Senator Robert Byrd Becomes First Senator to Cast 17,000 Roll Call Votes
A new milestone was reached Thursday in the U.S. Senate, when Sen.
Robert Byrd -- already the record holder for casting the most ballots in the Senate -- voted for the 17,000th time.
Although the 86-year-old staunch West Virginia Democrat has ruffled Republican feathers with unbending opposition to many of the Bush administration's top initiatives, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle gave him a standing ovation and paused to hear his reflections.
“The Senate is the forum which exists to welcome and to protect the airing of all points of view. Both sides of the aisle need to work together to ensure that the Senate will stay true to its constitutional purpose.”
— Senator Robert Byrd
On April 1, 2004, Sen. Robert Byrd cast his 17,000th Roll Call vote against a "motion to invoke cloture on the committee substitute to H.R. 4." (In English, he voted against welfare reform.)
