Changes

{{Officeholder/senator

{{Officeholder/senator

|state=West Virginia

|state=West Virginia

|terms=January 3, 1959 - Present

|terms=January 3, 1959 - June 28, 2010

|preceded=W. Chapman Revercomb

|preceded=W. Chapman Revercomb

|former=n

|former=n

}}

}}

'''Robert Byrd''', born 20 November, 1917 (age {{age|1917|11|20}}), is a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator from [[West Virginia]]. He is currently the oldest and longest-serving member of [[Congress]], [[President pro tempore]] of the US Senate, and is the longest-serving [[Senator]] in history, having been first elected in 1958.  

'''Robert Carlyle Byrd''', 20 November, 1917 - 28 June, 2010, was a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] Senator from [[West Virginia]]. He was the oldest member of [[Congress]] at his death at age 92, [[President pro tempore]] of the US Senate, and was the longest-serving [[Senator]] in history, having been first elected in 1958.  

Byrd has twice held the position of Senate Democratic Leader, was a crucial 60th vote in holding a filibuster-proof Senate in 2009, and remains a Democratic Party legend and icon. He is third in line to the [[President of the United States|Presidency]] behind [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Joe Biden]] and [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Nancy Pelosi]].

Byrd twice held the position of Senate Democratic Leader, was a crucial 60th vote in holding a filibuster-proof Senate in 2009, and remains a Democratic Party legend and icon. He is third in line to the [[President of the United States|Presidency]] behind [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Joe Biden]] and [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Nancy Pelosi]].

==Klan membership==

==Klan Membership==

Byrd first joined the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in the 1940s and attained the rank of Exalted Cyclops, the leader of the local chapter of the organization.<ref>Pianin, Eric. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801105_pf.html A Senator's Shame: Byrd, in His New Book, Again Confronts Early Ties to KKK]. Washington Post, 2005-06-19, pp. A01</ref> He repeatedly expressed his desire for the Klan to expand to its previous size and power, once remarking in a letter that "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia" and "in every state in the nation." <ref>King, Colbert I. [http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2003/commentary/works/king2.html Sen. Byrd: The view from Darrell's barbershop], Washington Post, March 2, 2002</ref>

Byrd first joined the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in the 1940s and attained the rank of Exalted Cyclops, the leader of the local chapter of the organization.<ref>Pianin, Eric. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801105_pf.html A Senator's Shame: Byrd, in His New Book, Again Confronts Early Ties to KKK]. Washington Post, 2005-06-19, pp. A01</ref> He repeatedly expressed his desire for the Klan to expand to its previous size and power, once remarking in a letter that "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia" and "in every state in the nation." <ref>King, Colbert I. [http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2003/commentary/works/king2.html Sen. Byrd: The view from Darrell's barbershop], Washington Post, March 2, 2002</ref>

By the 1950s, he was no longer publicly involved with the Ku Klux Klan. In recent years Byrd has made public statements about poor choices he made, and like [[Strom Thurmond]], (who at one time ran on a segregationist platform) says he regrets being involved with the group. However, he was involved in a controversy in 2001 over his use of a racial epithet as part of a metaphor during an interview on race relations by [[Tony Snow]]. <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FIBJt-c2o0</ref>

By the 1950s, he was no longer publicly involved with the Ku Klux Klan. In recent years Byrd has made public statements about poor choices he made, and like [[Strom Thurmond]], (who at one time ran on a segregationist platform) says he regrets being involved with the group. However, he was involved in a controversy in 2001 over his use of a racial epithet as part of a metaphor during an interview on race relations by [[Tony Snow]]. <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FIBJt-c2o0</ref>

==Congressional service==

==Congressional Service==

Byrd was elected as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 1952 for the 6th district of West Virginia, succeeding [[E.H. Hedrick]], who had decided to step down to run for Governor of [[West Virginia]]. Byrd was reelected to the House twice. In 1958, he was elected to the [[United States Senate]], defeating the [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] incumbent W. Chapman Revercomb. He has been reelected eight times. For his first four terms, Byrd was West Virginia's junior senator. This was because his colleague from 1959 to 1985, Jennings Randolph, had been elected on the same day in a special election to fill the seat of the late Senator Matthew Neely.

Byrd was elected as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 1952 for the 6th district of West Virginia, succeeding [[E.H. Hedrick]], who had decided to step down to run for Governor of [[West Virginia]]. Byrd was reelected to the House twice. In 1958, he was elected to the [[United States Senate]], defeating the [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] incumbent W. Chapman Revercomb. He has been reelected eight times. For his first four terms, Byrd was West Virginia's junior senator. This was because his colleague from 1959 to 1985, Jennings Randolph, had been elected on the same day in a special election to fill the seat of the late Senator Matthew Neely.

In the 1960 Presidential election primaries, Byrd, a close Senate ally of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], tried and failed to derail the Democratic front-runner and ultimately successful candidate [[John F. Kennedy]] in the crucial West Virginia [[primary election|primary]].

In the 1960 Presidential election primaries, Byrd, a close Senate ally of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], tried and failed to derail the Democratic front-runner and ultimately successful candidate [[John F. Kennedy]] in the crucial West Virginia [[primary election|primary]].

On November 7, 2006, Byrd was elected to an unprecedented ninth consecutive term in the Senate. He became the longest-serving senator in American history on June 12, 2006, surpassing [[Strom Thurmond]] of [[South Carolina]] with 17,327 days of service.<ref>[http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/053106/news2.html The Hill]</ref> Previously, he already held the record for the longest unbroken tenure in the Senate (Thurmond served 48 years in total, but vacated the office between April and November of 1956). Counting his tenure as a West Virginia state legislator from 1947 to 1953, Byrd has served as an elected official for almost 60 years and has never lost an election. Byrd has cast a total of 17,745 votes as of September 13, 2006 — the most of any senator in history. Upon the death of Senator [[George Smathers]] of Florida on January 20, 2007 — Byrd became the last living United States Senator from the 1950s.<ref>[http://senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/three_column_table/10000_or_more_votes.htm U.S. Senate]</ref> This means that not only has Byrd outlived every other Senator who had seniority over him, but he is the only person to ever have remained in the Senate the entire time while doing it. He is on pace to pass [[Carl Hayden]] of [[Arizona]] as the longest-serving member of Congress (House and Senate tenure combined) in American history sometime in early 2010. Byrd is the last remaining Senator to have voted on a statehood bill and has served longer in the Senate than eight of his colleagues have been alive (those being [[Bob Casey, Jr.]], [[Amy Klobuchar]], [[Blanche Lincoln]], [[John Thune]], [[David Vitter]], [[Barack Obama]], [[Mark Pryor]], and [[John E. Sununu]]).

On November 7, 2006, Byrd was elected to an unprecedented ninth consecutive term in the Senate. He became the longest-serving senator in American history on June 12, 2006, surpassing [[Strom Thurmond]] of [[South Carolina]] with 17,327 days of service.<ref>[http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/053106/news2.html The Hill]</ref> Previously, he already held the record for the longest unbroken tenure in the Senate (Thurmond served 48 years in total, but vacated the office between April and November of 1956). Counting his tenure as a West Virginia state legislator from 1947 to 1953, Byrd has served as an elected official for almost 60 years ''and never lost an election''. Byrd has cast a total of 17,745 votes as of September 13, 2006 — the most of any senator in history. Upon the death of Senator [[George Smathers]] of Florida on January 20, 2007 — Byrd became the last living United States Senator from the 1950s.<ref>[http://senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/three_column_table/10000_or_more_votes.htm U.S. Senate]</ref> This means that not only has Byrd outlived every other Senator who had seniority over him, but he is the only person to ever have remained in the Senate the entire time while doing it. He is on pace to pass [[Carl Hayden]] of [[Arizona]] as the longest-serving member of Congress (House and Senate tenure combined) in American history sometime in early 2010. Byrd is the last remaining Senator to have voted on a statehood bill and has served longer in the Senate than eight of his colleagues have been alive (those being [[Bob Casey, Jr.]], [[Amy Klobuchar]], [[Blanche Lincoln]], [[John Thune]], [[David Vitter]], [[Barack Obama]], [[Mark Pryor]], and [[John E. Sununu]]).

Byrd is currently the chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Appropriations]]. Byrd was first appointed to the committee by then-Majority Leader [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] when he first entered the Senate in 1959. Since [[1989]], he has been the committee's top Democrat and has chaired the committee when the Democrats have control of the Senate. Byrd is also a member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Committee on Armed Services]], the [[United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration|Committee on Rules and Administration]] and the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Committee on the Budget]].

Byrd was, at his death, the chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Appropriations]]. Byrd was first appointed to the committee by then-Majority Leader [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] when he first entered the Senate in 1959. Since [[1989]], he has been the committee's top Democrat and has chaired the committee when the Democrats have control of the Senate. Byrd is also a member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Committee on Armed Services]], the [[United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration|Committee on Rules and Administration]] and the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Committee on the Budget]].

In 2007, after serving in the Senate for nearly 50 years, and holding several prominent Committee chairmanships and Leadership posts, as Appropriations Chairman in the [[110th Congress]], Byrd finally required Democratic staff on his committee to provide him with a detailed disclosure of any direct or indirect [[conflicts of interest]] they may have as a result of actions taken by the panel. <ref>[http://www.rollcall.com/issues/52_147/news/19169-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Byrd Issues Tougher Staff Conflict Rules], By John Stanton, ''Roll Call'', June 27, 2007.</ref>

In 2007, after serving in the Senate for nearly 50 years, and holding several prominent Committee chairmanships and Leadership posts, as Appropriations Chairman in the [[110th Congress]], Byrd finally required Democratic staff on his committee to provide him with a detailed disclosure of any direct or indirect [[conflicts of interest]] they may have as a result of actions taken by the panel. <ref>[http://www.rollcall.com/issues/52_147/news/19169-1.html?CMP=OTC-RSS Byrd Issues Tougher Staff Conflict Rules], By John Stanton, ''Roll Call'', June 27, 2007.</ref>

*[http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Robert_Byrd.htm Byrd on Issues]

*[http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Robert_Byrd.htm Byrd on Issues]

==References==

==References==

{{DEFAULTSORT: Byrd, Robert}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Byrd, Robert}}