On the recordJuly 26, 2010
I join my colleagues in paying tribute to our colleague Robert Byrd of West Virginia. He served his beautiful mountain State for a record-setting 57 years in Congress, including 51 years in this Chamber. He cast more rollcall votes and served in more leadership positions than any other Senator in U.S. history, including 12 years as his party's leader. He revered this body so much that he wrote four volumes on Senate history from 1789 to 1989. Over nine terms, he mastered parliamentary procedure in an effort to protect the Senate's rules and to defend the legislative branch's authority. He carried a copy of the Constitution in his pocket, and he peppered his speeches with frequent references to the intent of our Framers. When asked how many Presidents he had served under, he replied, ``None. I have served with Presidents, not under them.'' Senator Byrd will enter the history books as one of the Senate's true giants, but his beginnings were humble. His biography is a shining testament to the American dream. He was adopted in infancy and raised in impoverished coal-mining towns. His first job was to collect garbage scraps for his family's hogs. Although he graduated valedictorian of his 1934 high school class, at first he could not afford college. He married his high school sweetheart, Erma Ora James, with whom he enjoyed 68 happy years.
