Political Quotes

“I thank the distinguished Member from West Virginia, the chairman of our Natural Resources Committee, Nick Joe Rahall, of whom Robert Byrd was very proud. I also am pleased to recognize the Speaker pro tempore, Alan Mollohan, of whom Robert Byrd was very proud, and who he considered a partner. I thank Congresswoman Capito for allowing me to speak--in fact, out of order--on the passing of the distinguished American who was larger than life in so many respects. Today, we honor the life of Senator Robert Byrd. History will reflect him as the longest-serving Member Congress has ever seen. But, of course, if it were only longevity that we were honoring, it would simply be the hand of fate that allowed that to happen. But what we really honor is that Robert C. Byrd used his longevity to such extraordinary benefit of the people he served in the State of West Virginia, the people of this Nation, and the legislative branch of government. I doubt that there have been any peers to Robert C. Byrd in standing on the floor of the United States Senate or of the House of Representatives or in any forum in which he was temporarily present, that any more strong advocacy of the equality and separateness of the legislative branch was made clear. Robert C. Byrd was a giant. He was a giant in terms of character. He grew during the course of his lifetime, which is a mark of a great man. All of us are, to some degree, captives of the environment in which we are raised and in which we live.…”