Patrick Leahy: “a few minutes ago, before I opened the Senate, I had the privilege of walking on the floor with Senator-elect Peter…”

“a few minutes ago, before I opened the Senate, I had the privilege of walking on the floor with Senator-elect Peter Welch of Vermont. I am going to speak more about our new Senator, who will be taking this seat very shortly, within the next few days. I would note, as we walked on the floor, unlike the first time I walked on the floor, Senator-elect Welch has a great deal of experience from his years as being one of the leaders in the House of Representatives. As Congressman Welch, he has the right, of course, to come on the floor, but also, as Senator-elect Welch, he has that right. I told him that, when I first came here, we were actually a 99-Member Senate because there had been a tied race in my neighboring State of New Hampshire. I was number 99, the most junior Member of the Senate. I would have been the youngest Member of the Senate, but there was one Senator who came in 2 years before who was younger, a Senator from Delaware named Joseph R. Biden. We were the kids of the Senate. Frank Church was a distinguished Senator, and I had been meeting with him. A vote was starting, and he said: I have got to go to the floor, but come with me. When I got to the door out there, I was still the State's attorney of Chittenden County, VT, and county prosecutor. So, naturally, I stopped at the door. He said, ``No, no, Senators-elect have the privilege of the floor,'' which, even if he had not been a Congressman, Senator-elect Welch would have had.…”