John Sarbanes: “earlier in the week, on Monday to be exact, Senator Robert C. Byrd, our very distinguished colleague, became the longest…”

“earlier in the week, on Monday to be exact, Senator Robert C. Byrd, our very distinguished colleague, became the longest serving Senator in the history of the U.S. Senate. It is obviously a moment to celebrate and recognize his accomplishments in the service of the Nation. Our celebration is tempered only by the fact that his beloved wife Erma, with whom he spent nearly 69 years of marriage, passed away recently. I want to join my colleagues who, in the course of this week, have paid tribute to the senior Senator from West Virginia. Senator Byrd this year completes his eighth Senate term, having first been elected to the Senate in 1958. Prior to that, he served 6 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and, before that, 6 years in the West Virginia legislature. In his now almost 48 years in the U.S. Senate, he has held an extraordinary range of committee and subcommittee assignments and has served in leadership positions as secretary of the majority conference, majority whip, minority leader, majority leader, and President pro tempore. His vote has been recorded on nearly 99 percent of all Senate rollcalls since 1958. Indeed, he has cast far more votes than any other Senator in our Nation's history. It is not for his longevity, however, that we honor our colleague, the senior Senator from West Virginia. It is, rather, the manner in which he has faithfully carried out his responsibilities as a U.S.…”