Congratulating Senator Robert C. Byrd on Casting his 17,000th Vote

April 1, 2004

CONGRATULATING SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD ON CASTING HIS 17,000TH VOTE

Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in congratulating my friend and colleague, my neighbor from West Virginia, for his great accomplishment today but, more importantly, for his great service in the Senate.

When I first came to the Senate, I did what many of my colleagues have done, and that is I paid a visit to my colleague from West Virginia. I went into his historic office. He was kind enough to give me the books he has written about the Senate and was kind enough to autograph his books. Those books will always be a great treasure for me to keep.

But they have not just been something that has been in my bookcase; they are something I can pull down to then read the history of the Senate. What wonderful books they are, what wonderful references, what wonderful stories they tell about the Senate. That is so because my colleague is not only a great Senator, he is a great historian. We are reminded of that many times when he comes to the Senate floor. Not only does he have a great institutional memory from his many years of the Senate, but because of his reading not only about the United States and the U.S. Senate, but because of his great love of history, he can put what we do in the United States in its historical perspective.

As the new Members of the Senate, we take turns presiding over the Senate. One of the great benefits of doing that is to sit in the Presiding Officer's chair, as my colleague is doing now, and we have the opportunity to listen to our colleagues. I have had the opportunity, many times, to listen to Senator Byrd.

I can remember many times listening to his speeches. Sometimes it was his great annual speech on Mother's Day, sometimes a speech on the U.S. Constitution, or a speech on whatever legislation is in front of us, or about the history of the Roman Senate or, as my colleague from Illinois has said, a speech about a pending resolution. It didn't matter what it was, it was always something for us to think about, always something for us to ponder and meditate on.

Senator Byrd, thank you for your service and thank you for causing us to think. Whether we agree with you or not on every matter, you always make us think. That is the job of the Senate. As you referred a moment ago to this great deliberative body, you make sure that we are that, you make sure we continue to be that great deliberative body. I thank you for that.