On the recordJune 30, 2010
it is with deep sadness that I rise to honor my colleague and friend, Senator Robert C. Byrd. I look at the simple eloquence of the roses and the black felt on his desk, and, sort of, he rises above that and hovers above us in just about everything we do. The admiration that all of us in this body have for Senator Byrd is genuine and palpable. We miss him dearly, and I know I speak for the entire Senate when I say our thoughts and prayers are with Senator Byrd's family as they mourn his passing. Mr. President, no one loved the Senate more than Robert Byrd. He devoted his life to this august institution and, in doing so, became an institution himself. He is a legend--a man who embodied the best ideals of this body. It is fitting that on this day we remember Senator Byrd the Senate is undertaking one of its most important constitutionally mandated responsibilities: the confirmation hearings for a Supreme Court Associate Justice. Senator Byrd would remind us that we are in a process where the first branch of government is giving its advice and consent to a selection from the second branch of government in choosing someone to sit on the highest part of the third branch of government. He loved the Constitution, he loved the Senate, he loved America, and he came from the bosom of America.
