Floor Statements

This legislation is not intended to limit a company's ability to provide its customers with a seamless transition when a company sells its assets or arranges to have a new entity provide the products and services it previously provided to its customers.

The bill would not consider the company providing backend billing and other services for the initial merchant to be a posttransaction third party seller. Therefore, the provisions of the bill governing post-transaction third party sellers would not apply.

This legislation is intended to prevent the kind of fraudulent transactions the Commerce Committee exposed in its recent investigation--where a consumer intentionally purchases products or services from one company and ends up unknowingly purchasing products or services from a different, unrelated company. As we have discussed, this bill is not intended to prevent a company from making a business deal that would provide continuity of service to its customers by entering into a business arrangement that gives another company the right to deliver products and services intentionally purchased by consumers and to bill for those products and services.

Mr. President, Congress has acted to improve our Nation's intelligence community--and therefore our national security-- by passing an intelligence authorization bill and sending it to the President.

The President's signature will enact this bill into law and will implement several common sense solutions to problems in our large and unwieldy intelligence community that we have recognized for years. I believe the new Director of National Intelligence, Jim Clapper, is the right leader at the right time, and this timely bill will provide him the authorities he needs to do this job well.

The bill provides the DNI streamlined personnel management authorities throughout the intelligence community, including the authority to convert contractor positions to government jobs, move personnel from one agency to another, provide annual assessments of personnel levels for each agency, harmonize language training in different agencies, and conduct performance evaluations of personnel throughout the intelligence community.

It provides the DNI streamlined oversight for major acquisitions-- perhaps most critically, to provide for interoperable information technology systems in different intelligence agencies--and strengthened budget authorities for his management of the intelligence community.

Beyond these improved DNI authorities, which I believe will significantly improve intelligence integration among the 16 agencies of the intelligence community, this bill also makes three substantial improvements in the independent oversight of intelligence. This constructive oversight is necessary to ensure that secret intelligence activities are legal, effective, and serve the national security interests of the United States.

First, the bill establishes a Senate-confirmed inspector general for the intelligence community who will have the authority to inspect any element or activity in any intelligence agency. Inspectors general play an important troubleshooting role in all agencies of our government, but nowhere is this role more important than in the intelligence community, where--unlike in government agencies whose activities are public--problems can often escape scrutiny.

For instance, in 2004 the CIA inspector general's report on the CIA detention and interrogation program played a significant role in alerting the executive branch and the congressional Intelligence Committees to significant problems with the program.

The new intelligence community inspector general that this bill establishes will complement and supplement the important work of the inspectors general of individual intelligence agencies.

Second, the bill provides for access by the Comptroller General and the Government Accountability Office to information regarding intelligence activities. This access will be similar to the GAO's access to the Department of Defense's Special Access Programs. I believe that this agreement between Congress and the administration on this GAO provision bodes well for future cooperation on intelligence issues.

On that note, the third--and, I believe, most important--improvement this bill makes to the independent oversight of intelligence activities pertains to congressional oversight.

Constructive congressional oversight of intelligence activities is crucially important--both for our national security and our national identity. We are a transparent democracy, and there is a natural tension between transparent democracy and secret intelligence activities.

The Congressional Select Intelligence Committees--which consist of representatives of the American people, selected from other specific congressional committees with jurisdiction over foreign policy, defense and judiciary issues--are vital to resolving that tension between democracy and secrecy.

Simply put, these committees act as a board of directors who verify that secret executive actions serve the interests of the shareholders-- the American people.

That is why title V of the National Security Act of 1947 requires the President to keep the congressional Intelligence Committees ``fully and currently informed'' on all intelligence activities.

However, during the time that I was chairman and vice chairman of the committee from 2003 through 2009, I became very concerned about the way in which the executive branch interpreted this obligation. Rather than briefing the full committee, the executive branch restricted briefings about certain classified programs to the chairman and vice chairman only.

These restrictions impeded our oversight of these programs. This is not an academic issue; it is crucial to how our democracy makes secret national security decisions. Without the intelligence committees' meaningful independent review and oversight--the very reason for the committees' existence--intelligence programs are more susceptible to both mistakes and illegitimacy. This is the case regardless of which party is in the White House or which party has a majority in Congress.

With this in mind, last year I offered an amendment to this authorization bill that will establish in statute new requirements regarding congressional notification. My intent was to strengthen the committees' constructive oversight relationship with the executive branch and the intelligence community.

A bipartisan majority of the committee approved my amendment. While this provision has undergone some changes in the process of Congress's consideration of this bill over the past year, the key elements of these new notification requirements remain. The bill that the President will soon sign into law requires that:

(1) the congressional Intelligence Committees and the President must establish written procedures regarding the details of notification processes and expectations;

(2) the President must provide the committees written notice about intelligence activities and covert actions, including changes in covert action findings and the legal authority under which an intelligence activity or a covert action is or will be conducted;

(3) the President must provide written reasons for limiting access to notifications to less than the full committee, and in such cases, provide the full committee a general description of the covert action in question; and

(4) the President must maintain records of all notifications, including names of Members briefed and dates of the briefings.

I strongly believe that congressional oversight of the executive branch's intelligence activities should not be adversarial; it should be a true, trusted and confidential partnership aimed exclusively at improving our Nation's collection and analysis capabilities, and ensuring the effectiveness and legitimacy of our covert action programs.

I think these new requirements for congressional notification are an important step toward such a partnership.

These new requirements--and this authorization bill as a whole--are the result of hard work and difficult negotiations after years of partisan divisions on intelligence issues.

The President has not signed an authorization bill into law since December 2004, and the last time Congress passed an intelligence authorization bill was February 2008, when I was chairman of the committee. Unfortunately, President George W. Bush vetoed that bill because it banned the use of coercive interrogation methods by any agency of our government, and the bipartisan majorities that passed the bill were not large enough to overcome the President's veto.

After all these difficult years, the bill that we are sending to the President today is exemplary of the bipartisan cooperation that is absolutely necessary for our intelligence community to perform as well as we need it to perform.

I want to commend my Intelligence Committee colleagues, particularly Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein and Vice Chairman Kit Bond and their staff, for sticking to it and completing the difficult negotiations with the administration and the House that brought this bill across the finish line.

This law will make our country more secure. Let us continue to build on this effort in the months and years to come.

Mr. President, I thank you for allowing me to speak on this important legislation, the Guardians of Freedom Act of 2010, that will make the Chief of the National Guard Bureau a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As the former Governor of West Virginia, I recognize the importance of the

National Guard. I can tell you that the National Guard is always there. Whether it is flooding, snow storms, tornados, or other disasters, the National Guard comes to the rescue of the community. And I would bet there is a member of the National Guard living in every congressional district and every community in our country. These citizen-soldiers are the Governor's 911 force.

The National Guard is the oldest element of our Armed Forces. Our Guard members celebrate their 374th birthday on December 13, 2010. For 374 years they have served this country with great distinction.

Unlike our active-duty forces, the National Guard has both a state and federal mission. Now I'm not taking anything away from our active- duty military as they have always performed, and will continue to perform, in an outstanding fashion. However, the National Guard is unique in that it serves each State's governor as well as the President and Commander-in-Chief.

The National Guard's state mission includes responding to invasions, insurrections, natural and man-made disasters, and domestic emergencies. In recent times, the National Guard has been called to assist with border security, to respond to hurricanes, floods, snow storms, and to provide support for other operations, such as the G20 summit and the Presidential Inauguration.

Perhaps the best example of our Guard members' domestic responsibilities is their historic response Hurricane Katrina. There the National Guard, in the largest and swiftest response to a domestic disaster in history, deployed more than 50,000 troops in support of the Gulf States.

As I have mentioned, the National Guard also has its Federal mission. Among those responsibilities are providing Homeland Defense and defense support to civil authorities. It accomplishes its federal mission through a variety of programs. One of those programs is the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or High-Yield Explosive Teams, which respond to incidents and support local, state, and federal agencies as they conduct decontamination, medical support, and casualty search and extraction. Much of this training is performed at the Joint Interagency Education and Training Center in West Virginia.

Other programs include the Counterdrug Program, which bridges the gap between the Department of Defense and local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies in the fight against illicit drugs, and the Civil Support Teams, responsible for assessing suspected Weapons of Mass Destruction attacks.

These Federal programs, along with the National Guard's state mission, clearly show that it has always been here to protect the home front. I have yet to even mention our Guard members' tremendous contributions to military operations outside of the United States.

They have bravely fought in every war this country has declared. They have been subjected to activation more and more often in order to respond to global crises. Prior to 9/11 the National Guard participated in operations in Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and in the skies over Iraq. Since 9/11 more than 50,000 Guard members have been called up by both their states and the Federal Government to provide security at home and combat terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.

Today, tens of thousands of Guard members are serving here at home and in harm's way as they fulfill the obligations of their dual mission. They continue to train with first responders and protect life and property here at home, while also engaging in combat operations in far-off, dangerous locations.

Given the National Guard's role in defending our country, it is important that it be resourced and equipped to fulfill its dual mission. Our Guard members must be assured of the ability to meet their obligations to their governors and their next door neighbors.

The relationship between the active-duty forces and the National Guard is one of great mutual respect and dependence--a relationship that has only become stronger since 9/11. Each knows why the other is so important to the nation. The repeated deployments of both the National Guard and active-duty units has built a bond between the two. You cannot tell the difference between a member of the National Guard and an active-duty servicemember.

By making the Chief of the National Guard Bureau a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Guardians of Freedom Act of 2010 will guarantee that the National Guard is a part of the discussion as the nation prepares to respond to threats both domestic and foreign. It also makes certain that the concerns of the nation's governors are considered when resources are scarce. It will build upon the relationship developed between the active-duty forces and the National Guard, a bond has been strengthened as a result of the ongoing wars.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I thank you for allowing me to speak on this important legislation, the Guardians of Freedom Act of 2010, that will make the Chief of the National Guard Bureau a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As the former Governor of West Virginia, I recognize the importance of the

National Guard. I can tell you that the National Guard is always there. Whether it is flooding, snow storms, tornados, or other disasters, the National Guard comes to the rescue of the community. And I would bet there is a member of the National Guard living in every congressional district and every community in our country. These citizen-soldiers are the Governor's 911 force.

The National Guard is the oldest element of our Armed Forces. Our Guard members celebrate their 374th birthday on December 13, 2010. For 374 years they have served this country with great distinction.

Unlike our active-duty forces, the National Guard has both a state and federal mission. Now I'm not taking anything away from our active- duty military as they have always performed, and will continue to perform, in an outstanding fashion. However, the National Guard is unique in that it serves each State's governor as well as the President and Commander-in-Chief.

The National Guard's state mission includes responding to invasions, insurrections, natural and man-made disasters, and domestic emergencies. In recent times, the National Guard has been called to assist with border security, to respond to hurricanes, floods, snow storms, and to provide support for other operations, such as the G20 summit and the Presidential Inauguration.

Perhaps the best example of our Guard members' domestic responsibilities is their historic response Hurricane Katrina. There the National Guard, in the largest and swiftest response to a domestic disaster in history, deployed more than 50,000 troops in support of the Gulf States.

As I have mentioned, the National Guard also has its Federal mission. Among those responsibilities are providing Homeland Defense and defense support to civil authorities. It accomplishes its federal mission through a variety of programs. One of those programs is the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or High-Yield Explosive Teams, which respond to incidents and support local, state, and federal agencies as they conduct decontamination, medical support, and casualty search and extraction. Much of this training is performed at the Joint Interagency Education and Training Center in West Virginia.

Other programs include the Counterdrug Program, which bridges the gap between the Department of Defense and local, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies in the fight against illicit drugs, and the Civil Support Teams, responsible for assessing suspected Weapons of Mass Destruction attacks.

These Federal programs, along with the National Guard's state mission, clearly show that it has always been here to protect the home front. I have yet to even mention our Guard members' tremendous contributions to military operations outside of the United States.

They have bravely fought in every war this country has declared. They have been subjected to activation more and more often in order to respond to global crises. Prior to 9/11 the National Guard participated in operations in Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and in the skies over Iraq. Since 9/11 more than 50,000 Guard members have been called up by both their states and the Federal Government to provide security at home and combat terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere around the world.

Today, tens of thousands of Guard members are serving here at home and in harm's way as they fulfill the obligations of their dual mission. They continue to train with first responders and protect life and property here at home, while also engaging in combat operations in far-off, dangerous locations.

Given the National Guard's role in defending our country, it is important that it be resourced and equipped to fulfill its dual mission. Our Guard members must be assured of the ability to meet their obligations to their governors and their next door neighbors.

The relationship between the active-duty forces and the National Guard is one of great mutual respect and dependence--a relationship that has only become stronger since 9/11. Each knows why the other is so important to the nation. The repeated deployments of both the National Guard and active-duty units has built a bond between the two. You cannot tell the difference between a member of the National Guard and an active-duty servicemember.

By making the Chief of the National Guard Bureau a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Guardians of Freedom Act of 2010 will guarantee that the National Guard is a part of the discussion as the nation prepares to respond to threats both domestic and foreign. It also makes certain that the concerns of the nation's governors are considered when resources are scarce. It will build upon the relationship developed between the active-duty forces and the National Guard, a bond has been strengthened as a result of the ongoing wars.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, the Senator from West Virginia wishes to continue as in morning business.

Mr. President, in the Senate, the core job, obviously, of any Senator is to do all we can every day to help our constituents. It has been such an honor for this Senator to stand with our newest Senator from West Virginia, Carte Goodwin, and work with him to do exactly that.

Before joining this body, Senator Goodwin made serving West Virginia his focus in everything he did--as an attorney; general counsel to our Governor; chairman of the School Building Authority, which is a very complex matter--and all the while exuding enormous character, great character, dignity, and always keeping West Virginia families first and foremost in his mind.

It has been interesting to watch him on this floor in this relatively short period of time in which he has been a Senator and still is--the way people come up to him, see him as a breath of fresh air, respond to his intelligence, his integrity, his modesty, and his very smart brain.

Senator Goodwin comes from a family deeply committed to public service that has taught him to work very hard, to give back, and be proud of where he came from. I respect him a very great deal.

More importantly, he has a deeply ingrained sense of what matters to West Virginia. He does not come from one of our big urban counties. He comes from a very small rural county, Jackson County. He knows what working families need. He knows what people who represent them in Washington need to bear in mind. As I say, his character is strong, his work ethic is unmatched, and his heart is always in the right place.

So it is a sad day for me, in a sense, because I respect him so much and like him so much and I will not be hearing him enough, except if he is dissatisfied with my work, in which case he can call me and tell me that and I will be taking copious notes.

I join Senator Goodwin to talk about an issue that impacts the lives of every American in this country; that is, workplace safety.

This past April, as West Virginia's other Senator has mentioned, we suffered the worst mining disaster in 40 years in this country. It was statistically shocking, it was personally horrifying, and deeply poignant. Twenty-nine miners were killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal.

I was there with the families as we hoped and we prayed for any sign that their loved ones would emerge. For the most part, they did not. The sorrow and hurt and anguish I saw on their faces is unimaginable and indescribable. It is something that no family should have to go through, but it happens in West Virginia and, as it turns out, in other States.

But mining tragedies are not just happening in West Virginia. Nearly one-third of our States have experienced mining disasters this year, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah. Yet the mining industry is not the only industry where significant improvements to workplace safety are necessary. We have seen major disasters take the lives of hard-working Americans employed in a variety of other industries: 7 dying in a refinery blast in Washington, 6 in an explosion at a clean energy plant in Connecticut; 11 died with the BP Oil rig disaster off the coast of Louisiana which we all know about.

In fact, there were more than 4,300 workplace deaths in the United States in the year 2009, this year not having been completed, but it is a decent benchmark. That is 11 deaths each and every day of the year-- 11 men and women who went to work but did not return home to their loved ones.

This is America. We are the greatest country on Earth. All of us together must do more to protect the lives of these workforces. That is why Senator Goodwin and I introduced the Robert C. Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act of 2010.

Senator Byrd worked diligently with the two of us on this bill, as have Chairman Harkin, Senator Murray, and obviously Senator Goodwin. They are committed advocates to the working men and women of our country and

in our State, and I wish to thank them for their tireless dedication to doing what is right.

This legislation contains commonsense proposals that will give Americans the peace of mind that comes from safe working conditions. It fixes the broken ``pattern of violations'' process which was meant to give MSHA authority to crack down on mines that repeatedly violate our laws, but has never been effectively implemented, this process. It takes a hard look at MSHA itself to make sure it is doing its job by creating an independent panel to investigate the Mine Safety and Health Administration's--MSHA's--role in serious accidents. In these matters where regulation is done on discrete and for the most part invisible industries, the people who do the regulating and the checking need to be looked at carefully, just as do those who operate coal mines. It gives teeth to existing whistleblower protections so miners can come forward to report safety concerns. It gives MSHA additional tools to keep miners safe, including the ability to subpoena documents and testimony outside of the public hearing context. This is something which OSHA has, and it is amazing to me that MSHA has not had it and does not have it. If this bill were to pass, it would happen.

Finally, sort of, it provides protections that will apply to workers across, as I indicated earlier, all industries; greater rights for victims and their families to participate in investigations and enforcement actions; updating civil and criminal penalties; and the requirement that hazardous conditions be addressed immediately so that litigation doesn't shoot right into the middle of it and delay the whole process.

Over the past few months, I have been working with my colleagues on the HELP Committee on bipartisan legislation--and I deeply appreciate the efforts of Senators Enzi, Isakson, and Hatch on the Republican side. I have worked closely with Senator Enzi and Isakson in the past on other matters, first with Senator Enzi on, of all things, the President's Commission on Coal back in the 1970s when he was mayor of Gillette, WY, and later with both him and Senator Isakson to pass the MINER Act which came right after the Sago disaster.

I stood with both Senators Enzi and Isakson at the Sago disaster as we tried to comfort families, as we sat in circles and Senator Isakson and Senator Enzi seemed to--well, Senator Enzi comes from a coal- producing State, Senator Isakson does not--but both of them profoundly related to the families. It was very clear in their voices and what we saw in their eyes, and the families felt it. I know they care deeply about coal miners.

But it is also no secret that I am deeply frustrated we have yet to produce a bipartisan bill. The families of the Upper Big Branch are wondering, What is the holdup, and, quite frankly, so am I.

The provisions that should be included in a strong workplace safety bill are not that hard to figure out. In fact, they are the very provisions Senator Goodwin and I have included in the Robert C. Byrd Mine and Workplace Safety and Health Act, which is why I come before the Senate today to at the proper time ask for unanimous consent that our legislation be passed.

Before I ask for unanimous consent, which I will do, I wish to address three of the main objections I have heard from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. First, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have expressed concerns that including workplace safety standards for all industry amounts to overreaching. I am sure the loved ones of the workers who died at the refinery, at the clean energy plant, and the BP Oil rig would see things a little bit differently. I am sure they would tell us that this bill cannot simply be about mine safety alone--although that is huge and the bulk of the bill--we must include important Occupational Safety and Health Administration provisions that cover all industries. OSHA, for example, does have subpoena power, and it does cover all industries, but it too needs to be strengthened.

Second, my colleagues have questioned whether MSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, needs adequate subpoena authority. The idea that a law enforcement agency such as MSHA does not have subpoena power to proactively make mines safer is, to me, unimaginable. We are seeing problems with the existing system right now. The State of West Virginia's subpoenas in the Upper Big Branch investigation are being challenged in court--totally predictable. The intent, of course, is to challenge them in court before they can be effective and to prevent the questioning of company officials and others with vital information. That is the story of mine enforcement in the coal fields.

Third, it has been suggested that we do not have enough data to support additional whistleblower protections for coal miners. Let me answer that by saying that back in April, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee heard testimony from Jeffrey Harris, a miner from Beckley, WV. Jeffrey told us--I was there--what it was like to work for Massey Energy. This is quoting Jeffrey Harris:

Either you worked or you quit. If you complained, you'd be

singled out and get fired. Employees were scared but, like

me, they have to feed their families. Jobs are scarce, and

good-paying coal mining jobs are hard to come by.

The Presiding Officer knows exactly what I mean. We are looking at $60,000-plus salaries, mostly in the very rural areas of our States, the southwestern part of the Presiding Officer's State, and it is quite true. What is somebody to do? They have a $60,000 salary or they have nothing, because jobs in those areas are not plentiful or, in some cases, simply don't exist.

To continue, in May, the House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing in Beckley, WV. We heard testimony from miners who have worked at Upper Big Branch and one of those miners, Stanley, nicknamed ``Goose,'' Stewart told us that:

No one felt they could go to management and express their

fears. We knew that we would be marked men. And the

management would look for ways to fire us. Maybe not that

day, maybe not that week, but somewhere down the line, we

would disappear. We'd seen it happen.

So enough is enough. No employee should be fired for reporting safety concerns. A lot of manufacturing companies--I am thinking of Toyota in West Virginia--have the assembly line and they have a rope that goes all the way down. If any worker sees any problem of any aspect, whether it is real or he imagined it or whatever, he pulls that rope, the production line shuts down, and the manager comes over and they fix the problem if it exists. But the comfort that brings to the worker is a very small price to pay for very well-made cars.

Finally, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have expressed concerns about reforming the pattern of violations process. The pattern of violations process, which does not sound very interesting but which is usually important in bringing things to a head, to justice--was intended by Congress to allow MSHA to take action against operatives that refused to follow our laws. But to date, no mine has ever officially been placed on pattern status. Why would that be? Well, one can only speculate.

I think everyone agrees that the process must be fixed, but what I don't want to do is to tie MSHA's hands or to dictate a formula that will virtually guarantee that no mine is ever placed in pattern of violations status. I want a proactive system, one that will identify troubled mines before accidents happen and one that focuses on rehabilitating mines that are having problems.

Mr. President, at this point, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 3671, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Workplace Safety and Health Act of 2010, and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration; that the bill be read three times, passed, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, first, I wish to reemphasize how much I respect Senator Enzi, the senior Senator from Wyoming, and the fact that he is quite right about the MINER Act and what took place after Sago, which was another rural spot in West Virginia where a number of people were killed--a lot of anguish--and it was the first time in 30 years that there had been any revision of the Federal mine safety laws.

I have to say, though, that the bill we passed, the MINER Act, was not fully--because it had to pass through the committee at that time that was controlled by the present minority, it did not come out as strongly as I would have preferred. However, it was a good bill and has had a good effect in mining.

One of the aspects of mining, which is hard for people to understand, is that there is no margin for error. There is no margin for it. It is a discreet industry, which, for the most part, is carried on out of sight--in this case, underground. The great majority--I would say well over 95 percent--of West Virginians and people from the Presiding Officer's State have never been underground--or I guess sometimes Senators and Congressmen and Cabinet officers.

Obviously, I am disappointed that my colleague objected to this bill. However, I very much believe Senator Enzi when he said that he wants to start working on a bill that will keep people safe. I point out to him that at no point did we call off the negotiations. We were simply at the end of the work period, at the end of August, and there had to be a period of negotiation going on with the staff, and we would come back and take the fruits of that negotiation and go ahead and work on the bill. That is what I would have wished to have seen happen, and what still can happen. As I listened to the Senator from Wyoming, I believe he wants that to happen. As it turns out, so do I, and I am sure Senator Goodwin does too.

People are counting on us to get this done. They deserve nothing less. I look forward to working on this. Obviously, it cannot be passed now. We have our work to do, but then again we have our work to do in any event.

Senator Goodwin and I and Senators Patty Murray and Tom Harkin wanted to lay this down as a benchmark of what a mine safety bill should be. It probably won't end up being in a bill, but that doesn't mean it should not be this bill. You can't do everything at once, and I understand that. I have faith that the process will produce--as the Senator indicated, a number of things were agreed on by Senators, and sometimes I wish it were the Senators negotiating with each other; I think we would get a better bill.

In any event, I have faith in the future, and we all have the eyes of 29 miners and so many others looking down on us waiting for us to take action.

I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to mark the retirement of Robert Winchester after 35 years in government service. Throughout this time, Bob has been both the consummate professional and a friendly presence in the Halls here on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Winchester had a varied and distinguished career, having worked in different positions and capacities for the Department of Justice, Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Army. For most of that time, Bob worked in the intelligence field where efforts and successes are not always rewarded publicly. I am glad we can do so here today.

Mr. Winchester graduated in 1967 from the University of Paris, La Sorbonne, and from Kings College in 1968. From 1969 until 1971, he served in the U.S. Army as an intelligence analyst and was stationed in Vietnam. After being honorably discharged as a staff sergeant, he continued his education at Illinois State University earning a master's degree. He then returned to Europe to receive a master's of advanced European studies with honors in 1974 from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium.

Continuing his already impressive academic achievements, Mr. Winchester received his juris doctorate from Temple University School of Law. He served as a judge advocate general captain in the U.S. Army Reserves for 13 years. He is a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Winchester worked for 7 years at the Central Intelligence Agency in operational law and legislative liaison positions, and also served as an assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice in Pennsylvania.

During the last 25 years, Bob has served as legislative counsel to the Secretary of the Army and the Army leadership, the Army G-2, the commanding generals of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence at Fort Huachuca, and the Intelligence and Security Command.

Since 1984, Mr. Winchester served as the special assistant for legislative affairs for the U.S. Army's Office of the Chief, legislative liaison and served as the Army's principal liaison to the Congress for all Army intelligence programs and policies. It was in this role that Mr. Winchester became a fixture in matters involving Army intelligence on Capitol Hill. For over two decades, the Members and staff of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence knew that they could turn to Mr. Winchester with a request and he would respond not just in a timely and professional manner, but also with insight and enthusiasm. He was able not only to represent the views and policies of the U.S. Army, but also to ensure that Congress had the information it requested to conduct effective congressional oversight. He made this difficult job look easy.

Mr. Winchester has earned his retirement many times over, but we still hope that he reconsiders and returns to serve his country once again.

Mr. Winchester, thank you for your service and good luck in all your future endeavors.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Monongahela Conservation Legacy Act of 2010. This important piece of legislation sets aside 6,042 acres of the Monongahela National Forest on North Fork Mountain in Grant County, WV, to be included in the National Wilderness Preservation System.

West Virginians have a proud tradition of mining and logging that provides needed resources for our entire country. I have no doubt that this tradition will continue for many decades to come. However, at the same time, new development is coming to West Virginia. This is needed development that provides jobs for West Virginians and helps support our economy. But with this increased development comes a responsibility to set aside some part of our natural environment for those who come after us.

The Monongahela National Forest encompasses nearly 920,000 acres of land in the heart of the Appalachian Mountain Range and contains some of the most ecologically diverse regions in the country. North Fork Mountain is one of these incredible areas and has earned the Forest Service's highest rating for Natural Integrity in its Wilderness Attribute Rating System. The mountain is a nesting site for peregrine falcons and home to 120 rare plants, animals, and natural communities. With this wilderness designation all of these ecological treasures will be permanently protected.

Over the years I have heard from hundreds of West Virginians about how important wilderness is to them. I have heard from West Virginians who want to make sure that they will be able to continue to fish pristine streams and hunt in the forests. Wilderness is a major draw for the outdoor tourism industry and will provide jobs.

Finally, I want to extend my thanks to Congressman Mollohan, who has introduced identical legislation in the House of Representatives, for his leadership on this issue. I will continue to work with all stakeholders involved to move this legislation forward and to address any concerns while ensuring the preservation of this truly special place.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Monongahela Conservation Legacy Act of 2010. This important piece of legislation sets aside 6,042 acres of the Monongahela National Forest on North Fork Mountain in Grant County, WV, to be included in the National Wilderness Preservation System.

West Virginians have a proud tradition of mining and logging that provides needed resources for our entire country. I have no doubt that this tradition will continue for many decades to come. However, at the same time, new development is coming to West Virginia. This is needed development that provides jobs for West Virginians and helps support our economy. But with this increased development comes a responsibility to set aside some part of our natural environment for those who come after us.

The Monongahela National Forest encompasses nearly 920,000 acres of land in the heart of the Appalachian Mountain Range and contains some of the most ecologically diverse regions in the country. North Fork Mountain is one of these incredible areas and has earned the Forest Service's highest rating for Natural Integrity in its Wilderness Attribute Rating System. The mountain is a nesting site for peregrine falcons and home to 120 rare plants, animals, and natural communities. With this wilderness designation all of these ecological treasures will be permanently protected.

Over the years I have heard from hundreds of West Virginians about how important wilderness is to them. I have heard from West Virginians who want to make sure that they will be able to continue to fish pristine streams and hunt in the forests. Wilderness is a major draw for the outdoor tourism industry and will provide jobs.

Finally, I want to extend my thanks to Congressman Mollohan, who has introduced identical legislation in the House of Representatives, for his leadership on this issue. I will continue to work with all stakeholders involved to move this legislation forward and to address any concerns while ensuring the preservation of this truly special place.

Mr. President, today I wish to recognize two very special parents in my home State of West Virginia--parents who have so defined the unconditional love that a parent can have for a child, that their actions have had a national impact in the fields of adoption and foster care.

Each year, Members of Congress have the honor and privilege of recognizing, through the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, extraordinary persons who have answered one of our Nation's most important calls to action to provide our most vulnerable children with a forever family.

Children are the future leaders of our great country, and adoption and foster care are causes that has always been close to my heart. I am proud to officially recognize two West Virginian angels--Arthur ``Kenny'' and Judy Simmons--as true angels in adoption.

Kenny and Judy adopted two 13-year-old boys, Joshua and Terry. The willingness to open a home to older children is special; all too often these children are left behind. Prior to adoption, these young boys struggled with uncertainty and one child endured 23 different homes while waiting for permanency. Judy and Kenny have given him a home, security and a future. The needs of children in foster care are challenging. But when we help these vulnerable, young people, we change their life, and in fact the lives of the entire family and communities. This is why throughout my Senate career, I have worked to improve Federal policies for adoptions and child welfare including the 2008 Fostering Connections Act and the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. We should provide support and encouragement for foster and adoptive families the quality training and education they need and the all of the support possible for the caseworkers and judges making the tough decisions about a child's placement.

Each fall, I have the pleasure of honoring one of the families in our State who have opened their hearts and homes to children in need. It is my great honor to highlight these heroes

among us. The Simmons' family gives all they can and never gives up. They are the eptiomy of what a committed, forever family, is all about. For this, I want to recognize, honor, and thank them for their passion and dedication and for being true angels in adoption I admire.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act.

Radio spectrum is a very valuable resource. It can grow our economy and put new and innovative wireless services in the hands of consumers and businesses. It can enhance our public safety by fostering communications between first responders when the unthinkable occurs. But it is also scarce. That is why we need a forward-thinking spectrum policy that promotes smart use of our airwaves--and provides public safety officials with the wireless resources they need to keep us safe.

The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act will do just that.

First, this legislation will provide the Federal Communications Commission with the authority to hold incentive auctions. This will help put valuable spectrum resources into the hands of companies that can create innovative new services for American consumers and businesses. This proposal will not require the return of spectrum from existing commercial users, but will instead provide them with a voluntary opportunity to realize a portion of auction revenues if they wish to facilitate putting spectrum to new and productive uses.

Second, this legislation will provide public safety officials with an additional 10 megahertz of spectrum known as the ``D-block.'' This spectrum will support a national, interoperable wireless broadband network that will help first responders protect us and keep us from harm. I believe this is the right thing to do, because we owe those courageous individuals who wear the shield the resources they need to do their job. But more than that, by providing authority for incentive auctions, this legislation will offer a revenue stream to assist public safety with construction and maintenance of their network.

The American people deserve to have the best and most innovative uses of wireless networks anywhere. They deserve to know our first responders have access to the airwaves they need when tragedy strikes. So I urge my colleagues to join me and support this important legislation.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act.

Radio spectrum is a very valuable resource. It can grow our economy and put new and innovative wireless services in the hands of consumers and businesses. It can enhance our public safety by fostering communications between first responders when the unthinkable occurs. But it is also scarce. That is why we need a forward-thinking spectrum policy that promotes smart use of our airwaves--and provides public safety officials with the wireless resources they need to keep us safe.

The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act will do just that.

First, this legislation will provide the Federal Communications Commission with the authority to hold incentive auctions. This will help put valuable spectrum resources into the hands of companies that can create innovative new services for American consumers and businesses. This proposal will not require the return of spectrum from existing commercial users, but will instead provide them with a voluntary opportunity to realize a portion of auction revenues if they wish to facilitate putting spectrum to new and productive uses.

Second, this legislation will provide public safety officials with an additional 10 megahertz of spectrum known as the ``D-block.'' This spectrum will support a national, interoperable wireless broadband network that will help first responders protect us and keep us from harm. I believe this is the right thing to do, because we owe those courageous individuals who wear the shield the resources they need to do their job. But more than that, by providing authority for incentive auctions, this legislation will offer a revenue stream to assist public safety with construction and maintenance of their network.

The American people deserve to have the best and most innovative uses of wireless networks anywhere. They deserve to know our first responders have access to the airwaves they need when tragedy strikes. So I urge my colleagues to join me and support this important legislation.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Coalfield Accountability and Retired Employee Act of 2010, CARE Act. Senator Goodwin joins me in introducing this important legislation. It is the first bill we have worked together on, and I look forward to many more as partners in the Senate fighting for West Virginians.

The CARE Act protects the pensions for over 100,000 mineworkers. It takes excess funds from the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program and transfers that money to the United Mine Workers of America, UMWA, pension plan. These are AML funds that go unused and are not needed, according to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the UMWA. So what our legislation does is put that money to good use, and protects the pensions of our hardworking mineworkers.

Congress needs to act because the UMWA pension fund is on the road to insolvency. It has been hit by the perfect storm--the recent financial crisis, the small number of active mineworkers who provide the funding base for the pension plan, and the large number of ``orphans'' who receive their pensions under the plan. These ``orphans'' are retired mineworkers for whom a company no longer makes contributions to the pension fund, typically because the company is out of business.

So Congress and the Federal Government have to act in order to make sure that the pensions of our mineworkers

are protected. Dating back to President Harry Truman, the Federal Government has assumed a responsibility to our mineworkers. In 1992, I was extremely proud to work on the passage of the COAL Act, where we recommitted to our miners. That bill allowed the transfer of interest accruing to the unappropriated balance of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to be used to provide health care for a large number of orphaned miners and their widows. This Federal commitment was once again affirmed in the 2006 amendments to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program which sought to again protect the health care plans of miners from insolvency.

Now, 18 years after passing the COAL Act, Senator Goodwin and I are again renewing our commitment to the nation's miners with the CARE Act. This bill will protect the solvency of our miners' pension plans.

In West Virginia, we revere our miners--the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day to provide for their families and bring light and heat to millions. Their tenacity, their courage and their determination is an inspiration to us all. The work they do everyday provides nearly half of our nation with power to light and heat our homes. We should all thank them for the service they provide this country, and continue protecting our miners' retirement benefits going forward.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Coalfield Accountability and Retired Employee Act of 2010, CARE Act. Senator Goodwin joins me in introducing this important legislation. It is the first bill we have worked together on, and I look forward to many more as partners in the Senate fighting for West Virginians.

The CARE Act protects the pensions for over 100,000 mineworkers. It takes excess funds from the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program and transfers that money to the United Mine Workers of America, UMWA, pension plan. These are AML funds that go unused and are not needed, according to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the UMWA. So what our legislation does is put that money to good use, and protects the pensions of our hardworking mineworkers.

Congress needs to act because the UMWA pension fund is on the road to insolvency. It has been hit by the perfect storm--the recent financial crisis, the small number of active mineworkers who provide the funding base for the pension plan, and the large number of ``orphans'' who receive their pensions under the plan. These ``orphans'' are retired mineworkers for whom a company no longer makes contributions to the pension fund, typically because the company is out of business.

So Congress and the Federal Government have to act in order to make sure that the pensions of our mineworkers

are protected. Dating back to President Harry Truman, the Federal Government has assumed a responsibility to our mineworkers. In 1992, I was extremely proud to work on the passage of the COAL Act, where we recommitted to our miners. That bill allowed the transfer of interest accruing to the unappropriated balance of the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to be used to provide health care for a large number of orphaned miners and their widows. This Federal commitment was once again affirmed in the 2006 amendments to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program which sought to again protect the health care plans of miners from insolvency.

Now, 18 years after passing the COAL Act, Senator Goodwin and I are again renewing our commitment to the nation's miners with the CARE Act. This bill will protect the solvency of our miners' pension plans.

In West Virginia, we revere our miners--the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day to provide for their families and bring light and heat to millions. Their tenacity, their courage and their determination is an inspiration to us all. The work they do everyday provides nearly half of our nation with power to light and heat our homes. We should all thank them for the service they provide this country, and continue protecting our miners' retirement benefits going forward.

Mr. President, today I congratulate and commend the Contemporary American Theater Festival, CATF, in Shepherdstown, WV, on its 20th season which began this past weekend on July 9. This renowned festival, presented in partnership with Shepherd University, is an extraordinary event that runs for several weeks each summer, bringing thousands of people to our beautiful State and highlighting Shepherdstown's arts community.

More than two decades ago, Ed Herendeen had a dream of producing new works in theater, so he came to Shepherdstown and did just that. He had the vision and dedication to start and nurture this festival. And under Ed's leadership, the theater festival continues to produce and develop new American theater that not only examines current events and reflects on national trends but also serves as a haven for contemporary playwrights. This year, as it does every year, the festival confronts bold and controversial issues to prod the audience and explore new ideas. Since its first season in 1991, CATF has produced 80 new American plays and 30 world premieres.

A recent National Public Radio story described what the festival has meant to the artists and the community:

The Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd

University in

Shepherdstown is a dream for the writers of those plays. Over

the years, both up-and-coming playwrights and big names--like

Sam Shepard and Joyce Carol Oates--have premiered works

there. That's in large part due to the festival's hard-

working founder, Ed Herendeen. Herendeen founded the festival

20 years ago in partnership with Shepherd University. That

first season they did three plays and sold about 2,000

tickets. Today, they do five professional plays and sell more

than 11,000 tickets. What's unusual about the festival is

that Herendeen says he's never tempted to do a popular play

in order to draw more people. The audience that the festival

has developed really is expecting it to do new plays.

In addition to its first-class performances, the festival offers lectures and discussion to enhance the audience's understanding of the arts. Over the last 7 years, in partnership with the Appalachian Education Initiative, AEI, the festival has hosted the Annual Elizabeth Francis Teacher Training Institute, a professional development program for high school teachers from West Virginia and other States across the region. This is an opportunity to learn hands on from CATF's professional theater artists. Participants are immersed in the art and craft of theater, gaining insight into acting, production, stage management, marketing, and script analysis. This year, participants will attend every play in the festival's 20th anniversary season, and have a chance to meet and talk with actors, producers, and technicians while receiving graduate level credits for their coursework.

It is hard to overstate the extraordinary economic impact this festival has on the entire region. The annual event brings people from more than 20 States to West Virginia to enjoy theater, immerse themselves in our community, and explore our beautiful natural surroundings. And as the crowds fill our theaters, restaurants, shops, and hotels, their support creates employment and boosts local businesses.

In recent years, festival goers have contributed $3.2 million to the local economy with the average patron spending $132 on top of the price of tickets.

Today, I congratulate and thank Shepherd University President Suzanne Shipley, Ed Herendeen, and their talented team for bringing such a truly outstanding theater festival to the stage every year. The Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown is an enormous source of pride for me and for every West Virginian.

Mr. President, on this day, West Virginia has lost probably its most prominent son and the Senate has lost probably its most able statesman. For myself, I have lost an admired colleague and a treasured friend. More than nine decades of a remarkable life and five decades as an accomplished public servant in the Senate only serve as one form of proof that Robert C. Byrd was and always will be an icon, particularly in his own State. A man of great character, faith, intellect, who rose to the heights of power, yet never forgot where he came from, his story holds such a profoundly significant place in both West Virginia and American history. But it was in the coalfields of southern West Virginia where a young Robert C. Byrd first gained the skills, the moral character, the toughness, and the shrewdness that would make him a truly great man.

After his mother passed away, he was raised by his aunt and uncle, a coalminer, he movingly called ``the most remarkable man I have ever been privileged to know.'' From them Senator Byrd learned early in life what it meant to be loyal, to have a ferocious work ethic, really almost beyond imagination, and possess a deep faith in God. And it was these values--these innately West Virginia values, I argue--that guided his every action and made him such a unique and strong fighter for our State and who got such joy in doing that fight.

He was proud of West Virginia. He was proud of his ideals. He was proud of the service he could render to the people from whom he came. He believed with all of his heart that our breathtaking mountains, our rivers, and our deep valleys, and especially our well-rooted people, who face adversity always and face it with strength and courage, make our State a place like quite none other in the world.

He loved the music of the mountains and played his fiddle, in fact, very brilliantly. He was a master violin player. He loved to quote the ancients, lending depth to his analysis and observations, with knowledge of history and philosophy to rival any professor. Just as easily as he could quote Cicero from memory, he could sing every verse of ``Amazing Grace'' from memory, too, and often did.

Everything about Senator Byrd was a testament to his faith in God. This man, who wrote and debated countless laws, lived with 10 clear Commandments in his heart. His aunt and uncle kept the King James Bible in their home and instilled in him an enduring reverence for God. He always remembered that as important as the Senate and our constitutional government might be, there was always a higher law that took precedence.

He started his career humbly by any definition--as a butcher, as a welder, other things too--and then campaigned by playing his foot- stomping music, the fiddle, to get elected to the West Virginia Legislature--that is how he did it--the very same body that decades later would deem him the ``West Virginian of the 20th Century.''

It was at Mark Twain High School where a lifetime of love first began for Robert C. Byrd and his future wife, Erma Ora James. Calling her the ``wind beneath this Byrd's wings,'' as he put it, Senator Byrd was never shy to tell you that Erma--a beloved coal miner's daughter herself--was the reason he reached all of his goals. He believed that with all of his heart. So from the fiddle-playing young man to a history-making American icon, she loved and supported him every step of the way until her passing in 2006.

I know and I observed maybe earlier than some that Senator Byrd lost just a bit when Erma died. Watching him hurting was painful. His wife died from the same disease my mother died from; that is, Alzheimer's, and we talked about it, especially a few years ago when he was talking more frequently. I always felt bad that I could not give him comfort and that I could not say something to him that would relinquish his pain, which was evident and obvious--very obvious in privacy. But I could not do that because you cannot do that for diseases like that one. There were not words to describe the difficulty such a devastating loss can bring, and I commend my friend for continuing on so strongly-- as he did--for so long.

Erma was his soulmate, his best friend and trusted counselor. Their marriage was something to behold. My wife Sharon and I loved watching them together. He became a different person. They radiated an extraordinary faith in God, in each other, and in the beautiful family they built together, which in the end was what he loved the most. Indeed, it was the time Robert C. Byrd spent with Erma; their daughters, Mona and Marjorie, their husbands, and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren that brought sheer joy--pure, unadulterated--to his life. So with sadness in my heart, I also have joy at the thought of my friend united with his precious Erma, with his dear grandson he lost at a young age. And we all know, those of us who have been here for several years, the agony he went through at the death of that young man, setting up a shrine in his office. It affected him deeply. It was interesting that a man who could be so oriented toward policy, and sometimes almost remote from personal matters, as a professional self-definition, could be so utterly moved by sadness in his own life and I think in the lives of others.

It was in the Halls of the U.S. Senate where Robert C. Byrd became known as the ``Soul of the Senate,'' a fierce defender of the Constitution, a respected historian, and an absolutely fearless legislator. He held, as has been said many times before, more leadership posts than any other Senator, cast more votes than any other Senator, and served longer than any other Senator. And one could go on in many ways in that theme. He literally wrote the authoritative book on the rules and procedures of the Senate. He taught all of us who were freshmen in this body about that in classes which he would conduct standing in the well of the Senate. He loved and he revered this institution. Everybody says that. It is true.

Some people pass through this institution. They experience this institution. He lived this institution. Yet, still, his entire career was fundamentally an act of commitment to the State of West Virginia and its people--a day-in and day-out effort to do the best he possibly could for the people of the Mountain State; always put upon, often looked down upon, even disdained by others who did not understand where they came from, what their lives were like, and, for example, what it was like to be a coal miner. People do not understand West Virginia well. Most people do not go there. Senator Byrd sprung from West Virginia and, yes, was an intensely devoted statesman.

He put himself through law school while also serving in Congress. I know a few others have done that, but I just sort of deny that. I think it is amazing that Senator Byrd did that; therefore, any others who did it do not get my attention.

He understood that people with the fortitude to ask questions and to debate and to dissent one from another makes America stronger. He had that courage himself, standing up time and time again to defend the ideals upon which our Nation was founded. And often those ideas were very different from those of others. No matter with Senator Byrd; he always spoke for what he felt was correct.

As the minority leader has pointed out, the Senator always had the Constitution in his pocket, close to his heart. And he outlasted Presidents and Supreme Court Justices. He served with an absolute insistence on the equality of the three branches of government as envisioned by our Founding Fathers, and he, therefore, helped us as a body be more than our separate parts. He spread the words of our Constitution to young children and his colleagues alike. His patriotism was strong and confident, infusing his every action with deep devotion for our Nation and its people.

A Senator from a State that has sent legions of sons and daughters to war--out of courage, out of love of country, sometimes just out of a need to get work--he supported our troops whether he agreed with their cause or not, fought for our veterans, and worked hard to make sure those who served our country got the respect, the support, the supplies they needed and they deserved.

He also earned the loyalty of West Virginians with a record of support for education and economic opportunity that few Senators, at any time, in any State, in my judgment, could ever match. To him, every school building or education grant was a chance for a better life for some West Virginia child or maybe quite a lot of children. He cared about that, and he helped that become true.

Every overpass, every road represented an opportunity for a more dynamic economy for our cities and towns, which might be taken casually in some places but not in West Virginia because only 4 percent of our land is flat, and unless there is a road or a bridge, you cannot build anything anywhere or virtually do anything anywhere. Every business park or government office meant the possibility of a better job for West Virginians trying to raise their families--people he fought for all his life.

Senator Byrd also believed health care is one of the most important ways to strengthen a community, and his support for medical research resulted in breakthrough medical opportunities. He spread this research all across West Virginia, to West Virginia University, to Marshall University, to institutions of all kinds. He believed in medical research and did more than most of our colleagues even know.

So in a State with rugged terrain, full of people like the family who raised him, doing their best for their family, for their country, for their God, Robert C. Byrd decided that somebody needed to do the best for them, and he did so each and every day of his life.

To me, he was a perfect colleague and a reliable friend, a walking example of the kind of America I believe in, and a living testament to the values that made West Virginia my own home forever. It has been my greatest privilege to serve with Robert C. Byrd in the U.S. Senate. I respected him and I fought side-by-side with him for causes we both believed in, and obviously I am profoundly saddened that he is gone.

So in closing, Mr. President, I think he leaves a void that probably cannot

be filled. But I am lifted by the knowledge of his deep and abiding faith and that he is in the hands of the One who inspired these words in ``Amazing Grace:

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease,

I shall possess within the veil,

A life of joy and peace.

I think that gives all of us some comfort. It certainly does me.

So peace and Godspeed, Senator Byrd, and peace to your family, your loyal staff, and to the loving people of West Virginia, who held you high for so long and will continue to do so.

I thank the Chair and yield my time.