Byrd will lie in repose in Senate chamber

WASHINGTON, June 29 (UPI) -- The body of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., will lie in repose in the Senate chamber the day before he is to be buried in West Virginia, officials said Tuesday.

Byrd, who died Monday at 92, was the longest-serving member of Congress ever. He served 51 years in the Senate following six years in the House, in a congressional career that began when Dwight D. Eisenhower took the presidential oath in 1953.

Byrd will lie in repose in the well of the Senate from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Thursday, while the Senate takes a break from official work, The Hill reported.

The office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate chaplain will say a prayer in the chamber at 10:30 a.m.

Byrd will be the first senator in 51 years to lie in repose in the Senate chamber, the Capitol Hill publication said. The most recent was former Sen. William Langer, R-N.D., who died in 1959.

Assistant Senate Historian Katherine Scott said the practice has become "quite uncommon" since World War II but was not uncommon in the 19th century.

Byrd is to be buried Friday morning in Charleston, W.Va.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will attend the service Friday, the White House said Tuesday.