[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2291]]


             WEST VIRGINIA'S SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD HONORED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, November 8, 1997

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, West Virginia's senior Senator, Robert C. 
Byrd, has been named the 1997 Distinguished Legislator of the Year by 
the University of Michigan.
  Senator Byrd is the second legislator to be so honored by the 
university, which began the program last year through a gift from 
alumnus Bertram J. Askwith, who established the program to honor 
contributions by a U.S. Senator or Representative and to provide 
support--up to $40,000 in scholarships--for a student from the 
honoree's home State or district to attend the University of Michigan.
  In accepting the honor, Senator Byrd said ``I'm deeply appreciative 
of this honor, particularly because it provides the opportunity for 
another West Virginian to pursue a formal education.''
  Senator Byrd has for years been singularly recognized as an advocate 
for students who are high academic achievers, have great potential, who 
merit student tuition assistance because of their hard work and 
commitment while in school, yet often do not have the means of 
attending college. He has helped thousands of students receive 
scholarships through the Robert C. Byrd Scholars program, funded under 
the Higher Education Act. These recipients are students who are not 
just financially needy, but who also have high grade point averages 
upon graduation from high school. Senator Robert C. Byrd has, 
throughout his Senate tenure, stressed the need to acknowledge students 
who work hard in school, are talented, and who, based on merit alone, 
command our help as they seek to pursue a college career.
  I commend the University of Michigan for its recognition of Senator 
Robert C. Byrd as the 1997 Distinguished Legislator of the Year.
  But more than that, I salute Senator Robert C. Byrd for having, 
himself, shown the remarkable, personal merit to have attracted the 
attention of the university to his outstanding lifetime achievements, 
including many years he served as majority and minority leader in the 
U.S. Senate, a service to his Nation that, I am confident, helped bring 
about this new honor as the 1997 Distinguished Legislator of the Year.
  Mr. Speaker, many times I have risen to commend our beloved senior 
Senator from West Virginia, for his enormous heart, his unimpeachable 
integrity, his unique compassion and for his trustworthiness as a 
leader of this Nation.
  Today, I rise to commend Senator Byrd for a lifetime of work 
dedicated to helping provide a better life and more opportunity for all 
people. A humble public servant, Senator Byrd strongly believes in what 
he himself has said is ``this miracle of a country, where anything is 
possible, dreams do come true, even for a poor lad from West Virginia 
who once gathered scraps to feed the hogs on a rough hillside farm.''

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