Trent Lott: “I want to add my specific expression of appreciation for our Vice President, Vice President Cheney. He is a long-time…”

“I want to add my specific expression of appreciation for our Vice President, Vice President Cheney. He is a long-time friend. He understands the institution of Congress. He has proven to be a very active Vice President and, obviously, a good and valued adviser to our President. But we all actually have a special affinity for this Vice President because we think he does understand the Congress as an institution, and I think he has been very positive in the way he has dealt with us. I just wanted that to be on the Record. I thank Senator Byrd for his performance as our President pro tempore, for his making us think about the history and the traditions of this institution, for his sometimes unbelievable speeches about history, and for his great quotes from memory of poetry and famous statements by statesmen and politicians. Of course, the one and the only centenarian, Senator Strom Thurmond, has done so much for his State and for his country. I just want to put on the Record at this point also that in his service in the Senate he has cast 16,348 votes. He was here last night until the last vote was cast. We are going to celebrate his 100th birthday with several events December 1. He will be one of the legends that will be long remembered in this institution and by our country.”