S.Res. 354Senate111th Congress (2009-2011)Passed Congress

A resolution commending Robert C. Byrd, Senator from West Virginia.

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Submitted in the Senate, considered, and agreed to without amendment and with a preamble by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S11475-11482; text as passed Senate: CR S11475; text of measure as introduced: CR S11499)

November 18, 2009

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Introduced in Senate

November 18, 2009

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November 18, 2009

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What members said about S.Res. 354 on the floor

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5 Republicans18 Democrats

Sen. Jeff SessionsR-AL · Nov 18, 2009

Madam President, I wish to make a few remarks about one of the most remarkable men ever to serve in the Senate, Robert C. Byrd on this milestone of service. When I came to the Senate, he was my…

Madam President, I wish to make a few remarks about one of the most remarkable men ever to serve in the Senate, Robert C. Byrd on this milestone of service. When I came to the Senate, he was my teacher. We went to school to him. He told all of the new Members about the rules of the Senate and we all got copies of his book on the history of the Senate. We were all mightily impressed, because he had an encyclopedic understanding of this Senate.

I have heard him over the years refer to the Senate as the great Senate or the second great Senate, the Roman Senate being the first great Senate and the U.S. Senate being the next great Senate. The pride he has in this institution, the way he respects it and reveres it, I think is second to none who has ever served here. I believe that.

I remember one night--I don't know why it was so late, but it was sometime during the debate over Afghanistan or Iraq, and I was here speaking. It was 8 or 9 o'clock at night, later than this--and Senator Byrd was the Presiding Officer. I told this fabulous story somebody had shared with me. It was a history of Rome, and it was about what the Romans did when they had terrorists and pirates. When they could stand the disgrace no longer, the Romans all got together and said we have to take action, and they selected the leading man of the country and gave him a whole fleet of ships and I think 100,000 or more soldiers. They issued a directive to every city on the Mediterranean that they would cooperate with Rome, and they set about to destroy the pirates. The pirates had captured a Roman leader or two. They raided the coast of Rome, and the disgrace was intolerable and they finally got together and crushed them in short order.

I was the last one to speak, as I am tonight, and he asked me to come up to the Chair. He said, that was Marc Antony; ``I think that was 6 AD.'' So he is a real student of history and the Roman Empire and the Roman Senate.

I also would normally preside over the Senate on Fridays, and Senator Byrd at 11 o'clock would appear through the door almost every Friday and he would make a speech. They were remarkable speeches. He had a remarkable talent for speaking. He would quote poetry at length without a single note, or quote the Scripture without notes. I still can remember some of his speeches. One of my favorites was his discussion of the failure of modern textbooks.

One of the things that irked him--and he quoted from them--is that they didn't recognize the difference between a democracy and a republic, and there is a difference. He delineated that with great clarity. Finally, at the conclusion, he referred to those books as touchy feely twaddle, and I thought that was a phrase I liked. I have remembered it ever since.

He also discussed the little school he attended. My father attended one like that and my grandmother taught in one like that. But the highlight of their day was to be selected to be the one to take the bucket and go down to the spring and get a bucket of water to put in the barrel so the kids would have something to drink. They were taught well. He made clear that they were well taught. This was not poor education; it was a good education. But, that is the way the school was conducted. He noted they had a single dipper for the class and all the students used it to dip in the barrel to get the water whenever they needed it. I guess the EPA would have them in jail today if they were to try such a thing as that.

He has been and still remains a fierce advocate of issues he considers important. We did not agree on the Iraq war, and Senator Byrd was fierce in his opposition. He articulated it aggressively and fairly and in a tough, effective manner. He was one of the most effective Senators on that matter.

We agree on a number of issues involving immigration. I strongly believe that the immigration system in this country is broken and we need to create a lawful system and that we cannot tolerate the continued lawlessness, and he agreed. He doesn't believe people have a right to just walk into the country illegally and claim they are a citizen, then just wait a little bit and get amnesty.

What kind of law is that? On many of those votes, we shared a common view. I guess I will say he is a person who answers to his own sense of right and wrong. It is a deep sense of right and wrong. He is a man who understands the Scriptures, a man of deep personal faith and there are things he believes that are right and there are things he believes are wrong and he doesn't do what he thinks is wrong. It is the kind of model that I think is a good one for all of us in the Senate.

I find Senator Byrd to be one of the most refreshing and brilliant men I know in the Senate. I say this with some real confidence: Nobody loves the Senate more than Robert C. Byrd.

I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · Nov 18, 2009

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.

Sen. Bill NelsonD-FL · Nov 18, 2009

Madam President, I hope Senator Byrd may be within the reach of my voice because I wish to add my voice to the many who have commended him for his public service, especially today as we mark a…

Madam President, I hope Senator Byrd may be within the reach of my voice because I wish to add my voice to the many who have commended him for his public service, especially today as we mark a milestone in the history of this Nation because our Senate colleague, our President pro tempore, becomes the longest serving Federal lawmaker since the founding of this country.

Many this week are depicting Robert Byrd's long list of achievements in numbers, and it is large numbers, and there are certainly many of those achievements. The Senator from West Virginia, for instance, actually began serving in the Senate the same year that Alaska became a State, 1959. He has been elected to no fewer than nine Senate terms. Before the Senate, he served in the House for 6 years, and now in the Senate for 50 years, 10 months, and 18 days. He has cast well over 18,500 votes.

Senator Byrd has presided over the longest session of the Senate-- more than 21 hours--and he has presided over the shortest. We have had no fewer than 11 Presidents since he first took office.

But the numbers don't tell all of the story because Robert Byrd has been one of the greatest representatives of and advocates for the folks in his beloved State of West Virginia. He is that larger-than-life, that iconic figure in our Nation's history too. He is the Senate's premier Member-observer. He is the Senate's institutional history.

I flash back to that first day--and you never forget the first event of an occurrence in your life. It was my maiden speech, my first speech on the floor of the Senate 9\1/2\ years ago. I was at one of those junior desks right over there. I gave my maiden speech. It was actually on the budget. We happened to have a surplus then. I was laying out how we ought to preserve that surplus; as a matter of fact, even use it to pay down the national debt. I happened to mention in the course of my remarks that it was my maiden speech. All of a sudden those doors swung open and in strode Senator Byrd, that white shock of hair flowing as he took his place over there on the center aisle.

As I finished my remarks, he said: Will the Senator from Florida yield? And I said: Of course, I yield to the senior Senator from West Virginia. Senator Byrd proceeded to give extemporaneously a history of the maiden speeches in the Senate.

Of course, I was spellbound, I was awestruck, as I listened to this walking American political history book recite from memory, on that particular occasion, something that had been important to this Senator on the occasion of my very first speech in this extraordinary august body.

Senator Byrd continues to be the Senate's conscience. In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, Robert Byrd has always put public service ahead of personal fortune. On many of our desks--and it is certainly in my personal office in the Senate--are Senator Byrd's addresses on the history of the Senate. There were more than 100 of them delivered in the past 10-year period. They have been called the most ambitious study of the Senate that had ever been undertaken. Every day they serve to remind me of the living history of this institution and its vital role in our democracy.

Senator Byrd has been a dear personal friend to so many of us. He has been such a mentor.

Madam President, since the Vice President of the United States has just entered the Chamber, I wanted to recall for him that 9 years ago, in our freshman class of Senators, Senator Byrd took us on as a special project to teach us the protocol of how to preside. I can tell you what class a Presiding Officer comes from now, if it was a class that was under the tutelage of Senator Byrd, because there was a right way and a wrong way to preside in the Senate. The Vice President is acknowledging that is true.

By the way, I have the privilege of standing at the desk the Vice President used to occupy. I particularly chose this desk because not only has he been such a great mentor to me personally but a very dear friend.

With Senator Byrd, all of us grieved with him 3 years ago when his beloved wife Erma passed away. I know he yearns for her and wishes she could be by his side on this historic day.

Now there is another number that is going to be important in Robert Byrd's life. In just 2 days, he celebrates his 92nd birthday. We all hope we can be here with him for many more years.

Remember what President Reagan had to say about age and leadership. He said:

I believe that Moses was 80 when God first commissioned him

for public service.

If the Lord is using that same commissioning for Senator Byrd, at 92, he has a long way to go. The Lord would certainly say to Senator Byrd: Well done, my good and faithful servant.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

Sen. Dianne FeinsteinD-CA · Nov 18, 2009

Madam President, I join my colleagues today in congratulating Senator Robert C. Byrd on reaching yet another milestone in a long and very distinguished career. Today, Senator Byrd has served 20,774…

Madam President, I join my colleagues today in congratulating Senator Robert C. Byrd on reaching yet another milestone in a long and very distinguished career.

Today, Senator Byrd has served 20,774 days--that is 56 years and 10\1/2\ months in Congress--making him the longest serving Member in U.S. history.

Senator Byrd has attended 18,582 Senate rollcall votes.

He cast his first votes in the Senate, in January 1959, when Dwight Eisenhower was President. John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson were among his Senate colleagues. And Hawaii was not yet a State.

He has served in the Senate longer than 10 of his current colleagues and President Obama have been alive--Bob Casey, Jr., Amy Klobuchar, Blanche Lincoln, John Thune, David Vitter, Mark Pryor, Mark Begich, Michael Bennet, Kirsten Gillibrand and George LeMieux.

He has been elected to the Senate an unprecedented nine times, and has served alongside 11 U.S. Presidents.

Senator Byrd has seen great changes in these past 56 years. Yet he has never lost sight of where he came from.

He grew up in poverty among the coalfields of Southern West Virginia.

His adoptive parents early on instilled in him a strong work ethic. He was a butcher, a gas station attendant, a grocery store clerk, and a shipyard welder before winning a seat to the West Virginia State Legislature and eventually being elected to Congress.

Senator Byrd earned a law degree from American University in 1963-- the only person to have ever begun and completed law school while serving in Congress.

The ``Almanac of American Politics'' has said that Senator Byrd ``may come closer to the kind of senator the Founding Fathers had in mind than any other.''

I wholeheartedly agree. And so he has set the standard for all of us to follow.

We, of course, all know him as a great orator with a love of language. His speeches on this floor often quote poetry and the classics--Roman historian Titus Livius is a favorite.

Senator Byrd is a man of conviction. He always speaks his mind. He never minces words.

He is our fiercest defender of the U.S. Constitution--in fact, he carries a pocket version of this dynamic document wherever he goes.

There is no one who has loved this institution so dearly. He adores it so much he has authored four volumes about the history of the U.S. Senate.

In a speech he gave earlier this year when he marked 50 years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Byrd said: ``The Senate has served our country so well because great and courageous Senators have always been willing to stay the course and keep the faith. And the Senate will continue to do so as long as there are members who understand the Senate's constitutional role and who zealously guard its powers.''

He of course leads this list.

Yet Senator Byrd's highest priority has always been serving the constituents of his beloved Mountain State.

As a longtime chairman and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee he has sent home millions of dollars in needed Federal funds for economic renewal and infrastructure projects. These monies have gone to build highways, dams, educational and health institutions, and Federal agency offices throughout West Virginia.

He has long been a strong proponent of education. The valedictorian of his high school class, Senator Byrd has fought for teaching of ``traditional American history'' in the Nation's public school system. It is an issue true and dear to my heart as well.

Today, thanks to Senator Byrd, the Department of Education awards millions of dollars each year in grants to fund training programs to improve the skills of history teachers.

Senator Byrd's love of the Senate and of his fellow West Virginians knows no bounds. It is exceeded only by the love of his beloved wife Erma who passed away 3 years ago. In a statement this week marking his own

milestone, Senator Byrd said ``I know that she is looking down from the heavens, smiling at me and saying congratulations my dear Robert but don't let it go to your head.''

I have had the privilege of working on the Appropriations Committee while Senator Byrd was chairman. There has been no one who has been more faithful to the Constitution, to the goals and rules of the Senate, or has served this body more honorably.

I consider myself lucky to have served alongside this great statesman for 17 years.

Again, congratulations Senator Byrd. You are a true American Patriot.

Sen. Byron L. DorganD-ND · Nov 18, 2009

Madam President, I would like to add my congratulations to Senator Robert C. Byrd on his historic achievement today. Not only is he the longest serving senator in the history of this body, but today…

For more than 50 years, Senator Byrd has been a steadfast defender of the Constitution and the principles on which it stands. Senator Byrd is truly a statesman, a patriot, a proud son of West Virginia, and an important voice in the history of this country.

Senator Byrd has come a long way from the coal fields of West Virginia where he grew up in poverty and learned the value of hard work. He first came to Washington in January 1953--20,774 days ago-- when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served in the House for three terms before being elected to the Senate, where he has served the people of West Virginia faithfully for the last 50 years.

Over the years, Senator Byrd has never forgotten his roots and the State and the people that he loves. The people of West Virginia have recognized his achievements and hard work on their behalf in the Senate and have elected him for an unprecedented nine terms in the United States Senate. He has served with 11 Presidents. Can you believe that?

To add to his long list of achievements, Senator Byrd has also held more leadership positions than any other Senator in history. This includes Senate majority whip, chairman of the Democratic Conference, Senate minority leader, and Senate majority leader. Currently, Senator Byrd is the president pro tempore. Throughout his career, Senator Byrd has cast nearly 18,600 roll call votes in five decades of service in the Senate. I'd say that's an unprecedented record.

Senator Byrd is also the longest serving member of the esteemed Appropriations Committee. He has served as its chairman or ranking member since 1989 until stepping down earlier this year. It has been my honor to serve with him on the Appropriations Committee and I have learned a tremendous amount under his leadership.

Many of us know Senator Byrd as our resident historian. He has a wealth of knowledge about the procedures of the Senate and shares enthusiastic stories of the many interesting events that have occurred in this Chamber. He is also the author of a magisterial four-volume set about this body entitled ``The Senate, 1789-1989'', and other works.

He also had a unique talent outside the halls of Congress. Senator Byrd learned to play the fiddle at a young age and carried it with him everywhere he went. His skill with the instrument led to performances at the Kennedy Center and on a national television appearance on Hee Haw. He even recorded his own album, Mountain Fiddler.

No tribute to Senator Byrd would be complete without mentioning his life's love, Erma Ora James. For nearly 69 years, the Byrds were inseparable, traveling throughout their native West Virginia and crossing the globe together. Sadly, Mrs. Byrd passed away on March 25, 2006, but Senator Byrd speaks lovingly of her and their life together each day.

The times have changed considerably since Senator Byrd first came to Washington. We have seen a man walk on the Moon. We have mapped the human genome, and we have seen unbelievable technological advances that have changed the way we live, work and communicate. But through it all, the one constant is Senator Byrd's steadfast championing of our Constitution and the people of West Virginia.

Senator Byrd is to many the voice of the Senate, and it has been my privilege to serve with him and learn from his stories and wisdom. The Senate is a stronger institution and a better place because of the many years of service of Senator Byrd. I join my colleagues in offering my congratulations to him on this important day and wish him well as he celebrates his 92nd birthday later this week.

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Agreed to SenateIssued November 18, 2009

III

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. RES. 354

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 18, 2009

Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Begich, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brown, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Burr, Mr. Burris, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Cochran, Ms. Collins, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Corker, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Crapo, Mr. DeMint, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Ensign, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Gregg, Mrs. Hagan, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Hatch, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Johanns, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaufman, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Kirk, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Kyl, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Leahy, Mr. LeMieux, Mr. Levin, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Lugar, Mr. McCain, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Murkowski, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Reed, Mr. Risch, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Sessions, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Shelby, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Specter, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Warner, Mr. Webb, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Commending Robert C. Byrd, Senator from West Virginia.

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd has served for fifty-six years in the United States Congress, making him the longest serving Member of Congress in history;

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd has served over fifty years in the United States Senate, and is the longest serving Senator in history, having been elected to nine full terms;

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd has had a long and distinguished record of public service to the people of West Virginia and the United States, having held more elective offices than any other individual in the history of West Virginia, and being the only West Virginian to have served in both Houses of the West Virginia Legislature and in both Houses of the United States Congress;

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd has served in the Senate leadership as President pro tempore, Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Minority Leader, and Secretary of the Majority Conference;

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd has served on a Senate committee, the Committee on Appropriations, which he has chaired during five Congresses, longer than any other Senator;

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd is the first Senator to have authored a comprehensive history of the United States Senate;

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd has throughout his service in the Senate vigilantly defended the Constitutional prerogatives of the Congress; and

Whereas, Robert C. Byrd has played an essential role in the development and enactment of an enormous body of national legislative initiatives and policy over many decades: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate recognizes and commends Robert C. Byrd, Senator from West Virginia, for his fifty-six years of exemplary service in the Congress of the United States.