WASHINGTON, DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement on the passing of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd:
“Thirty years ago, I first entered the Capital as an intern for Senator Mark Hatfield. Even then, Senator Byrd was already a mainstay of the Senate. In the years since, he became known as the historian of the Senate, a repository for its legacies and lessons. It was a tremendous honor to serve with him and it was with great sadness that I learned of his passing. There are few who have ever made such a mark on the Senate, and it will be a long time before we see another whose history is so intertwined with this institution.
“Senator Byrd never forgot where he came from and he never stopped fighting for the people of West Virginia. Mary and I send our thoughts and prayers to his family and the people of his great state.”
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