ROBERT C. BYRD - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 04/25/1978 - HFSID 266077

ROBERT C. BYRD
As Senate Majority Leader, he signs a typed letter thanking New York Senator Pat Moynihan for supporting the Panama Canal Treaty of 1978, which was approved by a margin of only one vote.
Important TLS: "Robert" as Senate Majority Leader, 1p, 8½x11. Washington, D.C., 1978 April 25. To Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. In full: "I want to commend you for the role you played in the historic Senate debate and votes on the Panama Canal treaties. All Senators were subjected to great pressure over the past several months. If, as I firmly believe, history records approval of the Panama Canal treaties as the right decision, it will be because of men like you. Yours was a vote of principle, of vision, and of courage. You recognized that America, as the world's most powerful nation, grows only stronger by remaining faithful to the principles of fairness and justice that made us a great nation. I want you to know that I am appreciative of your support on this issue." Handwritten postscript: "Thank you for your great work and good help!" In 1903, U.S. military forces supported Panamanian revolutionaries in their quest for independence from Colombia and ensured U.S. control for a century, of a strip of land in the center of Panama for the Canal. In 1977, two treaties were signed by President Carter and Panamanian leader Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos Herrera. The Permanent Neutrality Treaty declared the Canal neutral and open to vessels of all nations. The Panama Canal Treaty provided for joint U.S.-Panama control of the Canal until December 31, 1999, when Panama would take full control. On March 16, 1978, the Senate passed the Neutrality Treaty and on April 18, 1978, it approved a resolution of ratification of the Canal Treaty 68 to 32; 67 votes were needed for ratification. Robert C. Byrd (1917-2010) represented West Virginia in the U.S. Senate from 1959 until his death in 2010 - he was the longest serving member of the United States Congress in history. He has served as Majority Leader (1977-1980, 1987-1988), Minority Leader (1981-1986) and President Pro Tempore of the Senate (third in line for the Presidency, 1989-1995). Between 1989 and 2009, whenever the Democratic Party held a majority, Byrd chaired the power Appropriations Committee. He had clout on other important committees too: Armed Services, Rules and Budget. A master of parliamentary procedures, Byrd knew just how to exploit arcane Senate rules to achieve his goals and stymie opponents. A conservative when first elected, Byrd moved gradually to the left during his Senate tenure. The Americans for Democratic Action, whose scores on Senate voting records are a good measure of liberalism, had rated Byrd at 16% in 1964 (when he filibustered civil rights legislation), rising to 95% in 2005. Byrd was the last surviving Senator to have voted to admit a new State to the Union. Fourteen of his colleagues had not even been born when Robert Byrd entered the Senate. DIRECTLY FROM THE SALE OF THE ESTATE OF DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN (1927-2003), U.S. Senator from New York (1977-2001). Estate inventory numbers in upper right (ink) and left margin (stamp). Pencil notes (unknown hand) at lower edge. ½-inch red dot inked in upper right. Otherwise, fine condition.