[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 78 (Friday, June 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6008-S6010]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to congratulate 
my friend, the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, who has 
achieved the distinction of being the longest serving Senator in the 
history of the Senate. Even though this is definitely a noteworthy 
achievement, what has set Senator Byrd apart from all others who have 
served as Senators is the dedication he has shown to the duties of his 
office, his respect for the traditions of the Senate, and his 
leadership of this body during his service in the Senate.
  As President pro tempore, majority leader, and chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee, he has succeeded in protecting and enforcing 
the rules of the Senate, first written by Thomas Jefferson during his 
service as Vice President and the Presiding Officer of the Senate, and 
he used his leadership skills to successfully lead the Senate in 
changing the rules when a consensus for modernizing the rules 
permitted. His insights into the needs of his constituents and his 
devotion to their well-being have been admirable.
  Perhaps his greatest contribution to our understanding of the Senate 
was his authorship of the ``Addresses on the History of the United 
States Senate,'' the most comprehensive account of the role the Senate 
has played over the years.
  I commend the Senator from West Virginia for his illustrious and 
record-breaking career in the Senate, and I wish for him many more 
years of service in this body.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr President, I am sorry that I was not present on the 
floor on Monday when my colleagues paid tribute to my friend, Robert C. 
Byrd, but I would like to add my voice to the chorus speaking on his 
unsurpassed contributions to the U.S. Senate and to America.
  I say without hesitation Senator Byrd is one of the most remarkable 
men I have ever had the privilege to work with. Although I have been 
here for 33 years, he is the only Member whom I have looked up to as my 
senior--my senior in every way.
  When my days are finished in this Chamber, my children, my 
grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren will know that I served with 
the greatest servant of the U.S. Senate of all who have served.
  Once someone said of another West Virginian, Stonewall Jackson, that 
``his character and will make him a stonewall and more of a stonewall 
than any man I've ever known.''
  I say the same of Robert Byrd. When he walks on the floor, 
Constitution in

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his pocket, and he looks around, raises his voice, points his finger, 
he is our stonewall. He is the unshakeable rock of this institution. He 
is our foundation. He is the protector of this body.
  I am absolutely certain that the Senator's service, knowledge, and 
contributions to the Senate will never be surpassed. This country 
gentleman has no peer. No one has given as much to this institution or 
loved it as much as the senior Senator from West Virginia.
  The Senate is what it is because of Robert Byrd. And he is our wise 
senior, not because of the records but because he is a man of his 
conviction. He has told the truth on every issue that confronts our 
country. He is our rock of integrity.
  When I was elected at age 29, and 6 weeks later, before I was sworn 
in, my wife and daughter were killed in a terrible car accident, 
Senator Byrd came to the funeral home. He waited in a long line to pay 
his respects. It was an act of kindness that I have never forgotten.
  I know how bittersweet this honor is for him, as his lifemate, Erma, 
would have been 89 years old this week. We all admire the love and 
devotion the two of them had for each other, in health and in sickness. 
We know his first love was not in the Chamber; it was at home. We also 
know how proud she would be of him this week.
  One of America's favorite West Virginians, who also set a lot of 
records in his day, is Mr. Clutch, Jerry West. He once said: ``You 
can't get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel 
good.''
  Senator Byrd has worked 17,331 days--days that have been good and 
bad. In all that time, he has made the most out of every one of them 
and gotten more done than anyone will ever know. It has been an honor 
serving with him for 12,209 of those days. I look forward to many more 
days and years together.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in paying tribute to 
one of our most distinguished Members, the Senior Senator from West 
Virginia, Mr. Byrd.
  As he passes the milestone of becoming the Senate's longest serving 
Member, I would remind him of a statement by Yogi Berra when they asked 
him about one of his many records. He said, ``I knew that one would 
stand until it was broken.'' Perhaps when medical science allows us to 
live to be 150 years old his record may be broken, but until then, I 
think he is safe.
  Knowing the Senator's affection for the simple truth, I just want to 
make three points in recognizing this achievement which he embodies to 
an extraordinary degree.
  The first is: Your life is what you make it.
  Our former colleague, Senator Dave Durenberger told me the story of a 
Friday afternoon in the Senate in 1987 when he was standing in for 
Senator Dole for the procedural ``wrap up'' with Senator Byrd. The 
Twins were in the World Series at the time and on the Record, Senator 
Durenberger asked Senator Byrd if he wanted to come to Minnesota to see 
one of the games.
  Senator Byrd said he has not seen a professional baseball game, or 
football game, or Hollywood movie for more than a decade. But he said 
he had not been idle. He shared that he had read the Bible cover to 
cover many times, had read all the plays of Shakespeare, all the Lives 
of Plutarch and the entire Oxford Unabridged Dictionary.
  Many of us wonder what we might accomplish without the many 
distractions of modern life. We should look to Senator Byrd for the 
answer.
  The second point I would like to make is: People change.
  When we look at Robert Byrd's upbringing and the person he has 
become, it underlies a basic truth which has been made clear by all the 
great hearts and minds of history. Life is not what happens to you: 
life is what you choose to do with what happens to you.
  Change and growth is always possible in people's lives, if they have 
the courage to change and discipline to grow.
  And my third point is: This Senate is unique.
  For the sake of the 100 of us who temporarily occupy these seats, 
Senator Byrd has embodied the truth that the Senate is unique in human 
history and its value must be preserved.
  The genius of our Founders was their understanding of the heights and 
depths of human endeavor and their ability to translate those thoughts 
into practical institutions which maximized the heights and minimized 
the depths.
  They knew that the philosophy of democracy must honor both the 
principle of majority rule and the protection of minority rights. And 
so in article I of the Constitution they created a House to operate 
mostly by majority rule and a Senate mostly to protect minority rights. 
The balance they struck has given a dynamic quality to the Congress 
that serves our Nation well on every conceivable issue.
  I have often gone up to Senator Byrd on this floor and told him that 
he has given me something I could not get from any other source: a 
proper appreciation for the living history of the Senate that leads to 
reverence for this institution.
  Robert Byrd and his service in the Senate is a great American story. 
It tells anyone who will listen how a person from humble origin can 
rise to leadership and then strive his whole life to keep the way open 
for those who would come up behind him.
  We know that great ideas are just a generation from extinction. I am 
grateful to have had the chance to see many of those great ideas 
embodied and standing on this floor in the person of Senator Robert C. 
Byrd.
  My tribute to him will be to try to learn and live out the lessons he 
has lovingly and forcefully tried to teach us all in this Chamber.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a tribute to my 
colleague Senator Robert Byrd. Few men in our Nation's history have had 
such a large hand in shaping the U.S. Senate and the destiny of our 
country as Robert Byrd. No one in our country's history has served in 
the Senate longer or with more distinction.
  Senator Byrd's Senate career truly is a remarkable American success 
story. Only in America could a young man from the coal fields of 
Appalachia use hard work, intelligence, and determination to one day 
become the longest serving Senator in U.S. history.
  He has often been called the Senate's historian. I have often been 
amazed at Senator Byrd's prolific ability to weave the great authors 
and poets of the past into modern relevant lessons for today's society. 
Cicero, Shakespeare, Tacitus, Aquinas, Jefferson, and Washington are 
not simply names memorized from a textbook for Senator Byrd. They are 
living characters with indelible truths that we should all spend more 
time studying and give more time to in quiet reflection. Senator Byrd 
reminds us all of the importance of the august traditions of the Senate 
and why this is the world's greatest deliberative body.
  You will never find Senator Byrd without his copy of the 
Constitution. I dare say there are few individuals here in this body 
with a greater love or commitment to those noble ideas our Founding 
Fathers fought and died defending.
  But above all, I have been most impressed with his love and 
dedication to his family.
  Senator Byrd and his beloved wife, Erma, were an amazing example for 
what we should all strive for in a loving marriage. For nearly 69 years 
Robert and Erma were together side by side, living and loving together. 
I would like to share some touching words that Senator Byrd gave in 
testament to his great wife--his greatest treasure:

       She met with kings and shahs, princes and princesses, 
     Governors and Senators, Presidents. She entertained the high 
     and the mighty, the powerful and the wealthy of this Nation 
     in a foreign land because it was important to her husband who 
     served as the majority leader of this Senate and various 
     other Senatorial offices. She did it all with an innate, 
     inherent graciousness, incredible patience, and a soft, warm 
     smile. She was a remarkable lady of great wisdom, but most of 
     all, great gentleness, yet she could be tough when she saw 
     injustice or unfairness.

  I think America could use more devotion like that.
  In closing, I congratulate Senator Byrd on his amazing 
accomplishments and to his 17,329 days in service to his country in the 
U.S. Senate. When the history books record his deeds and actions, he 
will truly be remembered in the pantheon of legends that have forever 
left their mark on our great nation.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, just a few days ago Senator Robert C. Byrd 
set a

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very remarkable record. He is now the longest serving Senator in the 
history of the Senate. The Senate, the legislative body that means so 
much to him, now honors him for his achievement and for the remarkable 
record of service that he has given to the United States. I appreciate 
having the opportunity to be a part of our recognition of our colleague 
and his commitment to public service and the people of his home State 
of West Virginia.
  For almost 48 years now, Robert C. Byrd has carried the title of U.S. 
Senator. I think it is fair to say that no one has done so with a 
greater awareness of what it means to be a Senator and of all the 
institution of the Senate represents. He is truly our institutional 
memory and he is the master of the Senate's rules and procedures. No 
one knows better than he the precedents and prerogatives of the Senate, 
and no one is a better protector, promoter and defender of them than he 
is.
  It is not just for the length of his service that Senator Byrd is 
being honored, however. It isn't so much the years he has served but 
the service he has provided to the people of the United States and his 
State of West Virginia that has earned him the accolades he has 
received and will continue to receive from his colleagues and his 
constituents.
  Our celebration of this moment and all he has achieved is softened by 
the loss of his beloved wife Erma, his greatest friend and supporter, 
his companion through life and almost 69 years of marriage, who passed 
away recently. I am sure she is looking down on us all, proud and 
thrilled to see Senator Byrd's continued efforts to address the issues 
of importance to his beloved friends of West Virginia and to note his 
recognition for being their champion for so many years.
  During my service in the Senate I have appreciated working with 
Senator Byrd on a variety of issues, most recently the Miner Safety 
Act. We were both there at the President's side as he took up his pen 
and signed the bill into law. As he did, he noted Senator Byrd's 
presence because he knew the bill was the result of Senator Byrd's 
heartfelt concern for the miners of his State, for their safety, and 
the security of their families.

  I have no doubt that if we were to look up the words ``constituent 
service'' in any book it would immediately refer us to Senator Byrd's 
work in the Senate. He has been an active and effective advocate for 
the people of West Virginia and he has worked tirelessly and diligently 
to address their needs in the Congress.
  Looking back, Senator Byrd's life reads like a Hollywood movie 
script. He graduated first in his high school class and married his 
high school sweetheart. He then spent 12 years saving the money he 
needed to start college.
  Through the years that followed, he held a variety of jobs that gave 
him an understanding of the needs of the working people of his State. 
He also developed his talent for the fiddle, and soon became known for 
that as well. Before long he was a member of the State legislature and, 
not too long thereafter, he came to the Senate.
  Here in the Senate, no one has shown a greater understanding of the 
history and meaning of the U.S. Constitution and the role it plays in 
shaping our values and our way of life as Americans. We both have a 
habit of carrying a copy in our pocket to remind us of our job here in 
the Senate and our responsibility as Senators to adhere to the 
provisions of the Constitution and all it says and requires us to do.
  Whenever I think of Senator Byrd, the first thing that comes to mind 
is his incredible knowledge and understanding of world history and the 
American experience. He also has a profound and substantive mastery of 
the legacy of the written word. Whenever he takes to the floor to 
present his views on an issue he always has a ready reference to the 
precedents of the past, or the words of some great author who had 
written something appropriate to the moment.
  Now, Senator Byrd, the great student of the history of our Nation and 
so much more, is himself a part of the great story of America and the 
traditions of the Senate. Every day he joins us here to deliberate on 
the issues before the Senate, he writes another chapter of his own 
life's story, a story that will be forever told and retold back in his 
home State, in the mountains and valleys of West Virginia, by the 
people who live there who will forever remember him and his legacy as 
their Senator--a legacy that will never be forgotten.

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