[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 102 (Friday, June 22, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SENATOR BYRD'S HISTORIC 18,000th VOTE

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                        HON. NICK J. RAHALL, II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2007

  Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, today is an historic date in the United 
States Congress, and for my State of West Virginia. Today, our State's 
senior Senator--the senior Senator of all Senior Senators--and the 
President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Robert C. Byrd, has just cast his 
18,000th vote.
  On April 30, 1990, Senator Byrd cast his 12,134th vote, surpassing 
Senator William Proxmire, the previous record holder.
  Now, he has cast 18,000 votes. Talk about a record. They say records 
are made to be broken. I will be very surprised if anyone ever breaks 
this one. It would take a Senator on super steroids!
  Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity, not only to congratulate my 
fellow West Virginian, and my mentor, but to say how proud the people 
of West Virginia are of him.
  Senator Byrd was a virtual orphan boy raised by his aunt and coal-
mining uncle in the hills of southern West Virginia. Through hard work, 
determination, a strong religious belief, an unrelenting drive to gain 
knowledge, and his belief that the United States is indeed the land of 
opportunity, he has climbed to the highest pinnacle of political 
success. He went from a coal miner's shack to the ornate Appropriations 
Committee Suite he now occupies in the U.S. Capitol. Unable to afford 
college after graduating from high school, he became the first person 
to begin and complete law school while serving in the United States 
Congress.
  He has worked pumping gas and as a butcher in a local grocery store, 
and as a welder in the shipyards of Baltimore and Tampa during World 
War II. After the war, he owned and operated a grocery store in Sophia, 
West Virginia. These are unlikely jobs for someone with the kind of 
power our Senator has come to wield in Washington. But I believe they 
helped to mold the man in a way that I think would be of benefit to 
more of our leaders, and, in turn, to our nation. I think the world of 
politics would have a better reputation if more politicians lived the 
kind of hardscrabble life that Senator Byrd endured in his younger 
days. Certainly, it would be better if more of us had a wonderful woman 
like his gracious Erma--his angel in heaven--by our sides, giving us 
counsel and encouragement.
  Now Senator Byrd has cast more votes than any other U.S. Senator, and 
he has done so approaching each vote with depth of thought and breadth 
of experience.
  He has held more Senate leadership positions than any other Senator, 
including two stints as the Senate Majority Leader. And, as I have 
already mentioned, he is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
  While he is the longest serving Senator in history, I am pleased to 
point out that on December 2, 2009, he will have served in the U.S. 
Congress for a total of 56 years, 10 months, and 29 days, making him 
the longest serving member of Congress in history. I am already 
preparing my remarks for that historic day.

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