Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, it was with profound sadness that I learned yesterday of the passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd. This country knew Senator Byrd as one of the lions of the Senate, a ferocious advocate for his State and a principled spokesman for his beliefs, whether it was his opposition to the war in Iraq or his commitment to improve safety and working conditions in the coal fields of West Virginia. This Congress, both sides of the Capitol, knew Robert C. Byrd as the chief defender of its constitutional prerogatives, an unequaled master of its parliamentary rules, an expert on its history, and one of the ablest legislative tacticians either Chamber has ever seen. West Virginia knew Senator Robert C. Byrd as her own. It's difficult to adequately describe the bond of profound connection between the man and the State. People from outside the State might assume that this connection was built on the senator's legendary success in delivering Federal funds to West Virginia, and that would be wrong. West Virginians understand how important that success was, of course. We know that those material contributions are literally incalculable in dollars invested, roads paved, buildings constructed, and jobs created. But the bond between Senator Byrd and West Virginia went far beyond that.”