[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11837]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I wish to offer a few words in remembrance 
of Senator Byrd. I will offer a longer statement for the Record, but I 
wish to give a few thoughts now.
  We do mourn his passing. We see at his desk today a reminder of his 
passing. To say that Robert Byrd was a towering figure in the history 
of the Senate does not begin to describe his impact, his influence and, 
indeed, the memory he leaves behind, the legacy he leaves behind for 
those of us in the Senate, for his home State of West Virginia, and I 
know for millions of Americans.
  He was a strong advocate for not just his point of view but, more 
importantly, for the people of West Virginia. He arrived in the Senate 
in 1958--before I was born. I was pleased to have the opportunity and 
honor, the chance to serve with him a couple of years.
  He was a strong advocate. He was also a remarkable orator. Even in 
the last couple years of his life when some thought he might have been 
slowing down a little, when he got the microphone, he could deliver a 
speech like no other. He was a tremendous orator who believed in what 
he was saying, believed in the traditions of the Senate but mostly, and 
most importantly, believed in fighting for the working men and women 
and the families of West Virginia.
  We also knew him as a scholar--a scholar of not just this 
institution, maybe the leading scholar of all time when it comes to the 
institution of the Senate, but also as well as a constitutional 
scholar.
  His was a life of commitment, of real fidelity, first and foremost I 
believe to his family. He spoke often of his wife Erma. In the portrait 
that is just outside the door, there are three items in his area of 
control in the picture. He has his hand on the Bible, the Scriptures, 
he has a copy of the Constitution, and a picture of his beloved wife 
Erma, about whom he spoke so often.
  He was committed and had a life of commitment to his family and his 
faith. But he was also committed to the people of West Virginia for so 
many years, so many battles on their behalf and especially the families 
of West Virginia.
  Of course, he also led a life of commitment and fidelity to the 
Constitution and knew it better than anyone I have ever met and 
certainly better than some of our more renowned constitutional 
scholars.
  Of course, we know of his commitment to this institution, to the 
Senate. He loved this institution and wrote volume after volume about 
the Senate. We know that the multivolume work he did, the one volume in 
and of itself--hundreds of pages on the history of the Senate--is a 
compilation of speeches he gave on the floor of the Senate, some of 
them written out, but some of them he could give by memory.
  We know of his capacity to extemporaneously talk about so many 
topics, whether it was history or poetry or Scripture or the history of 
the Senate.
  We will miss his scholarship, we will miss his service, and we will 
miss his fidelity to his country and to his home State. I, along with 
others here, am honored to have served with him in this body. For me it 
was 3\1/2\ years. To be in his presence, to listen to him, to learn 
from him is a great gift. We mourn his passing. I do not think any of 
us will believe there will ever be a Senator quite like him in the 50 
years he served in this body, in addition to serving the people of West 
Virginia in the House of Representatives, as well as in the legislature 
in West Virginia.
  We say farewell and God bless and Godspeed to Robert Byrd and his 
memory. We are praying for and thinking this day and I know many future 
days about his legacy and his family.
  Madam President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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