Jay Rockefeller: “I wish to add my voice of love, respect, and a very deep feeling of comradeship with the good Senator from Wyoming who…”

“I wish to add my voice of love, respect, and a very deep feeling of comradeship with the good Senator from Wyoming who has died--Senator Thomas. My family has been associated with Wyoming for many years. In a sense, their Senators have been Senators whom we have related to. Senator Thomas, Senator Enzi, now a new Senator, these are people we feel very strongly about. I have particularly strong feelings about both--about Senator Enzi because of his willingness to come to a coal mine in West Virginia and actually write a bill that rewrote 30 years of our mine inspection laws, and Senator Thomas simply because as member of the Finance Committee he was always an even, steady voice--level-headed. You could trust him. He was totally a man of his word, and I will miss him greatly.”