[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6443]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SENATOR BYRD CASTS HIS 17,000TH VOTE IN CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 1, 2004

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, on January 8, 1959, Robert C. Byrd, my 
friend and mentor, cast his first vote in the U.S. House of 
Representatives. Today, he cast his 17,000th vote in the U.S. Senate. I 
was with him on the Senate floor for this historic occasion.
  This is a singular achievement. One that reveals not only the 
dedication of the Senior Senator from my home State of West Virginia, 
but also his willingness to put into action the words he so eloquently 
articulates on the floor on the U.S. Senate.
  Though many will say, and I agree, that there is not a better speaker 
today than Senator Byrd, he is not a man of talk, he is a man of 
action, as this milestone indicates.
  With each vote, Senator Byrd sets a new mark of public service 
achievement, but as Senator Byrd said himself, ``It isn't necessarily 
the quantity of the votes that count. It is the quality of the vote.''
  And, if a Senator were to cast but a lone vote in a senatorial tenure 
as short as a moment, the words of Robert C. Byrd on the floor of the 
U.S. Senate will still ring out loudly, clearly, and forthrightly to 
generations with time, ``(w)e are, at one and the same time, the sons 
of sires who sleep in calm assurance that we will not betray the trust 
that they confided to our hands; and the sires of sons who wait 
confident, in the beyond, that we will not cheat them of their 
birthright.''
  Indeed, we honor, cherish and learn from those generations before us 
and we must always live, work, and strive on behalf of those 
generations yet unborn.
  I agree with Senator Byrd. It is the quality of the vote, and I would 
also add another. With Senator Byrd, it is the quality of the man.
  With his steadfast service to the people of West Virginia, and his 
dogged defense of the U.S. Constitution, Senator Byrd's quality shines 
through like the brightest of beacons on the darkest of nights.
  They say that records are made to be broken, but I believe this 
record will never be broken, just as nothing will ever break Senator 
Byrd's spirit and his love for his State.
  Senator Byrd continues to be my mentor and most importantly my 
friend, and I would like to offer my heart felt congratulations to 
Senator Byrd for this remarkable achievement.

                          ____________________