
                 did about education and law?
                   He served half a century--51 years--in the Senate,
                 holding every critical position, including, as I
                 mentioned, majority leader and minority leader, and
                 President pro tempore. In that position he was third in
                 line for the Presidency of the United States.
                   Still, he never forgot where he came from and his duty
                 to help everyday people. He pleaded their case,
                 particularly his beloved West Virginians, as well as those
                 across the country.
                   I had the privilege to serve with Senator Byrd when he
                 was chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Some like to
                 make light of his position to fund projects in West
                 Virginia, but there was nothing cynical about his life's
                 cause to stamp out poverty in his home State and in this
                 country. Senator Byrd called bringing Federal dollars back
                 to his State one of his greatest achievements. He
                 understood that a new school meant a child would have a
                 better chance for a future. A new sewage system meant that
                 families might have clean water--unaccustomed as they were
                 to that in lots of places in his home State. A new highway
                 meant that farmers and companies could bring their product
                 and their produce to market in hours.
                   I will use the expression that he ``elegantized'' the
                 beauty of the deeds of working people and brought meaning
                 to the purpose of their lives and their work.
                   He was a forward-looking man. He, working with all of
                 us, recognized the importance of an appropriate
                 infrastructure--the importance of Amtrak, of the railroad
                 that serves so many millions of Americans every year. He
                 was a voice for stronger rail service, knowing that could
                 get people more reliable travel so they would not be stuck
                 in massive traffic jams when they had to get someplace. It
                 was an important part of an agenda that he had that was so
                 broad.
                   Years ago, when Amtrak--a favorite part of my view of
                 what has to happen with our infrastructure--was under
                 siege, we worked side by side to protect America's premier
                 rail network from being defunded. In 2007, when the Amtrak
                 law I authored was on this floor, we faced a difficult
                 vote to defeat a killer amendment. I remember standing
                 here as they were counting the yeas and nays, and Senator
                 Byrd had occasion to let his simple yes or no ring out
                 across this place. He put a stamp on that, and that meant
                 that he didn't like it or he did like it.
                   He wanted everybody in this place to remember that he
                 was chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He
                 remembered when people voted with him and when they
                 didn't. He couldn't stand the hypocrisy of people who
                 would say, ``Oh, these earmarks are terrible,'' and then
                 they would put them in their list. He would remember it.
                 It was not a good thing, to meet with Robert C. Byrd's
                 disapproval, when you wanted something; especially after
                 so hypocritically voting against something and then
                 wanting that very thing for your own State.
                   We have an obligation to honor the legacy of this giant
                 of an individual, this giant of a Senator, this giant of a
                 public servant, and that means never losing sight of the
                 millions of Americans out there who don't know whether
                 they will have a home now or have a job, or whether they
                 will be able to afford electricity or food or a roof to
                 sleep under, or a way to take care of their children. But
                 he reminded us on a constant basis what our commitment
                 was.
                   It also means, I think in reflection, that we should be
                 renewing our commitment, as hard as it is--and it is easy
                 to kind of pontificate here--to working together. But let
                 us look at what is happening. Let us look at what has been
                 happening now. I don't think this is an appropriate time
                 to voice lots of criticism, but when we see how difficult
                 it is to move positive things through this institution, it
                 is hard to understand, because the fundamentals that
                 Robert C. Byrd brought to his work were that we were here
                 to serve the public. That was the mission.
                   Rather than standing in the way of permitting things to
                 be considered--things of value--perhaps we ought to have a
                 Byrd lecture to the Senate-at-large every now and then and
                 let someone who knew him or studied him talk about what he
                 brought to the Senate, in addition to extraordinary
                 leadership; someone who could talk about the degree of
                 collegiality that is necessary for us to consider things--
                 serious things--and to get them done.
                   Senator Byrd recently said--and he said this on a
                 regular basis, ``The world has changed. But our
                 responsibilities, our duties as Senators have not changed.
                 We have a responsibility, a duty to the people to make our
                 country a better place.''
                   It would be fitting if in the shadow of his passing that
                 we could take a sledgehammer to partisan gridlock, put the
                 unnecessary rancor aside and start functioning in a
                 deliberative fashion once again.
                   I thank you, Senator Robert C. Byrd, for what you gave
                 to us and gave to this country. All of it will not be
                 recognized in these moments. But as history is reviewed,
                 people will remember--I hope they do--that even when he
                 made a mistake, a serious mistake in his early days--when
                 he was not eager to support desegregation; that he should
                 not have abided with segregationists; that this country
                 belonged to all the people and no one should be
                 discriminated against--that one can be forgiven with good
                 deeds after some bad ones. And he redeemed himself so
                 nobly, so wonderfully.
                   So we say, as we have been saying for these days, thank
                 you, Robert C Byrd. We loved being with you, and we will
                 miss you.

                   Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I have not yet had the
                 opportunity on the floor to express my regret for the
                 passing of Senator Robert Byrd and my incredible respect
                 for the service he gave our country.
                   I was only able to serve with Senator Byrd at the
                 twilight of his career. I knew him in my capacities as
                 Assistant Secretary and then Secretary of the Navy years
                 ago, and I admired him for many years as an individual of
                 fierce intellect. He was a strong proponent of the balance
                 of power, particularly protective of the powers of the
                 U.S. Congress as they relate to the executive branch,
                 which is an area I have also focused on over the years.
                   Senator Byrd had great love for the people of
                 Appalachia. He was their greatest champion. He was a self-
                 made man in every sense of the word--self-made
                 economically, born an orphan, and self-made in terms of
                 his own education.
                   I recall that when I was Secretary of the Navy, I had
                 the authority to name various combatants, and I named a
                 submarine the USS West Virginia. When I made the statement
                 about why I named it that, I pointed out that West
                 Virginia, in every war in the 20th century, ranked either
                 first or second in terms of its casualty rate. He was
                 someone who never forgot the contributions of the people
                 of that much-maligned State to the well-being and
                 greatness of our country. He left his mark on all of us,
                 and I would be remiss if I didn't express my regret in his
                 passing.

                   Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I rise today to pay
                 tribute to our departed Senate dean, Robert C. Byrd of
                 West Virginia. Senator Byrd served in this Chamber longer
                 than any Senator in history, more than 51 years. Combined
                 with 6 prior years in the House of Representatives,
                 Senator Byrd's service spanned nearly a quarter of the
                 history of the Republic, from the Truman administration to
                 the Obama one, longer than the span of my life.
                   To serve with Senator Byrd, as was my privilege for too
                 short a time, was to serve with a giant of the Senate, an
                 apotheosis of a long-ago age when oratory was an art. How
                 fortunate I was to sit on the Budget Committee several
                 chairs away from the man who wrote the Budget Act. I will
                 never forget a Budget Committee hearing last year at
                 which, with 35 years of hindsight, Senator Byrd reviewed
                 the very budget process that he had designed. On that
                 February morning, Senator Byrd delighted in describing his
                 crafting of the budget process and its implementation and
                 evolution over three and a half decades.
                   Tomorrow, for the first time since 1959 when Robert C.
                 Byrd was a 40-year-old first-year Senator, a departed
                 Member of this body will lie in repose in its Chamber. The
                 tribute will surely be fitting, as the Senate's most
                 senior Member occupies the floor one final time.
                   The man will be missed, but his legacy will continue to
                 guide this institution for generations to come, and the
                 institution to whose principles and welfare he dedicated
                 his life, the U.S. Senate, will endure with his lasting
                 imprint upon it.
                                                      Monday, July 12, 2010
                   Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, on Monday evening I came to
                 the floor and spoke from the heart about my friend Senator
                 Robert Byrd. I wanted to take the opportunity to submit a
                 more comprehensive statement about Senator Byrd and his
                 legacy.
                   As I looked at his empty desk with flowers on it, I
                 thought back to last summer when we lost another giant,
                 Senator Ted Kennedy. And what distinguishes Senator Byrd,
                 like Senator Kennedy, from others was his unbelievable,
                 never-ending commitment to the people he represented and
                 to this country.
                   It was never a question of Senator Byrd's length of
                 service--though his was exceptional--but rather his fierce
                 sense of fighting for West Virginians. As he told the New
                 York Times in 2005, ``I'm proud I gave hope to my
                 people.''
                   Senator Byrd was, of course, the Nation's longest
                 serving Senator. And he was a legend, for sure. When I
                 came here, I learned first hand that he always met with
                 the incoming Senators, to give them an introduction to the
                 rules of the road, the procedures and dignity of the
                 Senate, and to share his reverence for the Constitution.
                 The image that I will always have of Robert C. Byrd is him
                 reaching inside his suit pocket and bringing out the
                 Constitution, which along with the Bible was what he
                 cherished most.
                   Senator Byrd was a giant in the Senate and a champion
                 for America's working families. We will miss his
                 eloquence, his sharp intellect, and his passionate
                 oratory.
                   He was one of our Nation's foremost historians of the
                 Senate. He literally wrote the book on the Senate, a four-
                 volume history. And he was not only an expert on the rules
                 of the Senate, he was a fierce defender of its traditions
                 and its role in our democracy.
                   Senator Byrd fought to make sure every American had a
                 chance to live the American dream because he lived the
                 American dream.
                   He grew up in coal country in southern West Virginia,
                 the youngest of five children. His mother died before he
                 was a year old, and he was raised by his aunt and uncle on
                 a farm with no telephone, electricity, or running water.
                   He went on to graduate first in his high school class
                 and married his high school sweetheart, Erma, to whom he
                 was devoted throughout their 68 years of marriage until
                 her death in 2006. To support his wife and two daughters
                 in the early years, he worked as a gas station attendant,
                 a grocery store clerk and as a welder in a shipyard during
                 World War II.
                   A naturally gifted speaker, he was elected to the West
                 Virginia House of Delegates in 1946 and to the West
                 Virginia Senate in 1950. He won a seat in Congress in 1952
                 and his U.S. Senate seat 6 years later. He had such a
                 passion for education that he remains the only American
                 ever to earn a law degree while serving in Congress.
                 President John F. Kennedy presented it to him at American
                 University in 1963.
                   His career in Congress spanned 12 Presidents, and he
                 cast more than 18,500 votes in the Senate. He was Senate
                 majority leader, chairman of the Appropriations Committee
                 and President pro tempore of the Senate. He fought every
                 day to make life better for the people of West Virginia
                 and for all Americans.
                   I can tell you, Mr. President, coming from the largest
                 State in the Union, we have had our share of problems. We
                 have had floods and fires and droughts and pests. And
                 every single time, after every earthquake or storm or
                 other disaster, Senator Feinstein and I came to our
                 colleagues to say that California needed the help of the
                 U.S. Government.
                   Every time we needed assistance, Senator Byrd, as the
                 chairman of the Appropriations Committee, opened his doors
                 and his heart to us, sharing his experiences and helping
                 us in all of these cases when we were so in need. I am
                 sure many of my colleagues can recount similar
                 experiences. He was always there for us.
                   And I remember so well his leadership in trying to bring
                 the troops home from Iraq. Twenty-three of us had stood up
                 and said no to that war, and afterward we worried very
                 much about what would happen with our troops in what was
                 shaping up to be a long war with no exit strategy. Opening
                 up his office here in the Capitol, Senator Byrd organized
                 us, saying, ``We need to talk about ways that we can bring
                 this war to an end.''
                   He cared so much about everything he did here, from
                 working to create opportunity for West Virginians and all
                 Americans to maintaining the traditions and the dignity of
                 the Senate. And for me, just to have been in his presence
                 and to watch him work has really been an amazing
                 experience, and so I am proud to pay tribute to him today.
                   Senator Byrd stayed here through thick and thin, with a
                 cane or a wheelchair, through the sheer force of will,
                 suffering to be in this place that he loved so much and
                 that he respected so much. There isn't a Member on either
                 side of the aisle that didn't respect Senator Byrd for his
                 intelligence, his strength, his extraordinary biography,
                 and his dedication to the people of his State.
                   What a legacy he leaves. It is a great loss for his
                 family, for all of us in the Senate, for the people of his
                 beloved State of West Virginia and for all Americans. I
                 extend my deepest condolences to his family.
                                                     Tuesday, July 13, 2010
                             ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE PRAYER
                   Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that
                 the prayer delivered by our Senate Chaplain on Thursday,
                 July 1, when the Senate gathered to remember Senator
                 Robert C. Byrd, be printed in the Record and as a part of
                 the memorial book of Senate tributes.
                   There being no objection, the prayer was ordered to be
                 printed in the Record, as follows:
                   [The Chaplain's prayer may be found on page 172.]

                   Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues
                 today to express my profound and heartfelt sadness on the
                 passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd, as the U.S. Senate, the
                 people of West Virginia, and our entire Nation mourn the
                 loss of a giant of public service--a distinguished, iconic
                 legislator whose life and legacy will forever be
                 synonymous with the greatest deliberative body the world
                 has ever known.
                   Senator Byrd's counsel, wisdom, and knowledge of the
                 Senate was unmatched and awe inspiring. As the longest
                 serving Member of Congress and a former majority and
                 minority leader of the Senate, Senator Byrd was time and
                 again the conscience and champion of Congress and a
                 vigorous and stalwart sentinel of the first branch of our
                 government. Protector, steward, advocate, and guardian--
                 these descriptions only begin to convey Senator Byrd's
                 lifelong commitment to the Senate in which he served for a
                 record 51 years and an unprecedented nine terms.
                   No one fought more to ensure the preservation of the
                 U.S. Senate and its constitutional prerogatives than
                 Senator Byrd. No one was more masterful in comprehending
                 and harnessing the powers of parliamentary procedure in
                 the upper Chamber. No one was fiercer in battling against
                 any encroachments that would dilute or diminish the role
                 of Congress as a coequal branch of government. And no one
                 possessed greater command of Senate history and used it to
                 better effect than Senator Byrd, who himself authored a
                 four-volume history of the Senate.
                   The same zeal with which Senator Byrd demonstrated his
                 allegiance to the legislative branch was every bit as
                 evident in his unshakable dedication to the U.S.
                 Constitution itself--a pocket-sized copy of which he
                 carried at all times. In fact, like many of my colleagues,
                 I will never forget as a member of the ``Gang of 14,''
                 which was forged at a time when the very institution of
                 the Senate was caught in the crosshairs of a struggle over
                 judicial nominations, how each of us received a copy of
                 the Constitution from Senator Byrd. With one symbolic
                 gesture as only he could, Senator Byrd spoke volumes about
                 the historic imperative that was ours to seize if we were
                 to jettison the partisanship that threatened our Chamber.
                   Senator Byrd's reverence for history stemmed of course
                 from the premium he placed on education, and as much as
                 anyone who ever occupied a seat in the Senate, Senator
                 Byrd exemplified the American story of the self-made
                 individual. During his remarkable trajectory from humble
                 beginnings in the southern coalfields of West Virginia,
                 Senator Byrd was an ardent believer in learning not only
                 as the great equalizer in American life, but as a catalyst
                 for personal and professional success. A self-educated
                 man, Senator Byrd's knowledge of Shakespeare, the Holy
                 Bible, and the pillars of thought from Ancient Greece and
                 Rome formed the basis of an eloquence and service that
                 will reverberate not only in the hallowed Halls of
                 Congress, but also throughout his beloved home State--
                 which he served so passionately--for generations to come.
                   Indeed, his roots in West Virginia were ever-present and
                 the indispensable lifeblood that spurred him to political
                 and legislative heights that were the capstone of his
                 landmark tenure in public service. Indisputably, he never
                 forgot where he came from, and in fact, always remembered
                 he stood on the shoulders of every West Virginian who sent
                 him back to the U.S. Senate term after term. And as much
                 as Senator Byrd revered Congress, the Constitution, and
                 his fellow West Virginians, nowhere was his devotion
                 greater than with his beloved Erma, his wife of nearly 69
                 years, and they now are finally together in their eternal
                 resting place.
                   As a Senator from Maine, it is only fitting that I pay
                 tribute to Senator Byrd by citing the opening lines by the
                 immortal American poet and son of Maine, Henry Wadsworth
                 Longfellow, that I so often heard him quote from memory on
                 the Senate floor:

                   Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union,
                 strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all
                 the hopes of future years ...

                   Our Ship of State sails better for Senator Byrd's having
                 lived, served, and led. But today, our Ship of State sails
                 at a slower pace as we pause to pay our respects and mourn
                 the loss of a man whose like we will never see again. The
                 Senate will not be the same without the Senator from West
                 Virginia, Robert C. Byrd.

                   Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to pay
                 tribute to my friend and dear colleague, Senator Robert C.
                 Byrd, who left us on Monday, June 28, 2010, at the age of
                 92. Senator Byrd was the longest serving Member of the
                 Senate. It is noteworthy that he was sworn in as a U.S.
                 Senator on January 3, 1959, the same day Alaska was
                 admitted as the 49th State.
                   How does one do justice to a life as full, as human, as
                 authentic, as uniquely American as that of Senator Byrd's
                 in just a few minutes? Born in poverty, a self-described
                 foster son of an impoverished coal miner, a product of a
                 two-room schoolhouse, he went on to walk with Kings, to
                 meet with Prime Ministers, and to debate with Presidents.
                 Only in America could one come so far from so little. His
                 is a textbook case of American exceptionalism.
                   Robert C. Byrd was a man of principle who was unwavering
                 in his priorities. The Lord came first, his family second,
                 and then the business of West Virginia and the Nation.
                 Senator Byrd was remarkable in that he could juggle all of
                 these obligations with apparent ease.
                   He was a man who carried the Constitution in his breast
                 pocket, closest to his heart. A fierce protector of the
                 prerogatives of the Senate, he frequently recalled that
                 the Congress is mentioned in the Constitution before the
                 Executive. He once remarked, ``I am not the President's
                 man. I am a Senate man.''
                   So many of our colleagues take delight in this quote
                 from the Almanac of American Politics and it bears
                 repeating. The Almanac described Senator Byrd as the one
                 among us who ``may come closer to the kind of senator the
                 Founding Fathers had in mind than any other.''
                   On the occasion of his 90th birthday, Senator Ted
                 Stevens referred to Senator Byrd as a ``symbol of the
                 Senate,'' adding that, ``No man has taught the Senate more
                 than Robert C. Byrd.''
                   Senator Byrd made it his personal responsibility to
                 educate new Senators in the history and traditions of the
                 Senate and to mentor us along. He made a real difference
                 in my orientation to the Senate. His statesmanship was an
                 inspiration to me. It was an inspiration to all of us.
                   As contentious as our debates may seem, as partisan as
                 we often seem to the American public, the Senate prefers
                 to regard itself as a family. Yes, a family that fights,
                 but a family nonetheless.
                   Senator Stevens once observed, ``As part of the Senate
                 family, Senator Byrd is not only a gentleman, he has been
                 a person who has reached out to us in personal times as
                 well.''
                   I came to know that well after I injured my leg in a
                 skiing accident last year. For a period of time I had to
                 navigate the Senate floor in a wheelchair. The Senate
                 floor is not exactly wheelchair friendly, but Senator Byrd
                 had adapted to the challenge. One day, as we were going to
                 the floor to vote, our wheelchairs met and we reached out
                 to hold hands as we wheeled our chairs to the well of the
                 Senate.
                   Like Ted, I loved Robert C. Byrd. Yet I regret that I
                 never had the opportunity to enjoy the close friendship
                 that my colleague Ted Stevens did.
                   Yes, they had their spats, but Senator Stevens and
                 Senator Byrd regarded each other as family. Senator
                 Stevens' daughter Lily referred to Senator Byrd as an
                 uncle. Senator Byrd published in the Congressional Record
                 excerpts from Lily's senior thesis from Stanford, The
                 Message of the Dome: The United States Capitol in the
                 Popular Media.
                   Senator Stevens began working with Senator Byrd in 1968.
                 In 1972, they joined each other on the Senate
                 Appropriations Committee. Both served as President pro
                 tempore of the Senate, a position reserved for the most
                 senior Member of the Senate in the majority party. Yet as
                 Senator Byrd liked to note, Ted was a relative youngster.
                   Working together on a bipartisan basis, Ted Stevens
                 helped Robert Byrd lift West Virginia out of poverty. And
                 Senator Byrd demonstrated great empathy for Senator
                 Stevens' crusade to end the third-world conditions that
                 plague Alaska's Native people in the more than 230
                 traditional villages of rural Alaska. Like the West
                 Virginia of Robert Byrd's childhood, rural Alaska lacked
                 the sorts of infrastructure that the rest of America takes
                 for granted--lack of road infrastructure, lack of basic
                 sanitation facilities, unreliable electricity, and
                 unemployment.
                   This may explain why Senator Byrd was greatly
                 sympathetic to Senator Stevens' crusade to bring indoor
                 plumbing to rural Alaska, to eliminate the honey bucket.
                 Alaska's Denali Commission was modeled closely after the
                 Appalachian Regional Commission, which Senator Byrd
                 championed for decades.
                   Ted Stevens and Robert Byrd worked together to make
                 things better for the people of rural Alaska. Our Native
                 people deeply appreciate the Alaska legacy of Robert C.
                 Byrd.
                   On the occasion of Senator Stevens' farewell from the
                 Senate in 2008, a tearful Robert C. Byrd came to the
                 Senate floor and said this:

                   Politics is a rough business, with lots of highs and
                 lots of lows. After a long time in politics, I come to
                 understand that the point of it all is helping people.
                 Thank God we will be judged in the next world by the good
                 we do in this world.

                   On Monday, our dear friend, Senator Byrd, joined his
                 beloved wife Erma in heaven, where he will be judged by
                 all of the good he has done for his Lord, his family, the
                 people of West Virginia, and the Nation. I will miss him
                 greatly.
                   On behalf of Alaska's people, I extend my condolences to
                 Senator Byrd's daughters Mona and Marjorie, his six
                 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, to the people
                 of West Virginia, and to all who knew and loved this great
                 American.
                                                   Wednesday, July 14, 2010
                   Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the
                 memory of one of the Senate's giants, Robert C. Byrd. My
                 family and I were saddened to learn of his passing on
                 Monday morning at the age of 92. I will remember Senator
                 Byrd as a fierce defender of the Constitution, master of
                 Senate procedure and a proud fighter for West Virginia and
                 its rural heritage. Senator Byrd was more than just a
                 colleague, he was a mentor. He taught me--and everyone who
                 had the honor of serving with him--never to apologize for
                 standing up for your State.
                   During more than a half century of service in Congress,
                 Senator Byrd gave a voice to those who would not have been
                 heard otherwise. There are times when it is easy to get
                 caught up in the petty bickering and partisan squabbles
                 that seem to be increasingly plaguing this Chamber. But,
                 we would all do well to follow the example Senator Byrd
                 set for all of us during his legendary Senate career and
                 never lose sight of the fact that we are sent here to
                 fight for those in our home States and across the country
                 who cannot fight for themselves.
                   Senator Byrd's work on behalf of his constituents is
                 well known. West Virginians knew they could count on their
                 senior Senator to come here to Washington and deliver for
                 them. They were not alone. I will never forget how helpful
                 Senator Byrd was to my State. Louisiana lost a true
                 friend. Through storms and floods, Senator Byrd made sure
                 that promises made to the gulf coast, particularly to
                 Louisiana, were not broken. He kept an eye on the fair and
                 just distribution of funds to Gulf Coast States, and I and
                 everyone I represent will always be grateful for his
                 dedication to our recovery.
                   One critical example is his effort to provide funding
                 for Louisiana's Road Home Program. Road Home, which is the
                 largest single housing recovery program in U.S. history,
                 was designed to provide compensation to Louisiana
                 homeowners whose houses were destroyed by Hurricane
                 Katrina or Rita. In late 2007, as Louisiana faced a
                 daunting program shortfall, it was Senator Byrd who
                 stepped up to help me secure $3 billion to keep this
                 rebuilding program going.
                   A year later, Senator Byrd once again stood up for the
                 people of Louisiana, when he worked with me to include
                 $8.7 billion for gulf coast hurricane recovery and
                 protection in the emergency supplemental spending bill for
                 Iraq and Afghanistan. The funding provided for levees,
                 criminal justice needs, health care and housing for low-
                 income hurricane survivors.
                   Senator Byrd once said, ``The people of Louisiana have
                 the strength and the spirit to rebuild their homes and
                 their communities. We owe them the support to get the job
                 done.'' He did not just pay lipservice to the gulf coast.
                 He delivered for us time and again, because he understood
                 the importance of standing up for those who were hit so
                 hard by the tragic storms that battered the Louisiana
                 coast.
                   Senator Byrd was not just a colleague who put his weight
                 behind fighting for the gulf coast region. He was also a
                 walking encyclopedia of Senate history, and he was always
                 willing to impart his vast knowledge to anyone who wanted
                 to learn about the legends that walked these Halls for
                 more than two centuries before us.
                   When I was first sworn in as a U.S. Senator, back in
                 1997, my entire family came to Washington for the event.
                 After it was over, I asked Senator Byrd if he would give
                 my family--both adults and children--a history lesson on
                 the Senate. He graciously obliged, and for 2 full hours
                 spoke eloquently and expertly on the history of this great
                 body. His lecture left a lasting impression on every
                 single member of the Landrieu family, and it is a memory
                 we will always cherish.
                   Senator Byrd spoke with such passion about John C.
                 Calhoun, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Rebecca Felton,
                 Everett Dirksen and the many other historical figures who
                 shaped the Senate. It is only appropriate that he will
                 forever be mentioned in the same breath with these men and
                 women he so truly admired. And, it makes me proud to have
                 had the opportunity to serve with a man who left such an
                 indelible mark on this Chamber.
                   As we reflect on Senator Byrd's remarkable life and
                 career, our prayers are with the Byrd family. But we all
                 take comfort in knowing that while he leaves behind one of
                 his great loves--the Senate--he is finally going home to
                 be with his greatest love--Erma.

                   Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, Senator Pete Domenici from
                 New Mexico served in this body for 36 years. During that
                 time, he was the first Republican chairman of the Budget
                 Committee and later chaired the Energy Committee where,
                 more than almost anyone, he helped spur the revival of
                 interest in nuclear energy. He was truly one of the most
                 consequential Senators of the last half century. As we
                 mourn the loss of another very consequential Member of
                 this Chamber, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, I
                 thought it was appropriate to share Senator Domenici's
                 thoughts on the passing of Senator Byrd.
                   I ask unanimous consent that Senator Domenici's
                 statement be printed in the Record.
                   There being no objection, the material was ordered to be
                 printed in the Record, as follows:
                    Statement of Senator Pete Domenici on the Passing of
                                   Senator Robert C. Byrd
                   I'm sorry I can't be at Senator Robert Byrd's memorial
                 service in person because I'm celebrating the first family
                 reunion with my eight children--and their children--from
                 across the country. My wife will join me at this event,
                 and I will be prevented from attending the ceremony for my
                 great friend, Robert Byrd.
                   I worked with Senator Byrd for my entire 36 years in the
                 Senate. Above all else, I found him a man that one could
                 trust implicitly. He and I both served on the Senate
                 Appropriations Committee for many years, where he was a
                 strong advocate for his home State. He and I both
                 supported local projects for our States and believed that
                 ``earmarks'' were not only legitimate, but part of the
                 Senator's duty to his State.
                   When history is finally written of the U.S. Senate there
                 is little doubt in my mind that he will go down as one of
                 the greatest of all. He knew the rules and he played by
                 them. He knew the issues and he fought for them. He
                 understood America's greatness and he heralded it. But
                 most of all, he seemed to always remember the working men
                 and women of his State and this country. He will be
                 missed. I must say thank you, Robert, for your friendship
                 and all you did for me and all of us.
                                                    Thursday, July 15, 2010
                   Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, West Virginia, the U.S.
                 Senate, and our Nation have experienced an incredible
                 loss. Over the last few weeks, this Chamber witnessed
                 poignant eulogies and remembrances of the legendary
                 Senator Robert Byrd. Much has been said and written since
                 Senator Byrd's death on June 28, 2010.
                   Those who have so eloquently written and spoken knew the
                 Senator much better than I--Presidents, Senators, world
                 leaders, dignitaries, as well as members of his family and
                 friends in West Virginia.
                   He will be remembered as an intelligent, compassionate,
                 and illustrious figure. A giant.
                   Many people have recalled his historic milestones,
                 distinguished career, and legendary speeches. I first met
                 Senator Byrd when I arrived in the Senate in 2007. I
                 introduced myself and told him about a friend and patient
                 of mine from Wyoming who had told me that Robert Byrd was
                 his favorite Senator. Like Senator Byrd, my friend uses a
                 wheelchair. Senator Byrd asked me why my friend liked him
                 so much. I told him it was because of their mutual
                 commitment to the Constitution.
                   I went on to say that he thought Senator Byrd was the
                 ``best thing since sliced bread.'' Senator Byrd's eyes
                 brightened and widened with the reference to sliced bread.
                 He then gave me a complete history of sliced bread in
                 America and the date when the first mechanical bread
                 slicer was used in the United States. As a true man of the
                 people, Senator Byrd also sent a note and a copy of the
                 Constitution to my friend in Wyoming.
                   When former Wyoming Senator Cliff Hansen died late last
                 year, I shared the news with Senator Byrd. Senator Byrd
                 said, ``I liked Cliff Hansen. Cliff Hansen was a friend of
                 mine. Cliff Hansen knew what he stood for.'' The same can
                 be said for Senator Byrd.
                   As a public servant, he had few equals. As a
                 parliamentary expert, he had none. Every day, Senator Byrd
                 showed his enduring dedication to his family, the people
                 of West Virginia, the U.S. Constitution, and our Nation.
                   Senator Byrd leaves us with a memory of the man--the
                 memory of his kindness, grace, and passion. He had a depth
                 of institutional understanding and knowledge of the
                 traditions of the U.S. Senate that will never be replaced.
                 While many of us are students of history, Senator Byrd
                 truly lived this Nation's history. His strength,
                 determination, and unyielding pursuit of knowledge serve
                 as a model for all of us.
                   To his daughters Mona Byrd Fatemi and Marjorie Byrd
                 Moore, his grandchildren, and family, I extend my family's
                 sympathy and hope the coming days are filled with love,
                 enduring strength, and God's grace.
                   Bobbi and I wish the Byrd family our best and our
                 prayers are with you.
                                                     Tuesday, July 20, 2010
                   Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to
                 our dear departed friend and colleague, Senator Robert
                 Byrd of West Virginia. I have been deeply moved by the
                 words of remembrance we have heard here in the Senate this
                 week and I am honored to have been here today as Senator
                 Byrd has lied in repose on the Senate floor. It is a
                 fitting tribute to the man who, over the course of an
                 astounding tenure of 52 years, came to embody the Senate,
                 its traditions, and its rules.
                   Robert Byrd was born in North Wilkesboro, North
                 Carolina, in 1917. He was valedictorian of Mark Twain High
                 School and, through the course of his life, attended four
                 separate colleges in West Virginia as well as the American
                 University College of Law. In the early days of his
                 career, he was, at one time or another, a grocery clerk, a
                 butcher, and a shipyard welder before beginning his
                 political career in 1946, when he was elected to the West
                 Virginia House of Delegates. After 5 years in the West
                 Virginia Legislature, he was elected to the House of
                 Representatives in 1952, beginning what would be the
                 longest tenure in the history of the U.S. Congress.
                   Senator Byrd came to the Senate in 1959. He served right
                 up until his death on June 28 of this year. During his
                 time in the Senate, he was known for his skills as a
                 Parliamentarian and his knowledge of Senate rules and
                 procedure. He put these abilities to great use, serving in
                 the Democratic leadership--as either the whip or the
                 leader--for nearly two decades. Senator Byrd's ability to
                 use the parliamentary rules to his advantage is legendary.
                 Indeed, I can think of few others who had such a great
                 understanding of what can be an arduous and difficult set
                 of rules and procedures.
                   His knowledge of the traditions and history of the
                 Senate were also quite noteworthy. In 1989, the
                 bicentennial anniversary of our cherished Constitution,
                 Senator Byrd published a four-volume series on Senate
                 history, which is a definitive work in describing and
                 outlining the storied traditions of this great Chamber.
                 Senator Byrd's love of this body was known to all. He
                 expressed his love for the Senate at every opportunity and
                 much of his time was spent trying to preserve those rules
                 and traditions he held dear.
                   Mr. President, this Chamber has suffered a great loss.
                 But, my sadness is tempered by the thought that Senator
                 Byrd is now reunited with his wife Erma, to whom he was
                 married for nearly 70 years. I want to express my
                 sincerest condolences to Senator Byrd's family.

                   Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, today I want to speak on the
                 loss of the great statesman, orator, and author, Senator
                 Robert Byrd. Senator Byrd served the State of West
                 Virginia and this great Nation in the Senate for over 50
                 years. It has been an honor to serve and craft legislation
                 with Senator Byrd to protect and promote the values of our
                 two States, which share a common border and economy. He
                 represented his State well.
                   Following my election to the Senate, Senator Byrd
                 offered me valuable advice and direction on the operations
                 and rules of the U.S. Senate. Upon learning of his
                 passing, my wife Mary and I were deeply saddened by the
                 news.
                   Starting from humble beginnings, Senator Byrd was a
                 great example of the virtue of hard work and
                 determination. After losing his mother during the
                 influenza epidemic of 1918, Senator Byrd was sent to live
                 with his aunt and uncle in the coal mining region of
                 southern West Virginia. With a combination of his strong
                 work ethic and quest for knowledge, Senator Byrd graduated
                 as valedictorian of his high school class. Despite his
                 stellar academic achievements, Senator Byrd was unable to
                 attend college following his high school commencement due
                 to financial constraints.
                   At the age of 19, Senator Byrd married his high school
                 sweetheart and lifetime soulmate Erma Ora James. In an
                 effort to support his growing family, Senator Byrd took
                 jobs which included working as a gas station attendant and
                 butcher, to put his family first.
                   After serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates
                 and Senate, Senator Byrd was first elected to the U.S.
                 House of Representatives and began serving in 1953. Unable
                 to stop his quest for knowledge, Senator Byrd began
                 attending night classes at the American University's
                 Washington College of Law where he received his degree a
                 decade later.
                   Senator Byrd's love for this country and the Senate
                 itself could be seen in many ways such as the copy of the
                 U.S. Constitution tucked away in his jacket pocket and his
                 vast knowledge of the rules of the Senate. As he said to
                 many of us, ``he who knows the rules will rule.''
                   He believed, as I do, in the power of the Senate. He
                 understood that the Senate should not be beholden to the
                 executive branch, but must remain separate and equal to
                 provide the necessary checks. As he stated:

                   We must never, ever, tear down the only wall--the
                 necessary fence--this Nation has against the excesses of
                 the Executive Branch and the resultant haste and tyranny
                 of the majority.

                   Even in his frustration of the current political climate
                 and through his remaining days, Senator Byrd continued to
                 fight for the protection of the rules of the Senate and
                 the rights of the minority, because as he wrote, ``I know
                 what it is to be majority leader, and wake up on a
                 Wednesday morning in November, and find yourself a
                 minority leader.''
                   I extend my thoughts and prayers to his surviving
                 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. During
                 this time of difficulty, there is strength in knowing
                 Senator Byrd has once again been reunited with his
                 sweetheart and the grandson he missed dearly.
                                                      Monday, July 26, 2010
                   Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I join my colleagues in
                 paying tribute to our colleague Robert Byrd of West
                 Virginia. He served his beautiful Mountain State for a
                 record-setting 57 years in Congress, including 51 years in
                 this Chamber. He cast more roll call votes and served in
                 more leadership positions than any other Senator in U.S.
                 history, including 12 years as his party's leader. He
                 revered this body so much that he wrote four volumes on
                 Senate history from 1789 to 1989. Over nine terms, he
                 mastered parliamentary procedure in an effort to protect
                 the Senate's rules and to defend the legislative branch's
                 authority. He carried a copy of the Constitution in his
                 pocket, and he peppered his speeches with frequent
                 references to the intent of our Framers. When asked how
                 many Presidents he had served under, he replied, ``None. I
                 have served with Presidents, not under them.''
                   Senator Byrd will enter the history books as one of the
                 Senate's true giants, but his beginnings were humble. His
                 biography is a shining testament to the American dream. He
                 was adopted in infancy and raised in impoverished coal
                 mining towns. His first job was to collect garbage scraps
                 for his family's hogs. Although he graduated valedictorian
                 of his 1934 high school class, at first he could not
                 afford college. He married his high school sweetheart,
                 Erma Ora James, with whom he enjoyed more than 68 happy
                 years. The outstanding work ethic and solid values that he
                 learned while growing up in Raleigh County helped him
                 later devote 10 grueling years of his life to studying
                 while simultaneously serving as a Member of Congress. When
                 he finally earned his law degree in 1963, President John
                 F. Kennedy awarded him his diploma.
                   Senator Byrd served his beloved home State with
                 unprecedented devotion. He wrote in his autobiography that
                 ``it has been my constant desire to improve the lives of
                 the people who have sent me to Washington time and
                 again.'' Virtually every county in West Virginia will long
                 remember his hard work, dedication, and legendary
                 contributions. Like many Americans today, I commend him
                 for his outstanding service to his State, to our Nation,
                 and to the institution of the Senate.
                                                     Monday, August 2, 2010
                   Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in
                 appreciation and admiration of Senator Robert Byrd.
                   By the time I took my seat in this Chamber, Senator Byrd
                 had already held his for more than four decades. He had
                 already held numerous leadership positions, including
                 Senate majority leader and President pro tempore. He had
                 already become a master of parliamentary procedure. He had
                 already championed many Federal projects that still bear
                 his name in his home State of West Virginia.
                   Senator Byrd won the admiration of all his colleagues
                 for his study of the history of this body. He delivered
                 hundreds of addresses on Senate history and procedure, as
                 well as the debt we owe to the original Senate that
                 governed ancient Rome for centuries. For such work,
                 Senator Byrd has earned the gratitude of all future
                 generations of Americans.
                   Texans especially appreciate Senator Byrd's attention to
                 the contributions of our Senators to the history of this
                 body. Senator Sam Houston, the original occupant of the
                 seat I hold, was described by Senator Byrd in this way:

                   The flamboyant Sam Houston of Texas used to stride into
                 the old Senate Chamber wearing such eye-catching
                 accessories as a leopard-skin waist-coat, a bright red
                 vest, or a Mexican sombrero ... . He would while away the
                 time in the old Chamber by whittling, creating a pile of
                 shavings beneath his desk, and pages would bring him his
                 pine blocks and then clean up the shavings.

                   Senator Byrd also devoted several speeches of his
                 history to the tenure of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, which
                 were all collected into a single chapter upon publication.
                 In personal interviews with then-current and former
                 Senators, Senator Byrd documents a remarkably personal
                 account of Senator Johnson's leadership style and his
                 influence over landmark legislation, including the Civil
                 Rights Act of 1957.
                   During his discussion of Senator Johnson's use of the
                 quorum call, Senator Byrd was asked to yield by his
                 friend, Senator Russell Long of Louisiana, who wished to
                 clarify his own recollection of the matter. Senator Long
                 then continued with a fitting tribute to the Senator from
                 West Virginia:

                   I have no doubt that in years to come, his will be the
                 most authoritative text anyone will be able to find to say
                 what did happen and what did not happen in the Senate,
                 both while the Senator from West Virginia was a member and
                 in the years prior thereto.

                   I can offer no better epitaph to Senator Byrd than that
                 offered by his former colleague more than two decades ago.
                 He and his beloved Erma have now been reunited, and we
                 offer our condolences to their children, grandchildren,
                 great-grandchildren, and all who miss him most.
                                                   Thursday, August 5, 2010
                   Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, the death of Senator Robert
                 Byrd is a tremendous loss to the Senate, the State of West
                 Virginia, and the entire Nation. As the longest serving
                 Member of Congress, his political career spanned multiple
                 Presidencies, and he was a witness to countless American
                 advances and achievements. He has served his State and our
                 country for more than half a century, and he will be
                 greatly missed.
                   Senator Byrd embodied the history and traditions of the
                 Senate, and his incredible knowledge of our Constitution,
                 Congress, and the legislative process benefited every
                 Member who served alongside him. I met with Senator Byrd
                 when I was first elected to the Senate, and I will be
                 forever grateful for his generosity and willingness to
                 assist his colleagues.
                   I will always remember Senator Byrd as a committed
                 public servant who was deeply devoted to his State and his
                 country. He was known as the conscience of the Senate for
                 his dedication to the body's history, legislative process,
                 and rules, serving as a principled legislator. He made
                 many sacrifices to give his life to public service, and we
                 owe a lot to Senator Byrd for this reason. I am deeply
                 saddened by his passing and know he will be missed.

                   Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a
                 colleague whose devotion to this body, and to this Nation,
                 was personal, heartfelt, and legendary. I am talking about
                 none other than the senior Senator from West Virginia,
                 Senator Robert Byrd.
                   Senator Byrd's time on Earth was a life characterized by
                 commitment. He exemplified this rare quality through his
                 68-year marriage to his high school sweetheart Erma James
                 Byrd. But this was far from the only deep commitment in
                 Senator Byrd's life. His dedication to the U.S. Senate was
                 proved by his actions and his storied career. His life in
                 the Senate began in 1958 with a victory that included 59
                 percent of the vote, the smallest margin of victory in
                 Senator Byrd's half century-plus career. During his 57
                 years in Congress, Byrd worked with 12 Presidents. He was
                 known for telling his colleagues that he did not serve
                 under any Presidents, but alongside them.
                   In Senator Byrd's portrait in the Old Senate Chamber,
                 his image is surrounded by his wife, the Bible, and the
                 U.S. Constitution. This is only fitting, considering that
                 Senator Byrd used references from the Bible and the U.S.
                 Constitution in many of his speeches and in his everyday
                 dealings with fellow lawmakers. In a speech by Senator
                 Byrd on October 13, 1989, he said:

                   The Constitution is the old landmark which they have
                 set. And if we do not rise to the call of the moment and
                 take a stand, take a strong stand, against our own
                 personal interests or against party interests, and stand
                 for the Constitution, then how might we face our children
                 and grandchildren when they ask of us as Caesar did to the
                 centurion, ``How do we fare today?'' and the centurion
                 replied, ``You will be victorious.'' As for myself,
                 whether I live or die, tonight I shall have earned the
                 praise of Caesar.

                   I can say that Senator Byrd is deserving of the praise
                 of West Virginians, and, indeed, all Americans, for his
                 devotion to the Senate and to our Nation. He will be
                 missed by his colleagues, and we are grateful for his
                 life's work.

                   Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, no Senator has ever loved the
                 institution of the U.S. Senate more than Senator Robert
                 Byrd. I firmly believe that. He truly believed that the
                 upper Chamber of Congress was the greatest deliberative
                 body on Earth and he always strived to preserve its
                 traditions and history for the generations to come as well
                 as being the Senate's foremost instructor on Senate
                 procedure and process.
                   I was able to be a student of Senator Byrd's instruction
                 when we worked together in 2005 to preserve Senate rule
                 XXII, commonly known as the filibuster. Senator Byrd
                 joined with me, along with 6 other Republican Senators and
                 6 Democrat Senators to form what became the ``Gang of
                 14.'' During the meetings between these 14 Members, which
                 were often held in my office, I fondly recall the silence
                 that would overcome the room when Senator Byrd spoke about
                 the history of the filibuster and the rights of the
                 minority in the Senate. It is not often that 13 Members of
                 the Senate are quiet for any given period of time. But
                 Senator Byrd's stature and intellect brought the room to a
                 standstill.
                   Senator Byrd is remembered for being a strong majority
                 leader and minority leader for his party. But as he
                 reminded all of us during those meetings in my office,
                 when he served as majority leader during President
                 Reagan's time in office, Senator Byrd did not lead his
                 Democratic caucus to filibuster any of President Reagan's
                 judicial nominees. That was a different time with
                 different leaders, but Senator Byrd's actions reflect his
                 sincere desire for statesmanship and his respect for the
                 President's nominees. His speech on the Senate floor in
                 2005 regarding the filibuster reflected this desire when
                 he said:

                   I rise today to make a request of my fellow Senators. In
                 so doing, I reach out to all Senators on both sides of the
                 aisle, respectful of the institution of the Senate and of
                 the opinions of all Senators, respectful of the
                 institution of the Presidency as well. I ask each Senator
                 to pause for a moment and reflect seriously on the role of
                 the Senate as it has existed now for 217 years, and on the
                 role that it will play in the future if the so-called
                 nuclear option or the so-called constitutional option--one
                 and the same--is invoked. I implore Senators to step
                 back--step back, step back, step back--from the precipice.
                 Step back away from the cameras and the commentators and
                 contemplate the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
                 Things are not right, and the American people know that
                 things are not right. The political discourse in our
                 country has become so distorted, so unpleasant, so
                 strident, so unbelievable ...

                   He was not only a leader in 2005 against removing the
                 judicial filibuster rule, he was a lifelong leader in the
                 Senate against allowing Senators to issue secret holds.
                 His motives were noble, and he fought for its elimination
                 until the end. In his final speech, entered into the
                 Record but not delivered, he defended an individual
                 Senator's right to block legislation in secret. ``Our
                 Founding Fathers intended the Senate,'' he lectured
                 colleagues last month in one of his last appearances, to
                 have ``unlimited debate and the protection of minority
                 rights.''
                   Senator Byrd's respect for Senate rules and procedure
                 were second only to his defense and passion for the
                 Constitution. Because of his leadership, we were able to
                 establish September 17 as Constitution Day. Now, annually,
                 students across the country will learn about and celebrate
                 the document that governs our Nation and hopefully
                 understand the significance of this unparalleled document
                 that has established freedom and sovereignty of our
                 citizens for hundreds of years.
                   Senator Byrd spent practically all of his adult life
                 serving the American people for which we are all grateful.
                 Even when he disagreed with his peers in the Senate, he
                 respected their intellect and views. I am honored to have
                 served beside him. He once said, ``On the great issues,
                 the Senate has always been blessed with senators who were
                 able to rise above party and consider first and foremost
                 the national interest.'' I agree and hope the Senate
                 continues to attract candidates who will rise above
                 politics for the good of our country and who will
                 appreciate the history of the institution as Senator Byrd
                 did.
                   Senator Byrd gave his life to the service of his country
                 and the Senate and the Nation will miss him and the
                 important leadership and sense of history that he brought
                 to this body every day.

                   Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, today I would like to add to
                 the heartfelt sentiments we have heard expressed by many
                 colleagues and many more around the country over these
                 past several weeks in paying tribute to our departed
                 colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia.
                   As an American, pondering what Senator Byrd has done,
                 the history he has been a part of, and the path he took
                 from the small towns of southern West Virginia's
                 coalfields, is inspiring. From the perspective of a new
                 Senator, I must say that the life and career of Senator
                 Byrd is more than a little daunting. I have served just
                 shy of 20 months, and I have voted in this Chamber
                 slightly more than 600 times.
                   Those numbers seem like rounding errors compared to the
                 numbers we have heard over the last several days in
                 reference to the service of Senator Byrd: Elected to nine
                 full terms, more than 51 years in the Senate--more than 4
                 years longer than the next longest serving Senator; he
                 cast nearly 19,000 votes, 18,689, including 4,705
                 consecutive votes; he was twice majority leader; served
                 also as whip, conference secretary, minority leader, and
                 President pro tempore; and he served on the Appropriations
                 Committee continuously since being placed there in 1959 by
                 then-Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson as a freshman in this
                 body--more than 3 years before I was born and only about 2
                 weeks after Alaska became a State.
                   I am told by colleagues who served longer with Senator
                 Byrd that while he was proud of those facts, the record he
                 cherished the most was the time he spent with the love of
                 his life, his childhood sweetheart and wife of 68 years,
                 Erma. Senator Byrd was a man of deep faith, but from what
                 I have heard of them as a couple, I do not doubt that all
                 the glories of the afterlife pale for Senator Byrd
                 compared to rejoining Erma.
                   I came to the Senate too late to hear most of his
                 greatest speeches, but when he spoke, whether it was about
                 a funding bill or the wars that we continue to wage, you
                 listened. We all felt a great sadness when Senator Kennedy
                 died last year, but many of us probably came to appreciate
                 the depth of the historical significance of his departure
                 from this body months earlier when we heard and saw
                 another of the great legislators in American history,
                 Robert C. Byrd, weep openly and unabashedly as he paid
                 tribute to his friend and colleague. My service with
                 Senator Byrd was nowhere as lengthy as his with Senator
                 Kennedy, but I am profoundly affected by the honor of
                 knowing the man, even for these past 2 years.
                   In the short time we did serve together, I have still
                 been able to learn from Senator Byrd. He was a statesman
                 and a pillar of this institution, and a genuine historical
                 figure that my son Jacob will learn about in school. But
                 the thing that I will take from watching Senator Byrd that
                 showed every day that we served together was that nothing
                 was more important than the work he did for the people of
                 the State that sent him here. All of us look to the people
                 of our States for guidance on the matters of the day, and
                 certainly Senator Byrd was attuned to the thoughts of the
                 people of West Virginia. But there was more to it than
                 just knowing what the people of his State thought.
                   His whole career was about making West Virginia a better
                 place, expanding its infrastructure, educating its people,
                 supporting its industries, and providing the circumstances
                 in which economic development could take root and
                 flourish. Improving the lives of the people of his State
                 was what motivated Senator Byrd to come here almost 19,000
                 times for votes on any number of issues.
                   As I think of the impact Senator Byrd's career has had
                 on West Virginia, I cannot help but think of the
                 similarities between our two States. Alaska and West
                 Virginia are both mostly rural, energy-producing States
                 with pockets of intractable poverty. It is a mark of
                 respect for his success at changing the world for the
                 better that West Virginia has fewer poverty-stricken
                 residents, and that remote regions of his State are less
                 difficult to travel to and from than when Senator Byrd was
                 first elected to Congress. He was an ardent supporter of
                 the Appalachian Regional Commission, ARC, which was
                 created to help solve the problems of poverty and
                 hopelessness in his State by upgrading insufficient public
                 infrastructure, building and maintaining educational
                 facilities, and providing access to public and private
                 sector assistance to improve health care, foster economic
                 development and diversity, and provide opportunities for
                 the people of the region beyond energy extraction and the
                 few other traditional industries that existed there.
                   It is no surprise that when my predecessor, Senator Ted
                 Stevens, was looking for a way to improve the lives of
                 Alaskans, he saw in the ARC that his close friend and
                 colleague, Senator Byrd, had worked so hard to support a
                 model for the Denali Commission that he believed could
                 create similar hope and opportunity in our State. My
                 colleagues and I in the Alaska congressional delegation
                 today are just as dedicated to the potential the Denali
                 Commission represents for our State. We can only hope to
                 have as much positive impact on the lives of Alaskans as
                 Senator Byrd had with those of the West Virginians he was
                 so proud to represent.
                   I do not have as many great stories about Senator Byrd
                 as many of our other colleagues, but I will close with
                 observations about the man, hard at work doing what he
                 knew was right for his people, which inspired me. As the
                 Senate worked to reform the Nation's health care system
                 last year, a number of votes were late at night or early
                 in the morning, and as many will remember, the weather
                 last December was uncharacteristically cold and snowy. As
                 an Alaskan and a relatively young man, getting to the
                 Capitol during a blizzard was not a big ordeal. Watching
                 Senator Byrd, in his nineties and in obvious frail health,
                 make his way to the Senate Chamber time and time again in
                 his wheelchair, including for a final vote very early on
                 the morning of Christmas Eve, was an inspiration. Seeing
                 it then, and reflecting on it in the last several days,
                 made me appreciate more fully the man's dedication to the
                 people he served.
                   Every State deserves Senators with those motivations,
                 and while I will always marvel at the man's encyclopedic
                 knowledge of the Senate and countless other things, the
                 thing I will emulate about the life and career of Robert
                 C. Byrd, for however long the voters of Alaska choose to
                 have me as their Senator, is that my job is to make the
                 lives of Alaskans better.
                   I believe Senator Byrd would approve.

                   Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. President, today I rise
                 to speak about our Nation's longest serving Senator who
                 dedicated his life to public service. Senator Byrd first
                 came to the Senate the same year I was born, 1959, and I
                 took office just a few months before he passed away.
                 Though I did not have the opportunity to know him well,
                 each day I learn more of his legacy and his impact on what
                 he referred to as the Second Great Senate.
                   Robert Byrd was a staunch defender of the Constitution
                 and the institution of the Senate. Many have told the
                 story of how he carried his pocket Constitution in his
                 jacket wherever he went to remind us all of that
                 document's importance in making the laws of today. His
                 speeches on the Senate floor were legendary and
                 illustrated his devotion to the place where he served for
                 more than 50 years.
                   In his role as a Senator from West Virginia, Robert Byrd
                 worked tirelessly to modernize his State and end its
                 economic isolation. But he did more than just serve his
                 State. Robert Byrd's dedication to the complexity and the
                 many traditions of the Senate was extraordinary. He was
                 passionately, and often solely, committed to the Founders'
                 wise intent that the Senate was to remain a bulwark
                 against the power of the Presidency.
                   Through relentless effort, dedication, and commitment,
                 Robert Byrd rose from humble beginnings to become one of
                 our Nation's most skilled legislators. I thank him for his
                 many years of public service in representing West Virginia
                 and our Nation. My thoughts and prayers go out to his
                 family and friends as they mourn his great loss.

                   Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I rise today to offer my
                 sincere condolences following the passing of my friend and
                 colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd. This is obviously the
                 end of an era. Senator Byrd has seen the landing of a man
                 on the Moon, the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the
                 resignation of one President and the impeachment trial of
                 another, and countless other significant and historical
                 landmarks during his unparalleled Senate career.
                   Each of us has his or her own memories of Senator Byrd's
                 kindness and devotion to the Senate as an institution. The
                 place will not be the same without him.
                   My wife Joyce and I extend our deepest condolences to
                 his daughters and the entire Byrd family.
                         Proceedings in the House of Representatives
                                                      Monday, June 28, 2010
                                           PRAYER
                   The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered
                 the following prayer:
                   Beneath Your creative hand, O Lord, every garden needs
                 more attention.
                   Education and formation of character is never a finished
                 product for Your people.
                   Constant care and oversight as well as discerning
                 analysis and fresh energy are required daily for
                 governance of a good society.
                   Therefore, Lord God, grant Your servants patience,
                 perseverance, and determination to work hard to attain the
                 goals Your Providence sets before us, today and every day
                 as long as life shall last.
                   Reward the long labor of Senator Robert Byrd. Grant him
                 eternal rest.
                   Amen.
                                                     Tuesday, June 29, 2010
                                   MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE
                   A message from the Senate by Ms. Curtis, one of its
                 clerks, announced that the Senate agreed to the following
                 resolution:
                                         S. Res. 572
                   In the Senate of the United States, June 28, 2010.
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd served the people
                 of his beloved state of West Virginia for over 63 years,
                 serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates, the West
                 Virginia Senate, the United States House of
                 Representatives, and the United States Senate;
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd is the only West
                 Virginian to have served in both Houses of the West
                 Virginia Legislature and in both Houses of the United
                 States Congress;
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has served for
                 fifty-one years in the United States Senate and is the
                 longest serving Senator in history, having been elected to
                 nine full terms;
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has cast more than
                 18,680 rollcall votes--more than any other Senator in
                 American history;
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has served in the
                 Senate leadership as President pro tempore, Majority
                 Leader, Majority Whip, Minority Leader, and Secretary of
                 the Majority Conference;
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has served on a
                 Senate committee, the Committee on Appropriations, which
                 he has chaired during five Congresses, longer than any
                 other Senator;
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd is the first
                 Senator to have authored a comprehensive history of the
                 United States Senate;
                   Whereas the Honorable Robert C. Byrd has played an
                 essential role in the development and enactment of an
                 enormous body of national legislative initiatives and
                 policy over many decades; and
                   Whereas his death has deprived his State and Nation of
                 an outstanding lawmaker and public servant: Now,
                 therefore, be it
                   Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow
                 and deep regret the announcement of the death of the
                 Honorable Robert C. Byrd, Senator from the State of West
                 Virginia.
                   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate
                 these resolutions to the House of Representatives and
                 transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the
                 deceased.
                   Resolved, That when the Senate adjourns today, it stand
                 adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of
                 the deceased Senator.
                   MOMENT OF SILENCE IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE LATE HONORABLE
                                       ROBERT C. BYRD
                   (Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to address
                 the House for 1 minute.)

                   Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, as we all know, the country
                 and our State of West Virginia has lost a true public
                 servant. He was a dear friend to many of us. He was an
                 individual who defended our Constitution and an individual
                 who truly had the best interests of the American people in
                 mind every day.
                   I would ask that the House take a moment of silent
                 prayer on behalf of the late Honorable senior Senator from
                 West Virginia, Robert C. Byrd.

                   The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members will rise and observe a
                 moment of silence.

                   Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution
                 and ask for its immediate consideration.
                   The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
                                        H. Res. 1484
                   Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow
                 of the death of the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, a Senator
                 from the State of West Virginia.
                   Resolved, That a committee of such Members of the House
                 as the Speaker may designate, together with such Members
                 of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the
                 funeral.
                   Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions
                 to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of
                 the deceased.
                   Resolved, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn
                 as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased
                 Senator.

                   The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from West
                 Virginia is recognized for 1 hour.

                   Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield the customary 30
                 minutes to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs.
                 Capito). ... Mr. Speaker, I am honored to yield 1 minute
                 to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the
                 Speaker of the House.

                   Ms. PELOSI. I am honored to join you, Chairman Rahall
                 and Congresswoman Capito, in singing the praises of a
                 great man, Senator Byrd. I rise today to remember the
                 extraordinary life and legacy of Senator Robert C. Byrd of
                 West Virginia, a man who loved his State, loved this
                 country, and was such an important part of this Congress.
                   Throughout his remarkable career, he worked for all
                 Americans, and he never stopped fighting for the people of
                 West Virginia. While we are here, we all take pride in
                 bearing witness to history. Senator Byrd shaped it, and in
                 shaping history, he built a better future for all
                 Americans.
                   His story was the true embodiment of the American dream.
                 An orphan at a young age, Senator Byrd refused to allow
                 his circumstances to limit the reach of his potential or
                 his ability.
                   A son of West Virginia's coal country, he was the first
                 in his family to be educated above the second grade. He
                 worked as a butcher and a welder and entered office to
                 serve his community and his neighbors. In doing so, he
                 would ultimately make America a better place for every
                 American.
                   Though many note his mastery of the Senate, I note that
                 Robert Byrd's service began in the Congress here in the
                 House of Representatives in 1953. His service in the House
                 is a source of pride to all of us, though Senator Byrd
                 remarked that he was happy to leave behind the limitations
                 on speaking time that apply on the House floor. In fact, I
                 checked the Congressional Record myself on that. In the
                 year that Senator Byrd first came to Congress, I found
                 that in one single floor speech he managed to quote the
                 Book of Ecclesiastes, Shakespeare's The Merchant of
                 Venice, Daniel Webster, and Rudyard Kipling, all while
                 discussing trade policy. That was a sign of the great
                 oratory that would come over the next 57 years. In that
                 time, Senator Byrd would become Congress' foremost scholar
                 on the institutions of our democracy. He always spoke
                 truth to power. He served as a voice of reason. He was
                 always a gentleman, charming any friend or foe.
                   Today, the entire Nation mourns the loss of this great
                 champion, leader, and public servant. For more than 57
                 years, Congress has benefited from his wisdom and passion.
                 For generations to come, Robert C. Byrd's name will remain
                 etched in history books for his accomplishments and for
                 his courage.
                   Senator Byrd has gone home to be with his beloved Erma.
                 We hope it is a comfort to the Byrd family that so many
                 join them in grieving their loss at this sad time.

                   Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
                 distinguished majority leader of the House of
                 Representatives, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

                   Mr. HOYER. I thank the distinguished Member from West
                 Virginia, the chairman of our Natural Resources Committee,
                 Nick Joe Rahall, of whom Robert Byrd was very proud.
                   I also am pleased to recognize the Speaker pro tempore,
                 Alan Mollohan, of whom Robert Byrd was very proud, and who
                 he considered a partner. I thank Congresswoman Capito for
                 allowing me to speak--in fact, out of order--on the
                 passing of the distinguished American who was larger than
                 life in so many respects.
                   Today, we honor the life of Senator Robert Byrd. History
                 will reflect him as the longest serving Member Congress
                 has ever seen. But, of course, if it were only longevity
                 that we were honoring, it would simply be the hand of fate
                 that allowed that to happen. But what we really honor is
                 that Robert C. Byrd used his longevity to such
                 extraordinary benefit of the people he served in the State
                 of West Virginia, the people of this Nation, and the
                 legislative branch of government. I doubt that there have
                 been any peers to Robert C. Byrd in standing on the floor
                 of the U.S. Senate or of the House of Representatives or
                 in any forum in which he was temporarily present, that any
                 more strong advocacy of the equality and separateness of
                 the legislative branch was made clear.
                   Robert C. Byrd was a giant. He was a giant in terms of
                 character. He grew during the course of his lifetime,
                 which is a mark of a great man. All of us are, to some
                 degree, captives of the environment in which we are raised
                 and in which we live. Robert C. Byrd is no different. But
                 Robert C. Byrd grew. He grew intellectually. He grew
                 culturally. But he did not, in growing, leave his base. He
                 did not forget the values that he learned in West
                 Virginia--the values of courtesy; of kindness; of caring;
                 of helping; of making sure that the people who were not
                 famous, who did not have power, who did not have positions
                 of note were never forgotten.
                   Mr. Speaker, I remember an incident that I'm sure was
                 not unique to me. Early on in my career I went over on an
                 appropriation matter--like you, Mr. Speaker, as a member
                 of the Appropriations Committee. Senator Byrd invited me
                 in. He was then majority leader. He invited me into his
                 office. We sat down. And for the next 45 minutes--which,
                 as a junior Member of the House, I found extraordinary--he
                 regaled me on the history of the Senate and the books he
                 had written. I was mesmerized in the presence of this
                 giant of the legislative body.
                   At the end, as I'm sure he did to so many of us, he gave
                 me a rectangular painting of a covered bridge in West
                 Virginia. Mr. Obey is going to speak at some point in
                 time--and Mr. Obey has a similar painting hanging in his
                 office. Now it's not the original because Bob Byrd gave it
                 to so many of us. But I looked at that and I thought to
                 myself, What a kind gesture. How impressed I was, this
                 young Member of Congress being accorded this kind of
                 respect from this giant in the U.S. Senate.
                   Robert C. Byrd will be dearly missed by us all, and he
                 will be missed most of all when very difficult issues
                 confront the legislative body and there is a clamor that
                 the legislature agree with the Executive, for whatever
                 reasons; a clamor that all too often emanates from fear of
                 this, that, or the other, and that fear would ignore the
                 constitutional role played by the Congress of the United
                 States. It is then that we will miss Senator Byrd's
                 clarity of intellect, of conscience, of commitment to the
                 Constitution of the United States of America, as well as
                 to the rules of the U.S. Senate. He was a passionate
                 advocate for people, for principle, for the Constitution,
                 and for our country. Senator Byrd, we will miss you. But
                 we will remember fondly your contribution and be ever
                 thankful that we had the opportunity to serve with you.
                   Some of you remember my dog Charlotte. My dog Charlotte
                 was with me for 15\1/2\ years. Some of you will recall for
                 10 of those years Charlotte came to work with me every
                 day. Charlotte was an English Springer Spaniel. I planted
                 a tree in my yard--it's a dogwood tree--and there's a
                 stone and a bronze plaque for Charlotte. Charlotte was one
                 of the loves of my life. I lived alone with her for 10\1/
                 2\ years after Judy passed away.
                   The first call I got the day after Charlotte passed was
                 from Robert C. Byrd saying how sorry he was that I had
                 lost Charlotte. That was an indication of his humanity, of
                 his caring for others.
                   Yes, he was a great man. But he was a man who understood
                 the pain, the aspirations, and the hopes of all with whom
                 he came in contact.
                   Thank you, Robert C. Byrd, our good and faithful
                 servant.

                   Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
                 consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis).

                   Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I very much
                 appreciate the gentlelady's yielding.
                   Robert Byrd, a colleague and associate on the
                 Appropriations Committee, this incredible leader in our
                 committee, has made such a difference over the years.
                 Beyond that, I quickly developed great respect for his
                 support of the legislative role relative to our
                 constitutional responsibility. And over the decades he has
                 fought administration after administration, Democrat and
                 Republican alike, whose bureaucrats want to take away
                 authority from the legislative branch. His voice was heard
                 consistently reflecting the priorities of this
                 institution. And for that I will never forget him.
                   As you have just heard from our leader, in recent years,
                 Senator Byrd and I developed a different kind of
                 friendship because of our love for our dogs. Indeed, it
                 was a reflection of this man, the wonderful human side of
                 this man, that has been the experience for me. We will--
                 Arlene, my dog Bruin, and I--miss Senator Byrd.

                   Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, it's my honor to yield such
                 time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of
                 our House Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from
                 Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).

                   Mr. OBEY. I thank the gentleman for the time.
                   Mr. Speaker, for most of the last 15 years, Senator
                 Robert Byrd led the Senate Democrats on the Appropriations
                 Committee. And for roughly that same amount of time, I had
                 the same privilege on the House side, and I got to know
                 him extremely well. I loved Robert Byrd. For one thing, he
                 and I shared a love of bluegrass music. I daresay he was
                 the finest fiddler in the history of the Congress, but
                 that's not the real reason that I hold him in such high
                 esteem.
                   He began as a product of a segregated background, but
                 through sheer intense pursuit of knowledge, understanding,
                 and wisdom, he became a person who is a powerful
                 representative for the cause of equal opportunity for
                 everyone. I can think of no one in the history of the
                 Senate who demonstrated a greater capacity for personal
                 growth than did Robert Byrd. He was truly unmatched in his
                 recognition of our obligation to the Constitution and to
                 the institution of the Congress itself.
                   And the greatest thing about him, in addition to his
                 dedication, was, simply put, he had guts; and he wasn't
                 afraid to demonstrate that on many occasions when the
                 Nation needed to see it demonstrated. He made the point
                 that he never served under any President. He served with
                 many, honorably and with distinction. They really don't
                 make them like him anymore.

                   Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
                 may consume.
                   I rise today to thank my colleague from West Virginia's
                 Third Congressional District (Mr. Rahall) for offering
                 this resolution, honoring the passing of our senior
                 Senator, Senator Robert C. Byrd. I want to thank the
                 Speaker, my other colleague from West Virginia, for his
                 dedication and friendship to Senator Byrd through many
                 more years than I have served here in this Congress. As
                 the three of us know, this is a difficult time for all
                 West Virginians and the U.S. Senate.
                   As my colleagues know, Senator Byrd was an institution
                 not only in West Virginia but also in the U.S. Senate.
                 Coming from very modest beginnings, the young man from
                 rural Raleigh County, West Virginia, rose from the
                 mountains of Appalachia to become a lion in the greatest
                 deliberative body on Earth, the U.S. Senate. His path to
                 success is truly emblematic of the American dream.
                   Few can travel through our great State of West Virginia
                 without recognizing the effect Senator Byrd had on our
                 State. While he is well recognized for the many roads and
                 buildings that are named in his honor, it is the
                 leadership he displayed in bringing our delegation
                 together when it mattered most for West Virginia that is
                 truly a testament to the effect he has had on our State.
                   During my tenure--which for him was recent, 10 years--he
                 rallied our delegation to save the 130th Air National
                 Guard unit from being cut, and he began working with all
                 of us toward a consensus on mine safety legislation after
                 the tragic Sago mine incident. He was an able leader and
                 led us all as leaders for West Virginia.
                   Senator Byrd was also a wonderful ambassador for
                 Appalachia. West Virginians are very proud of our heritage
                 and our strong work ethic throughout our lives, and
                 Senator Byrd continued to share Appalachian culture--we
                 just heard from Mr. Obey on that--with his colleagues in
                 Washington. Whether it was displaying his musical talents
                 on the fiddle or his dedication to both American and world
                 history or the process of the U.S. Senate or the
                 protection of our Constitution, Senator Byrd was truly a
                 man of many talents.
                   I will fondly remember, as I was attending a meeting in
                 Charleston, West Virginia, probably 12 years ago--I knew
                 about his fiddling, but I didn't know about his love of
                 music and his vocal ability--when he joined Kathy Mattea
                 in singing a duet of ``Amazing Grace.'' It was a great
                 moment for me, but for him, he was celebrating his three
                 loves: his music, his love of education, and his faith in
                 God.
                   I also remember--and the other members of the delegation
                 will remember this, too--we were in his office, and he
                 served us lunch in his office. And when it came time for
                 dessert, he asked all of us if we wanted dessert. And
                 since we were all watching our waistlines, we sort of
                 waived off dessert and said, ``No, we really don't need
                 dessert. It's lunch. I think we are going to pass on
                 dessert.''
                   ``No, no. We must have dessert. We must have apple pie
                 and ice cream.''
                   And then he proudly told us how he had maintained the
                 same weight for the last 57 years in the U.S. Congress. I
                 think that's a feat to be celebrated, quite frankly.
                   He also talked a lot about--and we heard this, too--the
                 love of his dogs. I remember when his beloved Billy died.
                 He was crushed, and he wasn't afraid or ashamed or
                 embarrassed to express the love and the compassion that he
                 had and the companionship he felt with his dog. And I
                 think that's a common bond that a lot of people here in
                 the United States, but also in West Virginia, share.
                   So with Senator Byrd's passing, West Virginia has truly
                 lost a favorite son. The U.S. Senate has lost an icon. And
                 as any Senator will tell you, Senator Byrd served as a
                 tremendous mentor in passing on Senate procedure to newly
                 elected Senators. In many ways, Senator Byrd was an
                 institution within the institution of the Senate, and the
                 Senate will not be the same without him.
                   I will miss Senator Byrd's passion and ardent defense of
                 our Nation's Constitution. He was certainly one of a kind,
                 and I feel privileged to have served with him. I will
                 never forget the advice that he gave me when I first
                 sought his counsel when I first went in, in my first year
                 serving in this body. And he said, ``Shelley, you need to
                 be a workhorse, not a show horse.'' Senator Byrd will
                 always be remembered for his hard work as a workhorse and
                 also for his dedication to representing our great State of
                 West Virginia.
                   I wish to extend to Senator Byrd's family my deepest
                 sympathies and know that he is at peace and at home with
                 his beloved Erma.
                   So I would again thank Mr. Rahall for presenting this.
                 Senator Byrd will certainly be missed. And I want to pay
                 tribute to his tremendous service, sacrifice, strength,
                 honesty, and devotion to our State and Nation.
                   I reserve the balance of my time.

                   Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes
                 to the gentleman from Washington, Mr. Norm Dicks, the
                 distinguished chairman of our Defense Subcommittee on
                 Appropriations and a classmate of mine.

                   Mr. DICKS. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
                   I had the great honor of serving in the other body for 8
                 years as an assistant to Senator Warren G. Magnuson. And
                 during that time, Senator Byrd became the whip in the
                 Senate. I can remember how he was faithfully writing notes
                 every couple of days to Senator Magnuson, ``I put this in
                 the Record for you.'' He was absolutely committed to the
                 U.S. Senate, and he was a forceful advocate.
                   I have served, as Chairman Obey has, in many conferences
                 with Senator Byrd. And when there was something that he
                 wanted--and oftentimes to protect the workers of West
                 Virginia on coal mining issues--the Congress responded
                 because he was such a forceful advocate.
                   And one of the things I respected most about Senator
                 Byrd was his knowledge of the history of the Senate, the
                 history of the Congress, and his devotion to that history.
                 He would oftentimes talk about historic events and tie
                 them in to current days.
                   Some people may have criticized him on spending issues,
                 but he used to say, and I always used to quote him on
                 this, the Congress can't give up the power of the purse
                 because the power of the purse is in the Constitution; and
                 it's part of the Constitution of the United States, a
                 right that was earned in England when the people of
                 England rose up against kings and demanded that Parliament
                 have the power of deciding how the money was to be spent.
                   And as has been said by many here, he served with many
                 Presidents, but he was not cowed by the Presidency, and he
                 would stand up on the floor of the Senate many times and
                 talk about different wars, different situations we were
                 in, and demand that the Executive appreciate the power of
                 the Congress and respect the power of the Congress. And he
                 served--I think he was elected nine full terms. That's a
                 record that I doubt will ever be matched.
                   He also went to law school during his time in the
                 Senate. Now, how many people could do that? I mean, it
                 just was remarkable. And I think President Kennedy gave
                 him his degree from American University just a few months
                 before he was, unfortunately, tragically assassinated in
                 Texas.
                   Robert Byrd is a legendary figure. In my time here in
                 the Congress I had the great fortune of serving on the
                 Appropriations Committee for 34 years. But I served with
                 Senator Magnuson, who became chairman of the
                 Appropriations Committee. Senator Byrd was there
                 throughout that entire time and a lot more.
                   And I just rise today in respect for him, his legacy,
                 his commitment to the Congress. He had a wonderful family,
                 and I'm sure that they're going to miss him. But they
                 have, I think, the satisfaction of knowing that Robert
                 Byrd did a great job, a fantastic job for the State of
                 West Virginia, but also was a great Senator in a national
                 perspective.
                   And so I just want to say to my colleague and classmate
                 from West Virginia, who I know served on Senator Byrd's
                 staff, and it was a great learning experience that you had
                 in the other body, as I did. And I think it helped to
                 prepare us for work here in the House of Representatives.
                   So I just would say again that we have lost a great
                 American, a man of tremendous courage and commitment, and
                 someone we respected, and his legacy and memory will live
                 long in the history of the United States of America and in
                 the Congress.

                   Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
                 time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

                   Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
                 gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), a member of the
                 Appropriations Committee as well.

                   Ms. KAPTUR. I thank the distinguished dean of the
                 delegation for yielding to me. And with Speaker Mollohan
                 in the chair this evening, the people of the Buckeye State
                 of Ohio extend our deepest sympathies to the State of West
                 Virginia, to the Byrd family, to all of the staff that
                 served this truly remarkable human being and American,
                 Senator Robert Byrd.
                   There's a great piece of music called Fanfare for the
                 Common Man by Aaron Copeland, and as I'm saying these
                 words this evening, I think of that music and of Senator
                 Byrd's remarkable life. He truly was a wise man of the
                 legislative branch who belonged to the American people. He
                 gave his life to us. His road had been a hardscrabble one
                 from the very beginning. He's the kind of American that
                 walked a tough road, who when he came here to serve, he
                 never forgot the people who came from backgrounds like
                 his.
                   I had the great joy of serving with him on the
                 Appropriations Committee. Being one of the few women that
                 have ever served on that committee, when I arrived there
                 in the 1990s, I can remember him sitting across from me at
                 a conference committee, kind of looking over his glasses
                 with a glint in his eye at this woman who was a bit
                 younger than he was. He exhibited a great sense of welcome
                 with also some surprise that indeed history in America was
                 changing.
                   I respected and liked him so very, very much. And I
                 appreciated his kindness to me. He loved history. I hold
                 in my possession an autographed copy from him of The
                 Senate of the Roman Republic: Addresses on the History of
                 Roman Constitutionalism.
                   I loved speaking with him. I loved being on a program
                 with him a few years ago with Leo Gerard, president of the
                 Steelworkers, and listening to Senator Byrd deliver an
                 impassioned speech about the American worker. He was such
                 an exemplary representative for the working men and women
                 of this country.
                   His intellect, his humor, his knowledge of the rules and
                 history, his love of this institution and respect for it,
                 and his passion, his passion on every issue that he
                 handled. He had so much to teach all of us.
                   I happen to be a Democrat. He was a real Democrat. He
                 set the pointer on a compass and that needle to represent
                 all people.
                   He was a gentleman, he was civil, he was enlightened, he
                 worked so hard. I can remember his telling a story about
                 working on the railroads as a young man. That hard work
                 and that sense of honor he carried with him through his
                 entire service of over half a century to the people of our
                 country.
                   I will end with saying, as I think of Fanfare for the
                 Common Man, that the enormous courage that he displayed in
                 the last years of his life is a lesson to us all. He
                 continued to serve, despite illness, despite difficulty,
                 his doggedness, his determination--he truly was a heroic
                 American. I personally shall miss him very, very much.
                   I thank the people of the State of West Virginia for
                 continuing to send him to this Congress. He made us all
                 better by serving with him. He built a better and more
                 humane America. He was loved by this membership. We wish
                 him Godspeed, and eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.
                   I thank the gentleman from West Virginia for allowing me
                 this time tonight to pay tribute to a great and good man
                 and Senator for the ages. In knowing him, we have walked
                 with history, and are grateful.

                   Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, it is now my deep honor to
                 yield to a close personal friend and fellow member of our
                 congressional delegation from West Virginia, Mr. Alan
                 Mollohan. Mr. Mollohan chairs the Appropriations
                 Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related
                 Agencies. He has served on many conferences with the late
                 Senator Byrd as well. Senator Byrd often said he had two
                 sons, and that would be Alan and myself.
                   I'm very honored to yield such time as he may consume to
                 Alan Mollohan.

                   Mr. MOLLOHAN. I thank my friend and colleague from West
                 Virginia for yielding. We have many tender memories of the
                 Senator.
                   Mr. Speaker, it was with profound sadness that I learned
                 yesterday of the passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd. This
                 country knew Senator Byrd as one of the lions of the
                 Senate, a ferocious advocate for his State and a
                 principled spokesman for his beliefs, whether it was his
                 opposition to the war in Iraq or his commitment to improve
                 safety and working conditions in the coalfields of West
                 Virginia.
                   This Congress, both sides of the Capitol, knew Robert C.
                 Byrd as the chief defender of its constitutional
                 prerogatives, an unequaled master of its parliamentary
                 rules, an expert on its history, and one of the ablest
                 legislative tacticians either Chamber has ever seen.
                   West Virginia knew Senator Robert C. Byrd as her own.
                 It's difficult to adequately describe the bond of profound
                 connection between the man and the State. People from
                 outside the State might assume that this connection was
                 built on the Senator's legendary success in delivering
                 Federal funds to West Virginia, and that would be wrong.
                   West Virginians understand how important that success
                 was, of course. We know that those material contributions
                 are literally incalculable in dollars invested, roads
                 paved, buildings constructed, and jobs created. But the
                 bond between Senator Byrd and West Virginia went far
                 beyond that. It is almost as though his personal story not
                 only inspired West Virginians, as it would most Americans,
                 but that it captured so much of our State's culture and
                 our State's values. That personal history is known
                 throughout the State.
                   Senator Byrd, the adopted son of a miner, graduated as
                 class valedictorian. He was the manual worker who earned a
                 law degree while serving in the U.S. Senate. He was the
                 husband who relied for almost 70 years on his beloved wife
                 Erma. Those qualities of discipline, of integrity, and
                 commitment forged in the mountains of West Virginia and
                 exercised in the Halls of Washington speak more strongly
                 to West Virginians than any material measure of his
                 immense contributions to the State.
                   I cannot imagine Robert C. Byrd representing any State
                 other than West Virginia, and it is difficult to imagine
                 West Virginia without Senator Byrd.
                   I knew Senator Byrd as a mentor. I was first elected to
                 Congress in 1983. After 28 years, I like to think of
                 myself as a reasonably seasoned veteran of this body. But
                 then I remind myself, before I took my first oath of
                 office, Senator Byrd had already served more years than I
                 have today. Twenty-eight years ago he was already a master
                 of the legislative branch.
                   From my very first days in this House, Senator Byrd
                 never withheld his support or his counsel. I can remember
                 many times Senator Byrd calling Congressman Rahall and
                 myself over to his office just to consult, to ask what was
                 going on in West Virginia, or to take counsel himself on
                 what was going on in the House of Representatives, or just
                 to find out what was going on in our personal lives, how
                 our parents were, how our fathers were, how our mothers
                 were. Those were touching moments.
                   Senator Byrd, many people have asked me, what is Senator
                 Byrd really like? He is such a disciplined person in
                 public. People want to know, what is he like in private?
                 And I think there are several insights that we have had
                 glimpses of in previous speakers here this afternoon into
                 what he was like as a man beyond a legislator. I can
                 remember his being very touching and very concerned about
                 his dog Billy, and bringing him to the Congress, or if he
                 were home, worrying about how he was getting along. Very
                 concerned and obviously loving toward a pet.
                   But most poignant was Senator Byrd's relationship with
                 his wife Erma. It was long. She was his childhood
                 sweetheart. Senator Byrd used to tell the story about
                 courting Erma with another young man's candy. The young
                 man would come to school, and Senator Byrd and he would
                 catch up, and the young man would give Senator Byrd a
                 piece of candy. And Senator Byrd wouldn't eat that candy;
                 he would save it and give it to his future wife, his
                 sweetheart, Erma. That relationship lasted and grew and
                 was warm and inspiring throughout his life. And her
                 passing a number of years ago was a very sad time in the
                 life of Senator Byrd, obviously. It was also a very sad
                 time in the State of West Virginia. They were a couple
                 beloved by West Virginia.
                   I remember another touching moment, when my father
                 passed almost 10 years ago. Senator Byrd attended the
                 funeral and continued on after the service for about an
                 hour's drive to where Dad was interred. And Senator Byrd
                 after the service, he pulled me aside and told me what a
                 lovely cemetery this was for Dad's resting place.
                   Finally, I knew Senator Byrd as a friend. I cannot
                 remember a time when he was not in my life. And I will
                 miss my friend. My wife, Barbara, and I offer our deepest
                 condolences and our best wishes to Senator Byrd's family,
                 to his staff, and to that close, wonderful circle of
                 people who knew him and loved him.

                   Mr. RAHALL. How much time do I have remaining, Mr.
                 Speaker?

                   The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Dicks). The gentleman has
                 14\1/2\ minutes remaining.

                   Mr. RAHALL. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
                   Mr. Speaker, the gates of heaven opened wide early
                 yesterday morning. West Virginia lost a faithful son, the
                 Senate lost a father's watchful eye, and I lost my mentor
                 and close friend.
                   I extend my prayers and thoughts to Senator Byrd's
                 daughters, to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren,
                 to all his family, and to his staff, especially many of
                 whom have been with him for so long. Sadly but surely, we
                 will not see the likes of Robert C. Byrd pass our way
                 again.
                   He came from humble beginnings. A virtual orphan, he was
                 sent to be reared in the coalfields of our beloved State
                 of West Virginia, enduring the depths of the Great
                 Depression. But he was wealthy beyond belief with richness
                 of values, all instilled in him by his adoptive parents.
                   A self-taught butcher, a welder, a Sunday school
                 teacher, a student, a self-disciplined scholar with
                 straight A's with 21 credit hours in his first semester of
                 college, a young man still, he wanted to serve. Armed with
                 little more than determination and a fiddle, he
                 successfully entered politics. ``Byrd by name, Byrd by
                 nature, let's send Byrd to the legislature.'' How often he
                 would fiddle that with a tin cup at the end of his fiddle,
                 raising his first campaign funds. I recall, because my
                 late father was the treasurer for those early campaigns of
                 Senator Byrd.
                   Thus began what would become an unprecedented
                 legislative service. Marshaling sharp focus, unwavering
                 diligence, and old-fashioned hard work, he rose to
                 remarkable heights of rank and responsibility to serve the
                 Lord, and to serve our State and our Nation as well. Yet
                 Senator Byrd always remained true to his own essential
                 nature. He never got above his raisin'.
                   He could mix with kings and queens and Presidents, and
                 while doing that he never forgot from whence he came, and
                 he always remained deeply proud of his roots. He often
                 remarked he would just as soon be eatin' beans and
                 cornbread and onions and sippin' buttermilk in the hills
                 and hollers of West Virginia as having lavish dinners with
                 kings and queens around the world.
                   I recall working for him in the Senate Democratic
                 Cloakroom in 1972. During that time, a young man from
                 Delaware by the name of Joe Biden was elected to the U.S.
                 Senate. Within a month or two after Senator-elect Joe
                 Biden's ascension to the U.S. Senate, he lost his first
                 wife in a tragic car wreck. Senator Byrd turned to me and
                 said, ``Nick, do you mind if we take a drive up to
                 Wilmington, Delaware, so that we can pay our respects to
                 Senator Biden's wife?'' I said, ``Sure.''
                   I drove the car. It was a cold, rainy night, late
                 November 1972. We arrived in Wilmington. We arrived at the
                 funeral home to face a long, winding line that was waiting
                 out in the rain to pay their respects. Senator Biden heard
                 we were in that line and sent word out he wanted us to
                 come up and immediately get up front and come inside where
                 it was warm. Senator Byrd said, no, he would not use his
                 office, he would not use his prestige or power to jump in
                 front of anybody already in line in front of him. So we
                 stood in that cold rain, waiting to pay our respects to
                 Senator-elect, at that time, Joe Biden's first wife.
                   The only individual to serve in both houses of the West
                 Virginia Legislature and the U.S. Congress, Senator Byrd
                 also achieved the distinction of holding more elective
                 leadership offices in the U.S. Senate than anyone in the
                 body's history. His Senate service is the body's longest.
                   Combined with his tenure in the House, Senator Byrd
                 holds the distinction of serving in Congress longer than
                 anyone else. His achievements and his unrivaled archive of
                 accomplishments were the result of one sole purpose, to
                 serve others. And he never tired of trying to find ways to
                 help a little more, to do a little better.
                   Striving for the next rung was, for Senator Byrd, a
                 lifelong pursuit. He was forever setting goals. And he
                 challenged himself, his staff, his colleagues, all of us
                 to meet or exceed those goals.
                   And you know one other remarkable feature about Robert
                 C. Byrd. He made political contests, as bitter as they may
                 seem at the time, the foundation for future and lasting
                 friendships. Recall, for example, as I know the gentleman
                 in the chair, Mr. Dicks, can recall very well, Senator
                 Byrd's one-vote victory over the late Senator from
                 Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy, whose son Patrick was just
                 here on the floor.
                   Perhaps many considered that a bitter contest. But what
                 did Senator Byrd use it for? To establish a lasting and
                 true friendship with Senator Ted Kennedy from
                 Massachusetts, as we all know who passed shortly before
                 Senator Byrd, and for whom Senator Byrd had nothing but
                 the utmost and kindest words of praise, and truly defined
                 a friendship that perhaps has not been in American
                 politics for some time.
                   This was a defining quality and a wellspring of
                 immeasurable joy that irrigated ever greater horizons for
                 Senator Byrd. His penchant for setting records and then
                 breaking his own was the inevitable result, but
                 ultimately, we are the ones who reaped the greatest
                 benefit.
                   In his later years, when anyone questioned age as
                 somehow detrimental to service, Senator Byrd reveled in
                 ticking off the names and ages of the ancients in the Old
                 Testament and their continued service to the Lord: Moses
                 was 120, Senator Byrd would say; Noah lived to be 960;
                 Methuselah at 969 years old; and he would call out, While
                 I am but a spry 85.
                   At 92, with the longest record of service in Congress
                 well established, Senator Byrd enjoyed public service so
                 much that it is possible he also had the longest, happiest
                 life on record. If only we could have captured the
                 energies produced by his immense job satisfaction. If only
                 we could package them and share them with others.
                   Senator Byrd was cautious about the use of superlatives.
                 He felt they were tossed around too casually, and although
                 I do not doubt that he is now grimacing a bit at me for
                 saying this, the fact is it is just not possible to speak
                 about Senator Byrd without using superlatives: longest
                 serving, hardest working, most revered, best loved. And
                 the list goes on and on. Yes, he was passionate about
                 people. He was passionate about politics. He was caring.
                 He was all concerned about the lives of all of us in West
                 Virginia.
                   As we all know, we go through personal trials and
                 tribulations in our family--the loss of a loved one,
                 sibling problems, loss of a job. Senator Byrd, when he was
                 physically able, would so surprisingly show up in West
                 Virginia offering that comforting arm around the shoulder
                 and always telling those afflicted with tragedy to keep
                 the faith in God, to don't let them get you down, keep
                 plugging along. Senator Byrd himself, who never had a bad
                 word to say about anybody despite some of the words that
                 were said about him, was forever the true gentleman.
                   Many in this body had their own personal remembrances of
                 Senator Byrd. He touched so many of us, encouraged us,
                 taught us, even argued with us. And I can recall the last
                 time perhaps, except for the miners' memorial that he
                 attended this past April in honor of our 29 fallen coal
                 miners, the time before that he was probably in his home
                 area of Raleigh County, Beckley, West Virginia, was a
                 dinner in which he was a surprise guest that honored yours
                 truly. And my wife, Melinda, and I fixed up our house, and
                 my wife even set up the ``big daddy suite'' in our home in
                 West Virginia. That big daddy suite is still there
                 waiting, as it always was, for Senator Byrd to pay a
                 surprise visit.
                   We are all better for the life of Senator Robert Byrd.
                 We owe him generous helpings of gratitude and admiration,
                 and we shall all miss him.
                   Again, to Senator Byrd's family, we offer our prayers,
                 our never-ending thanks for the fact that they shared
                 Senator Byrd's extraordinary life with a grateful State
                 and a grateful Nation.
                   Now, our former senior Senator, our late senior Senator
                 is indeed with his beloved wife, Erma, who was always a
                 twinkle in his eye. For almost 69 years, they were married
                 before her passing some 4 years ago. The Senator is with
                 his beloved Erma, smiling down upon all of us.
                   We say thank you, Senator Byrd. Thank you for all you've
                 given our great State. Thank you for all you have given
                 our Nation, because we shall miss you.
                   Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                   Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I was detained
                 when my colleagues were on the floor of the House paying
                 tribute to Senator Byrd and did not want this time to go
                 without acknowledging my deep sympathy to his family and
                 to my good friend from West Virginia and to acknowledge
                 how special this man was to the institution we call
                 Congress and to the freedom that this Nation stands for.
                   I cannot account for my personal encounters with Senator
                 Byrd, but I can tell you, as someone who respects and
                 loves this institution, what a man he was who understood
                 that the Constitution and rules were not for selfish
                 reasons, but to empower people.
                   He had no qualms in standing up against Presidential
                 authority that was wrong in the Iraq war. He had no qualms
                 in fighting to ensure that resources came to his great
                 State. He loved the institution. He was a holder of
                 knowledge, and what we will lose with his passing is that
                 special sensitivity to the rules and to the responsibility
                 we have to not play politics with this institution. We are
                 here to serve America, and Senator Byrd did serve America.
                   May God rest his soul and may he rest in peace. Senator
                 Byrd, we will miss you.

                   Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is
                 with the utmost respect and admiration for the late
                 Senator Robert Carlyle Byrd that I recognize his passing.
                 Senator Byrd was known as a man of the people. He
                 dedicated his life's work to the American citizens and his
                 beloved constituency in the Mountain State of West
                 Virginia.
                   Born November 20, 1917, in North Wilkesboro, North
                 Carolina, the young Byrd moved in with family in West
                 Virginia where he grew up and would later meet his soon-
                 to-be wife, Erma Ora James. Their marriage spanned more
                 than six decades until her death in 2006. Initially, he
                 was unable to afford college, but eventually attended
                 Beckley College, Concord College, Morris Harvey College,
                 and Marshall College, all in West Virginia. Senator Byrd's
                 public service career began after he won a seat in the
                 West Virginia House of Delegates in 1946. Six years later,
                 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. It
                 was during this time he began night classes at American
                 University's Washington College of Law in 1953. With a
                 tenacious spirit and made-up mind, he would earn his law
                 degree some 10 years later in 1963.
                   Along the course of his professional and academic
                 career, Robert Byrd was elected to the U.S. Senate and
                 would serve 51 years making him the longest serving
                 Senator in history. His time in office was well spent and
                 fruitful where he would serve in a myriad of leadership
                 roles. Most notably: President pro tempore of the U.S.
                 Senate; Democratic Caucus Senate majority leader; Senate
                 minority leader; and chairman of the Senate Committee on
                 Appropriations.
                   Senator Byrd, like many of us, lived a full life filled
                 with high peaks and low valleys. I too, had some
                 reservations about meeting this one-time member of the Ku
                 Klux Klan who for 14 hours filibustered the Civil Rights
                 Act of 1964. But, when our paths crossed, I soon learned
                 of the great character of man he truly was. He believed
                 wholeheartedly in the U.S. Constitution and a clear
                 demonstration was the pocket version he always carried in
                 his coat pocket. Another love he had was taking afternoon
                 walks on the west front side of the Capitol. It was where
                 I knew I could find him whenever I needed to seek the
                 voice of wisdom.
                   I will miss those afternoon strolls with the historian
                 of the Senate. Senator Byrd loved the American people,
                 loved his State, and loved our great Nation. Although he
                 no longer is with us on the terrestrial, his legacy will
                 live deeply within the Halls of Congress and in the hearts
                 of humanity.

                   Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and honor the
                 memory of U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia.
                   Born in West Virginia, I have known Senator Byrd my
                 whole life. Senator Byrd faithfully served West Virginia
                 in Congress for more than 57 years. Throughout his career
                 in the House and the Senate, he improved the lives and
                 welfare of the people of West Virginia for whom he cared
                 so much. He worked endlessly to fight for democratic
                 principles, defend the Constitution, and ensure that the
                 American dream was in reach for all families.
                   Senator Byrd grew up in the southern coalfields of West
                 Virginia, first working as a gas station attendant and
                 then in a local food market. He started his political
                 career in the West Virginia House of Delegates, serving
                 from 1947 to 1950, followed by 2 years in the West
                 Virginia Senate. After being elected to the U.S. House of
                 Representatives in 1952, he enrolled in law school night
                 classes despite not having a bachelor's degree. In 1958,
                 West Virginia elected him to the U.S. Senate where he
                 became its longest serving Member.
                   Senator Byrd was an energetic defender of the U.S.
                 Senate as an institution, persistently seeking to preserve
                 its dignity and traditions. He literally wrote the book on
                 the Senate--a four-volume history of the institution that
                 is a treasure. To read his books and to read his speeches
                 is to see Senator Byrd as a self-taught great orator and
                 historian, someone who could readily quote from
                 Shakespeare, Greek tragedies, and the King James Bible.
                   I will always remember him for his extraordinary
                 devotion and service to the people of West Virginia. He
                 paid exceptional attention to his constituents and their
                 individual concerns. Staff members told me that at night
                 they would receive calls at home from the Senator,
                 quizzing them on people who had signed his guestbook that
                 day and asking how he could help them. He would recognize
                 people in a crowd and ask them if his constituent service
                 to them years before took care of their problem.
                   My thoughts and condolences go out to his daughters, his
                 family, and all of his friends and neighbors in West
                 Virginia. Senator Byrd dedicated every day of his service
                 in the U.S. Congress to strengthening the institution and
                 the country that he loved so deeply.
                   He will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace with his
                 beloved wife Erma.
                                         ADJOURNMENT
                   Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, I move that
                 the House do now adjourn.
                   The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and
                 31 minutes p.m.), pursuant to House Resolution 1484, the
                 House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, June 30, 2010,
                 at 10 a.m., as a further mark of respect to the memory of
                 the late Honorable Robert C. Byrd.
                                                   Wednesday, June 30, 2010
                    PROVIDING FOR THE USE OF THE CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER
                                         CATAFALQUE
                   Mr. BOCCIERI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to
                 take from the Speaker's table the concurrent resolution
                 (S. Con. Res. 65) providing for the use of the catafalque
                 situated in the Exhibition Hall of the Capitol Visitor
                 Center in connection with memorial services to be
                 conducted in the U.S. Senate Chamber for the Honorable
                 Robert C. Byrd, late a Senator from the State of West
                 Virginia, and ask for its immediate consideration in the
                 House.
                   The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.

                   The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pastor of Arizona). Is
                 there objection to the request of the gentleman from Ohio?
                   There was no objection.
                   The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
                                       S. Con. Res. 65
                   Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
                 concurring), That the Architect of the Capitol is
                 authorized and directed to transfer the catafalque which
                 is situated in the Exhibition Hall of the Capitol Visitor
                 Center to the Senate Chamber so that such catafalque may
                 be used in connection with services to be conducted there
                 for the Honorable Robert C. Byrd, late a Senator from the
                 State of West Virginia.

                   The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
                   A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                   Mr. GOHMERT. ... We lost a Senator this week. My time is
                 running short, so I want to get through as much of this
                 incredible speech as I can. I want it understood this was
                 a speech given by Senator Robert Byrd, in 1962, after the
                 Supreme Court decision to eliminate prayer in schools.
                 This is from the official Record. As time will permit, I
                 will read Senator Robert Byrd's speech from 1962.
                   You know, one of the things I love about America is, for
                 the most part, it is a very forgiving country. A man who
                 had been part of the Ku Klux Klan later was repentant. He
                 was very sorry for being part of that organization, and he
                 changed his ways and was completely embraced by his
                 colleagues. This is Senator Byrd's speech from 1962:

                   Mr. President, Thomas Jefferson expressed the will of
                 the American majority in 1776 when he included in the
                 Declaration of Independence the statement that ``all men
                 are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
                 rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the
                 pursuit of happiness.''
                   Little could Mr. Jefferson suspect, when penned that
                 line, that the time would come when the Nation's highest
                 court would rule that a nondenominational prayer to the
                 Creator, if offered by schoolchildren in the public
                 schools of America during class periods, is
                 unconstitutional.
                   The June 25 Supreme Court decision is sufficiently
                 appalling to disturb the God-fearing people of America and
                 to make us all reflect upon the extraordinary nature of
                 the times. For what, indeed, can we expect to happen next
                 if this is to be the way things are going? Following the
                 French Revolution, the atheist revolutionists hired a
                 chorus girl to enter a church as the ``Goddess of Reason''
                 and thereby defile the name of the Almighty. Following the
                 Russian Revolution, the Bolshevik Government established a
                 giant museum, dedicated to the promotion of atheistic
                 beliefs.

                   I've been in that museum. I was sick to the point of
                 nausea, but back to Robert Byrd's speech.

                   The American people were shocked by both moves. So it
                 was in those days. But what about today? Can it be that
                 we, too, are ready now to embrace the foul conception of
                 atheism?
                   It is hard to believe, but, then, what are the facts of
                 the matter? Are we not in consequence of the Supreme Court
                 ruling on schoolroom prayer, actually limited in teaching
                 our children the value of God? And is this not, in fact, a
                 first step on the road to promoting atheistic belief?

                   As I turn the page of Mr. Byrd's speech on the Senate
                 floor, let me parenthetically note that Robert Byrd's
                 Christian beliefs are what caused him to disavow his
                 membership and to ask forgiveness for his membership to
                 the KKK. It went to the heart and soul of the man, and
                 that is why he came to the floor in 1962 and gave this
                 speech. Continuing on:

                   In reading through the Court decision on school prayer,
                 I am astonished by the empty arguments set forth by the
                 majority as opposed to the lucid opinion recorded by Mr.
                 Justice Potter Stewart, the lone dissenter. In answering
                 the arguments of the majority, Justice Stewart did not see
                 fit to engage in debate over matters of ancient history.
                 As he put it:

                      What is relevant to the issue here is not the
                    history of an established church in 16th century
                    England or in 18th century America but the history
                    of the religious traditions of our people, reflected
                    in countless practices of the institutions and
                    officials of our government.

                   To that, I would say, ``Amen.''
                   So this, indeed, the crux of the issue--the religious
                 traditions of our people.
                   Wherever one may go in this great national city, he is
                 constantly reminded of the strong spiritual awareness of
                 our forefathers who wrote the Federal Constitution, who
                 built the schools and churches, who hewed the forests,
                 dredged the rivers and the harbors, fought the savages,
                 and created a republic.
                   In no other place in the United States are there so many
                 and such varied official evidences of deep and abiding
                 faith in God on the part of government as there are in
                 Washington.
                   Let us speak briefly on some of the reminders in
                 Washington that reaffirm the proposition that our country
                 is founded on religious principles. The continuance of
                 freedom depends on our restoring the same spiritual
                 consciousness to the mainstream of American life today
                 that made possible these monuments and tributes of the
                 past.
                   A visitor entering Washington by train sees the words of
                 Christ prominently inscribed above the main arch leading
                 into Union Station. Here at the very entrance to the seat
                 of the Government of the United States are the words:
                 ``The truth shall make you free.'' John 8:32.
                   Nearby is another inscription cut into enduring stone,
                 the words from the Eighth Psalm of the Old Testament:
                 ``Thou hast put all things under his feet.''
                   A third inscription reiterates the spiritual theme:
                 ``Let all the end thou aimest at be thy country's, thy
                 God's and truth's.''
                   All three inscriptions acknowledge the dependence of our
                 Republic upon the guiding hand of Almighty God.
                                       On Capitol Hill
                   Throughout the majestic Capital City, similar
                 inscriptions testify to the religious faith of our
                 forefathers. In the capital, we find prominently displayed
                 for all of us to see the quotation from the book of
                 Proverbs, 4:7: ``Wisdom is the principal thing: Therefore,
                 get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding.''
                   The visitor to the Library of Congress may see a
                 quotation from the Old Testament which reminds each
                 American of his responsibility to his Maker. It reads,
                 ``What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and
                 love mercy and to walk humbly with God?'' Micah 6:8.
                   Another scriptural quotation prominently displayed in
                 the lawmakers' library preserves the Psalmist's
                 acknowledgment that all nature reflects the order and
                 beauty of the Creator. ``The heavens declare the glory of
                 God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork.'' Psalms
                 19:1.
                   Underneath the Statue of History in the Library of
                 Congress are Tennyson's prophetic lines: ``One God, one
                 law, one element, and one far-off divine event to which
                 the whole creation moves.''
                   Additional proof that American national life is God-
                 centered comes from this Library of Congress inscription:
                 ``The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness
                 comprehendeth not.'' John 1:5.
                   On the east hall of the second floor of the Library of
                 Congress, an anonymous inscription assures all Americans
                 that they do not work alone--``for a web begun, God sends
                 thread.''

                   I realize that my time is expiring at this moment,
                 although there is much, much more in this wonderful speech
                 by the now late Senator Robert Byrd.
    ?

                 Death of Senator Robert C. Byrd, President Pro Tempore of
                 the Senate

                      By the President of the United States of America

                                       A Proclamation

                 As a mark of respect for the memory and longstanding
                 service of Senator Robert C. Byrd, President pro tempore
                 of the Senate, I hereby order, by the authority vested in
                 me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
                 of America, that the flag of the United States shall be
                 flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public
                 buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval
                 stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal
                 Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the
                 United States and its Territories and possessions until
                 sunset on the day of his interment. I further direct that
                 the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period
                 at all United States embassies, legations, consular
                 offices, and other facilities abroad, including all
                 military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

                 I also direct, that in honor and tribute to this great
                 patriot, that the flag of the United States shall be
                 displayed at full-staff at the White House and on all
                 public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and
                 Naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal
                 Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the
                 United States and its Territories and possessions on
                 Independence Day, July 4, 2010. I further direct that on
                 that same date, that the flag of the United States shall
                 be flown at full-staff at all United States embassies,
                 legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad,
                 including all military facilities and naval vessels and
                 stations.

                 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
                 thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord two
                 thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States
                 of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

                 The Honorable

    Robert C. Byrd

                 November 20, 1917-June 28, 2010

                 United States Senator

                 West Virginia

                 In Final Tribute from a Grateful Nation

                 The Lying in Repose of Senator Byrd

                 The Senate, United States Capitol

                 Washington, D.C.

                 July 1, 2010

                 Dr. Barry C. Black. Let us pray.
                   God our refuge and strength, close at hand in distress
                 and giver of all comforts, we thank You for giving us the
                 gift of Senator Robert Carlyle Byrd.
                   Lord, we appreciate his wit and wisdom, his stories and
                 music, as well as his indefatigable commitment to the
                 principles of freedom that make America great.
                   Thank You for blessing us with his passion for history
                 and his willingness to challenge conventional wisdom in
                 his quest to keep our Nation strong.
                   Deal graciously with all who mourn, that, casting every
                 care on You we may know the consolation of Your love.
                   Lord, comfort Mona and Marjorie and all of Senator
                 Byrd's loved ones, dispelling their fears with Your love,
                 easing their loneliness with Your presence, and renewing
                 their hopes with Your promises.
                   In Your mercy turn the darkness of death into the dawn
                 of new life, and the sorrow of parting into the joy of
                 heaven.
                   We pray in Your holy name. Amen.

                 Memorial Service in Celebration of the Life of U.S.
                 Senator Robert C. Byrd
                                    Friday, July 2, 2010
                                          11:30 AM

                                     *PROCESSIONAL                                 West Virginia National Guard Honor Cordon

                                     *PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE                         Led by President of the West Virginia Senate, Earl Ray Tomblin and
                                                                                    Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, Richard Thompson

                                     *THE NATIONAL ANTHEM                          249th Army Band (West Virginia National Guard), CW4 Thomas A. Goff,
                                                                                    Bandmaster

                                     *LAYING OF THE WREATH                         Great-Granddaughters of Senator Byrd: Emma James Clarkson and Kathryn
                                                                                    James Fatemi

                                     *INVOCATION                                   Bishop William Boyd Grove, Former Bishop for the West Virginia Episcopal
                                                                                    Area of the United Methodist Church

                                     WELCOME AND TRIBUTE                           Governor Joe Manchin III

                                     TRIBUTES FROM FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES          U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader
                                     ............................................  Victoria Kennedy, Wife of the Late U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy

                                     ............................................  U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV

                                     ............................................  Congressman Nick Joe Rahall for the Congressional Delegation

                                     ............................................  Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of
                                                                                    Representatives

                                     ............................................  U.S. Senator Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader

                                     ``Never Grow Old''                            Martin Luther King, Jr. Male Chorus, Marshall Murray, Director

                                    INTRODUCTIONS                                 Governor Joe Manchin III

                                     TRIBUTE                                       William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America                                 TRIBUTE                                       Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States of America                                 EULOGY                                        Barack Obama, President of the United States of America                                 ``Amazing Grace''                             Pipe Major Mark Burdette, Kanawha Valley Pipes and Drums                                 *BENEDICTION                                  The Reverend James L. Patterson, President, Partnership for African
                                                                                    American Churches                                 *21 GUN SALUTE AND TAPS                       I-201st Field Artillery and 249th Army Band                                 *RECESSIONAL--``Country Roads''               Kanawha Tradition, the 249th Army Band, and Everyone Singing                                 *Please rise                                  .........................................................................
                    Sign Language Interpreters for the Deaf and Hard of
                        Hearing, Donna Whittington and Connie Pitman
                                 Take Me Home, Country Roads

                                       By: John Denver

                                Almost heaven, West Virginia
                           Blue Ridge mountains, Shenandoah River.
                          Life is old there, older than the trees,
                     Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze.

                                Country roads, take me home,
                                To the place where I belong,
                                West Virginia, mountain mama.
                                Take me home, country roads.

                             All my mem'ries gather 'round her,
                           Miner's lady, stranger to blue waters.
                             Dark and dusty painted on the sky,
                       Misty taste of moonshine, teardrops in my eye.

                                Country roads, take me home,
                                To the place where I belong,
                                West Virginia, mountain mama.
                                Take me home, country roads.

                     I hear her voice, in the mornin' hours she calls me
                          The radio reminds me of my home far away.
                            Driving down the road I get a feeling
                           That I should have been home yesterday,
                                         Yesterday.

                                Country roads, take me home,
                                To the place where I belong,
                                West Virginia, mountain mama.
                                Take me home, country roads.

                                Country roads, take me home,
                                To the place where I belong,
                                West Virginia, mountain mama.
                                Take me home, country roads.

                          From: Poems, Prayers and Promises (1971)
                 Invocation--Bishop William Boyd Grove, former Bishop for
                 the West Virginia Episcopal Area of the United Methodist
                 Church

                     O Holy One, loving God, we cry out to You today in our
                       sadness and loss.

                     Our mountains weep today, and our rivers run salty
                       with the tears.

                     Our Senator, our advocate, our brother and our friend
                       has left us

                     To be with Erma and with You.

                     But through our tears, we smile

                     As this beautiful day smiles upon the grieving
                       mountains and the rivers

                     Of West Virginia.

                     We need not tell You his story as we pray.

                     You know the story, it is Your story.

                     You are its author, its beginning and its ending.

                     We simply thank You for the gift of Robert C. Byrd,

                     Who loved You with all his heart and mind and soul and
                       strength,

                     And who loved his neighbor as himself.

                     His neighbors were the people of West Virginia, his
                       fellow Senators

                     And the people of the world.

                     The neighbors that he loved were all the people

                     Of every race and language and station in life.

                     We thank You that beneath the Constitution in his
                       shirt pocket

                     In his heart was Your Word, in which he believed, and
                       which he followed;

                     Which enabled him to change his mind, and to change
                       his heart

                     And to learn and grow from the moment of his birth
                       until the day of his death.

                     So, we pray, receive our thanksgiving, and comfort our
                       wounded hearts

                     As we thank You for the life and the gift of our
                       Senator, and our friend.

                     In Your Holy Name we pray. Amen.
                 West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III. While we mourn the
                 loss of our son of West Virginia, today we come together
                 to celebrate the outstanding life of a man, the likes of
                 whom we shall never see again.
                   In one of the five books that Senator Byrd authored he
                 said: ``We must study the great figures of our history and
                 carry them forward in our imaginations as living,
                 breathing presences we can in effect consult on vital
                 issues of the day.''
                   Without question, Senator Robert C. Byrd is a pillar in
                 our Nation's history. His leadership and influence have
                 stretched well beyond the borders of the Mountain State.
                   My first memory of Senator Byrd was as a young boy
                 working in the back of my grandfather's grocery store in
                 the small coal mining town of Farmington, West Virginia,
                 and hearing Bible Scripture being quoted from great
                 orators--my grandfather, Papa Joe, and Robert C Byrd. Both
                 held the same great occupation--grocery store butchers.
                   And they were discussing Bible and business with great
                 fervor. I still remember it today. My personal memory of
                 meeting the Senator is no different than so many West
                 Virginians--meeting Senator Robert C. Byrd in every small
                 nook and cranny of this great State. That is why this loss
                 is so personal, because we are all family in West
                 Virginia.
                   Senator Byrd will be remembered for his tireless
                 contributions to the people of West Virginia and to the
                 United States of America.
                   As the longest serving member of Congress--having cast
                 more votes and held more leadership positions than any
                 other Senator, and a historic 57 years of service in
                 Congress--it would be impossible to stand here and recite
                 all that our beloved Senator did for you and me.
                   From highways and hospitals to schools and technology
                 centers--there are more than 50 projects in West Virginia
                 that bear his name, or that of his beloved wife, Erma.
                   We will remember Senator Byrd for the strong family man
                 that he was. The love of his life, Erma, and their two
                 daughters, six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren
                 provided unconditional support.
                   We will remember Senator Byrd for the devoted public
                 servant that he was.
                   For the thousands of jobs he created.
                   For his efforts to protect our veterans and provide
                 health care to rural areas.
                   We will remember his commitment to transforming our
                 economy. We will remember his ongoing quest to provide our
                 youth with the opportunity to learn, work, and succeed.
                   We will remember his steadfast leadership, his wisdom,
                 his reason, his compassion, his strong voice, and
                 enthusiasm.
                   But, more important, we will remember his innate
                 qualities: honesty, integrity, loyalty, an intense respect
                 for democracy, and his unwavering love for the people and
                 the State of West Virginia.
                   We will never forget his deeply rooted spiritual
                 conviction and his utmost respect for our Founding
                 Fathers.
                   The Senator truly epitomized the spirit of a West
                 Virginian.
                   He wore that Mountain State spirit on his sleeve and
                 never forgot where that journey in history began, back in
                 Wolf Creek Hollow, in Sophia, West Virginia.
                   Nor did he forget the hard-working, salt-of-the-earth
                 people of West Virginia, who he loved as if they were
                 extended family.
                   When he launched a career in public service some 60-plus
                 years ago, our State was a blank canvas--untouched by the
                 colors of the modern ways of life.
                   Senator Byrd brought that blank canvas to life using
                 broad intellect and optimism and a can-do spirit that
                 resonated throughout the hills of West Virginia.
                   In fact, when his political career was in its beginning
                 stages, there were only 4 miles of divided four-lane
                 highway in our State--and Senator Byrd made it his mission
                 to transform those barren lands.
                   He was a true champion. A man of his word, and a true
                 patriot and guardian of the U.S. Constitution.
                   Senator Byrd was looked up to by all of Congress and
                 often referred to as the ``Conscience of the Senate.'' A
                 long list of colleagues have sung his praises. Here are
                 just a few:
                   Senator Bob Dole said, ``He has set a standard as a
                 Senator, as a legislative leader, and as a statesman that
                 will stand among the best as long as there is a Senate.''
                   His dear friend Senator Ted Kennedy said that ``he
                 personifies what our Founding Fathers were thinking about
                 when they were thinking about a U.S. Senate.''
                   He has been called a ``patriot and warrior of the U.S.
                 Constitution.''
                   However, the best way that I can describe the Senator is
                 as the ``Architect of Appalachia.''
                   He is the most historic figure to ever call West
                 Virginia home, and will forever live in our hearts and
                 those of our children.
                   No one can replace our Senator. No one can fill his
                 shoes; we must never forget his tireless dedication as we
                 humbly follow in his footsteps.
                   Senator Byrd, you've toiled and triumphed on behalf of
                 the Mountain State, and now your time to rest has come.
                 Your memory will live in our hearts forever.
                   May God bless you and Erma.
                   May God bless the State of West Virginia.
                   May God bless America.

                 Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Ten years ago
                 Senator Byrd honored me and the students at the University
                 of Louisville by making a trip to Kentucky to share some
                 of his wisdom about the Senate. I regret to say it's taken
                 me a decade to return the favor. But I do so with a deep
                 sense of gratitude, not only for that particular kindness,
                 but for many others he showed me over the years, and for
                 the many valuable lessons I have learned and relearned
                 from the life and example of Robert C. Byrd.
                   Others have talked about his encyclopedic knowledge of
                 history and literature; his courtliness; his profound
                 reverence for the U.S. Constitution, his oratory. It's all
                 true. For about a quarter of the time our Government has
                 existed, Senator Byrd stood like a sentry in a three-piece
                 suit keeping watch over the legislative branch. But here
                 in West Virginia, one can't help but be reminded first and
                 foremost of the challenges he overcame to achieve all
                 this.
                   It's one of the glories of our country that success
                 isn't restricted to the connected or the well born, that
                 anyone with enough talent and drive can rise to the
                 heights of power and prestige. It's remarkable to think
                 that the man who wrote the Gettysburg Address was raised
                 by a couple who couldn't even sign their own names. And
                 it's no less remarkable that the man we honor today, a man
                 who held every one of us spellbound with his knowledge and
                 his command of history, couldn't even afford a pair of
                 socks to wear to Sunday school as a boy.
                   So here, in Charleston, we are reminded that the
                 American promise reaches even into the most remote corners
                 of Hardin County, Kentucky, and the winding hollows of
                 Raleigh County, West Virginia. The glory of our Nation is
                 reaffirmed every time another man or woman overcomes what
                 some call disadvantages to achieve great things. And
                 Robert Byrd may well be their patron saint.
                   He was the ultimate self-made man, the high school
                 valedictorian who couldn't afford to go to college but who
                 could teach a room full of professors something new every
                 day--a walking argument for home schooling. He was the
                 orphan who grew up in a home without electricity or
                 running water, but who spent his adult life giving back to
                 his adopted State as much as his beloved adopted parents
                 gave him. Best of all, he was never embarrassed by the
                 poverty of his youth. He wore it like a badge of honor--
                 because he knew his dignity lay not in material
                 possessions, but in being the child of a loving God, the
                 husband of a devoted wife, a citizen of the United States
                 of America, and a son of the Mountain State.
                   Some people get elected to the Senate with the hope of
                 making it on the national stage. Not Robert Byrd. As he
                 once put it: ``When I am dead and am opened, they will
                 find West Virginia written on my heart.''
                   He made it all look easy, but it didn't come easy. I
                 remember asking him once if he'd ever been to a football
                 game. He said he hadn't--and then he corrected himself. He
                 actually had gone to a game once, but only to the halftime
                 show, and even then he left halfway before it was over. He
                 was making better use of his time than we were, learning
                 the lessons of history, expanding his views, always
                 learning. Quoting one of the seven wise men of Greece, he
                 would say, ``I grow old in the pursuit of learning.'' He
                 was the only person I ever knew who had no interest in
                 leisure whatsoever. ``No ball game ever changed the course
                 of history,'' he said.
                   The fact is, he was engaged in a different contest--not
                 for a perishable crown, but for an imperishable one. And
                 in the end, he could say with Paul that he had run the
                 race as if to win. We are consoled by the thought that
                 this man who believed, even in the twilight of his life,
                 that the prayers of his mother had always followed him,
                 has reached his father's house, and that Robert Carlyle
                 Byrd has heard those words he always longed to hear:
                 ``Well done, good and faithful servant, come share your
                 master's joy.''

                 Victoria Kennedy. I am honored to be here and humbled to
                 speak for someone else who treasured the man we mourn and
                 celebrate today: A giant in the history of the Senate, and
                 a giant in the history of West Virginia, for whom the
                 smallest corner of this State could be the greatest of
                 causes.
                   My husband wrote of Robert Byrd's ``vast knowledge and
                 experience, his remarkable insight and wisdom.'' But he
                 was for Teddy so much more than that.
                   Briefly foes, they became the best of friends. Coming
                 from very different places, across the years they came
                 together to keep America's promise.
                   Robert Byrd moved with our country, and he moved our
                 country forward, from the ceaseless fight for economic
                 justice to the long struggle for health care--where, from
                 the floor of the U.S. Senate last Christmas Eve, he raised
                 his arm and his voice to cast the deciding vote. I was in
                 the gallery and the tears flowed down my cheeks when he
                 said: ``Mr. President, this is for my friend Ted Kennedy--
                 Aye!''
                   And yes, as the years passed, they were together too in
                 the quest for civil rights and equal rights. His friend
                 Teddy had no patience for those who focused on a distant
                 past instead of the Robert Byrd who day after day, at the
                 center of our democracy, was giving heart, hand, and his
                 peerless parliamentary command to help those left behind
                 and to advance our highest hopes for the future.
                   On the floor of the Senate in 2007, Senator Byrd
                 defiantly exclaimed: ``People do get older. Even, dare I
                 say it, old.'' But with his indomitable will the power of
                 his eloquence proved anew that ``youth is not a time of
                 life, but a state of mind.'' It was in the eighth decade
                 of his life and the fifth decade of his service in the
                 legislative branch, that he foresaw the folly of invading
                 Iraq and spoke for conscience and constitution against the
                 tides of onrushing war. Old, yes: He was like a prophet of
                 old. And not just here, but always, Robert Byrd stood for
                 the Constitution--and for the integrity and authority of
                 the Senate. Teddy, who shared his love of history, thought
                 of him as a modern incarnation of ancient virtues--a Roman
                 from West Virginia.
                   To the citizens of this State he loved, there is another
                 epitaph from centuries ago that surely applies to him:
                 ``If you seek his monument, look all around you.'' He not
                 only changed the landscape and so many lives here, he
                 touched souls and people knew without being told that he
                 was on their side. I saw this as Teddy and I campaigned
                 across West Virginia with Senator Byrd during the 2004
                 Presidential contest. We crisscrossed the State in a big
                 bus. He was an incredible force, quoting Scripture,
                 striding the back of flatbed trucks, spellbinding his
                 audiences. Teddy told me we were watching a master--which
                 was high praise indeed from someone who was a master
                 campaigner himself. I'm not sure Robert Byrd would have
                 put it this way, but he was a rock star.
                   Finally, to all of you, to the family and friends who
                 have lost him now and love him as before, let me share
                 what I have learned: The sorrow will be there, returning
                 each day, often randomly and quickened by little things;
                 but you will be sustained by the priceless grace of memory
                 and the gifts of faith. And so it was with Robert Byrd, as
                 he looked forward to being reunited as he now is with his
                 precious Erma.
                   He made history that few others in the Senate Chamber
                 ever have. He lifted up countless lives as few Senators
                 from any State ever have.
                   Someone will take Robert Byrd's seat, but no one will
                 ever fill his place.

                 Senator John D. Rockefeller IV. Today, as West Virginians,
                 we mourn the incredible loss of our friend, our fighter,
                 our protector and our Senator--Robert C. Byrd.
                   And today, we also celebrate his remarkable life.
                   This is not an easy balance for us.
                   From the southern hills to the northern panhandle, we
                 have shed many tears at the news of his passing.
                   Yet we stand together as a people, with warmth in our
                 hearts knowing that his legacy will live on, and grateful
                 that the Nation today pauses to honor him.
                   Senator Byrd was, in so many ways, the embodiment of
                 what it is to be a West Virginian.
                   Working together with Robert C. Byrd was my greatest
                 honor. I spent decades working in partnership with him.
                   He made me--and all of us--so very proud to be West
                 Virginians.
                   He took such a pure joy--and ferocious, unyielding
                 pride--not just in the Senate as an institution, but in
                 pulling the levers of power for West Virginia, for people,
                 for education and veterans, for health care and for
                 economic opportunity.
                   It was in his blood. It was his sacred cause.
                   Robert C. Byrd reached great heights because of the
                 purity of his purpose and the depth of his determination.
                   Every day, I intimately witnessed that Senator Byrd
                 never forgot where he came from and he never let up--even
                 when his heart was broken.
                   First, with the tragic death of his young grandson.
                   And then, I know a part of him was lost forever when his
                 beloved Erma passed on.
                   Watching him hurt was deeply agonizing for all who loved
                 him.
                   I wished so much that there was anything I could do to
                 ease his pain.
                   I was so moved by Senator Byrd's continuing on so
                 strongly as he did after losing Erma.
                   When Senator Byrd and I would see each other on the
                 Senate floor since Erma's passing, he would take my hand,
                 ever so gently, and hold it to his cheek.
                   To Sharon and I--and all of us in West Virginia--Robert
                 C. Byrd was our family.
                   And it was his special touch that made us all shine.
                   Thank you, Senator Byrd.
                   We will miss you.
                   From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.
                   And always, we honor you.

                 Congressman Nick Joe Rahall. Reverend Clergy, Mr.
                 Presidents, Mr. Vice President, Mona and Marjorie, Senator
                 Byrd's family, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, his
                 hard-working staff, Members and colleagues of his from the
                 Senate, leaders of the Senate, Speaker of the House,
                 members of the State legislature.
                   You know, I just never really thought he'd die. Just
                 never really thought he would.
                   Although this day is not unexpected, it is unexpectedly
                 difficult to stand here to say goodbye to Senator Robert
                 C. Byrd--our Senator, our chairman, our mentor, our
                 friend, our Big Daddy. He was so eloquent and so erudite,
                 that it is daunting to find the words that can encompass
                 the enormity of the man and all that he has left behind.
                   All around us, Senator Byrd has left his legacy to the
                 State and the Nation that he loved. We could talk about
                 the bricks and mortar, the records set both in West
                 Virginia and national legislatures, but Senator Byrd has
                 quite literally paved our way to the future. He has paved
                 a path to the future. But I believe that his most lasting
                 legacy will come from the example he set with his own
                 life, full of lessons for each of us to learn from and
                 build upon.
                   Senator Byrd never stopped learning and never stopped
                 working, despite the obstacles that we all know and the
                 setbacks that would immobilize less determined
                 individuals. He was a great reader of what he called the
                 greatest book of all--the Bible, of histories from ancient
                 Rome to the 20th century, to poetry, and believe you me,
                 from memory. I heard it often whether to his staff driving
                 him back and forth between Washington and West Virginia or
                 even as his Congressman driving him back and forth to West
                 Virginia. I heard such recitations very often. And indeed
                 they kept me awake when I was driving the car. I have been
                 working for Senator Byrd for over 40 years on his staff
                 and in the Senate Democratic Cloakroom and now until the
                 last few days as his Congressman.
                   When Senator Byrd had a problem, when he needed help on
                 an issue, he would always call his Congressman and I'd be
                 there to help him in any way I could.
                   He loved beautiful words and he loved to share them. The
                 Congressional Record and our public libraries are much
                 richer for it.
                   No Bible nor dictionary went unread by Senator Byrd.
                   A lover of history, Senator Byrd deftly put history to
                 work with more passion and power and promise than anyone
                 in the Republic's history. But while he relished history,
                 he lived for the future--the future of his great State and
                 our great country. He was unapologetic to critics of his
                 efforts to bring Federal programs and dollars to West
                 Virginia. To him, it was a labor of love, and when Robert
                 C. Byrd loved, he loved deeply and for all the days of his
                 life.
                   To Senator Byrd the Constitution was not a historical
                 relic, but rather the living, breathing soul of the
                 Republic. He was its greatest defender and its most
                 impassioned promoter.
                   It is fitting that this lover of history, the guardian
                 of the Constitution, this son of the Senate, is being
                 memorialized even as the Nation celebrates Independence
                 Day. Senator Byrd may not have been a Founding Father, but
                 this adopted son of a West Virginia coal miner would have
                 been right at home among them.
                   Yes, he could hobnob with kings and queens all over the
                 world and princes and princesses, and he could scold
                 Presidents of the United States. But you know, my friends,
                 as well as I know where he was most comfortable. That was
                 either in my parents' home in Beckley, West Virginia, in
                 Raleigh, West Virginia, or in my home or in your home. He
                 was much more comfortable sitting down to a dinner of
                 beans, and cornbread and onions, and sipping buttermilk.
                   He competed only against himself, to work the hardest,
                 to do the most, to cast the greatest number of votes, to
                 be his very best. And in doing so, he inspired generations
                 of West Virginians.
                   Yes, Senator Byrd, in the words of one of his favorite
                 poems, has now ``crossed the bar.'' He has set sail on a
                 journey to that farthest shore, where his beloved Erma
                 waits for him. I know that I speak for my colleagues
                 today, Representative Alan Mollohan and Representative
                 Shelley Moore Capito in saying Godspeed, my dear Senator.
                   In his role as President pro tempore of the Senate,
                 Senator Byrd represented the entire Senate at significant
                 national events. His compatriot during those events, our
                 Speaker of the House of Representatives, who is joined
                 here today by our Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, our Speaker
                 knew Senator Byrd almost as well as we West Virginians.
                 They traveled together; they represented both bodies of
                 this great country of ours, in many different forums.
                   The Speaker's and Senator Byrd's approaches to
                 statecraft are similar in that no detail is too small,
                 every vote counts, no vote is taken for granted and every
                 person matters. They both share a passion for people.
                   Ladies and gentlemen, welcome the Speaker of the House
                 of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.

                 Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Good afternoon. Mr. President, Mr.
                 President, Mr. Vice President, Leaders Reid and McConnell,
                 Bishop Grove, so many friends of Senator Byrd who are
                 gathered here. I am so pleased to join my colleagues from
                 West Virginia--Mr. Rahall, who is a chairman and a great
                 leader in the Congress of the United States; Congressman
                 Alan Mollohan, he is a chairman as well; Shelley Moore
                 Capito. I am pleased to be with them as well as our
                 delegation from the House of Representatives led by our
                 Leader Steny Hoyer in the House.
                   As Speaker of the House, I sadly have the privilege of
                 bringing the condolences of the House of Representatives
                 to Marjorie and to Mona and the entire Byrd family. As a
                 friend of Senator Byrd, I do so with great sadness.
                   But happily, thanks to the Byrd family, some of us had
                 the opportunity to sing Senator Byrd's praises in his
                 presence in December, when he became the longest serving
                 Member of Congress in American history.
                   I noted then that Senator Byrd's congressional service
                 began in the House of Representatives. In those 6 years in
                 the House, he demonstrated what would become the hallmarks
                 of his commitment: his love of the people of West
                 Virginia, his passion for history and public service, and
                 his remarkable oratorical skills.
                   I am going to talk to you about his service in the House
                 briefly. In 1953, this is one of his earliest speeches, he
                 came to the floor of the House and he said: ``I learned
                 quite a long time before becoming a Member of this House
                 that there is an unwritten rule in the minds of some,
                 perhaps, which is expected to cover the conduct of new
                 Members in a legislative body to the extent that they
                 should be often seen but seldom be heard; I have observed
                 this rule,'' he said, ``very carefully up to this time and
                 I shall continue to do so. However, the Book of
                 Ecclesiastes says: `To everything there is a season, a
                 time to keep silence and a time to speak.''' And he
                 decided it was time for him to speak.
                   He went on in that speech; it was one of his earliest
                 speeches. He went on in that speech to quote not only the
                 Bible, but Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, and Daniel
                 Webster. And, Mr. President, this was a speech about world
                 trade.
                   Though he thrived in the House, when he moved on to the
                 Senate, Senator Byrd remarked that he was happy to leave
                 behind the limitations on speaking time on the House
                 floor.
                   On a personal moment, I'll never forget a dinner I
                 hosted for him in the early 1980s in California when he
                 was running for reelection at that time.
                   After dinner we didn't know what to expect. We were all
                 so nervous to be in the presence of such a great person.
                 And what did he do? He pulled out his fiddle and regaled
                 us with West Virginia tunes and told us great stories
                 about each and every one of you. That was an act of
                 friendship that I will never forget.
                   Later, when I came to Congress, I told Senator Byrd how
                 my father, who had served in Congress, gave me the image
                 of a coal miner carved in coal. It is the only thing I
                 have from my father's office as a Member of Congress. It
                 had been a gift to him from Jennings Randolph, who had
                 represented West Virginia so well, and it sat in my
                 father's office when he was in the House of
                 Representatives.
                   It now sits in the Speaker's office. It is in my West
                 Virginia corner, along with a silver tray from Senator
                 Byrd which I love especially because it is engraved,
                 ``With thanks, from Robert and Erma.''
                   In the beginning of my comments, I mentioned a speech of
                 Senator Byrd's on the House floor. That day, in 1953, he
                 quoted the words of Daniel Webster. These words, when you
                 come to the Capitol, are etched on the wall of the Chamber
                 high above the Speaker's chair. And these words would come
                 to define his leadership as he voiced them in that
                 earliest speech. Senator Byrd said, ``Let us develop the
                 resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its
                 institutions, promote all its great interests and see
                 whether we also in our day and generation may not perform
                 something worthy to be remembered.'' Daniel Webster.
                   Senator Byrd's service, and his leadership, were more
                 than worthy to be remembered for many generations to come.
                 As my colleague Mr. Rahall said, it is very appropriate
                 that we are celebrating Robert Byrd's life and putting him
                 to rest in the week of July 4th; he was a great American
                 patriot. And as Governor Manchin said, ``We shall never
                 see his like again.''
                   May he rest in peace. Amen.

                 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. I went to a library in
                 Nevada about 15 years ago and took out the old novel
                 Robinson Crusoe. When I came back to the Senate, Robert
                 Byrd was one of the first people I saw.
                   We talked about the time we had spent back home, and I
                 mentioned that I had just read this classic story of a
                 castaway.
                   Senator Byrd just leaned his head back, looked toward
                 the heavens and paused for a second. Then he said: ``28
                 years, 2 months and 19 days.''
                   I was astonished. I couldn't tell you how many years
                 Robinson Crusoe had been shipwrecked, and I had just read
                 the book days before. Robert Byrd knew it to the day, and
                 he hadn't read it in more than 50 years.
                   I was hardly the first to be dumbfounded by his
                 brilliance. We have all marveled at the breadth of Bob
                 Byrd's boundless mind--one he so generously gave to the
                 people of this State and this country.
                   A few years before Barry Goldwater died, he wrote to
                 Robert Byrd from his home in Arizona, just to tell him how
                 much he admired Senator Byrd's gift for remembering and
                 reciting even the most obscure facts. ``Keep it up,''
                 Goldwater wrote, ``because when you get to heaven, and I'm
                 there too, I hope I'll have someone to listen to.''
                   Robert Byrd didn't just memorize and catalog for the
                 heck of it. In fact, he once advised a crowd here in
                 Charleston that the purpose of education is not simply to
                 make the mind a storehouse of information--but to
                 transform it into an inquisitive and innovative instrument
                 of knowledge.
                   He could never quite quench his thirst for learning. It
                 was without limit and without equal.
                   The first in his family to make it to the third grade,
                 Byrd once said he craved knowledge the way a hungry man
                 craves bread. And as he consumed it, he grew and he
                 changed.
                   He never stopped learning--learning from others, or even
                 from his own mistakes. And with every new lesson he
                 learned, he also learned how much more there was to know.
                   Robert Byrd could dispense knowledge as well as he
                 absorbed it. Indeed, it was because he was a tireless
                 learner that he became a peerless teacher.
                   I'll remember how--in his precise, poetic voice--he
                 taught us to protect the traditions that strengthen the
                 Senate of the United States, and warned us to avoid the
                 hazards that weakened the Senate of ancient Rome.
                   He taught me to carry in my pocket a copy of the
                 Constitution all Senators swear to support and defend.
                   I have it with me today--as I do every day--with a
                 personal note from Senator Byrd inscribed inside.
                   Robert Byrd always kept that charter so close to his
                 heart because he loved his country. We will always keep
                 his memory so close to our hearts because we loved him.
                   When the Founders conjured this Constitution Robert Byrd
                 so revered and treasured--when they imagined the people's
                 representatives who would fill the great positions they
                 prescribed--I believe they had the senior Senator from
                 West Virginia in mind. They had to.
                   The authors outlined only a few characteristics of a
                 U.S. Senator--his age, citizenship, and residency. If only
                 they had kept writing, I'm confident they would have
                 described Robert C. Byrd in full.
                   He was exactly what they intended: An eloquent,
                 steadfast steward of the Nation's founding principles--
                 fiercely loyal to the State that chose him--forever
                 faithful to his constituents, his country, and his
                 Constitution.
                   It's hard to believe America's longest serving Member of
                 Congress was once a freshman Senator. But in the summer of
                 that first year--1959--the Charleston Gazette asked a
                 young Robert Byrd to name his highest ambition.
                   ``If I live long enough,'' he replied, ``I would like to
                 be Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.''
                   Why did he dream that dream? Why didn't he aspire to the
                 White House, or the Governor's Mansion, or any other high
                 office?
                   It's because Robert Byrd knew it was from that chair
                 that he could best help his neighbors back home. He knew
                 that was his first and most important job as their
                 representative in the Senate.
                   Of course--just as he'd predicted--Robert Byrd did
                 indeed live long enough to hold the gavel he coveted.
                 Thirty years to the day after he assumed the title of
                 Senator, he assumed the title of Appropriations Committee
                 chairman--trading in the title of Majority Leader to do
                 so. And then he lived and served for two decades more.
                   Though he did more than anyone before--and probably more
                 than anyone will again--he never thought he'd done enough
                 for West Virginians. As we watched him work, we learned
                 another lesson: to never forget why we serve or where we
                 come from.
                   He once wrote, ``West Virginia is indelibly written on
                 my heart, and it will be there until my body is returned
                 to the dust.''
                   No one has meant more to his State than Robert Byrd did
                 to West Virginia. The U.S. Senate has never meant more to
                 anyone than it did to Robert Byrd.
                   It's true that his records for longevity are astounding.
                 After all, just think about this: He served in our
                 Nation's Congress for more than a quarter of the time it
                 has existed--and longer than a quarter of today's sitting
                 Senators, and the President, have been alive.
                   It is by virtue of his endurance that Robert Byrd knew
                 and worked with many of the greats of American history.
                 But it is because of his enduring virtue that he will
                 forever be remembered as one of them.
                   His career cannot alone be counted in the time he
                 worked--rather we should measure it in the lives of those
                 for whom he worked.
                   His accomplishments aren't in the sum of the millions of
                 dollars he brought back to cities like Huntington and
                 Wheeling and Beckley, but the millions of families he
                 brought out of the same poverty he endured.
                   On the last day of his life, Robert Byrd felt just as
                 strongly about that principle as he did the very first
                 time he rose to speak as a State legislator in the
                 beautiful State Capitol building behind us.
                   In that speech--which of course he memorized before
                 delivering--he said: ``To me, the dollar is secondary.
                 Human misery and suffering--and the welfare of helpless,
                 dependent children--come first.'' He was teaching us from
                 day one, and didn't once stop.
                   Now, that doesn't mean he didn't also love his
                 remarkable records of public service--rankings that will
                 forever be his and never be surpassed. He surely was proud
                 of them.
                   In fact, I have no doubt that right now, Robert Byrd is
                 bowing his head forward, looking down from the heavens and
                 saying: ``57 years, 5 months and 26 days.''

                 President William Jefferson Clinton. Thank you very much.
                 Governor, all the members of Senator Byrd's family, Mr.
                 President, Mr. Vice President, Madam Speaker, Congressman
                 Rahall and all the House Members here, Senator Reid,
                 Senator McConnell, all the Senators, thank you, Senator
                 Rockefeller, and thank you, Vicki Kennedy.
                   I'd also like to thank all the people here who, at the
                 time of his passing worked, or ever worked for Robert
                 Byrd, who helped him to succeed for the people of West
                 Virginia. And I want to thank the Martin Luther King male
                 chorus. They gave us a needed break from all these
                 politicians talking up here.
                   I want to say first that I come here to speak for two
                 members of my family. Hillary wanted to be here today, and
                 she paid her respects to Senator Byrd as he lay in state
                 in the U.S. Senate before making a trip on behalf of our
                 country to Central and Eastern Europe.
                   I am grateful to Bob Byrd for many things, but one thing
                 that no one has given enough attention to--in my opinion--
                 today is that while he always wanted to be the best
                 Senator, and he always wanted to be the longest serving
                 Senator, he wanted every other Senator to be the best
                 Senator that he or she could be. He helped Hillary a lot
                 when she came to represent the people of New York. I am
                 forever grateful for that.
                   Now, everybody else has canonized Senator Byrd. I would
                 like to humanize him a little bit, because I think it
                 makes it much more interesting and makes his service all
                 the more important.
                   First of all, most people had to go all the way to
                 Washington to become awed by--you might even say
                 intimidated by--Robert Byrd.
                   Not me. I had advance experience before I got elected.
                 The first time I ever ran for office, at the opening of
                 campaign season in Arkansas, below the Ouachita and Ozark
                 Mountains, which were once connected to the Appalachians,
                 we had this big rally. And the year I started, don't you
                 know, Robert Byrd was the speaker.
                   It was 1974, April, I'll never forget it. It was a
                 beautiful spring night. And he gave one of those
                 stemwinding speeches. And then he got up and he played the
                 fiddle, and the crowd went crazy. And you know, in 1974,
                 in a place like Arkansas or West Virginia, playing the
                 fiddle was a whole lot better for your politics than
                 playing the saxophone. So I was completely intimidated.
                   And then all the candidates got to speak. They were all
                 limited to 4 or 5 minutes. Some went over. All the
                 candidates for Governor and every State officer, and then
                 the people running for the House of Representatives; there
                 were five of us. We were dead last. And I drew the short
                 straw. I was dead last among them.
                   By the time I got up to speak, it had been so long since
                 Robert Byrd spoke, he was hungry again. And I realized, in
                 my awed state, I couldn't do that well. So I decided the
                 only chance I had to be remembered was to give the
                 shortest speech. I spoke for 90 seconds. And I won the
                 primary. I owed it to Robert Byrd.
                   Now, when I was elected President, I knew that one of
                 the things I needed to do before I took the oath of office
                 was go to the Senate and pay my respects to Senator Byrd.
                 In 1974, when I first met him, he had already been the
                 leading authority on the institutional history of the
                 Senate and the Senate rules for some years, and he
                 certainly was by the time I was about to become President.
                 So I did that. And I got a copy of his history of the
                 Senate, and his history of the Roman Senate. And I read
                 them. I'm proud to say they're still on my bookshelf in my
                 office in Harlem in New York City today because I was so
                 profoundly impressed.
                   Now, Robert Byrd was not without a sense of humor. For
                 example, I was once ragging him about all the Federal
                 money he was hauling down to West Virginia. I was from
                 Arkansas. We weren't any better off than you. And every
                 friend I had in Arkansas said, ``He's just a Senator.
                 You're sitting in the White House. We don't get squat
                 compared to what they get. What is the matter with you?''
                 I was getting the living daylights beat out of me about
                 once a week.
                   So I said to him, early in my first term, I said, ``You
                 know, Senator, if you pave every single inch of West
                 Virginia, it's going to be much harder to mine coal.'' And
                 he smiled, and he said, ``The Constitution does not
                 prohibit humble servants from delivering whatever they can
                 to their constituents.''
                   But let me say something, seriously. He knew people who
                 are elected to represent States and regions and political
                 philosophies. They're flesh and blood people, which means
                 they will never be perfect. He knew they are subject to
                 passion and anger. When you make a decision that's
                 important when you're mad, there's about an 80 percent
                 chance you'll make a mistake. That's why he thought the
                 rules and the institution and the Constitution were so
                 important. And he put them before everything, even what he
                 wanted.
                   I'll never forget when we were trying to pass health
                 care reform in 1993 and 1994. Senator Byrd was a
                 passionate supporter of the efforts we were making, just
                 as he was of the efforts that President Obama has made.
                 But we Democrats only had 55 votes, and we could not
                 defeat a filibuster. So I said, ``Well, Senator, why don't
                 you just let me stick this on the budget, because that's
                 the only thing they can't filibuster.'' That violated
                 something called the Byrd rule.
                   They knew he was running the Senate. They just went
                 ahead and named the rule for him. So I said, ``You know,
                 you really ought to suspend this, because the budget is
                 going to be bankrupt if we don't quit spending so much
                 money on health care.''
                   And he looked at me and he said, ``That argument might
                 have worked when you were a professor in law school. But
                 you know as well as I do, it is substantively wrong.'' He
                 wouldn't do it.
                   Then, in his defense, he turned right around, and he
                 worked his heart out to break that filibuster, and he was
                 trying till the very end to get me to not give up the
                 fight, because he thought if we just tried hard enough, we
                 could find some errant Republicans who would make a
                 mistake and vote with us. He would never give it up.
                   The point I want to make is, he made a decision against
                 his own interests, his own conviction, his own fight. And
                 that's one reason I thank God that he could go in his
                 wheelchair, in his most significant vote at the end of his
                 service in the Senate, and vote for health care reform and
                 make it real law.
                   I will also say this. If you wanted to get along with
                 Senator Byrd, and you were having one of those
                 constitutional differences, it was better for your long-
                 term health if you lost the battle. I won the battle over
                 the line-item veto. Oh, he hated the line-item veto. He
                 hated the line-item veto with a passion that most people
                 in West Virginia reserve for blood feuds, like the
                 Hatfields and the McCoys.
                   You would have thought the line-item veto had been
                 killing members of the Byrd family for 100 years. It made
                 his blood boil. ``You've never been lectured by
                 anybody''--Nick Rahall said that. ``Until Bob Byrd has
                 lectured you, you have never known a lecture.'' I regret
                 that every new President and every new Member of Congress
                 will never have the experience of being dressed down by
                 Senator Robert Byrd.
                   And I'll be darned if he wasn't right about that, too.
                 The Supreme Court ruled for him instead of me on the line-
                 item veto.
                   The point I want to make here is a serious one. He did
                 as good a job for you as he could. As far as he was
                 concerned, there was no such thing as too much for West
                 Virginia. But the one thing he would not do, even for you,
                 is violate his sense of what was required to maintain the
                 integrity of the Constitution and the integrity of the
                 U.S. Senate so that America could go on when we were
                 wrong, as well as right, so we would never be dependent on
                 always being right.
                   Let me just say, finally, it is commonplace to say that
                 he was a self-made man; that he set an example of lifetime
                 learning. He was the first, and as far as I know, maybe
                 the only Member of Congress to get a law degree while
                 serving in the Congress. But he did more learning than
                 that. And all you've got to do is look around this crowd
                 today and listen to that music to remember.
                   There are a lot of people who wrote eulogies for Senator
                 Byrd in the newspapers, and I read a bunch of them. And
                 they mentioned that he once had a fleeting association
                 with the Ku Klux Klan. What does that mean?
                   I'll tell you what it means. He was a country boy from
                 the hills and hollers of West Virginia. He was trying to
                 get elected. And maybe he did something he shouldn't have
                 done, and he spent the rest of his life making it up.
                 That's what a good person does.
                   There are no perfect people. There are certainly no
                 perfect politicians. And so, yes, I'm glad he got a law
                 degree. But by the time he got a law degree, he already
                 knew more than 99 percent of the lawyers in America,
                 anyway. He got a more important degree in human nature and
                 human wisdom, the understanding that came to him by
                 serving you in the Senate. People from the hills and
                 hollers of West Virginia, in their patriotism, provided a
                 disproportionate number of the soldiers who fought for our
                 independence from England. And they have provided a
                 disproportionate number of the soldiers in every single
                 solitary conflict since that time, whether they agreed or
                 disagreed with the policy.
                   The family feeling, the clan loyalty, the fanatic
                 independence. The desire for a hand up, not a handout. The
                 willingness to fight when put into a corner. That has
                 often got the people from whom Senator Byrd and I sprang
                 in trouble. Because they didn't keep learning and growing
                 and understanding that all the African-Americans who have
                 been left out and let down and lived for going to church
                 and lived to see their kids get a better deal, and have
                 their children sign up for the military when they're
                 needed--they're just like we are. The Irish Catholics and
                 the Scotch Irish used to fight. They are so alike.
                 Everybody. The Italian immigrants, the people from Latin
                 America who have come to our shores. The people from all
                 over the world. Everybody who's ever been let down and
                 left out, ignored, and abused, or who's got a terrible
                 family story. We are all alike. That is the real education
                 Robert Byrd got, and he lived it every day of his life in
                 the U.S. Senate to make America a better, stronger place.
                   So not long after Senator Byrd lost Erma, I said, ``In a
                 fleeting world ... he had proved, and so had she, that
                 some people really do love each other till death do they
                 part.''
                   I've been thinking about that today, thinking maybe we
                 ought to amend the marriage vows and say ``Till death do
                 us part'' and ``Till death do bring us back together.''
                   I admired Senator Byrd; I liked him; I was grateful to
                 him. I loved our arguments, and I loved our common causes.
                 But most of all, I loved it that he had the wisdom to
                 believe that America was more important than any one
                 individual, any one President, any one Senator.
                   That the rules, the institutions, the system had to
                 enable us to keep forming a more perfect union, through
                 ups and downs and good times and bad.
                   He has left us a precious gift. He fought a good fight.
                 He kept the faith. He has finished his course, but not
                 ours. If we really would honor him today and every day, we
                 must remember his lessons, and live by them. Thank you.

                 Vice President Joe Biden. Bishop, Reverend Clergy, Mona
                 and Marjorie, the entire Byrd family--if you didn't
                 already know it, it's pretty clear the incredible esteem
                 your father was held in. I know you've known that your
                 whole life.
                    To my fellow Members of the Senate, you know, I was
                 telling the President, when I got elected the last time
                 and had the great honor of running with the President, on
                 the same day I was elected Vice President and U.S. Senator
                 for my seventh term. And I got sworn in for that seventh
                 term because we thought we might need a vote there in
                 those first couple weeks. And every time I sat with the
                 Leader--I never called Senator Byrd ``Senator,'' I always
                 called him ``Leader''--when I sat with the Leader, I could
                 see that look in his face and he said, ``Joe, you sure
                 you're making the right decision giving up the Senate for
                 Vice President?'' (Laughter.) Because as the Senators
                 know, he revered the Senate. As Danny Inouye said going
                 into the Chamber when we were going in to honor your
                 father, ``You know, Joe, had you stayed, you'd be number
                 two.'' I'm still number two, Danny. (Laughter.) I'm still
                 number two.
                    Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. President, yesterday I had
                 the opportunity to pay my respects to Leader Byrd as he
                 lay in repose in the Senate Chamber. I met the family then
                 and again today.
                    But although I and my colleagues behind me revere the
                 Senate, Robert C. Byrd elevated the Senate. For other
                 great men, their families would have chosen for them to
                 lay in state in the Rotunda. But Bob Byrd and his family
                 chose to lay him in state in the Senate Chamber. And to
                 me, this is completely appropriate, having served with him
                 for 36-plus years. For the Senate Chamber was Robert C.
                 Byrd's cathedral. The Senate Chamber was his cathedral,
                 and West Virginia was his heaven. (Applause.)
                    And there's not a lot of hyperbole in that. Every
                 person in the Senate, as my colleagues behind you can tell
                 you, brings something special about them. I'll never
                 forget having privately criticized a Senator when I was
                 there the first year. I was sitting with the previous
                 leader, Senator Mansfield, who was an incredible guy. And
                 he told me that--he said, ``Why are you upset?'' And I
                 told him about a particular Senator railing against
                 something I thought was very worthy, the Americans With
                 Disabilities Act. And he went on to tell me that every
                 Member of the Senate represented something in the eyes of
                 their State that was special and represented a piece of
                 their State.
                    Well, if there was ever a Senator who was the
                 embodiment of his State, if there was ever a Senator who,
                 in fact, reflected his State, it was Robert C. Byrd.
                    The fact of the matter is, the pick of the banjo, the
                 sweet sound of the fiddle, ramp dinners in the spring,
                 country fairs in the summer, the beauty of the laurels in
                 the mountains, the rush of the rapids through the
                 valleys--these things not only describe West Virginia, but
                 from an outsider's point of view who has been here many
                 times at the invitation of Jennings Randolph and Robert C.
                 Byrd, it seems to me they define a way of life. It's more
                 than just a State.
                    And Robert C. Byrd was the fiercest defender of not
                 only the State, but the way of life--I think the fiercest
                 defender that probably this State has ever known in its
                 history.
                    You know, Robert Byrd did use the phrase, ``When I die,
                 West Virginia will be written on my heart.'' And I used to
                 kid him, I said, ``You have so many Scotch-Irish down
                 there, you don't acknowledge it was an Irish Catholic
                 named Joyce who said that first.'' (Laughter.) Reverend,
                 he quoted everybody else, but when he used that phrase,
                 he'd never acknowledge that it was James Joyce who said,
                 ``When I die, Dublin will be written in my heart.'' And
                 all he would do is laugh.
                    The fact of the matter is, West Virginia was not only
                 written in his heart but he wore it on his sleeve. He took
                 such pride in this place. He took such pride in all of
                 you. I remember he asked me, one of the few races he had,
                 whether I'd come down because I was the young guy and I'd
                 come down and demonstrate to everybody that I could not
                 keep up with Robert C. Byrd, which happened to be true.
                 And I was--I think, Nick, you were at the dinner. We had a
                 Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner down here, and Robert C. Byrd
                 did something that never happened before in all the
                 dinners I've spoken at. He stood up and he said, ``We're
                 honored to have Senator Joe Biden from Delaware here
                 tonight, and Joe, I'd like to introduce you to West
                 Virginia.'' Then he spent, as Nick will remember, the next
                 probably 10 minutes talking about everyone in the audience
                 by name--where they were from, what they had done, how
                 they had fought through difficulty. And then he said, kind
                 of like Johnny Carson, ``Here's Joe.'' (Laughter.)
                    Well, I thought it was pretty impressive--literally.
                 Robert C. Byrd asked me to speak, but he knew the
                 privilege was mine, not the people to whom I was speaking.
                 He was devoted to all of you like few Senators in the 36-
                 plus years I was there, that I have ever known.
                    He was fiercely devoted, as you've all heard, to his
                 principles. Even once he became powerful, he always spoke
                 truth to power, standing up for the people he proudly was
                 part of, and you've heard it many times today but it bears
                 repeating again, in defense of the Constitution he
                 revered.
                    I always wear a flag pin, but I was afraid he'd be
                 looking down today because every time I'd wear the flag
                 pin on the floor, he would grab me, take my pin, and put
                 on a Constitution pin. That's the pin I'm wearing. So,
                 Boss, I'm wearing the pin. (Applause.)
                    Robert C. Byrd said many things, but he once said, ``As
                 long as there is a forum in which questions can be asked
                 by men and women who do not stand in awe of a chief
                 executive, and one can speak as long as one's feet will
                 allow one to stand, the liberties of the American people
                 will be secure.''
                    Twelve Presidents knew Robert C. Byrd. He served, as he
                 pointed out, concurrently with them, not under them.
                 (Applause.) And 12 Presidents--were they all here and 2
                 are here--can attest to the fact that he always showed
                 respect but never deference. And he stood in awe of none.
                   He had an incredible, prodigious memory that I will not
                 take the time to regale you about. I just remember one
                 time sitting with the Queen of England at a formal dinner,
                 and he recited the entire--the entire lineage of the
                 Tudors and every year each one had served. And she sat
                 there, and I thought her bonnet was going to flip off her
                 head. (Laughter.) It was like, what did I just hear? She
                 learned about relatives she probably forgot she had.
                 (Laughter.)
                    As also noted, Robert C. Byrd was a parliamentary
                 library, a keeper of the institution of the Senate, and he
                 was the institution itself. But to me and many people here
                 today, like guys I see, Bill Bradley and Jim Sasser, who
                 long left the Senate for greener pastures, and I hope
                 better remuneration--we used to kid about that, too--but
                 for a lot of us, he was a friend, and he was a mentor and
                 he was a guide.
                    Nick and I were talking a little bit earlier, I
                 commuted every day for 36 years in the U.S. Senate--250
                 miles a day. Robert C. Byrd was a stickler about when he'd
                 set votes. And I'd drive down from Delaware to Washington,
                 and I'd call Nick on this big old car phone I first had--
                 it was about that big. And I'd say, ``Nick, I can see the
                 dome. Hold the vote, I can see the dome.''
                    Finally, Nick caught on, he said, ``Joe--Senator--how
                 far away can you see the dome?'' (Laughter.) Because he'd
                 be the one to go to the Leader and say, ``Can you hold the
                 vote 2 more minutes for Biden?'' As long as I was
                 behaving, he held the vote. But when I found myself in
                 disagreement, if I'd need to catch a 7:00 train--he'd set
                 a vote for 7:00. (Laughter.) And Nick knows this--I'd walk
                 up to him and I'd stand--I always stood down in the well.
                 And he stood in the first riser, and I'd say, ``Mr.
                 Leader, ``you set the vote for 7:00. Any possibility for
                 setting it at 10 to 7:00 so I could get the train?'' He'd
                 go like this--he'd look at the clock, look at me, look at
                 the clock and say, ``No.'' (Laughter.) ``No.''
                    But that's because I misbehaved once. I voted with
                 George Mitchell on a matter relating to miners and that
                 was a big mistake. (Laughter.) He literally took the roll
                 call sheet--there's these sheets, as the staff members
                 know--with every Senator's name and how they voted. He
                 took the roll call sheet, had it framed, had my name
                 circled in red, and literally had it screwed to the ornate
                 doorframe in his office then as the chairman of the
                 Appropriations Committee. So every single Senator coming
                 to see him would walk out, and at eye height, they'd see
                 Biden circled in red and know darn well they better not
                 vote against Robert C. Byrd ever. (Laughter and applause.)
                 You think I'm joking. I'm not joking.
                    And then I got in his good graces--I tried to run for
                 President, he said, ``I don't want any Senators running
                 for President.'' I said, ``Why, Mr. Leader?'' He said,
                 ``Because you'd never come back and vote when I need
                 you.'' (Laughter.) So I made a promise that no matter
                 where I was, if he called me and said he needed my vote,
                 I'd drop whatever I was doing and I'd come. And I kept the
                 commitment--the only one I might add. That got me back in
                 his good graces again.
                    The point is that this is a man who knew exactly what
                 he was doing. After I was elected in 1972 as a 29-year-old
                 kid, I was number 100 out of 100 in Senate seniority. And
                 Leader Byrd offered up--he was then the whip--he offered
                 his office to me to come down from Delaware so I could
                 have a place to interview staff members. It was in his
                 office, and in the connection his secretary put through,
                 that I received a call telling me about an accident which
                 took the life of my wife and my daughter. And when they
                 were buried, we held a memorial service a couple days
                 later in Delaware where thousands of people showed up, and
                 it was a bone-chilling slate day of rain. And people
                 couldn't get in the church.
                   And I never knew it initially, but Robert C. Byrd--and I
                 think you may have driven him up, Nick--drove up on his
                 own with Nick to that church. He stood outside for the
                 better part of an hour in a driving rainstorm where the
                 temperature was below 32. When my brother saw him and
                 asked him to come in, he said no; he wouldn't displace
                 anyone. He stayed there for the entire service. When the
                 service was over, he got in his vehicle and he drove back,
                 never attempting to be noticed, never seeking that to
                 know, as my deceased wife used to say, the real measure of
                 generosity is when you do it and no one ever knew you did
                 it.
                    Well, Robert C. Byrd did that. I was appreciative of
                 what he did, but I quite frankly didn't understand till a
                 couple years later I was in his office, and behind his
                 desk was a huge boot cast in bronze. It was Michael's
                 boot; it was his grandson's boot. And all of a sudden, it
                 came so crystal clear to me who this guy was. I'd known
                 him, but I understood immediately what he was about. For
                 him it was all about family. It was not just Erma, his
                 beloved wife of nearly 69 years. It was not just his
                 daughters, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren--all of
                 whom are in our prayers today. It was an awful lot of you.
                 I'll bet if he were here he could look out and name you,
                 and tell you what your father or mother did for him, what
                 your grandmother or grandfather did for him, and how you
                 made such and such of yourself.
                    Clearly in his own life, Robert Byrd suffered a lot of
                 hardships. You all know the story--losing his mom, being
                 raised and adopted by an aunt and uncle, growing up in a
                 home without electricity or water, having to work at an
                 early age. He had an incredible determination, one that I
                 don't think any of my colleagues have ever witnessed,
                 would be my guess. But, you know, this man was--it wasn't
                 just that, as President Clinton pointed out, that at age
                 46 and as a sitting Congressman, he went and got a law
                 degree without having a college degree. And at age 77, he
                 went to Marshall University and completed his work,
                 getting his college degree. (Applause.)
                    Because to him, in my view--and I don't know, the
                 family would tell you this--to him, I think he felt there
                 was something wrong with the fact that he got the law
                 degree without graduating. He didn't need that
                 undergraduate degree, but it was Bob Byrd. To quote John
                 Stennis, ``Plow into the hedgerow and to the end of the
                 row.''
                   The remarkable thing about him is he traveled a hard
                 path. He devoted his life, though, to making that path a
                 little easier for those who followed. This is a guy who
                 continued to taste and smell and feel the suffering of the
                 people of his State. He tasted it. That's why it was so
                 deeply ingrained in him.
                    It wasn't just a moral obligation. This guy remembered.
                 And he unapologetically--as has been pointed out--did
                 everything to improve the lives of the people of West
                 Virginia by stealing all the money from Delaware,
                 Tennessee, Texas, California, that he could possibly get.
                 (Laughter.)
                    Remember, Governor, two campaigns ago he's getting beat
                 up for trying to move--was it two campaigns ago?--to have
                 the FBI moved down to West Virginia. And the national
                 press was beating him up. I was on the floor with him, and
                 he just had gotten ripped in a press conference about
                 that. He--you know how he used to grab you by the arm,
                 walk you back--he walked me back, he said, ``Joe, I hope
                 they keep throwing me in the briar patch.'' (Laughter.)
                    But I tell you what, you West Virginians owe a lot of
                 people in Delaware for a lot of money we should have
                 gotten and you got. (Laughter.) I just want you to know
                 that. So be nice to the rest of us. (Applause.)
                    By the way, if you doubt any of it, you just drive
                 here, you cross the Robert C. Byrd Drive, the Robert C.
                 Byrd Appalachian Highway, the Robert C. Byrd Library and
                 Learning Center, the Robert C. Byrd Clinic, the Robert C.
                 Byrd Federal Building in Charleston and on and on.
                   But, ladies and gentlemen, of course, it's more than the
                 name we're not going to forget. It's his courage. He died
                 like he lived his life. He never stopped fighting. How
                 many people would have hung on as long as he did? How many
                 people would have the ability to get back out of that
                 hospital bed and get in a wheelchair and come in and vote?
                 He never stopped thinking about his people and the things
                 he cared about.
                    Speaking recently, Robert Byrd said, ``Like Jefferson
                 and Adams, I'm inspired to continue serving the land I
                 love to the very best of my abilities, for the whole of my
                 years.''
                   Well, he served the land he loved. He served the people
                 he loved. He served the people who were in his blood. And
                 because of that service, you had gained greatly. And with
                 his loss, you're the first who will feel that loss.
                   But it's not just West Virginia alone. It's all of us.
                 When I learned of his death, I was on an errand for the
                 President in Cleveland, and I said, ``You know, to
                 paraphrase the poet, we shall not see his like again.''
                 Had he been there, he would have said, ``Joe, that's
                 Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene II''--(laughter)--``and
                 the actual quote is, `I shall not look upon his like
                 again.'''
                    Mr. Leader, we're not going to look upon your like
                 again. I'm not even going to ask God to bless you because
                 he already had and I know where you are. And may God bless
                 your family. May God bless this State and this country.
                 And may God protect our troops. Thank you. (Applause.)

                 President Barack Obama. Thank you. To Mona and Marjorie,
                 and to Senator Byrd's entire family, including those
                 adorable great-granddaughters that I had a chance to
                 meet--Michelle and I offer you our deepest sympathies.
                   To Senator Byrd's friends, including the Speaker of the
                 House, the Majority Leader, the Republican Leader,
                 President Clinton, Vice President Biden, Vicki Kennedy,
                 Nick Rahall, and all the previous speakers; Senator
                 Rockefeller for the outstanding work that you've done for
                 the State of West Virginia; to his larger family--the
                 people of West Virginia--I want you all to know that all
                 America shares your loss. May we all find comfort in a
                 verse of Scripture that reminds me of our dear friend:
                 ``The time of my departure has come. I have fought the
                 good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
                 faith.''
                   It's interesting that you've heard that passage from
                 several speakers now, because it embodies somebody who
                 knew how to run a good and long race, and somebody who
                 knew how to keep the faith--with his State, with his
                 family, with his country and his Constitution.
                   Years from now, when I think of the man we memorialize
                 today, I'll remember him as he was when I came to know
                 him, his white hair full like a mane, his gait steadied
                 with a cane.
                   Determined to make the most of every last breath, the
                 distinguished gentleman from West Virginia could be found
                 at his desk until the very end, doing the people's
                 business, delivering soul-stirring speeches, a hint of the
                 Appalachians in his voice, stabbing the air with his
                 finger, fiery as ever, years into his 10th decade.
                   He was a Senate icon. He was a party leader. He was an
                 elder statesman. And he was my friend. That's how I'll
                 remember him.
                   Today we remember the path he climbed to such
                 extraordinary peaks. Born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr.--
                 Corny, he joked, for short--his mother lost her life in
                 the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918. From the aunt and
                 uncle who raised him, amid West Virginia's coal camps, he
                 gained not only his Byrd name but a reverence for God
                 Almighty, a love of learning that was nurtured at Mark
                 Twain High School. And there he met Erma, his sweetheart
                 for over 68 years, by whose side he will now rest for
                 eternity.
                   Unable to afford college, he did what he could to get
                 by, finding work as a gas station attendant, a produce
                 salesman, a meatcutter, and a welder in the shipyards of
                 Baltimore and Tampa during World War II. Returning home to
                 West Virginia after the war, he ran for the State House of
                 Delegates, using his fiddle case as a briefcase, the
                 better to stand out on the stump.
                   Before long, he ran for Congress, serving in the House
                 before jumping over to the Senate, where he was elected
                 nine times, held almost every leadership role imaginable,
                 and proved as capable of swaying others as standing alone,
                 marking a row of milestones along the way. Longest serving
                 Member of Congress. Nearly 19,000 votes cast. Not a single
                 loss at the polls--a record that speaks to the bond that
                 he had with you, the people of his State.
                   Transplanted to Washington, his heart remained here, in
                 West Virginia, in the place that shaped him, with the
                 people he loved. His heart belonged to you. Making life
                 better here was his only agenda. Giving you hope, he said,
                 was his greatest achievement. Hope in the form of new jobs
                 and industries. Hope in the form of black lung benefits
                 and union protections. Hope through roads and research
                 centers, schools and scholarships, health clinics and
                 industrial parks that bear his name.
                   His early rival and late friend, Ted Kennedy, used to
                 joke about campaigning in West Virginia. When his bus
                 broke down, Ted got hold of the highway patrol, who asked
                 where he was. And he said, ``I'm on Robert Byrd highway.''
                 And the dispatcher said, ``Which one?'' (Laughter.)
                   It's a life that immeasurably improved the lives of West
                 Virginians. Of course, Robert Byrd was a deeply religious
                 man, a Christian. And so he understood that our lives are
                 marked by sins as well as virtues, failures as well as
                 success, weakness as well as strength. We know there are
                 things he said--and things he did--that he came to regret.
                 I remember talking about that the first time I visited
                 with him. He said, ``There are things I regretted in my
                 youth. You may know that.'' And I said, ``None of us are
                 absent some regrets, Senator. That's why we enjoy and seek
                 the grace of God.''
                   As I reflect on the full sweep of his 92 years, it seems
                 to me that his life bent toward justice. Like the
                 Constitution he tucked in his pocket, like our Nation
                 itself, Robert Byrd possessed that quintessential American
                 quality, and that is a capacity to change, a capacity to
                 learn, a capacity to listen, a capacity to be made more
                 perfect.
                   Over his nearly six decades in our Capitol, he came to
                 be seen as the very embodiment of the Senate, chronicling
                 its history in four volumes that he gave to me just as he
                 gave to President Clinton. I, too, read it. I was scared
                 he was going to quiz me. (Laughter.)
                   But as I soon discovered, his passion for the Senate's
                 past, his mastery of even its most arcane procedures, it
                 wasn't an obsession with the trivial or the obscure. It
                 reflected a profoundly noble impulse, a recognition of a
                 basic truth about this country that we are not a nation of
                 men, we are a nation of laws. Our way of life rests on our
                 democratic institutions. Precisely because we are
                 fallible, it falls to each of us to safeguard these
                 institutions, even when it's inconvenient, and pass on our
                 republic more perfect than before.
                   Considering the vast learning of this self-taught
                 Senator--his speeches sprinkled with the likes of Cicero
                 and Shakespeare and Jefferson--it seems fitting to close
                 with one of his favorite passages in literature, a passage
                 from Moby Dick:

                   And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can
                 alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of
                 them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And
                 even if he forever flies within the gorge, that gorge is
                 in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the
                 mountain eagle is still higher than any other bird upon
                 the plain, even though they soar.

                   Robert Byrd was a mountain eagle, and his lowest swoop
                 was still higher than the other birds upon the plain.
                 (Applause.)
                   May God bless Robert C. Byrd. May he be welcomed kindly
                 by the Righteous Judge. And may his spirit soar forever
                 like a Catskill eagle, high above the heavens. Thank you
                 very much.

                 Benediction--Rev. James L. Patterson, president,
                 Partnership for African American Churches
                   A benediction seems to indicate finality to a life
                 celebration such as this. However, according to the faith
                 that Senator Byrd held so deeply, this celebration will
                 never end, it simply moves to a more celestial location,
                 and it is from there that Senator Byrd and his wife Erma
                 are looking down and observing us at this moment and
                 wondering what all the fuss is about. The Senator would
                 say he was simply doing his duty for the citizens of West
                 Virginia.
                   The Apostle Paul best described the effectiveness of the
                 Senator's service when he said, he fought a good fight, he
                 finished his course, he kept the faith, therefore there is
                 laid up for him a crown of righteousness which the
                 Righteous Judge himself shall present to him at that day.
                 (2 Timothy 4:7) So Heavenly Father as he has cared for and
                 watched over us all these years we pray that You will care
                 for and watch over him.
                   Now unto God who is able to do exceedingly and
                 abundantly above all that we could ask or think, according
                 to the power that works in us, be glory but now and
                 forever more (Ephesians 3:20).
                   Amen.

                                       Robert C. Byrd

                 November 20, 1917-June 28, 2010

                          A Funeral Service Celebrating the Life of

    Robert C. Byrd

                                  July 6, 2010--11:00 a.m.
                            Prelude           ...............  ....................  ...............  ...............                             Opening Sentences
                                 John 11, John 14, Matthew 11
                               Dr. William H. Smith                                                  ...............                       Special Music
                               ``What a Friend We Have In Jesus''
                               Memorial Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir                       Prayer
                               Dr. Barry C. Black, Senate Chaplain                       Special Music
                               ``There Is a Fountain''                                        Scripture Reading
                                          Psalm 23
                               Dr. William H. Smith                       Duet
                               ``Amazing Grace''
                               Bobby Taylor, fiddle with bass guitarist                       Family Remembrances                       Special Music
                               ``How Great Thou Art''                                     Scripture Reflection
                                  Matthew 25:14-30
                               Rev. Thomas Phythian, Hospice Chaplain                       Special Music
                               ``This Is My Father's World''                       Homily
                               Dr. William H. Smith                       Solo
                               ``His Eye Is On the Sparrow''
                               Michael Ryan, MGySgt, USMC (Retired)                       Benediction                       Recessional                       Postlude                                                 ...............
    Robert C. Byrd

     Photo: Linda Davidson, the Washington Post

                 ``When I am gone and opened,

                 they will find West Virginia on my heart''

                                     U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd

                         Senator Byrd is survived by his daughters,
                         Mona Carole Fatemi and her husband Mohammad
                        and Marjorie Ellen Moore and her husband Jon;
                     grandchildren Erik Byrd Fatemi, Mona Byrd Pearson,
                          Darius James Fatemi, Mary Anne Clarkson,
                    Fredrik Kurosh Fatemi and the late Jon Michael Moore;
                          great-grandchildren Caroline Byrd Fatemi,
                         Emma James Clarkson, Kathryn James Fatemi,
                          Hannah Byrd Clarkson, Michael Yoo Fatemi,
                               Anna Cristina Honora Fatemi and
                                    James Matthew Fatemi.
                                        Pallbearers:
                                  James Stroud Clarkson III
                                     Darius James Fatemi
                                      Erik Byrd Fatemi
                                    Fredrik Kurosh Fatemi
                                      Randy Lee Pearson
                                   Austin John Reinshuttle

                                    Honorary Pallbearers:
                            The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV
                             The Honorable Howard H. Baker, Jr.
                                  The Honorable Ted Stevens
                                The Honorable Robert J. Dole
                               The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
                               The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II
                               The Honorable Alan B. Mollohan
                               The Honorable Walter J. Stewart
                                      Tinker St. Clair
                                    Cecil E. Roberts, Jr.
                                       James E. Nobles
                                      James H. English
                                         James Allen
                                         Fred Minton
                                        George Perry
                                        Hugh McGloin
                                        Perry Woofter

                   The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial
                 contributions be made either to The West Virginia Council
                                             of
                    Churches (make checks payable to The Montcoal Mining
                 Disaster Fund) or the Humane Society of the United States.

                                  Rev. Dr. William H. Smith
                           Rev. Richard Buerkle, Associate Pastor
                             Dr. Barry C. Black, Senate Chaplain
                           Rev. Thomas Phythian, Hospice Chaplain
                             Rev. Katie McKown, Associate Pastor
                                     Ann Brown, Organist
                                  Russell Krumnow, Pianist

                 Memorial Baptist Church
                                     Arlington, Virginia

    In

    Loving Memory

                 The Twenty-Third Psalm

          The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

          He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

            He leadeth me beside the still waters.

          He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the

            paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

          Yea, though I walk through the valley of

            the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

            for thou art with me; Thy rod and

            thy staff they comfort me.

          Thou preparest a table before me in the presence

            of mine enemies: thou anointest my head

            with oil; my cup runneth over.

          Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

            all the days of my life: and I will

            dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

                                     In Loving Memory of

                                The Honorable Robert C. Byrd
                                    United States Senator

                                      November 20, 1917
                                        June 28, 2010

                                      Funeral Services
                                        11 am Tuesday
                                        July 6, 2010
                                   Memorial Baptist Church
                                        3455 Glebe Rd
                                  Arlington, Virginia 22207

                                         Officiating
                               The Reverend Doctor Barry Black
                                  The Reverend Katie McKown
                                  The Reverend Tom Phythian
                            The Reverend Doctor William H. Smith

                                          Interment
                                  Columbia Gardens Cemetery

     Photo: Linda Davidson, the Washington Post

                                ``When I am gone and opened,
                         they will find West Virginia on my heart''
                                       U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd

                 The Honorable Robert C. Byrd
                               November 20, 1917-June 28, 2010

    8   The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

       He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

         he leadeth me beside the still waters.

       He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of

         righteousness for His name's sake.

       Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow

         of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

         thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

       Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of

         mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil;

         my cup runneth over.

       Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the

         days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the

         LORD for ever.

                 Dr. Barry C. Black. Lord God, creator of all, we thank You
                 that You have made each of us in Your own image and given
                 us gifts and talents with which to serve You.
                   We thank You for Senator Robert C. Byrd, Your servant
                 and my friend. We're grateful for the years we shared with
                 him, for the good we saw in him, for the love we received
                 from him, and for the wisdom we gained from him.
                   Now give us strength and courage to leave him in Your
                 care, knowing that You have promised that one day we'll be
                 reunited with loved ones.
                   As we too journey toward death, teach us to number our
                 days that we may have hearts of wisdom.
                   Support us in all the seasons ahead, until the shadows
                 lengthen and the evening comes; and the busy work is
                 hushed, and the fever of life is over, and our work is
                 done. Then in Your mercy give us a safe lodging and a holy
                 rest and peace at the last.
                   We pray in Your powerful name. Amen.

                 Granddaughters Mary Anne Clarkson and Mona Byrd Pearson.
                   Mary Anne. Washington Irving once said, ``There is a
                 sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness,
                 but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand
                 tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief ... and
                 unspeakable love.'' As we walked the funeral march to the
                 Capitol behind our grandfather's caisson in Charleston, we
                 gazed into the crowds of mourners and saw, much as we see
                 in the church pews today, just that: tears of grief and
                 unspeakable love for a lost friend, colleague, statesman,
                 advocate, mentor, husband, father, grandfather, and great-
                 grandfather.
                   Mona. The man you know as Senator Robert C. Byrd was
                 even more than that. To us, it was not his great service
                 to West Virginia and this Nation, his powerful oratory on
                 the floor of the Senate, or his numerous records and
                 accomplishments. To us--his grandchildren--he was simply
                 ``Papa,'' and all we wanted was his love, attention, and
                 approval. His professional life was not what was
                 important; it was his private side, reserved for us, his
                 family, that we treasured.
                   Mary Anne. Toward the end of his life, one of Papa's
                 great pleasures was going to my parents' house on summer
                 weekends to enjoy the pool and his family. He loved to sit
                 out in the Sun because he wanted to have the best tan in
                 Washington at the end of the August recess. And not
                 unexpectedly, Papa wasn't content to sit on the sidelines
                 and watch everyone else enjoying the pool. So at the age
                 of 90, he decided to learn how to swim. And then Papa
                 would challenge my girls to contests to see who could hold
                 their breath under water the longest. So, although our
                 grandfather always sought perfection, he had these
                 beautiful moments of imperfection, of seeming less than
                 the giant of a man that he was.
                   Mona. And a giant he was. Robert C. Byrd ran the Senate,
                 but my grandmother, Mamma, ran the family and the home.
                 She made sure that Papa never had to worry or concern
                 himself with the domestic side of life. In some ways that
                 was to his detriment and it was a family joke how little
                 Papa knew about household things. Papa once decided to
                 demonstrate to everyone how he could take care of himself
                 by making a cup of tea. He heated the water, put it in the
                 mug, and carefully proceeded to cut open a tea bag and
                 pour its contents directly into the cup. After stirring
                 the loose tea into his mug, he then proudly displayed the
                 results to us. He was first perplexed by our hilarity, but
                 after we explained how the rest of us used a tea bag, he
                 laughed harder than any of us.
                   Mary Anne. Years later, as Mamma's health was failing,
                 Papa focused his attention on her care, firmly grasping
                 the opportunity to repay her for all the years of selfless
                 devotion and care she had given to him. He jumped in with
                 his typical vigor and took charge of the household that
                 was once her domain--mopping the floors, scrubbing the
                 bathrooms, and managing the checkbook he had given her
                 nearly 69 years earlier. She never wanted for better care.
                 She was never alone, and at night, when she was close to
                 the end of her suffering, he would hold her hand and sing
                 to her, always telling her how much he loved her.
                   Mona. Perhaps the thing Papa loved most outside of Mamma
                 and work was music. As children, our fondest memories were
                 of him playing his fiddle. When Papa played the fiddle he
                 was a different and carefree person. I always remember the
                 joy and happiness when we gathered at home to listen to
                 him play. He often said that the two things that relieved
                 stress in his life were confiding in Mamma and playing
                 music. One of his biggest regrets was that the tremors in
                 his hands prevented him from playing his fiddle, but he
                 could still sing. On his 90th birthday his staff held a
                 party at a hotel near the Capitol. Some of you may have
                 been there. They had arranged for a high school band to
                 play some of the old bluegrass favorites and when he
                 joined in to sing it was amazing to see his youth return
                 and the years and sorrows melted away.
                   Mary Anne. Much has been said about the buildings,
                 roads, and hospitals and other parts of West Virginia that
                 my grandfather caused to be built. But he did more than
                 that: he shaped people and he shaped ideas. From him, I
                 learned first hand, the nature of hard work, the value of
                 a promise kept, attention to detail, loyalty, and the
                 results of persistence. So in a very real sense, Mona and
                 I, as well as our entire family and many others are also
                 his legacy.
                   Mona. In closing, we'd like to read a poem, The Measure
                 of a Man, by Jeremy Teoh. We believe it captures the
                 lessons of Papa's life, for us to carry forward and live
                 by.
                   Mona: A man is not measured by the frequency of his
                 voice,
                    But rather by the echoes of his actions.
                   Mary Anne: A man is not measured by the strength of his
                 body,
                    But rather the strength of his will.
                   Mona: A man is not measured by the amount of money in
                 his coffers,
                    But rather by how much he is willing to share.
                   Mary Anne: A man is not measured by the amount of his
                 sheep,
                    But rather the way he shepherds.
                   Mona: A man is not measured by his courage alone,
                    But rather by the courage he can give others.
                   Mary Anne: A man is not one who serves himself,
                    But rather one who serves his people.
                   Mona: A man is not one who follows orders,
                    But rather one who follows his heart.
                   Mary Anne: But the true measure of a man is,
                    One who can love people around him,
                    Without asking for anything in return,
                   Mona: Except the little glimmer of hope that,
                    Others will love him as well.
                   Papa, we love you.

                 Daughter Marjorie Byrd Moore. Much has been said about my
                 father, but I think if he were here today he would say
                 ``talk about Erma some.'' So I'd like to talk about both
                 of them by reading you a poem he composed to her in April
                 1933 at the age of 15. It's titled Sweet Memories of
                 Sweetheart Days.
                 I.
                 When I was but a youngster
                 I thought I loved the dames,
                 But the sweetest of all,
                 I now recall,
                 Was a girl named Erma James.

                 II.
                 Every day in our little ole school--
                 I used to write 'er a note and come--
                 At the change of classes, to her locker door
                 And give 'er my chewing gum.

                 III.
                 A beautiful lass this little girl was
                 With her eyes a charming blue
                 Her hands small and dainty like
                 Voice sweet as the morning dew--

                 IV.
                 We wrote notes for many a day
                 And it makes me very sad
                 To tell that she wrote me a note one eve'
                 And I, little fool, got mad.

                 V.
                 I kept on going to her house--
                 Oh! I would that I had kissed her!
                 But never a word would I
                 Speak to Erma
                 But always to her sister.

                 VI.
                 Finally on the 12th of June
                 After a month or two of delay
                 I greased her pretty nose in fun
                 For it was my darling's birthday--

                 VII.
                 And then of course we
                 Were sweethearts again--
                 And good were the times we had
                 We'd go to the store and we'd
                 Go to the show,
                 And play rook with her
                 Mother and dad.

                 VIII.
                 After school in those good ole' days
                 We would always get together
                 We would have our chats on rainy days
                 And play in pretty weather--

                 IX.
                 Sometimes we would both play hookey together
                 And at home we would stay and play
                 Eat apples, mints, and eskimo pies
                 And then be sick next day.
                 X.
                 But finally came the
                 summer time
                 And little ``baby'' went away
                 But we'd write letters and
                 Send our love--
                 To the other far away.

                 XI.
                 As old Sept. rolled
                 Around again,
                 And school days were
                 Getting near,
                 Little Erma came back
                 To the ole' home town
                 And I saw the little dear.

                 XII.
                 With her came
                 Aunt Lala,
                 Whom I quickly came to like
                 We had a party and rode
                 A Ford and took
                 Pictures on the ole Turnpike.

                 XIII.
                 School days began but we still had our fun
                 And then came Halloween--
                 When the gobs and goblins, and bats and cats,
                 And witches are to be seen.

                 XIV.
                 All these are in the past and now comes
                 The present
                 What will be in the days to come?
                 I still love Erma the best of all
                 And I guess she loves me some.

                 XV.
                 But now as Christmas beckons softly
                 And Santa's at the door,
                 I must remember, in stark December,
                 Of the sweetheart I adore.

                 How dear to my heart is this girl of my childhood.

                   And I believe their love will endure through eternity.
                   I love you Daddy.

                 Erik Fatemi. When I was about 5 years old, my grandfather
                 would ask me a series of questions practically every time
                 I saw him. ``Erik, who discovered America? What year? Who
                 wrote the Declaration of Independence?'' And so forth. And
                 if I got the answers right, he would give me a quarter.
                   At that time, of course, I didn't understand who Robert
                 C. Byrd was to the rest of the country. To me he was Papa.
                 Though I did get the sense he was important somehow. For
                 instance, whenever I visited his office, I noticed there
                 were a lot of people there who did exactly what he told
                 them, and they seemed to be in a hurry about it.
                   I also noticed he had a lot of quarters. So I decided it
                 was in my best interest to learn the answers to those
                 history questions. ``Christopher Columbus!'' I'd say.
                 ``1492! Thomas Jefferson!'' And then my palm would start
                 getting itchy for some cold, hard cash.
                   It was my first lesson in the awesome power of
                 appropriations to improve people's education.
                   I learned a lot of lessons from my grandfather over the
                 course of my life, both as a grandson and a staffer on the
                 Appropriations Committee. We all learned from him. I think
                 one reason we're sad he's gone is that this self-taught
                 man taught us all so much. He made us want to work harder,
                 learn more, be better people. Whether you were a
                 grandchild, or a staffer, or a fellow Senator, or just
                 another President of the United States, when you met with
                 my grandfather, you made sure you had the right answer.
                   And pity the poor staffer who gave him a memo that
                 misspelled a word or left out a comma. You did not want to
                 be that person.
                   Tina Evans, one of his longtime staffers, wrote me the
                 day he died, ``Some bosses demand excellence; Senator Byrd
                 assumed excellence, and those of us who won his trust were
                 determined never to let him down.''
                   That only worked because he pushed himself harder than
                 he pushed anyone else. Many of us have wondered what we
                 might be capable of if we really focused, worked hard, and
                 tried to achieve something. Many of us wonder; he did it.
                 He died knowing exactly what he was capable of.
                   Where he ranks among the great U.S. Senators will be for
                 the historians to decide. But this we can say today: He
                 was the best Senator he possibly could have been, and he
                 did it for longer than anyone else in history.
                   This is a story that few people know. Two years ago--
                 summer 2008--was a difficult time for my grandfather. He
                 was still chairman of the Appropriations Committee, but
                 every day brought more speculation: Will he step down?
                 Will he be removed? Who will take his place? Will it be
                 this Senator? Will it be that Senator? It was not the sort
                 of time on Capitol Hill that brings out the best in
                 people.
                   There was a full committee hearing coming up, and my
                 grandfather decided to let another Senator chair it rather
                 than himself. It was the correct decision, but it was not
                 an easy one for this very proud man to make. He knew it
                 was the beginning of the end of his tenure.
                   I was visiting his house the Sunday before that hearing.
                 My parents happened to be there, too, and we got to
                 talking about the situation in the Senate. My grandfather
                 was somber, pensive. And then he did something unusual for
                 our family. He asked us to hold hands with him and pray.
                 I'll never forget what he asked for. He said, ``Father,
                 give me the strength to do a few more things for my
                 country.''
                   He was 90 years old. God knows he had earned the right
                 to pray for something else. And yet there was that
                 plaintive plea--just ``a few more things.''
                   As it turned out, he did do a few more things. He
                 endorsed the Nation's first Black President. He cast the
                 deciding vote for health care reform, in the middle of the
                 night, in a snowstorm. And just a few weeks before he
                 died, he spent more than an hour grilling witnesses at a
                 Senate hearing about how to improve the safety of coal
                 mines in West Virginia.
                   Those few things he did between ages 90 and 92 were more
                 than what some people do in a lifetime.
                   And yet it's true that in his final years, his thoughts
                 turned more and more to crossing the bar, and rejoining
                 his wife, my grandmother. And so, when I would visit him,
                 we spent less time discussing politics, like we used to
                 do, and more time reliving memories from the distant past,
                 when I was a kid.
                   The last time we spoke was Father's Day--a week before
                 he died. He was quiet. I had brought my girls to visit,
                 too, and normally that would liven him up, but not this
                 time. And so after a while we gave him a hug and started
                 walking toward the door. And then he called out, ``Who
                 discovered America?''
                   It had been almost 40 years since I had earned a quarter
                 for answering that question. But I had to show him I
                 hadn't forgotten. ``Christopher Columbus!'' I said.
                   He said, ``Do you remember when I'd ask you that? And
                 then I'd give you a quarter?''
                   ``Sure, Papa,'' I said. ``I remember.''
                   How could I forget that? How can any of us forget this
                 man?

                 Dr. William H. Smith.

                 How the mighty are fallen!
                 ``Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of
                   Askelon.''
                 How the mighty are fallen.
                 Weep ye daughters of Israel. Let there be no dew. Neither
                   let there be rain.
                 Swifter than eagle, stronger than lion, yet
                 How the mighty are fallen!

                   With the poetry of David we join our hearts to
                 acknowledge the passing of a great leader. Our Nation has
                 lowered its flags to half staff. The President and the
                 Congress have gathered to pay their respects. Now,
                 alongside the family we come to this final service to
                 recognize Robert Byrd as father, grandfather, great-
                 grandfather and faithful Christian.
                   I want us to look briefly at three passages of
                 Scripture; each one will help us see the witness of our
                 brother in Christ to the Gospel. Senator Byrd loved the
                 Gospel. He found the Gospel central to his life, and his
                 life calls us to embrace the good news of Jesus Christ,
                 the Gospel of salvation, so that we may live into eternity
                 and one day join him. He will not return to us in this
                 life, but we may go to him. That is the promise of the
                 Gospel. Praise be to God.
                   It is right to use Scripture for these remarks today.
                 Senator Byrd loved the Bible, especially the King James
                 version of the Bible. At his first or one of his early
                 visits to Memorial I was preaching on the importance of
                 the Bible. After the service he put his arm around my neck
                 and drew me close to him. He quoted from memory the text I
                 had used in the sermon. Then he quoted about 10 verses
                 before my text and 10 verses after my text--all from
                 memory. I have studied the Bible all my life, but I would
                 be hard pressed to walk into a service and call from
                 memory 20 verses before and after a text that a pastor had
                 chosen to preach.
                   He was a student of the Bible. He was a teacher of the
                 Bible. As a younger man he started a Sunday school class
                 that is still going today. He and Mrs. Byrd wrote a series
                 of devotionals for young people based on the Bible. So, we
                 remember him well today when we look at the Bible for
                 guidance. We have three passages to read that speak to us
                 about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
                   The first Scripture for our consideration comes from
                 Ephesians chapter two and verse eight. It reads: ``For by
                 grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
                 yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any
                 man should boast.''
                   On one occasion Senator Byrd and I were sitting together
                 downstairs in Fellowship Hall. We were having a churchwide
                 dinner to celebrate an anniversary. He said to me but
                 loudly enough for anyone at the table to hear, ``I want to
                 be acceptable.'' I responded to him with some amazement
                 and said, ``Senator Byrd, you are more than acceptable.
                 You are recognized by the Nation as a great leader.'' He
                 gave me a sharp look as if to suggest that I should know
                 better than to have made that comment. He then said, ``I
                 don't mean all that; I just want to be acceptable to
                 Jesus.'' Chagrined, I replied, ``Yes sir; you are right.
                 That is most important for all of us.''
                   Senator Byrd shared his testimony when we had our first
                 visit together. You can find that testimony in his
                 autobiography. He was a believer. He described himself as
                 a born-again, old-time religion, Bible-based Christian. He
                 was baptized along with Mrs. Byrd at age 19 at Crab
                 Orchard Baptist Church by Pastor Merlin Smith.
                   Senator Byrd understood that we are saved or put right
                 with God, not by our accomplishments in life, our good
                 works, but by God's grace, God's unmerited favor. All of
                 us come to the Lord in the same way: we confess our sins;
                 we repent of our sins; we invite Jesus into our hearts as
                 Lord and Savior, and we receive spiritual renewal or
                 regeneration through the work of the Holy Spirit.
                   Listen to a second Scripture about the Gospel of
                 salvation. At the cemetery there is a beautiful stone
                 marker where Senator Byrd will be laid to rest alongside
                 his dear wife. On his headstone he had inscribed a passage
                 from John's Gospel, chapter 11. In John 11 we find that
                 the friend of Jesus, Lazarus, had died. The Lord came to
                 the grave of Lazarus. First he wept, but then he called
                 Lazarus to come forth. Jesus then commanded the attendants
                 surrounding the risen Lazarus with these words, chosen by
                 Senator Byrd for his headstone. Jesus said: ``Loose him
                 and let him go!''
                   When we are saved or put right with God, Jesus begins a
                 process in our lives of setting us free. Just as Lazarus
                 had the grave clothes removed from him, so Jesus begins
                 this process of unbinding us. Piece by piece he removes
                 from us those things that hold us back. In this lifelong
                 process bad habits, bad thinking, bad experiences are
                 peeled away, strip by strip as we emerge to become the
                 person God created us to be.
                   From Senator Byrd's generation another very wise
                 nonagenarian once said that we should live each day as if
                 it were our last, and learn each day as if we would live
                 forever. This wise man also knew God's grace. A graceful
                 life, a grace-filled life, means that we have the ability
                 to change. We can confess our sin. We can turn away from
                 our sins. We can receive the forgiveness of God; we can
                 embrace new insights and new directions. We can learn and
                 we can grow. Throughout our lives we are being saved.
                 ``Loose him,'' Jesus said, ``and let him go.''
                   And now, the third Scripture for our reflection on the
                 Gospel of Salvation. Whenever I visited Senator Byrd I
                 would read the Bible with him. I always asked him what
                 passage we should read, and every time he responded first
                 with a call to read--I would read, and he would recite--
                 the words of Jesus recorded in John 14. Dear family, hear
                 these words. They are for your comfort. Jesus said: ``Let
                 not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe
                 also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it
                 were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
                 place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
                 will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I
                 am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and
                 the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not
                 whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus
                 saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
                 man cometh unto the Father, but by me.''
                   The Gospel of salvation means that when we depart this
                 life we go to be with God. Senator Byrd told me that he
                 was ready to depart and to be with the Lord. I know he was
                 eager to be reunited with Mrs. Byrd of whom he spoke every
                 time I was in his presence. He understood, however, and
                 said to me that our coming and our going are in the hands
                 of God.
                   And I am glad that God, in his providence, sent Robert
                 Byrd our way to Memorial Baptist Church, that for a few
                 years, we had the privilege of being in worship together.
                 Folks have often asked me, ``Wasn't it difficult to preach
                 with Senator Byrd in the congregation?''
                   People thought it was difficult because he was such an
                 important person that one could think that a preacher
                 would feel nervous in his presence. I did at first, and I
                 always felt honored to be in his presence, but he was
                 gracious to me and encouraging to me. He loved the Bible;
                 he loved the Gospel; he loved the church, and he
                 communicated his love for preachers. He soon put me at
                 ease. Whenever he was present I felt happy and encouraged.
                 I loved the fact that he walked down front and sat up
                 close. His presence always encouraged me.
                   The second reason people thought his presence could be
                 difficult for a preacher is that Senator Byrd was
                 exuberant; he was expressive. When I made a point from the
                 Scripture he would say, ``Amen,'' and he would say it
                 loudly. When I was unclear, he would ask me right there in
                 the service, out loud, ``Would you say that again?'' And I
                 would say it again, but I would make it clearer. I
                 remember one time I was preaching on stewardship, a not
                 very popular subject--money. I made the point that you
                 could tell what a person believed by looking at their
                 checkbook. Senator Byrd reached into his coat pocket and
                 pulled out his checkbook, and he held it up, and he
                 proclaimed, ``Here's mine; let's all get them out!'' I
                 don't think anyone present at that service will ever
                 forget that moment. He made stewardship exciting. I loved
                 preaching when he was present.
                   I want you to know that he asked me privately if his
                 participation bothered me or caused me any distress. He
                 would not have entered into call and response if I had
                 been uncomfortable with it. He was gracious, always
                 gracious and encouraging to me. He wanted the best
                 experience for the person preaching and for those in
                 worship. He wanted us to be exuberant and expressive, and
                 excited about God. When he was in worship we caught some
                 of that exuberance.
                   Was it difficult to preach when Senator Byrd was
                 present? My answer is, ``No. It was not difficult. Just
                 the opposite. Whenever he was present I felt that he made
                 me a better preacher.''
                   Most of all I was encouraged by him because I know that
                 this great national leader was a person of faith. He
                 understood and embraced the Gospel of salvation. He knew
                 that we are saved when we receive God's gracious welcome.
                 Nothing to do with our accomplishment, but all to do with
                 the grace of God won for us on the cross of Christ. He
                 knew that throughout our lives we are being saved. God is
                 not finished with us when we first come to know him. All
                 our lives we are changing and growing toward his perfect
                 purposes for us. Finally, we will be saved when we depart
                 this life and come face to face with our Creator.
                   Sunday by Sunday, Memorial Baptist Church when gathered
                 in worship prayed for God's servant, Robert. His name was
                 called the Sunday before he died. We are thankful to God
                 for him, for his life and for his witness. May we receive
                 from our Lord the words I believe he has heard, ``Well
                 done, thou good and faithful servant.'' Praise be to God.
                 Amen.