Joe Biden: “I am sorry that I was not present on the floor on Monday when my colleagues paid tribute to my friend, Robert C. Byrd…”

“I am sorry that I was not present on the floor on Monday when my colleagues paid tribute to my friend, Robert C. Byrd, but I would like to add my voice to the chorus speaking on his unsurpassed contributions to the U.S. Senate and to America. I say without hesitation Senator Byrd is one of the most remarkable men I have ever had the privilege to work with. Although I have been here for 33 years, he is the only Member whom I have looked up to as my senior--my senior in every way. When my days are finished in this Chamber, my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren will know that I served with the greatest servant of the U.S. Senate of all who have served. Once someone said of another West Virginian, Stonewall Jackson, that ``his character and will make him a stonewall and more of a stonewall than any man I've ever known.'' I say the same of Robert Byrd. When he walks on the floor, Constitution in his pocket, and he looks around, raises his voice, points his finger, he is our stonewall. He is the unshakeable rock of this institution. He is our foundation. He is the protector of this body. I am absolutely certain that the Senator's service, knowledge, and contributions to the Senate will never be surpassed. This country gentleman has no peer. No one has given as much to this institution or loved it as much as the senior Senator from West Virginia. The Senate is what it is because of Robert Byrd.…”