John Sarbanes: “I took the floor for a brief moment to underscore the extraordinary contribution that Senator Byrd has been making to…”

“I took the floor for a brief moment to underscore the extraordinary contribution that Senator Byrd has been making to the national debate in the recent period on issues of critical national importance. He has taken to the floor time and time again and spoken with a clear strong voice. He has sounded a clarion call to the country. I know from people I talk to that voice is reaching into many corners across the land and prompting Americans to think deeply about the issues that confront the Nation, and even more deeply and fundamental about how we go about conducting our business and making these decisions. The vote last night in the House of Representatives was held over for 3 hours in order for the Republican leadership to twist arms in order to change the outcome, which was already up on the board, where they had lost by two votes. That rollcall vote was held open indefinitely. My able colleague from Maryland, Congressman Hoyer, remarked afterwards, it would be as though you had election day, the time came for the polls to close, and you held the polls open for another 15 hours while you went out and somehow found the votes to assure you the result. It is an abuse of the democratic process. The Senator from West Virginia has always spoken. He sounded a loud trumpet about our Nation. We are deeply in debt to him and appreciate that.”