Commending Robert C. Byrd
Floor Speech
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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, when Senator Robert C. Byrd first entered the Senate in January 1959, he shared the floor with three future Presidents: Senators Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, and occasionally, when a tie-breaking vote was needed, Vice President Richard Nixon. Those men now belong to history, but Senator Byrd is still making history.
It is an honor to see him make history, once again, as he becomes the longest serving Member of Congress in the history of America. He has given 56 years, 10 months, and 16 days--a total of 20,744 days--of dedicated service to the Congress, to the Constitution of the United States of America, and, of course, to his beloved West Virginia. What a remarkable achievement.
Senator Byrd's masterful, four-volume history of this body is the definitive account. His own historical records could fill nearly a volume of history for the Senate on its own. He served in Congress with--not under--11 different Presidents. Three and a half years ago, he became the longest serving Senator in our Nation's history, and he is the only Senator ever elected nine times to the Senate. He has cast more votes--18,585--than any other Senator in history. All these records are unlikely ever to be broken.
He has also presided over both the shortest session of the Senate in history--six-tenths of a second on February 27, 1989--and the longest continuous session--21 hours, 8 minutes--on March 7 and 8, 1960. He has held more leadership positions--majority whip, minority leader, majority leader, and President pro tempore--than any other Senator in history.
During the administration of President Jimmy Carter, Senator Byrd, then the majority leader of this body, was criticized by some for not doing enough to help the President of his party. Senator Byrd replied:
I am not the President's man. I am a Senate man.
He is a passionate and unyielding defender of Senate rules and prerogatives--not as an end in themselves but as a means of preserving our Constitution and our balance of power.
I will always remember his eloquent and valiant effort which he waged in 2003 to try to persuade this Senate not to grant broad war-making authority to the executive branch. He was a true study in political and moral courage and it was not missed on the population of America. When my wife and I attended church in Chicago at Old St. Patrick's, our regular parish, after the
communion, as we were kneeling in our pews, an older man came by and leaned over, obviously having followed the Senate debate on the war in Iraq, and said to me in a voice that could be heard around the church: ``Stick with Bob Byrd.'' I told Senator Byrd that story and he loved it.
It is fitting that Senator Byrd keeps a copy of the Constitution in his breast pocket because its promises and obligations are always that close to his heart. In 2001, he was named West Virginian of the Century by his Governor and legislature. Indeed, the name ``Robert C. Byrd'' is nearly synonymous with West Virginia.
The story of his early life is the story of struggle and great achievement. It also is a story highlighted by his marriage to his high school sweetheart Erma Ora James Byrd, a coal miner's daughter. He married her in 1937, and she was his rock for 69 years.
He never gave up on his dream of higher education, earning his law degree from American University in 1963 after attending night school for 10 years. He earned his bachelor's degree from Marshall University in 1994, at the age of 77.
He has been winning elections for 63 years, and he has never--not once--lost a race. He was elected in 1952 to the House, where he served three terms. Before that he served in the house of delegates and the senate of his home State of West Virginia. He is the only person in the State's history to carry all 55 of the State's counties--a feat he accomplished several times--and the only person in the State's history to run unopposed to the Senate of the United States.
Eleven years ago, Senator Byrd spoke about his devotion to the Senate as part of the Leader Lecture Series. He called this Senate ``the anchor of the Republic, the morning and evening star in the American constitutional constellation.''
He described the great panoply of men and women who have served in this body. He has said this Senate ``has had its giants and its little men, its Websters and its Bilbos, its Calhouns and its McCarthys.''
I would offer as well that there has only been one Robert C. Byrd. He is a unique patriot, a singular Senator, a Senator's Senator.
We are honored to share this historic milestone with him today. We thank him for his lifetime devotion to America, the Senate, and his beloved Constitution. West Virginia can be proud of this great man who has served them so well for so long.
I yield the floor.
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