[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 18, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11445-S11446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONGRATULATING SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD

  Mr. KIRK. Mr. President, as the 100th Member of the Senate, it is my 
great honor to pay tribute to this body's longest serving Member, 
Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, on the occasion of his record-
setting 20,774th day as a Member of Congress.
  I have the fondest memories, as a young staffer here, of listening to 
the sounds of Senator Byrd's fiddle wafting from his suite on the first 
floor of the Russell Senate Office Building. And I am proud today, as I 
do most days, to wear a wristwatch which was given to me, generously, 
by Senator Byrd over 20 years ago as I was completing my tenure as 
chairman of the Democratic Party of the United States.
  I pay tribute to Senator Byrd on behalf of myself and the people of 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but I also pay tribute on behalf of 
my predecessor and a great friend of Senator Byrd's, former Senator 
Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.
  It is true that Senator Kennedy and Senator Byrd did not always see 
eye to eye on every issue. Senator Kennedy used to joke that it was 
Senator Byrd who taught him how to count votes in their whip race in 
1971. Actually, he taught us both how to count votes because I was a 
young aide to Senator Kennedy in his whip's office at the time and it 
turned out that Senator Byrd clearly could count votes more accurately 
than we could.
  Over the years since, Senator Kennedy was always proud to be in this 
Chamber when his friend Senator Byrd would speak. As Senator Kennedy 
once said, he knew Senator Byrd was an expert on the Roman Senate, and 
he was sure Senator Byrd's ``wisdom and oratorical skill would make 
even Cicero envious.''

  Senator Byrd and Senator Kennedy shared a love of the Senate, and 
they shared a love of poetry. One poem they returned to over the years 
was entitled ``A Psalm of Life'' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Senator 
Byrd, of course, knows this poem by heart, and so I need not read it 
all today. Instead, let me recite the last few stanzas to the Senate 
and for the Record, as these words sum up the force that is Senator 
Byrd:

     ``Lives of great men all remind us
     We can make our lives sublime
     And, departing, leave behind us
     Footprints on the sands of time;

     ``Footprints that perhaps another
     Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
     A forlorn and shipwrecked brother
     Seeing, shall take heart again

     ``Let us then be up and doing,
     With a heart for any fate;
     Still achieving, still pursuing,
     Learn to labor and to wait.''

  Throughout his brilliant career, Senator Byrd has made so many 
footprints on the sands of time. He has touched, taught, and inspired 
hundreds of colleagues from every State and thousands upon thousands of 
Senate staff members have marveled at his genius, his dedication to the 
people of West Virginia, and his unparalleled service to the Senate and 
to this country.
  I join all my colleagues in wishing him well on this special day in 
the history of the Senate, and I congratulate him on his incredible 
service to the State of West Virginia, to the Senate of the United 
States, and to the United States of America.
  We thank you, Senator Byrd, for your service, and we congratulate 
you.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Virginia is 
recognized.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, let me commend my colleague, the Senator 
from Massachusetts, for his comments about Senator Byrd. I also want to 
join in recognizing and celebrating Senator Byrd's service to West 
Virginia and to our country. As a new Member to this body, I did not 
have the occasion to work as closely with Senator Byrd as others. 
However, as a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia, not only did I 
follow the enormous respect Senator Byrd has engendered here in the 
Senate, but I have also watched with awe Senator Byrd's ability to 
bring jobs back to West Virginia. He was able to relocate many Federal 
agencies and activities, oftentimes that may have previously resided in 
Virginia, to the State of West Virginia.
  I join my colleagues in commending Senator Byrd, not only for his 
enormous service to this body and to our country, but as someone who 
has been a tireless advocate for his home State of West Virginia.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in commenting on 
and thanking Senator Byrd for his extraordinary leadership, not just 
for the people of West Virginia but the people of our Nation--in fact, 
to millions of people around the world--because of the policies he has 
driven here, the speeches, the words he has put behind so many of the 
most remarkable policy decisions over the last half century. His work 
has had enormous impact, again, not just in his State and in our Nation 
but worldwide.
  I am speaking also as a Senator from Louisiana to give firsthand 
witness to his sensitive and timely and extraordinary leadership after 
the Katrina and Rita disasters, now almost 4\1/2\ years ago; it will be 
5 years this August. That is hard to believe. The hurricanes and the 
subsequent levee failures devastated one of the great cities in America 
and one of the great regions. There were very few people who stood up 
in Washington. The administration at the time had a hard time grasping 
the scope of the disaster. But there was one person who understood. 
There were several others, but one in particular understood--amazingly, 
without even having gone down there, which was very hard to understand 
if you didn't go to New Orleans or south Louisiana. But he 
instinctively understood because of his compassion and great empathy 
that has been developed over a lifetime of caring, giving, 
understanding, and listening.
  Senator Byrd heard the cries of the people and he responded. Because 
of his leadership on the Appropriations Committee, despite having so 
much stacked against us, he was able to step up. I will never forget 
and the people of our State will never forget the friend we have had in 
Senator Byrd. He continues, to this day, to watch after our recovery 
and support it. When New Orleans makes its 300th anniversary, which 
will be 2018--our city will be 300 years old--there will be a person 
who needs to be thanked on that day for helping the city to reach its 
300th birthday, and that would be the great Senator from West Virginia 
Robert C. Byrd.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I have the great privilege of rising 
to pay tribute to my chairman, the longest serving Senator in the 
history of this country, the senior Senator from West Virginia, Robert 
C. Byrd.
  He has reached a milestone among many in his career. It is an 
extraordinary record of service and dedication and patriotism to the 
country, and it reflects the values of the people of West Virginia and 
of this great Nation. Senator Byrd's extraordinary service is measured 
not just in length but accomplishments, but the length is impressive, 
indeed. He has 20,744 days of service as a Member of Congress--over 56 
years, 10\1/2\ months. Over that time, Senator Byrd has cast over 
18,500 rollcall votes, witnessed the inauguration of 11 Presidents, and 
he has been successful in 15 out of 15 elections.
  For over 60 years, Senator Byrd has represented the people of West 
Virginia tirelessly, with a great deal of energy and a great deal of 
success. He started in the West Virginia House of Delegates and then 
was elected to the West Virginia State Senate. Then he went to the U.S. 
House of Representatives. Finally, he came here to the U.S. Senate, 
where he is currently serving in an unprecedented ninth full term.
  I think Senator Byrd's success is a reflection of his steady 
progress, learning first about the people of his home State as he 
worked among them, knowing them well because they were his friends and 
neighbors; and then going on into local government and dealing with the 
concerns as a State representative and then as a State senator; and 
then coming to the House of Representatives, understanding the 
operation of the House and how he could help the people of West 
Virginia; and finally, he coming here to the U.S. Senate.

[[Page S11446]]

  What is incredibly impressive about Senator Byrd is that he is not 
only the longest serving Senator in the history of this country, he is 
the most knowledgeable Senator with respect to the history of our body. 
He is the author--he literally wrote the book on the U.S. Congress and 
the Senate, among so many others that he has written. This reflects his 
incredible talent and intellect but also his incredible hard work and 
tenacity, and it reflects the range of experience he has had.
  No one knows this body better than Robert Byrd. No one has served it 
longer. Nobody has served it with the same kind of energy, insight, and 
dedication. It has been reflected in West Virginia, across the Nation, 
and across the globe. For example, in 1947, shortly before Senator Byrd 
first came to Washington D.C. as a U.S. Congressman, there were only 
four miles of divided four-lane highway, in West Virginia. Today, as a 
result of Senator Byrd's work, the expansive Appalachian Development 
Highway System is nearing completion. He understood, as we must today, 
that economic development is not only a fundamental need, but that it 
results largely from the infrastructure improvements that speed 
commerce and literally connect people to one another.
  Senator Byrd also is a tireless advocate for miners, those men and 
women--principally men--who go down and literally risk their lives in 
the coal mines. He knows this firsthand. As a result, mining-related 
injuries in West Virginia have significantly declined since Senator 
Byrd came here--the results of his actions, the results of his 
understanding, and the results of his commitment to the people he 
served. He worked hard each and every day for those who risk their 
lives in a dangerous occupation and deserve the attention and respect 
of this body and our country.
  He has done much more than help the people of West Virginia. As I 
indicated before, as the greatest scholar in our body, he has 
demonstrated a profound understanding and respect for the Constitution 
of the United States. He has shown that not just in words but in deeds. 
He has been prepared to stand up when he thought constitutional values 
were being impaired. Indeed, no commitment is greater to Senator Byrd 
than his commitment to the Constitution and the values therein. He has 
stood up forcefully and persuasively on so many occasions to defend the 
Constitution and to serve truly the oath we all take to preserve, 
protect, and defend the Constitution.
  On Friday, Senator Byrd will celebrate his 92nd birthday. He will 
celebrate that in his usual fashion: He will work, I am sure. He will 
work for the people of West Virginia, for the people of this country, 
and for the people of the world. He will reflect back on his dearest 
partner, his wife, who was his support, comfort, and inspiration. He 
will reflect upon his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. 
He will reflect upon a life well lived in service to his country. But 
more important, he will look ahead to the work he will do as he 
finishes this term and prepares for his next election to represent the 
people of West Virginia.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I would like to acknowledge the service 
of Senator Byrd, the senior Member of the Senate who, today, will 
become the longest serving Member of the U.S. Congress ever in our 
Nation's history.
  When I first came to this body as a young aide to Senator Howard 
Baker 42 years ago, Senator Byrd had already been here as a Senator for 
10 years. He had been in the Congress 6 more years than that.
  I remember when he, Senator Baker, was elected majority leader and 
Senator Byrd was the Democratic leader, Baker went to Byrd and said: 
Bob, I have a proposal for you. I will never learn the rules as well as 
you know them, so I won't surprise you if you won't surprise me.
  Senator Byrd said to Senator Baker: Howard, let me think about it.
  So he thought about it overnight, came back, and that was their deal 
the next day, and that is the way they worked for 4 years in managing 
this Senate. Senator Byrd and Senator Baker both read David 
McCullough's book. Senator Byrd told me it changed their minds about 
the Panama Canal in 1980 in a decisive decision that was controversial 
in the Senate. I worked with him and the late Senator Kennedy, whom the 
Presiding Officer succeeded, on American history, and we have 
legislation pending which I hope we will pass when we reauthorize the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act consolidating all the Federal 
Government's activities to encourage our children to learn U.S. history 
so they will know what it means to be an American.
  Senator Byrd now more than ever is a part of that history. He is an 
indispensable Member of this body. He teaches us as well as serves with 
us and we honor him for his service.
  I yield the floor.

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