[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
[[Page S6009]]
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
[[Page S6010]]
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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