I staffed my boss at the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Committee this week. I've never staffed a conference committee before, none of my bills have ever made it that far. We've always been stuck in an omnibus or a long term CR or other such nonsense.
But I digress...
So the Homeland Approps Conference was in a super cool old Brumidi room in the Capitol. My boss and the House conferees were all on one side of the table and about half of the Senators who were supposed to be there were on the other side of the table. (Apparently conference isn't such a big deal if you are a senator). AND, then it go really good... they wheeled in ROBERT BYRD to chair the meeting.
Senator Byrd has been in the Senate since 1959. He is an institution. Whatever you think about his politics, the man has a (RULE in the US Senate named after him.
Add to that the man is a bagizillion years old and has been in the hospital lately, when they wheeled him into the room, the entire room went silent. I mean no one uttered even so much as a peep. So they wheeled him in and he sits there for a while so people start whispering to each other how cool and historic it is to have him chair the committee (because bets are, he's not going to be chairing many more hearings) and all the sudden WACK!!! The venerable Senator from West Virginia gaveled down the start of the meeting.
It was by far the coolest thing I did all week.
In case you don't believe me how wicked awesome Sen. Byrd is in action... here is a clip of him speaking on the Senate floor about dog fighting and Michael Vick.
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