[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 18 (Wednesday, February 27, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1250-S1251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING SENATOR HARRY F. BYRD, JR.

  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and honor Harry 
F. Byrd, Jr., for his lifelong commitment to principles and honestly 
serving the people of Virginia and the United States of America. The 
Virginia General Assembly recently honored U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, 
Jr., of Winchester, VA, and celebrated his accomplishments. Some 
present members of the Senate had the pleasure of serving and working 
with Senator Byrd of Virginia. Having the privilege of serving in the 
seat once held by Senator Byrd, I wish to share with all my colleagues 
those positive sentiments expressed in the resolution adopted by the 
General Assembly of Virginia, and ask that the related article be 
printed in the Record.
  The article follows:

[[Page S1251]]

          Text of Senate Resolution Honoring Harry F. Byrd Jr.


                    senate joint resolution no. 179

       Whereas, Harry Flood Byrd, Jr., of Winchester has served 
     the Commonwealth and the nation with great distinction, 
     continuing a Byrd family tradition that dates to the earliest 
     days of the Republic; and
       Whereas, educated at the Virginia Military Institute and 
     the University of Virginia, Harry Byrd, Jr., followed his 
     father Harry Byrd, Sr., into public service, thus forming a 
     father-son combination that was the most influential in 20th 
     century Virginia politics; and
       Whereas, Harry Byrd, Jr., served as a member of the 
     Democratic State Central Committee from 1940 to 1965 and 
     served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World 
     War II; and
       Whereas, following distinguished service in the Senate of 
     Virginia from 1948 to 1965, Harry Byrd, Jr., succeeded his 
     father in the United States Senate on November 12, 1965; and
       Whereas, for the next 18 years, Harry F. Byrd, Jr., 
     maintained the family tradition of fiscal conservation, 
     unquestioned integrity, and a distaste for political 
     expediency; and
       Whereas, Harry F. Byrd, Jr., continued his father's 
     insistence on ``pay as you go'' government, and his aversion 
     to debt still reverberates in Virginia's continued 
     recognition as a fiscally sound, well-managed state; and
       Whereas, Senator Byrd is the oldest living former United 
     States Senator from Virginia; and
       Whereas, the influence of Harry Byrd, Jr., on the political 
     life of Virginia during the 20th century was profound, 
     beneficent, and lasting, and the ideas and ideals he espoused 
     continue to ring true as the Commonwealth enters the 21th; 
     now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, 
     That the General Assembly hereby honor Harry Flood Byrd, Jr., 
     for his dedication, commitment, and integrity over a long and 
     meritorious political career; and, be it
       Resolved further, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a 
     copy of this resolution for presentation to Harry Flood Byrd 
     Jr., as an expression of the admiration and respect of the 
     General Assembly.
                                  ____


                           Harry F. Byrd Jr.

                             (By Bob Lewis)

       Richmond, Va. (AP).--Former U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr. 
     returned to the state Senate chamber to prolonged standing 
     applause Thursday to receive a proclamation in his honor and 
     recall his own Senate service.
       The 87-year-old heir to the political dynasty that ruled 
     Virginia for much of the 20th century noted his first days in 
     the Senate in 1948, when he was pressured into hastily 
     signing onto a bill.
       ``The next day, all hell broke loose. It was interpreted as 
     an effort to keep the president off the ballot that year,'' 
     Byrd said with a chuckle. ``I learned never to sign a bill 
     without reading it.''
       The bill was the state's unsuccessful effort to snub 
     President Harry S. Truman.
       Then, in a soft voice, Byrd looked to his right to the desk 
     he occupied in his 18 years in the state Senate and recalled 
     old days and old friends.
       ``I find it hard to believe it was 54 years ago that I 
     first came here,'' he said. ``I love the Senate. I love the 
     U.S. Senate, too, but this Senate is my favorite. It's 
     smaller and you can make friends here to a greater degree 
     than you can in Washington.''
       Among his closest friends in that freshman Senate class 
     were Albertis Harrison and Mills E. Godwin, who later became 
     Virginia governors. ``And we remained friends until Albertis 
     and Mills died,'' Byrd said.
       Byrd served 18 years in the Virginia Senate as a Democrat, 
     the party his father, Harry F. Byrd Sr., built into a 
     political machine. In 1966, after Byrd Sr. retired from his 
     U.S. Senate seat in poor health, Byrd Jr. won a special 
     election to fill the four years that remained on his father's 
     term. He left the party and won re-election in 1970 and 1976 
     as an independent, then retired from public life in 1982 to 
     return to his hometown, Winchester, and run his family's 
     newspapers.
       Byrd was a former director and a second vice president of 
     The Associated Press.

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