Thomas Daschle: “on behalf of colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, I, too, rise to congratulate our distinguished colleague on this…”

“on behalf of colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, I, too, rise to congratulate our distinguished colleague on this remarkable achievement. Just to remind Senators, Senator Byrd began building this unsurpassed record more than 39 years ago. On January 8, 1959, Senator Byrd cast his first vote in the U.S. Senate. Fittingly, it was a vote on Senate procedure. On April 27, 1990, Senator Byrd cast his 12,134 vote, earning him the record for greatest number of rollcall votes in Senate history. On July 27, 1995, he became the first Senator in history to cast 14,000 votes, and now he has built on his record number of rollcall votes to be the first person in Senate history to cast 15,000 votes. To place this record in some historical context, Senator Byrd cast the first of his 15,000 votes with Senators John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson here in the chamber with him. When he cast his first vote, Hawaii had not yet become a State, and the United States had not yet put a man in space. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this record is Senator Byrd's lifetime attendance record. Over 39 plus years, Senator Byrd has stood in this well or voted from his chair on 98.7 percent of the votes cast.”