[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5646-S5647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
mourning the loss of one of the Senate's legendary Members--Robert C. 
Byrd, the honorable senior Senator from the great State of West 
Virginia.
  It wasn't too long ago that I looked right over there and I saw a 
desk draped in black with roses and it was one titan of the Senate--
Senator Ted Kennedy. Today, I look down here and I see a desk draped in 
black with white roses and it is a second titan of the Senate.
  I had the privilege of serving with Senator Byrd on the 
Appropriations Committee for some 16 years. I have had occasion to 
watch him. He could be very tough, he could be very caring, and he 
could have that twinkle in his eye. He could depart from the present 
text into Greek tragedy; into old Roman speaking. He had an incredibly 
curious mind. I think he is going to be greatly missed from this body.
  I think of him representing the State of West Virginia for 51 years 
and serving 6 years in the House of Representatives. During all those 
57 years, he served with the kind of devotion and passion that he 
showed in his last year here in the Senate, when he was very troubled 
by declining health. He has truly left an indelible imprint on the 
State of West Virginia and on this body. No one has ever shown more 
determination or greater love for the United States Senate than Robert 
C. Byrd. His tenure has been legendary.
  He held a number of key leadership positions, including secretary of 
the Senate Democratic Caucus, Senate majority whip, twice as Senate 
majority leader, the Senate's minority leader, and three times as 
chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
  During the period of 1989 to 2010, Senator Byrd was President pro 
tempore of the Senate--the most senior Democrat and third in the line 
of Presidential succession; also as President pro tempore emeritus when 
the Democrats were in the minority.
  Senator Byrd cast more rollcall votes than any other Member of this 
institution--18,689 in total. That is truly remarkable. Just think 
about how many of this Nation's laws he helped shape.
  He was a veritable expert on the inner workings of the Senate. There 
was no one who was more well versed in this institution's intricate 
rules, protocols, and customs than Robert Byrd. He literally wrote one 
of the most comprehensive books on the Senate. He knew Riddick's 
``Rules of Procedure,'' virtually all 1,600 pages.

  Many of us in the Senate have also spoken of his ardent devotion and 
consummate knowledge of the Constitution of the United States. His 
well-worn, treasured copy of this document was kept in his vest pocket, 
and year after year I would see him pull it out. The only thing that 
would change is that his hand, as the years went on, shook a little bit 
more. But his devotion to that document did not.
  He was a staunch defender of the prerogatives of the three equal 
branches of government, and he was very quick to note that he served 
alongside, not under, 11 Presidents.
  When he first joined the House of Representatives in 1952, Dwight 
Eisenhower was President. His tenure in Congress then followed 
alongside the Presidencies of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, 
Richard M. Nixon, Gerald A. Ford, James Carter, Ronald Reagan, George 
H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and finally Barack 
Obama. That is an amazing list of people to have served with.
  Bob Byrd was not only one of the Senate's famous power brokers, but I 
think his fondness for classical history, music, and poetry has 
impacted every one of us. As I said, he frequently interspersed his 
Senate remarks with passages from ancient Roman history, philosophy, 
and often poetic verse. It used to amaze me how, late at night, he 
could move from his set text and repeat some poem, word for word, verse 
after verse.
  The nine decades of Robert Byrd's lifetime witnessed great change 
both at the personal level and at the national level. He lived to see 
and strongly support the inauguration of our country's first African-
American President--something I know meant a great deal to him. He was 
not always on the right side of the civil rights issue at every stage 
of his life, but he became a champion for equality, a lion for 
progress. His transformation was truly inspirational.
  Senator Byrd was born into very humble beginnings in 1917. He grew up 
during the Great Depression. He was the adopted son of a coal mining 
family in a small town in southern West Virginia. He was the 
valedictorian of his high school class but was not able to afford 
college at the time. This impoverished childhood might have hindered 
others, might have stopped a weaker person, but not the indomitable 
Robert Byrd. His inner thirst for knowledge propelled him throughout 
his epic career. In fact, he managed to find time during his tenure in 
the Senate to finally fulfill his bachelor's degree from Marshall 
University in 1994, at the tender age of 77. That shows something, I 
think. He previously received a law degree from American University's 
Washington College of Law in 1963.
  The loss of his beloved wife Erma Byrd in 2006, I think, was a 
dramatic blow to him. I had occasion to talk with him during that time, 
and there was no question that this was a great love, that it was an 
enduring love, and that it was a lifetime commitment. I discussed with 
him how he provided, day after day, week after week, and month after 
month, the personal care to his wife as she became more infirm and came 
toward the end of her life. This truly was a major gift of love.
  One thing I have learned in my lifetime, there are so many people 
who, in the end-of-life crises, are not able to give with love to their 
spouse. This was a man who could do that. I think that develops his 
importance as you look at life and people in general.
  Once again, I offer my sincerest condolences to his two daughters 
Mona Faterni and Marjorie Moore, his grandchildren and great-
grandchildren, and to the people of West Virginia.
  This Nation--not only West Virginia, but all of us--owe Senator 
Robert Byrd a great debt of gratitude for his service.
  I know I will very much miss that indomitable spirit, that insightful 
guidance, and the intense commitment to the Senate.
  This man will be missed.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware is recognized.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I am pleased to follow my colleague, 
Senator Feinstein, in tribute to Robert Byrd, whom I always called 
Leader and who always called me Governor. He was our leader. He was a 
leader for a long time and will always be that in a very real sense to 
many of us.
  I was born in Beckley, WV, just about a dozen miles or so from a 
community called Sophia, which is where Robert and Erma Byrd once ran a 
little mom-and-pop supermarket back in the late 1930s, early 1940s. I 
think he was the butcher. He ran that supermarket and later on, I 
think, in World War II, he was a welder during the war. As we know, in 
the late 1940s he had the opportunity to run for the West Virginia 
Legislature and ran. He was a great fiddler and went around his 
community, his district, playing the fiddle. He always called himself a 
hillbilly.
  Ironically, I was down in the central part of our State just about a 
month ago and had a chance to attend a picnic for senior citizens, a 
cookout. A lot of people were there. I was sitting at different tables 
and walking around. I was sitting at this one table, and I learned this 
lady sitting to my left was from West Virginia.
  I said: Where are you from?
  She said: Sophia.
  I said: That's right outside of Beckley, where I was born.
  She said: Yes, I knew Robert and Erma Byrd when they ran that mom-
and-pop supermarket.
  I said: You're kidding.
  She said: No, I did.

[[Page S5647]]

  I asked her to share some thoughts with me about it, and she did.
  Two weeks later I was back in the Senate and Senator Byrd was coming 
in in a wheelchair. In the last part of his life he lost the ability to 
walk. He never lost his voice, never lost his mind either. But he came 
in, and I stopped to say hello to him, see how he was doing, and I 
said: Leader, I just met a woman over in Delaware the other day who 
knew you from your little supermarket in Sophia, WV.
  I told him about it, and he smiled. He said: Do you remember her 
name? Do you remember her name?
  Ironically, I could not remember it. But if I had, he would have. He 
was amazing.
  Some people think the reason he got elected to office so many times, 
in the legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives and in the 
Senate, was because he was so good at, frankly, looking out for West 
Virginia economically, making sure they were not left behind. He was 
also a pretty good politician. He was good at names.
  I remember once, when we had a funeral for my mom who died about 4 
years ago, and we had a celebration of her life just outside of 
Beckley. We had it in the home, a very large home of a family who had 
19 kids. One of them married my cousin, Dan Patton. Some people have a 
dining room; they had like a banquet hall for their meals. We were all 
gathered in this banquet hall, paying tribute to my mom, reflecting on 
her memory, and I was walking around the house afterwards, and I came 
across a Congressional Record tribute on the wall of this house. It was 
a tribute from Robert Byrd honoring this family. I was just blown away. 
I couldn't wait to get back to the Senate the next week and say to 
Senator Byrd: You will never guess whose house I was in.
  I told him the name of the house, the family, and he said: I remember 
that guy. He is a barber. They have 19 kids.
  This guy was just amazing. I used to call him on his birthday. I used 
to call him not just on his birthday but when he and Erma had an 
anniversary. I would call him on Christmas and other special occasions 
just to see how he was doing and let him know I was thinking about him.
  I think it was his 90th birthday, and I called him and I said: 
Leader, I think it is your birthday today.
  He said: Yes, it is.
  I said: How old are you, anyway?
  I knew.
  He said: Well, I'm 90.
  I said: I just hope when I am 90 I can just sit up and take 
nourishment.
  Mr. President, he said: I hope you can, too.
  He was amazing.
  He and Joe Biden share the same birthday. Sometimes I would call 
Senator Byrd on his birthday and say: Leader? He said: Governor, is 
that you?
  I said: That's me. I always get this confused, who is older, you or 
Biden?
  He said: I still got him by a couple of years, but he is catching up 
on me.
  I guess now he will really have a chance to catch up.
  I came here as a freshman Senator. I had been in the House, and a 
Governor before. I came in as a freshman in 2001. I was about the age 
of the pages down here. I remember Senator Byrd really took a bunch of 
us under his wing. He became sort of my mentor. I think the fact we had 
this West Virginia connection made it even more special for me, and I 
think maybe for him.

  He taught us how to preside. He explained to us the rules of the 
Senate. He knew the rules better than anybody else and he was able to 
work the rules, use the rules to get things done--or not, to keep 
things from getting done. Boy, he was good. He taught us how to behave 
in the Senate, and he did that--not just for us but for people who had 
been here for 20, 30, 40 years. If they were acting up, making too much 
noise on the Senate floor, he would stop them dead in their tracks.
  He once said to me the most important role for the Presiding Officer, 
Mr. President--he said the most important role of the Presiding Officer 
is to keep order. That is what he said. He said: If you can keep order, 
the rest is pretty easy. I always remembered that.
  He presented to me my Golden Gavel. The Presiding Officer has a 
Golden Gavel. You get it after presiding so many hours in the Senate. 
But I was very honored to receive mine from Senator Byrd.
  When I got here in 2001 I think he was 83, an age when most people 
are ready to sit back and take it easy. He was just picking up speed. 
As Senator Feinstein said, he could take to the Senate floor without a 
note, give a speech on just about any subject, throw in all kinds of 
anecdotes with respect to ancient Rome and Greek mythology, recite 
poems and stuff.
  I once said to him: How do you remember all those poems?
  He would say: I just make them up.
  He was just kidding. He actually was able to remember them. I 
sometimes have a hard time remembering where I am supposed be for my 
next meeting.
  He was from West Virginia, the southern part of West Virginia. As 
others have said, his views on race as a younger man and as a new 
person in the Senate were not the same views that he left with. He 
matured, grew up.
  He once said to me: The worst vote I ever cast, I actually voted 
against and spoke against the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  I think he sort of went to his grave regretting that. But I think he 
went to his grave having atoned, if you will, for that sin. He changed 
his views with respect to race. In part it was a matter of conscience--
he was a person of deep faith--but I think also probably he changed, in 
part, because of the prodding and cajoling of, among others, one of his 
best friends, Senator Ted Kennedy.
  As I said earlier, I loved to call him on special days. I would 
almost always call him when I was back in West Virginia, call him on my 
cell phone, call him at his home in McLean. It wasn't his birthday or 
anything and I would call him.
  I would say: Leader?
  He would say: Is that you, Governor?
  I would say: Yes, I am driving down to West Virginia on the Virginia 
Turnpike heading toward Beckley.
  He would say: No kidding.
  I said: I am trying to remember which exit to get off of. The first 
one is Harper Road, then there is another one. The third one, I can't 
remember that. What is that?
  He would say: That's my road, the Robert C. Byrd Drive exit.
  I would always have a good time with him for that. Others have spoken 
about all the leadership roles he played here, all the votes he cast, 
all that he did. He did so much for West Virginia. I love to go back to 
West Virginia. I think the friendliest people I have ever met in my 
life are from West Virginia. It is kind of a hardscrabble place. They 
have come a long ways, in no small part because of his enormous help. 
He has been accused of trying to hijack Washington and move it to West 
Virginia and bring in all kinds of Federal agencies and jobs.
  He was really trying to make sure West Virginia did not get left out, 
and I think thanks to his intervention, they did not.
  He made life a lot better for the folks who live in West Virginia 
today, and who lived there for the last 58 years. He also made life 
better for a generation of Americans, maybe a couple of generations of 
Americans, in looking back, and maybe even looking forward as well. He 
is going to make their life better, looking forward, for the people in 
this country who need health care, the people in this country who need 
a decent place to live, a chance to buy a home, a chance to get an 
education, the opportunity to improve their station in life.
  More than anybody I know, for a guy who was born, orphaned in North 
Carolina as an infant, who was traded off by his mom in her last will 
and testament--she wanted him to be raised by her sister who lived in 
West Virginia, and her sister took this young man in. His name was not 
Robert Byrd. But she took in her nephew. She and her husband raised 
Robert Byrd in tough situations, hardscrabble situations, and he sort 
of raised himself by the bootstraps and worked hard all of his life to 
make something of his life and to serve as a model for us in the end, 
and a model for our country.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

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