[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 29, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5529-S5532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD

  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise to say a few words about our departed 
colleague.
  This week the Senate lost its longest serving Member not only of the 
Senate but of the Congress. More than that, the Nation lost a true 
servant of the people.
  From humble beginnings, Senator Byrd was, first and foremost, a 
champion for the people of West Virginia. Throughout his many years of 
service, there has been no greater student, teacher, and protector of 
the Senate institution. Senator Byrd was not only a guardian of the 
Senate institution, he was a guardian of the rights our Nation holds 
dear, which is why his most constant companion was the Constitution of 
the United States in his pocket.
  I had the opportunity, when I first arrived in the Senate in 1990, to 
work on the acid rain trading provisions in the Clean Air Act. It was 
known as the Byrd-Bond amendment. We called it the Bond-Byrd amendment 
back in Missouri. The acid rain trading system has worked because there 
was technology available. The cost enabled the equitable sharing of the 
major utilities which had to install expensive equipment that provided 
more benefit than they needed so they could sell off the other parts of 
their credits to smaller companies that could not afford to install 
expensive equipment. That was just a small success for Senator Byrd.
  He was a true champion. He will be missed on the Senate floor. My 
thoughts and prayers are with Senator Byrd's family, his staff, and the 
people of West Virginia.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I stand today with my colleagues with a 
very heavy heart to express my condolences to the Byrd family and to 
the people of West Virginia for losing a great American patriot. It is 
a very sad day for America, for West Virginia, and for the Senate.
  For all of us who knew Senator Byrd, we knew he had five great loves: 
this country, the Constitution, the Senate, the people of West 
Virginia, and his beloved wife Erma.
  Senator Byrd was my mentor and my teacher. When I arrived in the 
Senate, I was the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her 
own right. He took me under his wing and taught me the rules of the 
Senate.
  He said to me:

       Senator Mikulski, he or she who knows the rules will rule. 
     And you will know how to do it.

  His advice to me--when I asked him how to be successful in the 
Senate--was this:

       Senator Mikulski, stay loyal to the Constitution and stay 
     loyal to your constituents and you will do okay.

  From the very first day, he wanted me to succeed. He was so 
welcoming. He made sure I became a member of the Appropriations 
Committee, and he helped me learn how to use my position to meet the 
day-to-day needs of my constituents and the long-term needs of our 
Nation.
  Senator Byrd's career was remarkable. We all know the facts: the 
longest serving Member of Congress in history, the majority leader in 
the Senate, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, President pro 
tempore of the Senate, elected nine times to the Senate. Yet he never, 
ever forgot where he came from. He represented the people of West 
Virginia.
  Born in poverty in the coalfields of West Virginia, raised by an aunt 
and uncle, he was born with four great gifts: a deep faith, a love of 
learning, a strong work ethic, and always saluted the fact that he was 
born in the United States of America, where someone who was, by all 
intents and purposes, an orphan could become a U.S. Senator. He worked 
as a gas station attendant, as a meat butcher, and a welder--I might 
add, a welder in the Baltimore shipyards. He went to night school for 
college and law school while he was in the Senate.
  Senator Byrd wrote and passed many laws, but most important to him 
was that he was an appropriator. He used his position to help the 
people of West Virginia, and he did not apologize for that. He brought 
jobs, roads, and opportunity to one of the poorest States in the 
Nation. He did not call it pork; he called it opportunity. And this 
Senator would certainly agree with him.
  But Senator Byrd also voted his conscience and encouraged other 
Members to do the same. In his 18,000 votes, he was most proud of his 
vote against the Iraq war. He was one of 23 Senators, and I joined him 
in that vote. At that time, it was deeply unpopular. Those of us who 
voted against the war were vilified. But we did the right thing, though 
it was not easy.
  If you love the Senate, you love Bob Byrd. He often reminded us that 
the legislative branch is a coequal part of the government. He fought 
hard against those who wanted to give up Senate prerogatives, such as 
the line-item veto. No one understood Senate procedure better and no 
one protected Senate traditions more than Senator Bob Byrd.
  He wanted to pass it on. With the new Senators, he gave each one of 
us a lecture on the Constitution and gave us a copy of the 
Constitution. He wanted us to know it and to love it in the way he did. 
He also taught us the decorum of the Senate--yes, the decorum of the 
Senate--and how, through our processes and procedures, it was meant to 
promote civility among us.
  To me, as I said, he was a wonderful teacher. I remember going to him 
when I was ready to offer my first amendment on the floor, and I asked 
for his advice on how I could present it and how I could not, quite 
frankly, be rolled. He gave me good, concrete advice. On the day I 
offered my first amendment, there was Senator Byrd in the background. 
He was always there. As I said, Senator Byrd always had my back. I was 
so grateful for having his advice and having his encouragement.
  He lived an extraordinary life and left an extraordinary legacy. He 
stood for citizenship, not partisanship. And maybe that is what we 
should all do. Follow the Constitution. Stay loyal to our Constitution. 
Stay loyal to our Constitution and our constituents. Use the rules of 
the Senate to promote civility and good government. And also make sure 
that at the end of the day,

[[Page S5530]]

we respect the opportunity and greatness of the United States of 
America.
  I mourn the passing of Senator Byrd, but his legacy will live on in 
the rules and the traditions and the many bills he sponsored.
  The people of West Virginia have had great Senators. Senator 
Rockefeller is a great Senator. And Senator Byrd will always be 
remembered, that he built a ``bridge to somewhere'' for all of the 
people of West Virginia.
  Mr. LeMIEUX. Mr. President, I see the roses on the desk of our 
colleague from West Virginia, as I did in the Armed Services Committee 
meeting I left a few minutes ago and will return to shortly. It makes 
me think that what we do here on a day-to-day basis seems very small 
compared to the legacy Senator Byrd has left us over his many years as 
the longest serving Member of Congress. We will do our best in the time 
we have to honor his legacy and thank him today and every day going 
forward for what he has done for this institution. He kept the flame. 
He understood the importance of this body constitutionally, and he 
understood that the rules and procedures of this body were its 
lifeblood and really understood them and recognized them more than 
anyone else who has served in this Chamber and spent his life's work 
protecting them and memorializing them. To him, we owe a great 
commendation.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
Senator and a friend and mentor of mine, Senator Robert C. Byrd. When I 
look at his desk, a place from which he spoke such powerful words so 
many times, it is hard to believe he will not be on the floor of the 
Senate speaking powerfully about what he believed in--the people of 
West Virginia and the great issues of our day. He will be sorely 
missed.
  He was orphaned as a child and grew up poor. He often told us about 
his foster father, who was a coal miner, who had to work hard to scrape 
together food and shelter for their family. He always spoke of working 
men and women and those who were working hard and having a hard time 
making ends meet. I know his heart was always with them.
  From a young age, Senator Byrd learned the importance of hard work, 
dedication, and perseverance--skills that would serve him well 
throughout his long and very distinguished life.
  After graduating from high school at the top of his class in 1934, he 
married his high school sweetheart Erma. Many of us knew her, and those 
who didn't knew of her because he would speak continually about the 
love of his life, his sweetheart Erma. After school, he went on to work 
at a number of odd jobs. He worked as a butcher during the Great 
Depression, earning less than $15 a week. He worked as a gas station 
attendant. During World War II, he was a welder in a shipyard in 
Baltimore. But he never forgot his childhood and where he came from. He 
knew how education had transformed his own life, and he never stopped 
trying to give every American that same opportunity.
  After high school he couldn't afford to go to college. But after he 
was elected to the House of Representatives in 1953, he put himself 
through law school--the only Member of Congress ever to do that while 
in office. He joked that Erma put three children through school, 
himself and their two daughters.
  His wife was the most important person in the world to him, and I 
know he was deeply saddened when Erma died in 2006, as were all of us 
who served in the Senate with him at that time.
  He was a great mentor, a great friend, a great advocate for working 
families of Michigan and of America. I was proud to join with him many 
times as we fought for American workers, whether they were mine workers 
in West Virginia or auto workers in Michigan.
  He loved West Virginia, the people and the landscape. One of his 
favorite Bible verses was from the Psalms:

       I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh 
     my help.

  In my office I proudly display a painting that Senator Byrd gave to 
me, which he painted himself while working in Baltimore so he could 
remember those hills and mountains of his childhood. Today, when I see 
that painting, I remember that Senator who gave so much for the people 
of West Virginia and the people of America. I was proud to stand with 
him as one of the 23--as he reminded me frequently--the 23 who opposed 
the original war in Iraq and stood up for our men and women who have 
bravely served us around the world as well.
  Senator Robert C. Byrd--the Senate is a better place because of him 
and he will be sorely missed.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, 10 years ago I gave my maiden 
speech on the floor of the Senate. I was at a desk on the far side of 
the Chamber. In the course of that speech, I happened to mention that 
it was my maiden speech. I had been here about a month. I went on. I 
can even remember the subject. It was the deficit, since we were in a 
unique position that we actually had a surplus in the Federal 
Government and I did not want to see that surplus piddled away. I 
started talking about the budget and why it was necessary to keep the 
surplus, to utilize the surplus to pay down the national debt over a 
10-year period.
  Some minutes later, after I had said this was my maiden speech, all 
of a sudden the doors to the Chamber flung open and in came Senator 
Robert Byrd. As I was giving this first speech on the floor of the 
Senate, the greatest deliberative body in the world, he went over to 
his desk--the one that is draped with black cloth, and upon it sits the 
vase of flowers to note his passing--he sat there and he looked at me 
and listened to the rest of that oration.
  As I concluded, the Senator from West Virginia rose and said: Will 
the Senator from Florida yield?
  And I said: Of course I yield.
  He proceeded, off the top of his head, from that incredible, detailed 
memory, to lay out the history of maiden speeches on the floor of the 
Senate. He had been back in his office, and he had heard me, in the 
course of the audio from the television, say this was my maiden speech. 
He came up and went into this long discourse about the importance of 
maiden speeches and who were the ones who had given them and how long 
into their service as a new Senator they had waited to give them.
  Later on, as we were debating that budget, the great orator from West 
Virginia took the floor and began talking about a tax cut the Senate 
was considering; a tax cut he voted against, and so did this Senator 
from Florida. The Senator from West Virginia talked about this tax cut 
that was going to be a staggering $1.6 trillion. This is what the great 
senior Senator from West Virginia said. ``That is $1,600 for every 
minute since Jesus Christ was born,'' Senator Byrd declared. He went on 
to say, ``If we go for this big tax cut . . . that money . . . is 
gone.''
  We all like tax cuts, but what we have to have is a balance of tax 
cuts and spending cuts, given the position then that we had a surplus, 
and how to responsibly use that surplus to pay down the national debt. 
What we have is a reversal of that. We, of course, have a huge deficit 
because the revenues are not coming in to match the expenditures and, 
thus, additional problems that have accrued from not listening to the 
Senator who sat in that black-draped desk. No one else spoke like 
Senator Byrd or was as original as he was.
  As we mark the passing of our dear colleague who, it has been said 
many times, was the longest serving Federal lawmaker since the founding 
of the Republic, as we mourn his passing, many will remember the 
Senator from West Virginia by the numbers and by the records he set. He 
made history. He brought depth and grace to the Senate. He is forever 
enshrined as a major part of its history.
  I can tell you that 10 years ago, we freshmen had the blessing of 
being tutored--no, more than tutored; we were students, we were pupils 
of the master teacher. He taught us the rules, so important to the 
conduct of business in this body. But he taught us something more. He 
taught us decorum. He taught us how to preside as the Presiding 
Officer. He taught us that it is respectful that when you are 
presiding, you absolutely listen to the speaker. He taught us so much.
  He was elected to no fewer than nine terms. He served first in the 
House for 6 years. He had cast over 18,000 votes. He presided over both 
the longest session of the Senate and the shortest. We had no fewer 
than 12 Presidents since he first took office.

[[Page S5531]]

  But the numbers do not tell the full story. Robert Byrd was one of 
the greatest advocates for just plain folks and especially if they came 
from West Virginia. He gave them his all, after his first and foremost 
love, his devotion to his wife Erma. In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, 
Robert Byrd always put public service ahead of personal fortune.
  On my desk in my Senate office, as I would suspect on many other 
Senators' desks, are copies of Senator Byrd's addresses on the history 
of the Senate--more than 100 of those speeches delivered over a 10-year 
period. Those are the only books that are set on my personal desk with 
book ends of two American eagles. That study has been called the most 
ambitious study of the Senate ever undertaken. Every day, those books 
remind me of the living history of this institution and its vital role 
in our democracy.
  Senator Byrd made rare and noble contributions to his family, his 
friends, his State, his country, and to this Senate. He was, in a 
living person, the walking history book of the Senate, which he could 
recite. Now, as he has gone on to the ages, he will be known as the 
historian of the Senate. And now forever for history, he will be one of 
the major parts of the Senate's history.
  We mourn his passing, we miss him personally, we grieve for his 
family, and we are thankful there was a public servant who surely the 
Lord would say: Well done, thy good and faithful servant.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, I rise today to join my 
colleagues as we mourn the death and celebrate the life of a man who 
touched all of ours; a man who loved his country, loved the Senate, and 
dedicated his life to preserving its traditions; a man who above all 
cherished his State and who every day considered it his highest honor 
to represent her people.
  On Monday morning, Senator Robert Byrd took his rightful place in our 
history books as a titan of the Senate. On Thursday we will honor him 
as his body lies in state in this Chamber where he served longer than 
any other Senator in our history. Today, we grieve his loss with his 
family and with the entire country.
  My family's history with Senator Byrd goes back many years. My 
father, before he became Secretary of the Interior, served with Senator 
Byrd, then Congressman Byrd, in the House of Representatives. A half 
century later, my father's honor became my own. I am proud to have had 
the privilege of serving in this Chamber with Senator Byrd, of 
experiencing firsthand his distinguished service and remarkable career.
  Senator Byrd will be remembered for many things. He will be 
remembered for his historic length of service; for his rise from humble 
roots to the pinnacles of political power; for his encyclopedic 
knowledge of Senate rules and procedure; and for his love of his wife 
of 68 years, Erma.
  What I will remember Senator Byrd for is his willingness to stand up 
and fight for what he believed in. Two of the most pressing issues of 
the past decade are perfect examples--the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
From the very beginning, Senator Byrd was a voice of opposition to the 
Iraq war. He delivered what will become one of his most memorable 
speeches in the days leading up to the Senate's vote to authorize its 
funding. He spoke out against a war at a time when any opposition to 
the President's path meant putting his own political future in 
jeopardy. But he did not waiver.
  Here is part of what he said:

       No one supports Saddam Hussein. If he were to disappear 
     tomorrow, no one would shed a tear around the world. I would 
     not. My handkerchief would remain dry. But the principle of 
     one government deciding to eliminate another government, 
     using force to do so, and taking that action in spite of 
     world disapproval is a very disquieting thing. I am concerned 
     that it has the effect of destabilizing the world community 
     of nations. I am concerned that it fosters a climate of 
     suspicion and mistrust in U.S. relations with other nations. 
     The United States is not a rogue nation, given to unilateral 
     action in the face of worldwide opprobrium.

  Eight years and thousands of American lives lost later, his words 
read as prophetic.
  But he didn't stop there. Last year--this time with his party holding 
the reins of power in both the White House and the Congress--he did the 
same thing. Seven years had passed, and Senator Byrd was older and more 
fragile than ever before. None of that stopped him from getting to the 
Senate floor that day. How did I know this? I had a front row seat as 
the presiding officer of the Senate that day.
  This time, he questioned the proposed buildup of troops in 
Afghanistan--a proposal I myself had questioned many times as well. 
Here is what Senator Byrd said:

       I have become deeply concerned that in the 8 years since 
     the September 11 attacks, the reason for the U.S. military 
     mission in Afghanistan has become lost, consumed in some 
     broader scheme of nation-building which has clouded our 
     purpose and obscured our reasoning.

  He continued:

       . . . President Obama and the Congress must reassess and 
     refocus on our original and most important objective--namely 
     emasculating a terrorist network that has proved its ability 
     to inflict harm on the United States.

  Time will tell if Senator Byrd's concerns about Afghanistan prove as 
prescient as those he expressed about Iraq almost a decade ago. Time 
also will tell if we heed those concerns.
  What is clear is that Senator Byrd understood the importance of 
asking the tough questions, regardless of their impact on himself 
personally or professionally. In this regard, we could all learn a 
little bit from Senator Byrd.
  I know my Senate colleagues will agree with me when I say this 
institution, this country, this democracy lost a powerful advocate this 
week, and all of us in this Chamber lost a good friend.
  Today I join with my colleagues in expressing my deepest sympathy to 
Senator Byrd's family for their loss and remembering a man whose legend 
and legacy will endure beyond us all.
  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I wish to spend a few minutes talking 
about a truly great Federal employee, and that is Senator Robert C. 
Byrd.
  He personified all the things I try to talk about once a week, 
because Robert Byrd was a Federal employee. Robert Byrd was a creature 
of the U.S. Senate. Robert Byrd had his family, and he was a great 
family man, but the Senate was also his family, and he cared about 
everybody here.
  I remember the first time I ever had contact with Senator Byrd was in 
1972. On election day in 1972, Joe Biden, a 29-year-old candidate for 
the U.S. Senate, was elected to the Senate running against one of the 
most popular officials we ever had in the State of Delaware, a 
wonderful public servant and Federal employee, Caleb Boggs, who had 
been a Congressman and Governor before he became a Senator.
  Just 6 weeks later, on December 18, when his wife and two sons and 
daughter were bringing their Christmas tree home, the car was hit by a 
tractor trailer and Senator Biden's wife and daughter were killed.
  Shortly after that, my church, St. Mary Magdalen in Wilmington, DE, 
had a memorial service for his wife and daughter. I will never forget, 
it was a dark night. It was in December. It was just an ugly night out. 
The church was full, and it was a very moving ceremony. After it was 
over, I found out that Senator Robert Byrd had driven himself to 
Wilmington, DE, come into the church, stood in the back of the church 
for the entire service, and then turned around and drove home. And 
there are hundreds of stories like that where Robert Byrd demonstrated 
his great love for the Senate and for the people of the Senate.
  There are traditions he instilled in the Senate and traditions he 
kept alive in the Senate. I remember when he was majority leader, I 
will tell you what, there were lots of things that just never happened 
because Senator Byrd was going to make sure we stuck to the traditions 
of the Senate. So I wish to recognize Senator Robert Byrd as a great, 
great Federal employee.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I join all Americans in mourning the 
passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd. For more than five decades, Senator 
Robert Byrd served his home State, his beloved West Virginia, with a 
dedication that is unsurpassed in our Nation's history.
  Senator Byrd was legendary for that commitment to his State, for his 
outstanding service as both the Senate's majority and minority leader, 
and for his staunch defense of the U.S. Constitution throughout his 
many years of public service.

[[Page S5532]]

  When I arrived in the Senate, Senator Byrd was in the midst of his 
sixth term, President pro tempore of the Senate, chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee and already a giant of the institution. It was 
an honor to work beside him in this body.
  Senator Byrd was the longest serving Member of Congress in our 
Nation's history, elected to an unprecedented ninth term in the Senate 
in 2006. It was a long road from his humble beginnings in rural West 
Virginia to his long and distinguished service here. Along the way, 
Senator Byrd's life was characterized by hard work and a steely 
determination.
  And of all the things he was determined to do, perhaps the most 
significant was his determination to get an education. Senator Byrd 
prized education, and fought to get one for himself despite difficult 
odds. That long effort culminated in Senator Byrd earning his law 
degree, after 10 years of night classes as he served in Congress by 
day. He was 46 years old when he graduated, and President John F. 
Kennedy presented him with the diploma.
  He shared that love of learning as a champion of continuing 
education, and through the establishment of the Robert C. Byrd Honors 
Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to high school seniors 
who show promise of continued excellence in postsecondary education.
  Senator Byrd was dedicated to the Senate and served an invaluable 
role as a historian of the institution. He wrote a distinguished 
multivolume history of the Senate, and also authored several other 
books. In fact when I drafted my proposed constitutional amendment on 
Senate vacancies, I consulted one of his volumes on Senate history. He 
had written a chapter on the 17th amendment to the Constitution that 
was very helpful in putting the issue of Senate vacancies in a 
historical context.
  As a student of Senate history, both the U.S. Senate and the Roman 
Senate, he was also a passionate defender of the powers of the 
legislative branch. One would expect no less of a man so devoted to our 
Constitution. Senator Byrd was eloquent as he spoke about the need to 
stand up for our Constitution and its principles here in the Senate, 
and faithfully carried a copy of the Constitution with him every day. 
He was very proud of his efforts to encourage students to learn more 
about this document and our great democracy.
  In Senator Byrd's lifetime of leadership, he worked on so many 
important issues. As the Senate's majority leader, he helped to lead 
the fight against the undue influence of money in politics in an effort 
with then-Senator David Boren of Oklahoma. Together they sponsored 
campaign finance legislation and worked to pass it in what has been 
described as ``one of the most extraordinary exhibitions of 
perseverance on the Senate floor, as Byrd led the Senate through eight 
unsuccessful votes to end a filibuster.'' While that legislation 
stalled, it was one of the efforts that paved the way for later 
reforms, and I am grateful for his efforts.
  I respected him for that, and for so many of the principled stands he 
took during our service together, including his opposition to the Iraq 
war. He brought tremendous wisdom and insight to our work here and I 
know how much those gifts will be missed.
  Robert C. Byrd was a man who sought to learn every day of his life, 
and in turn taught all of us a great deal. He taught us about our 
nation's history, about the people he represented, and about the 
institution of the Senate he loved. While Senator Byrd's passing is a 
loss for the nation, his legacy of innumerable achievements will live 
on for many, many years to come. My thoughts are with his family and 
many friends today.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, on Monday, we lost a colleague and dear 
friend with the passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd. My deepest sympathy 
goes out to his family, friends, dedicated staff, and the people of 
West Virginia. Senator Byrd was truly a giant among Senators. His 
presence will be greatly missed.
  Few have had the command of history that Senator Byrd possessed, and 
I suspect none have matched his knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and 
the Senate in which he served. Senator Byrd never passed up the 
opportunity to give a history lesson, delivering impassioned speeches 
peppered with poetry, lessons from ancient Rome, and his unique 
understanding of the workings of this Chamber. He also never forgot to 
remind us of the importance of Mother's Day, the beauty of the first 
day of spring, or how devoted he was to his beloved wife Erma.
  Senator Byrd held fiercely to his beliefs. Yet, he had the humility 
and wisdom to change beliefs he realized were wrong. History will 
remember Senator Byrd, not only for his numerous records of service, 
but for his unwavering commitment to education, public infrastructure, 
and the State of West Virginia.
  This year, 19 outstanding high school students from my home State of 
South Dakota joined the ranks of thousands of Robert C. Byrd Honors 
Scholarship recipients that are furthering their education, in part, 
because of Senator Byrd's belief in the value of higher education. He 
embodied that belief in his own life, earning a law degree while 
serving in Congress and striving to continue learning each day.
  Senator Byrd also understood the value of investing in the small, 
sometimes overlooked communities of his State. Where others saw 
``pork,'' he saw jobs, opportunities, and hope for hard-working 
Americans. He understood--better than most--that without roads, clean 
water, and reliable utilities, rural communities will struggle to reach 
their full potential.
  Though he would later ``walk with Kings, meet Prime Ministers and 
debate with Presidents,'' Senator Byrd never forgot his roots in the 
hills of West Virginia. West Virginia lost a true champion, but his 
mark on the State will last far longer than even his half century in 
Congress.
  I am honored to have served with Senator Byrd. This institution is a 
better place for his time here.

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