[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S156-S157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ROBERT BYRD

  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I couldn't help thinking today, as we 
were sitting in our weekly caucus--that the senior member of our party 
here in the Senate and the most senior Member of the Senate, and the 
senior Senator from West Virginia, the distinguished Robert C. Byrd, 
has now served 50 years which is an all time record as the longest 
serving Senator in our country.
  I have had the privilege of serving beside Senator Byrd for 34 years 
and am proud to call him a very good friend. When I first came to the 
Senate as a new Member, it was Robert Byrd who took me aside and talked 
to me about the rules of the Senate. Senator Byrd took the time to 
speak about the rules and history of the Senate, but he also talked 
about the customs, and practices of this body. He spoke of the way you 
treat each other, and how you treat members of the other party. He also 
explained the customary order of recognition, the kinds of courtesies 
you use and the importance of taking into consideration the needs of 
another Senator.
  Senator Byrd and I have sat here through inaugurations of Presidents, 
and we have traveled together to funerals of colleagues with whom we 
have served. His late wife, Erma, and my wife, Marcelle, were friends 
and would often ride together down to the Senate for Senate gatherings. 
I know I would always enjoy running into Erma and Bob in the grocery 
store in McLean, VA. After a while, we would tend to forget what it was 
we had gone to the store for because we would be catching up on the 
news of the Senate. Throughout it all, Bob Byrd has always had that 
great sense of what it means to be a Senator.
  I said many times on the floor of this Senate that there are only 100 
of us who have the privilege at any given time to serve here and the 
American people. Bob Byrd has always understood that better than most 
of us ever will. We can be and should be the conscience of the Nation.
  We are, above all, a Senate of reasonable men and women who live by 
very specific rules, and we hurt both the Senate and the country if we 
ignore those rules. So many times I have heard Senator Byrd, who would 
see us moving away from the rules which guide us, stand up to address 
the Chair and remind each one of us what it means to be a Senator, what 
it means to protect those principals and what it means to serve this 
country.
  Senators come and go. All of us will at some time leave this body. 
But those Senators who do the most to uphold and keep the functions and 
history of the Senate alive are the ones who will make it a better 
place for the next generation of Senators. Senator Byrd has authored 
histories of this Chamber, but then he has also lived the history of 
this Chamber.
  I salute my good friend from West Virginia. I look forward to serving 
with him for years to come.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Madam President, I rise today to honor a giant of 
the Senate, my colleague and the senior Senator from West Virginia, 
Robert C. Byrd.
  Yesterday we watched a number of new Senators take an enormously 
important oath to serve our country and to defend our Constitution. I 
was included in taking that oath and I couldn't help but think of my 
new colleagues. If these new Senators are looking for an inspiration, a 
guiding light, or a model, the way that I did some years ago, they need 
look no further than the seat directly behind our distinguished 
majority leader.
  In that seat they will find a man who took that same oath that we did 
50 years ago today. Senator Byrd has taken that oath a total of nine 
times. He has cast more votes than anyone in the history of the Senate. 
He has held more leadership positions than anyone in the history of the 
Senate. He has served longer than anyone in the Senate. He has 
literally written the book on the Senate and lived the story of the 
Senate over five decades.
  Robert C. Byrd is nothing short of a legend. However, 50 years ago 
today he was a young man from West Virginia who married a coal miner's 
daughter. He had spent 4 years in the West Virginia Legislature and 6 
years in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  No one could know in 1959 that he would be a legend in 50 years. What 
they did know was Robert Carlyle Byrd was an ambitious self-starter who 
would put himself through law school while serving in the U.S. 
Congress.
  They knew Senator Byrd was always willing to help a colleague and to 
provide advice and guidance.
  In 1959 they knew Robert Byrd had married his grade school 
sweetheart--

[[Page S157]]

Erma Ora--who would stand with him her entire life and was just as 
beloved as he was in West Virginia and in Washington. Senator Byrd 
always knew Erma's greatness saying she was not only his wife but his 
best counselor.
  Speaking of West Virginia, the Senate knew from his first days here 
that he would advocate fiercely for the citizens of our State and 
throughout the years would bring prosperity to West Virginia.
  While they knew these things in 1959, today we know Senator Byrd as 
the conscience of the Senate. We know him as the Senator with the 
greatest longevity. In West Virginia we now know him as the West 
Virginian of the 20th century and I am glad the Nation has had the 
opportunity to get to know Senator Byrd over these last 50 years.
  I know my colleagues join me in congratulating Senator Byrd on a 
record-setting 50 years in the Senate. Senator, I wish you many more.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I want to join Senator Reid and all of 
my colleagues in congratulating Senator Robert Byrd on reaching yet 
another historic milestone in his lifetime of public service.
  In the history of the U.S. Senate, only one Senator, Robert Carlyle 
Byrd, has served for 50 years.
  A half century of service to his State, our Nation, this institution, 
and our Constitution. That is a remarkable achievement and one that we 
are not likely to see again for a very long time.
  Senator Byrd is, of course, a great student of history and the author 
of the definitive work on the history of the Senate. In fact, one could 
say that Robert C. Byrd is Senate history.
  Senator Byrd has served with (not under, with) 11 Presidents--very 
soon to be 12 Presidents.
  He was the first U.S. Senator ever to cast 15,000 votes, and he is 
the only Senator ever to cast 18,000 votes.
  Senator Byrd has served as majority leader, and held more leadership 
positions than any Senator in history.
  To help put the length of his service in perspective, consider a few 
facts:
  When Senator Byrd cast his first vote in the Senate--on January 8, 
1959--his colleagues included Senators John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. 
Vice President Richard Nixon was the Presiding Officer. Hawaii was not 
yet a State. And a state-of-the-art computer would have taken up half 
of the space of this Chamber and had roughly the same amount of 
computing power as a Palm Pilot.
  He has been a candidate for election 13 times--10 times as a 
candidate for the Senate and 3 times as a candidate for the House. He 
won every time.
  And he has become perhaps the most popular political figure in West 
Virginia history. He was named West Virginian of the Century by the 
residents of his home State.
  Senator Byrd's recent reelection to this body is a testimony to West 
Virginians' enduring respect and admiration for this proud son of ``the 
Mountain State.''
  It is an honor to serve with this giant of Senate history, and to 
share with him this milestone. Again, I commend him and congratulate 
him.
  Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I would like to offer my very 
sincere and heartfelt congratulations to the President pro tempore of 
this body, Senator Robert Byrd. He has served in the body for 50 years. 
I have had the privilege of working on the Appropriations Committee 
with him. There has been no one who has been more faithful to the 
Constitution, to the goals of the Senate or who has served this Senate 
more honorably. I wish to say congratulations, Mr. Chairman. May you 
have many more years.

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