[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11470-S11472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, I suspect that all Senators, when we first 
come to this great institution we call the U.S. Senate, look around 
this Chamber for role models and mentors to help us become effective 
and productive Senators. I was privileged, after graduating law school 
at Emory University 1962, to come to Washington and work for 
Congressman Paul Vinson for nearly a year. I was privileged to follow 
in the footsteps of Senator Richard Russell. These were certainly two 
great Georgians who set an example of public service that I have sought 
to emulate. I was honored to have served with many Senators I have 
learned from, including Senator John Stennis and Senator Scoop Jackson, 
two legendary Senators who served in the Richard Russell tradition.
  I have also learned very much from a unique Senator, the Senator from 
West Virginia by the name of Robert Byrd. Before I leave the Senate 
which I love, I want to take a few moments to thank my colleague and my 
good friend, Senator Robert Byrd, for the encouragement and assistance 
he has given me during my entire career here in the Senate and for the 
example he has set for all of us who served here and who have observed 
his leadership and his personality.
  It has been said that great men are like eagles. They do not flock 
together. You find them one at a time, soaring alone, using their skill 
and their strengths to reach new heights and to seek new horizons. Such 
a man and such an eagle is Robert Byrd.
  Twenty-four years after I first came to the Senate, Senator Byrd 
continues to be a role model for me. His tremendous understanding and 
deep reverence for the role of the Senate in our democracy; his total 
commitment to serving the people of his beloved State of West Virginia 
and the people of this country; his life-long commitment to learning; 
his sense of honor and integrity; his commitment to high moral 
standards; and his tremendous work ethic represent the highest ideals 
of public service.


                           Role of the Senate

  The ``Almanac of American Politics'' has what I think is a very 
appropriate description of Senator Byrd. ``Robert Byrd, senior senator 
from West Virginia,'' says the Almanac, ``may come closer to the kind 
of senator the Founding Fathers had in mind than any other.'' Mr. 
President, the ideals of the Founding Fathers and the role they 
envisioned for the Senate have always shaped Senator Byrd's performance 
of his duties.
  Robert Byrd reveres the Senate of the United States, not just because 
he serves in it, but because of his respect for its role in the history 
of our Nation and the world. Over the years, Senator Byrd has devoted 
an enormous amount of time and effort to the study of the Senate's role 
in our history and its duties under the Constitution. His four volumes 
of speeches on the history of the Senate mark Senator Byrd as the most 
knowledgeable person on the history of this body to ever serve in the 
Senate, and he is the leading expert on this subject in the country 
today.
  By the power of his intellect and the depth of his understanding of 
the Senate's history and rules, Senator Byrd is not just the Senate's 
institutional memory. He is also the custodian of the Senate ideals and 
values that go back to the Founding Fathers and even to ancient Rome--
as he reminded us in his extraordinary series of speeches on the Senate 
of the Roman Republic in 1993. I have heard Senator Byrd recall the 
words of Majorianus, a Roman Senator, who said that when he was crowned 
emperor in 457 A.D. that he still gloried in the name of Senator. 
``That,'' Senator Byrd is fond of saying, ``is my bottom line.''
  Like the authors of our Constitution, Senator Byrd views the 
legislative branch as closest to the people and the primary safeguard 
of their rights and liberties. In his speeches on the history of the 
U.S. Senate, Senator Byrd points out that the Senate is unique not only 
because its rules allow unlimited debate, and that, of course, attracts 
a lot of attention from time to time. Unlike some legislative bodies in 
the world, the Senate can originate legislation. In addition, Senator 
Byrd reminds us:

       The Senate not only has the power to legislate. It also has 
     the power to investigate, to approve the ratification 
     of treaties, to confirm nominations, and to try impeached 
     persons. Thus, it has judicial, legislative, executive and 
     investigative powers. This combination of powers makes the 
     Senate unique.

  Senator Byrd's knowledge of the rules and procedures of the Senate 
has become legendary. Senator Byrd recalled that in 1967, when he was 
elected Secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference, ``I began to 
study the book of precedents and the book of rules, and soon came to 
know something about floor work. As a result, I became proficient in 
the use of the rules.'' Mr. President, saying that Robert Byrd is 
proficient in the use of the rules is like saying Rembrandt knew 
something about painting. I suspect there have been few Members of the 
Senate in the last 200 years who approached Senator Byrd's knowledge of 
the rules and precedents of the Senate.
  As a result of his exhaustive study of Senate procedure, Senator Byrd 
has had a major impact in shaping the rules and precedents under which 
the Senate operates today. Some of these precedents bear his name. The 
Byrd rule has become a household term for anyone who follows the 
progress of reconciliation bills in the Congress. That rule, of course, 
precludes consideration of provisions in reconciliation bills that are 
not related to the deficit reduction goals of the reconciliation 
process.
  In his farewell address earlier this year, the majority leader, 
another remarkable legislator, Senator Dole, paid an unusual tribute to 
Senator Byrd when he said, ``I have learned from a lot of people in 
this room. I have even gone to Senator Byrd when I was the majority 
leader to ask his advice on how to defeat him on an issue. If you know 
Robert Byrd as I do, he gave me the answer.'' That is high praise 
indeed from a man with Senator Dole's great skills as a legislator in 
this body, who was in the opposing party--actually

[[Page S11471]]

going to Senator Byrd and asking him, ``What rule can I use to defeat 
you on this motion?'' That is about as high a compliment as an 
individual can be paid in this body.
  In his devotion to the U.S. Senate, Senator Byrd has always shown a 
personal concern for the people who serve in this institution--not just 
Senators but all those who are part of the Senate family. Despite his 
responsibilities in the Senate leadership or his duties as chairman or 
ranking Democratic member on the Appropriations Committee, he has never 
been too busy to ease the burdens, remember a birthday, or share in the 
joys and sorrows of a colleague or staff member with a note or a bit of 
poetry. I have never forgotten a dinner given in my honor by my friends 
in Dublin, GA, in February 1975. Senator Byrd came to Georgia for that 
dinner. He gave a speech and brought down the house when he played 
``Going Up Cripple Creek'' on his fiddle, all for a junior member of 
his party who had only been in the Senate for 2 years. My friends from 
Georgia, needless to say, were very impressed.
  Over the years I have received tremendous support from Senator Byrd 
as a member and then chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Senator 
Byrd has always been a strong supporter of national defense and of our 
men and women in uniform. I am proud of the fact that the Armed 
Services Committee has passed a Defense authorization bill every year 
since I have served in the Senate. During my chairmanship, Senator 
Byrd's leadership as majority leader and his parliamentary skills were 
absolutely essential to completing Senate action on this national 
security legislation.

  I have also had the pleasure of participating in delegations to 
foreign countries headed by Senator Byrd. I remember two trips in 
particular. One was a trip to the People's Republic of China early in 
my Senate career in 1975, back when Chairman Mao and Chou En-Lai, 
President Chou En-Lai were still alive. We did not visit with them 
because they were very ill, but it was a crucial time, not only in 
Chinese history but in United States-Chinese relationship. The other 
was a trip to the Soviet Union in 1985 to meet with Soviet President 
Mikhail Gorbachev. Senator Byrd led the bipartisan Senate delegation on 
both of these trips. He was a very effective spokesman for U.S. 
interests, and he always managed to leave our foreign hosts with an 
understanding of the role of the Senate in U.S. foreign policy.
  Mr. President, from the day I came to the U.S. Senate in 1973, 
whether the issue was foreign policy, national security policy or 
Senate floor procedure, Senator Byrd has been my teacher and my 
colleague; in many cases, my legislative partner. And, most of all, my 
friend.


                  Serving the People of West Virginia

  Senator Byrd's reverence for the U.S. Senate is matched only by his 
commitment to serving the people he represents in West Virginia.
  Senator Byrd was first elected by his fellow citizens of West 
Virginia 50 years ago to represent them in the State legislature. He 
has retained that trust and won every public office he has sought since 
then. Few people are ever accorded the honor and responsibility of 
being elected to represent their fellow citizens--a very high 
compliment. Robert Byrd has sought that honor and that responsibility 
13 times and 13 times he has succeeded, starting with his election to 
the first of two terms in the West Virginia House, a term in the State 
Senate, three terms in the House of Representatives and seven terms in 
the U.S. Senate.
  This makes 50 years--5 decades--of public service to the people of 
West Virginia by this remarkable man.
  Senator Byrd has served in the Senate longer than any of the 29 other 
United States Senators who had been elected from West Virginia. Next 
year, he will become the fourth longest serving Senator in the history 
of our Nation. He is also only the third Senator to be elected to seven 
6-year terms. Think of it, seven times he has been elected to 6-year 
terms, along with Senator Carl Hayden and another remarkable Senator, 
the President pro tempore, our colleague, Senator Strom Thurmond from 
South Carolina. This week, Senator Byrd cast his 14,577th rollcall 
vote--14,577 rollcall votes--more than any other Senator who has ever 
served in this body.
  In his seven elections to the U.S. Senate, Senator Byrd has won with 
an average of 72 percent of the popular vote--72 percent. Twice he has 
carried every single county in his State, the only person in the 
history of West Virginia to do so.
  For all the time he has spent in the Nation's Capital, Mr. President, 
Robert Byrd has never forgotten where he came from or why the people of 
West Virginia sent him here. His childhood during the Depression taught 
him about the plight of people who had a hard time in life, including 
the people who worked in the coal mines. His father moved the family 
from town to town looking for work, but despite these constant moves, 
Robert Byrd graduated first in his high school. He married his high 
school sweetheart, Erma James, after he graduated from high school and 
found a job--Robert Byrd, the son of a coal miner, marrying a coal 
miner's daughter. At a time when America is suffering from the 
breakdown of the family which causes so many more of our other 
problems, the 59-year marriage of Robert Byrd and Erma James Byrd and 
their dedication to their family should serve as an example to each and 
every one of us, not only in this body but in America.
  Senator Byrd had to save for 12 years before he could afford to 
attend college, even part time, but he made great use of his time. 
Working as a gas station attendant, a produce boy in a coal company 
store, a shipyard welder, and meat cutter, he learned about the lives 
and the hardships of ordinary people, and he learned about the hopes 
and the dreams of the citizens of West Virginia.
  Robert Byrd's legislative priorities have been shaped by the needs of 
his State--investment in highways and other infrastructure projects to 
stimulate economic development badly needed in West Virginia; adequate 
and affordable health care, particularly for the coal miners of his 
State; and education to improve the lives of young people, not only in 
West Virginia but across the Nation.
  Senator Byrd's diligence and approach to every challenge he 
undertakes is summed up in the passage from Ecclesiastes he is fond of 
quoting:

       Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.

  Mr. President, everything Robert Byrd does he does with all of his 
might. He brings an intensity to his work that few of us could match 
and none of us could sustain. Watching Robert Byrd serve as majority 
leader and as leader of the Appropriations Committee, it is clear to 
everyone that when the going gets tough, Robert Byrd doubles his 
efforts and just works harder.
  So, Mr. President, from humble beginnings, Senator Byrd has made 
himself into something truly extraordinary in the history of our 
Nation. He was not born with wealth or connections. He certainly wasn't 
born with any power. He has made himself what he is today by working 
harder and studying harder than anyone else, and in doing so, he has 
become a wonderful example for the young people of this Nation of what 
can be achieved through the old-fashioned values of integrity, hard 
work, faith and perseverance.


                    Life-long Commitment to Learning

  Mr. President, from the experience of his past, Senator Byrd has 
become a strong proponent of investing in our future, our people and 
our infrastructure in this country. Children are our most important 
resource, and he knows that there is nothing more important to the 
future of our children than education. But the Senator from West 
Virginia is living proof that education is not just for young people 
preparing for a career. He has given all of us an example that 
education is a lifetime experience. Robert Byrd has never stopped 
learning. He has never stopped trying to improve himself. He has never 
been satisfied that he knows everything he needs to know, and he never 
will be. That is the nature of this remarkable man.
  Like the senior Senator from New York, Senator Moynihan, the Senator 
from West Virginia is both a student and a teacher who constantly 
absorbs information, he soaks it in, and who shares his knowledge and 
his wisdom with his colleagues to the benefit of this entire 
institution and the Congress. Senator Byrd started his Senate career as 
a student, absorbing the lessons of history, its traditions and its

[[Page S11472]]

rules, from men like Richard Russell and John Stennis. Over the years, 
the student Robert Byrd has become the teacher Robert Byrd, but also 
remains the student Robert Byrd--a remarkable combination.
  He has devoted his time and energy to formal education, earning a law 
degree while serving as a Member of Congress. Imagine that, all the 
duties of a Congressman and also getting a law degree, the only time in 
history that anyone has both begun and completed law school while 
serving in the Congress.
  But just as important, the Senator from West Virginia also studies 
for his own enjoyment because he loves to learn, he loves to study and 
he loves to go through self-improvement, and he does it every day. 
Robert Byrd's devotion to learning is reflected in his work. When 
Senator Byrd offers an amendment, manages a bill, or speaks on an 
issue, he knows what he is talking about, and all of us recognize that 
on both sides of the aisle.
  As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Byrd's advice 
and counsel led to the system of discretionary spending caps we have 
been using for the last 6 years. These spending caps and the reductions 
in Federal discretionary spending they have enforced have made the most 
significant contribution to deficit reduction of any policy we have 
adopted in the last decade.
  If we in the Congress took the same kind of step on entitlement 
programs that we have done under Senator Byrd's leadership on 
discretionary programs, the fiscal outlook for our country and the 
future of our children and grandchildren would dramatically improve.
  Too often today, when important matters are being considered, the 
media and some politicians look to opinion polls first for guidance. 
The Senator from West Virginia is not one of those individuals. The 
Senator from West Virginia is much more likely to follow the advice of 
Winston Churchill who said: ``Study history, study history. In history 
lies all the secrets of statecraft.''
  Mr. President, Senator Byrd's knowledge of history and the relevance 
of history to the issues we face today--it is not just knowledge of 
history, it is the parallel between what we should learn from history 
and the kind of challenges we face today--and his deep appreciation of 
the connection all Senators should feel to those who have gone before 
us are the hallmarks of his service and, indeed, I think the unique 
contribution he has made to this institution.
  When Senator Byrd speaks on issues like the line-item veto, for 
instance--and I agree with him that in the future the Senate will 
regret turning over this power to the executive branch. It has been 
done. We will see how it works, but I am one of those in the Robert 
Byrd school on the line-item veto. I do not think it will be used to 
bring down the deficit. I think it will be used by the President for 
whatever power he would like to display on whatever his priorities are 
at the moment, depending on the President.
  But when he speaks on issues like the line-item veto, Robert Byrd 
speaks with the knowledge born of long hours of study of the 
development of constitutional Government and of separated and shared 
powers in the history of England and ancient Rome as well as our own 
country.
  Historian Robert Byrd knows how long it took for the legislative 
branch to attain the power of the purse. He knows what it means to have 
the power of the purse. He knows what it means for the President to 
have the power of the purse, because that has been done more frequently 
in history than having the legislative body with that power. He also is 
keenly aware of what it means to lose the power of the purse.
  Robert Byrd understands and articulates better than any Member of 
this body the crucial role that an independent legislature plays in a 
democracy. You do not have a democracy without a legislative branch. 
The Senator from West Virginia knows that we cannot have democracy 
without an independent legislative branch.
  Mr. President, I could speak about the leadership and virtues of 
Robert Byrd for a long time. But let me wrap up my remarks by quoting 
the senior Senator from West Virginia in his history of the Senate, a 
magnificent quote in my view, summing up his view, and I hope 
increasingly all of our views, of the role of this great body.

       After two hundred years, [the Senate] 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 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!
  Mr. President, the U.S. Senate still stands as a great forum of 
constitutional liberty, in large part because of the vision of our 
Founding Fathers and the genius and durability of our constitutional 
system of Government. The men and women who serve in the Senate have a 
solemn obligation to understand this history and to protect the 
combination of powers that make the Senate unique under the 
Constitution.
  Senator Byrd further reminds us of this solemn obligation in his 
addresses on the history of Roman constitutionalism when he said:

       For over two hundred years, from the beginning of the 
     republic to this very hour, [the American constitutional 
     system] has survived in unbroken continuity. We received it 
     from our fathers. Let us surely pass it on to our sons and 
     daughters

  Mr. President, it is my hope and prayer that our successors will 
study the words, study the life and emulate the deeds of Robert Byrd, 
U.S. Senator from West Virginia, as he has studied the words and 
emulated the deeds of our forefathers. If they do, the Senate of the 
United States will stand as a beacon of liberty, and the lamp of 
America's freedom will shine for the next 200 years. That will be the 
ultimate tribute to the service in the U.S. Senate of a remarkable 
individual--Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia. I thank the Chair.
  Mr. FEINGOLD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gregg). The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, let me first say it is an honor to 
simply have heard the tribute by the Senator from Georgia directed at 
the Senator from West Virginia. It is an honor to simply serve with 
these two men. I was delighted to hear the tribute. I thank the 
Senator. We will all miss him very, very much in this body.

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