Editing Robert Byrd (section)

==Congressional service==
In 1952, Byrd was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] for [[West Virginia's 6th congressional district]],<ref name="CONG_BIO"/> succeeding [[E. H. Hedrick]], who retired from the House to make an unsuccessful run for the Democratic nomination for [[Governor of West Virginia|governor]]. Byrd was re-elected twice from this district, anchored in [[Charleston, West Virginia|Charleston]] and also including his home in Sophia, serving from January 3, 1953, to January 3, 1959.<ref name="CONG_BIO"/> Byrd defeated [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] incumbent [[Chapman Revercomb|W. Chapman Revercomb]] for the [[United States Senate]] in 1958. Revercomb's record supporting civil rights had become an issue, playing in Byrd's favor.<ref name="CONG_BIO"/> Byrd was re-elected to the Senate eight times. He was West Virginia's junior senator for his first four terms; his colleague from 1959 to 1985 was [[Jennings Randolph]], who had been elected on the same day as Byrd's first election in a special election to fill the seat of the late Senator [[Matthew Neely]].

[[File:Congressman Robert Byrd.png|thumb|left|Byrd official portrait as a congressman]]
Despite his tremendous popularity in the state, Byrd ran unopposed only once, in [[1976 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1976]]. On three other occasions—in [[1970 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1970]], [[1994 United States Senate election in West Virginia|1994]] and [[2000 United States Senate election in West Virginia|2000]]—he won all 55 of West Virginia's counties. In his re-election bid in 2000, he won all but seven [[electoral precinct|precinct]]s. Congresswoman [[Shelley Moore Capito]], the daughter of one of Byrd's longtime foes, former governor [[Arch A. Moore Jr.|Arch Moore Jr.]], briefly considered a challenge to Byrd in 2006 but decided against it. Capito's district covered much of the territory Byrd had represented in the U.S. House.

In the [[1960 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], Byrd—a close Senate ally of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]—endorsed and campaigned for [[Hubert Humphrey]] over front-runner [[John F. Kennedy]] in the state's crucial [[Partisan primary|primary]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Lawrence|first=William H.|title=Politics: New Campaign Tactics Emerge; West Virginia's Popularity Contest Now Takes On Deeper Meaning for the National Campaign|work=The New York Times|date=May 1, 1960}}</ref> However, Kennedy won the state's primary and eventually the general election.<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Brien|first=Michael|title=John F. Kennedy: A Biography|year=2005|publisher=Macmillan Publishers|location=New York City|isbn=0-312-28129-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/johnfkennedybiog00obri/page/455 455]|url=https://archive.org/details/johnfkennedybiog00obri/page/455}}</ref>

===Public service records===
[[File:Robert C. Byrd – 1967.jpg|thumb|200px|Byrd early in his Senate career]]
[[2006 United States Senate election in West Virginia|Byrd was elected to a record ninth consecutive full Senate term]] in the [[2006 United States elections|November 7, 2006, midterm elections]]. He became the [[List of United States Congressmen by longevity of service#U.S. Senate time|longest-serving]] senator in American history on June 12, 2006, surpassing [[Strom Thurmond]] of [[South Carolina]] with 17,327 days of service.<ref name="TheHill_longevity">{{cite news | title=Byrd poised to break Thurmond's record | first=Jonathan
|last=Allen | newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]| date=May 31, 2006 | url=http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/053106/news2.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614190120/http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/053106/news2.html| archive-date=June 14, 2006}}</ref> On November 18, 2009, Byrd became the longest-serving member in congressional history, with 56 years, 320 days of combined service in the House and Senate, passing [[Carl Hayden]] of Arizona.<ref name="news.aol.com"/><ref name="111809_CNN_Byrd">{{cite news | title=West Virginia's Byrd becomes the longest-serving member of Congress | first=Tom|last=Cohen | website=[[CNN]]| date=November 18, 2009 | url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/18/robert.byrd.congress.record/index.html | access-date=November 19, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119175134/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/18/robert.byrd.congress.record/index.html | archive-date=November 19, 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref> Previously, Byrd had held the record for the [[List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service#U.S. Senate time|longest unbroken tenure]] in the Senate (Thurmond resigned during his first term and was re-elected seven months later). He is the only senator ever to serve more than 50 years. Including his tenure as a state legislator from 1947 to 1953, Byrd's service on the political front exceeded 60 continuous years. Byrd, who never lost an election, cast his 18,000th vote on June 21, 2007, the most of any senator in history.<ref name="111809_CNN_Byrd"/><ref>{{cite news | title=Another milestone for Sen. Byrd: His 18,000th vote | first1=Jill|last1=Lawrence|first2=Eugene |last2=Kiely |work=[[USA Today]] | date=June 21, 2007 | url=http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/06/another-milesto.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015062655/http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/06/another-milesto.html | archive-date=October 15, 2007}}</ref> [[John Dingell]] broke Byrd's record as longest-serving member of Congress on June 7, 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/06/07/dingell-breaks-record-after-57-years-in-house/?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsFifth|title=Dingell Breaks Record After 57 Years in House|last=Ballhaus|first=Rebecca|date=June 7, 2013|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=August 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009075703/https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/06/07/dingell-breaks-record-after-57-years-in-house/?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsFifth|archive-date=October 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Upon the death of former Florida Senator [[George Smathers]] on January 20, 2007, Byrd became the last living United States senator from the 1950s.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Senators Who Have Cast More than 10,000 Votes | publisher=United States Senate Democratic Policy Committee Vote Information Office | date=January 3, 2009 | url=http://senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/three_column_table/10000_or_more_votes.htm| url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060531105507/https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/three_column_table/10000_or_more_votes.htm | archive-date=May 31, 2006 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Having taken part in the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the union, Byrd was the last surviving senator to have voted on a bill granting [[U.S. state|statehood]] to a U.S. territory. At the time of Byrd's death, 14 sitting or former members of the Senate had not been born when Byrd's tenure in the Senate began, as well as then-President [[Barack Obama]].

===Committee assignments===
These are the committee assignments for Sen. Byrd's 9th and final term.
* '''[[United States Senate Committee on Appropriations|Committee on Appropriations]]'''
** [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense|Subcommittee on Defense]]
** [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development|Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development]]
** [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security|Subcommittee on Homeland Security]] (chairman)
** [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies|Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies]]
** [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs|Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs]]
** [[United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies|Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies]]
* '''[[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Committee on Armed Services]]'''
** [[United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities|Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities]]
** [[United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support|Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support]]
** [[United States Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces|Subcommittee on Strategic Forces]]
* '''[[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Committee on the Budget]]'''
* '''[[United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration|Committee on Rules and Administration]]'''

===Filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964===
[[File:Byrd meeting with Ford.jpg|thumb|right|Senate Majority Whip Byrd meeting with President [[Gerald Ford]]]]
Byrd was a member of the wing of the Democratic Party that opposed federally-mandated [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]] and [[Civil rights movement|civil rights]]. However, despite his early career in the [[KKK]], Byrd was linked to such senators as [[John C. Stennis]], [[J. William Fulbright]] and [[George Smathers]], who based their segregationist positions on their view of [[states' rights]] in contrast to senators like [[James Eastland]], who held a reputation as a committed racist.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Burton Ira |date=2006 |title=The Carter Years |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIzooiFd6IoC&pg=PA170 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Facts On File |page=170 |isbn=978-0-8160-5369-8}}</ref>

Byrd joined with [[Southern Democrats|Southern Democratic]] senators to [[Filibuster in the United States Senate|filibuster]] the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]],<ref name="cra64">{{Cite web | title=Civil Rights Act of 1964 | publisher=Find Us Law | url=http://finduslaw.com/civil_rights_act_of_1964_cra_title_vii_equal_employment_opportunities_42_us_code_chapter_21 | access-date=October 6, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021141154/http://finduslaw.com/civil_rights_act_of_1964_cra_title_vii_equal_employment_opportunities_42_us_code_chapter_21 | archive-date=October 21, 2010 | url-status=dead }}</ref> personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours, a move he later said he regretted.<ref>{{cite news|title=Byrd Says He Regrets Voting For Patriot Act |agency=Associated Press |work=[[Common Dreams NewsCenter|Common Dreams]] |date=February 28, 2006 |url=http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-07.htm |access-date=October 3, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060919043913/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0228-07.htm |archive-date=September 19, 2006 }}</ref> Despite an 83-day filibuster in the Senate, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act (Democrats 47–16, Republicans 30–2) with Byrd voting against,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – June 19, 1964|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=110|issue=11|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=14511|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt11/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt11-3-2.pdf|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref> and President Johnson would later sign the bill into law.<ref>{{Cite web | title=U.S. Senate, June 10, 1964: Civil Rights Filibuster Ended | publisher=United States Senate | url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Civil_Rights_Filibuster_Ended.htm | access-date=February 16, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202150111/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Civil_Rights_Filibuster_Ended.htm | archive-date=December 2, 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref> He did not sign the 1956 [[Southern Manifesto]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – March 12, 1956|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=102|issue=4|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=4459–4461|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3-1.pdf|access-date=April 12, 2023}}</ref> and voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|Civil Rights Acts of 1960]] and the [[Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – April 8, 1960|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=106|issue=6|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=7810–7811|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1960-pt6/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1960-pt6-8-1.pdf|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – March 27, 1962|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=108|issue=4|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=5105|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1962-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1962-pt4-9-1.pdf|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref> Byrd voted in favor of the initial House resolution for the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957]] on June 18, 1957,<ref>{{cite journal|title=House – June 18, 1957|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=103|issue=7|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=9518|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt7/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt7-8-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022}}</ref> but voted against the Senate amendment to the bill on August 27, 1957.<ref>{{cite journal|title=House – August 27, 1957|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=103|issue=12|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=16112–16113|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt12/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt12-4-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022}}</ref> Byrd voted against the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – May 26, 1965|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=111|issue=2|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=11752|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt9/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt9-2-2.pdf|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – August 4, 1965|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=111|issue=14|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=19378|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt14/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt14-6-1.pdf|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Senate – March 11, 1968|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=114|issue=5|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=5992|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1968-pt5/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1968-pt5-4-2.pdf|access-date=February 18, 2022}}</ref> as well as the confirmation of [[Thurgood Marshall]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref name="Congressional Record 8-30-1967">{{cite journal|title=Senate – August 30, 1967|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=113|issue=18|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=24656|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt18/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt18-7-2.pdf|access-date=February 5, 2022}}</ref> However, he voted for the [[Civil Rights Act of 1968]]. In 1983, Byrd voted in favor of making Martin Luther King Day a national holiday.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/20/us/senate-s-roll-call-vote-on-king-holiday.html | title=Senate's Roll-Call Vote on King Holiday | work=The New York Times | date=October 20, 1983 }}</ref> In 2005, Byrd told ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that his membership in the [[Baptist]] church led to a change in his views. In the opinion of one reviewer, Byrd, like other Southern and border-state Democrats, came to realize that he would have to temper "his blatantly [[racial segregation|segregationist]] views" and move to the Democratic Party mainstream if he wanted to play a role nationally.<ref name="WP061905"/>

=== Vietnam ===
In February 1968, Byrd questioned Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [[Earle Wheeler]] during the latter's testimony to the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Armed Services Committee]]. During a White House meeting between President Johnson and congressional Democratic leaders on February 6, Byrd stated his concern for the ongoing [[Vietnam War]], citing the U.S.'s lack of intelligence, preparation, underestimating of the morale and vitality of the [[Viet Cong]], and overestimated how backed Americans would be by [[South Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Last Great Senator: Robert C. ByrdÆs Encounters with Eleven U.S. Presidents|first=David A.|last=Corbin|pages=108–109|year=2012|publisher=Potomac Books|location=Sterling, Virginia|isbn=978-1-61234-499-7}}</ref>

President Johnson rejected Byrd's observations. "Anyone can kick a barn down. It takes a good carpenter to build one".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968|page=207|year=2009|publisher=Lexington Books|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-0-7391-4304-9}}</ref>

===1968 presidential election===
During the [[1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], Byrd supported the incumbent president Johnson. Of the challenging [[Robert F. Kennedy]], Byrd said, "Bobby-come-lately has made a mistake. I won't even listen to him. There are many who liked his brother—as Bobby will find out—but who don't like him".<ref>{{cite book|first=Arthur|last=M. Schlesinger|page=[https://archive.org/details/robertkenn00schl/page/858 858]|title=Robert Kennedy and His Times|url=https://archive.org/details/robertkenn00schl|url-access=registration|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=978-0-395-24897-3|year=1978}}</ref> Byrd praised Chicago Mayor [[Richard J. Daley]]'s police response to [[1968 Democratic National Convention protests|protest activity]] at that year's [[1968 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]], stating that the violence that resulted was the fault of the protesters, while the police only tried to restore order.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=August 30, 1968 |title=Byrd Lauds Daley, Chicago Police |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/15755357/ |work=[[The Register-Herald|Post-Herald and Register]] |location=Beckley, WV |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=May 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619052837/https://www.newspapers.com/image/15755357/ |archive-date=June 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]] won the presidential nomination, and Byrd [[1968 United States presidential election|campaigned for him that fall]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Christian |first=Darrell |agency=[[United Press International]] |date=October 20, 1968 |title=Demos Confident They'll Again Carry West Virginia |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/40890683/ |work=[[The Register-Herald|Post-Herald and Register]] |location=Beckley, WV |page=11 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=May 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614042143/https://www.newspapers.com/image/40890683/ |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Leadership roles===
[[File:DemSenateLeadersDesk.jpg|thumb|right|Drawer of the Senate desk used by Democratic leaders, including Byrd]]
[[File:Robert Byrd portrait.jpg|thumb|220px|left|Byrd as president pro tempore of the Senate]]

Byrd served in the Senate Democratic leadership. He succeeded [[George Smathers]] as secretary of the [[Senate Democratic Caucus|Senate Democratic Conference]] from 1967 to 1971.<ref name="CONG_BIO"/> He unseated [[Ted Kennedy]] in 1971 to become [[Assistant party leaders of the United States Senate|Majority Whip]], the second highest-ranking Democrat, until 1977.<ref name="CONG_BIO"/> Smathers recalled that, "Ted was off playing. While Ted was away at Christmas, down in the islands, floating around having a good time with some of his friends, male and female, here was Bob up here calling on the phone. 'I want to do this, and would you help me?' He had it all committed so that when Teddy got back to town, Teddy didn't know what hit him, but it was already all over. That was Lyndon Johnson's style. Bob Byrd learned that from watching [[Lyndon Johnson]]". Byrd himself had told Smathers that "I have never in my life played a game of cards. I have never in my life had a golf club in my hand. I have never in life hit a tennis ball. I have—believe it or not—never thrown a line over to catch a fish. I don't do any of those things. I have only had to work all my life. And every time you told me about swimming, I don't know how to swim".<ref>George A. Smathers. United States Senator from Florida, 1951–1969. "Interview #6: Senate Democratic Leadership." Tuesday, September 19, 1989. Interviewed by Donald A. Ritchie https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Smathers_interview_6.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926131115/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Smathers_interview_6.pdf |date=September 26, 2018 }}</ref>
[[File:Byrd-stevens-supp-mark-web.jpg|thumb|right|Byrd with Senator [[Ted Stevens]] in 2003]]
In the [[1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], Byrd was the "favorite son" presidential candidate in West Virginia's primary. His easy victory gave him control of the delegation to the [[1976 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]]. Byrd had the inside track as Majority Whip but focused most of his time running for Majority Leader, more so than for re-election to the Senate, as he was virtually unopposed for his fourth term. By the time the vote for Majority Leader came, his lead was so secure that his lone rival, Minnesota's [[Hubert Humphrey]], withdrew before the balloting took place. From 1977 to 1989 Byrd was the leader of the Senate Democrats, serving as [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Majority Leader]] from 1977 to 1981 and 1987 to 1989, and as [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Minority Leader]] from 1981 to 1987.<ref name="CONG_BIO"/>

[[File:Byrd bush.jpg|thumb|left|President pro tempore Byrd and House Speaker [[Dennis Hastert]] presided over a special joint session following the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]]. Here, President Bush shakes hands with Byrd.]]

====Appropriations Committee====
Byrd was known for steering federal dollars to West Virginia, one of the country's poorest states. He was called the "King of [[pork barrel|Pork]]" by [[Citizens Against Government Waste]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Citizens Against Government Waste: Byrd Droppings |publisher=[[Citizens Against Government Waste]] |url=http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_byrddroppings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060709044348/http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=news_byrddroppings |archive-date=July 9, 2006 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> After becoming chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Appropriations|Appropriations Committee]] in 1989, Byrd set a goal securing a total of {{Nowrap|$1 billion}} for public works in the state. He passed that mark in 1991, and funds for highways, dams, educational institutions, and federal agency offices flowed unabated over the course of his membership. More than 30 existing or pending federal projects bear his name. He commented on his reputation for attaining funds for projects in West Virginia in August 2006, when he called himself "Big Daddy" at the dedication for the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ginsberg |first1=Benjamin |last2=Hill |first2=Kathryn Wagner |title=Congress: The First Branch |date=2019 |isbn=978-0-300-24961-3 |page=85 |publisher=Yale University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XtimDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Robert+C.+Byrd+Biotechnology+Science+Center%22+%22Big+daddy%22&pg=PA85|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Campus growth propelling Marshall up academic ladder |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AWNB&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F113D62B3B63D0668 |access-date=May 26, 2020 |work=The Herald-Dispatch |date=August 27, 2006 |location=Huntington, WV |page=6A|via=Newsbank}}</ref> Examples of this ability to claim funds and projects for his state include the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]'s repository for computerized fingerprint records as well as several [[United States Coast Guard]] computing and office facilities.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite news|last=Taylor |first=Andrew |title=Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia dead at 92 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100628/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obit_byrd |work=Obituaries |agency=Associated Press |access-date=June 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701151352/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100628/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obit_byrd |archive-date=July 1, 2010 }}</ref>

====Parliamentary expertise====
Byrd was also known for using his knowledge of [[parliamentary procedure]]. Byrd frustrated Republicans with his encyclopedic knowledge of the inner workings of the Senate, particularly prior to the [[Reagan Era]]. From 1977 to 1979 he was described as "performing a procedural tap dance around the minority, outmaneuvering Republicans with his mastery of the [[Standing Rules of the United States Senate|Senate's arcane rules]]".<ref>{{cite news | author=Sheryl Gay Stolberg | title=Dispute in the Senate: the Players; Behind the Scenes, an Army of Senate Aides Takes On the Filibuster Fight | date=May 20, 2005 | work=The New York Times | url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C13FD3F5D0C738EDDAC0894DD404482 | access-date=February 12, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520192426/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C13FD3F5D0C738EDDAC0894DD404482 | archive-date=May 20, 2013 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> In 1988, majority leader Byrd [[Motion (parliamentary procedure)|moved]] a [[Call of the house|call of the Senate]], which was adopted by the majority present, in order to have the [[Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate|Sergeant-at-Arms]] arrest members not in attendance. One member ([[Robert Packwood]], R-[[Oregon]]) was carried feet-first back to the chamber by the Sergeant-at-Arms in order to obtain a [[quorum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Feet_First.htm|title=U.S. Senate: Feet First}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-24-mn-11822-story.html | title=Guards Seize Senator, Haul Him into Debate Feet First : Packwood's OK but GOP is Outraged | website=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=February 24, 1988 }}</ref>

====President pro tempore====
As the longest-serving Democratic senator, Byrd served as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore]] four times when his party was in the majority:<ref name="CONG_BIO"/> from 1989 until the Republicans won control of the Senate in 1995; for 17 days in early 2001, when the Senate was evenly split between parties and outgoing Vice President [[Al Gore]] broke the tie in favor of the Democrats; when the Democrats regained the majority in June 2001 after Senator [[Jim Jeffords]] of [[Vermont]] left the Republican Party to become an independent; and again from 2007 to his death in 2010, as a result of the [[2006 United States Senate elections|2006 Senate elections]]. In this capacity, Byrd was third in the line of presidential succession at the time of his death, behind Vice President [[Joe Biden]] and House Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]].

===Scholarships and TAH History Grants===
{{Main|Teachinghistory.org}}
In 1969, Byrd launched a Scholastic Recognition Award; he also began to present a savings bond to valedictorians from [[Secondary education in the United States|high schools]]—public and private—in West Virginia. In 1985 Congress approved the nation's only merit-based scholarship program funded through the [[U.S. Department of Education]], a program which Congress later named in Byrd's honor. The [[Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program]] initially comprised a one-year, $1,500 award to students with "outstanding academic achievement" who had been accepted at a college or university. In 1993, the program began providing four-year scholarships.<ref name="byrd_education"/>

In 2002 Byrd secured unanimous approval for a major national initiative to strengthen the teaching of "traditional [[History of the United States|American history]]" in K-12 public schools.<ref>{{Cite journal | author=Miriam E. Hauss | title=Senator Byrd to Receive the AHA's Theodore Roosevelt-Woodrow Wilson Award for Civil Service | date=December 2003 | publisher=[[American Historical Association]] | url=http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/Issues/2003/0312/0312new2.cfm | access-date=January 25, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060402023356/http://www.historians.org/Perspectives/Issues/2003/0312/0312new2.cfm | archive-date=April 2, 2006 | url-status=live }}</ref> The Department of Education competitively awards $50 to {{Nowrap|$120 million}} a year to school districts (in amounts of about $500,000 to {{Nowrap|$1 million}}). The money goes to teacher training programs that are geared to improving the knowledge of history teachers.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Teaching American History Program Announcement | publisher=United States Department of Education | date=March 6, 2009 | url=http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory/index.html | access-date=September 27, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926122323/http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory/index.html | archive-date=September 26, 2006 | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011]] eliminated funding for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduesbyrd/funding.html |title=Funding Status – Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program |publisher=.ed.gov |date=September 24, 2012 |access-date=January 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029074017/http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iduesbyrd/funding.html |archive-date=October 29, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Rachel G. Ragland and Kelly A. Woestman, eds., ''The Teaching American History Project: Lessons for History Educators and Historians'' (2009)  [https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-American-History-Project-Historians/dp/0415988829/ excerpts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418075026/https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-American-History-Project-Historians/dp/0415988829 |date=April 18, 2019 }}</ref>

===Senate historian===
[[File:Byrd baker book 1.jpg|thumb|right|Byrd and [[Richard A. Baker (historian)|Dr. Richard Baker]], the Senate historian]]
Television cameras were first introduced to the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] on March 19, 1979, by [[C-SPAN]]. Unsatisfied that Americans only saw Congress as the House of Representatives, Byrd and others pushed to televise Senate proceedings to prevent the Senate from becoming the "invisible branch" of government, succeeding in June 1986.
{{external media| float = left| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?8062-1/senate-17891989 ''Booknotes'' interview with Byrd on ''The Senate: 1789–1989'', June 18, 1989], [[C-SPAN]]}}
To help introduce the public to the inner workings of the legislative process, Byrd launched a series of one hundred speeches based on his examination of the [[Roman Republic]] and the intent of the [[Framers of the US Constitution|Framers]]. Byrd published a four-volume series on Senate history: ''The Senate: 1789–1989: Addresses on the History of the Senate''.<ref>
[[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Printing Office]], 1989–94</ref> The first volume won the Henry Adams Prize of the Society for History in the Federal Government as "an outstanding contribution to research in the history of the Federal Government". He also published ''The Senate of the Roman Republic: Addresses on the History of Roman Constitutionalism''.<ref>
Government Printing Office, 1995</ref>

In 2004, Byrd received the [[American Historical Association]]'s first [[Theodore Roosevelt]]-[[Woodrow Wilson]] Award for Civil Service; in 2007, Byrd received the [[Friend of History Award]] from the [[Organization of American Historians]]. Both awards honor individuals outside the academy who have made a significant contribution to the writing and/or presentation of history. In 2014, [http://www.byrdcenter.org/ The Byrd Center for Legislative Studies] began assessing the archiving of Senator Byrd's electronic correspondence and floor speeches in order to preserve these documents and make them available to the wider community.<ref>Evans, M. (May 2, 2014), "[http://www.historyassociates.com/blog/digital-archives-blog/digital-preservation-project-step1/ Preservation Week Project: Assessing 255 GB of Senator Byrd's Digital Files] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606205917/http://www.historyassociates.com/blog/digital-archives-blog/digital-preservation-project-step1/ |date=June 6, 2014 }}", History Associates (www.historyassociates.com), access date: May 30, 2014.</ref>

===Final-term Senate highlights===
[[File:Dogfighting.ogg|thumb|Speech by Senator Byrd made to U.S. Senate following the indictment of [[Michael Vick]] on federal dog fighting charges]]
[[File:Bush, Byrd and Pelosi awarding the Dalai Lama.jpg|thumb|The Dalai Lama receiving a [[Congressional Gold Medal]] in 2007. ''From left'': [[Tenzin Gyatso]], Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]], Senate President pro tempore Robert Byrd and U.S. President [[George W. Bush]]]]
On July 19, 2007, Byrd gave a 25-minute speech in the Senate against [[Dog fighting in the United States|dog fighting]] in response to the indictment of football player [[Michael Vick]].<ref>
Byrd called dogfighting a "brutal, [[Sadistic personality disorder|sadistic]] event motivated by barbarism of the worst sort and cruelty of the worst, worst, worst sadistic kind. One is left wondering: 'Who are the real animals: the creatures inside the ring, or the creatures outside the ring?'"{{cite news | author=Paul Kane | title=Byrd on Michael Vick: Going to Hell | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=July 19, 2007 | url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/07/byrd_to_michael_vick_go_to_hel.html | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705033005/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2007/07/byrd_to_michael_vick_go_to_hel.html | archive-date=July 5, 2008 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

For 2007, Byrd was deemed the 14th-most powerful senator, as well as the 12th-most powerful Democratic senator.<ref>{{cite web | title=Power Rank Standings | publisher=Power Rankings | url=http://www.congress.org/congressorg/power_rankings/power_card.tt?id=622 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712145141/http://www.congress.org/congressorg/power_rankings/power_card.tt?id=622 | archive-date=July 12, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Byrd and farmers.jpg|thumb|right|Byrd with farmers from West Virginia]]

On May 19, 2008, Byrd endorsed then-Senator [[Barack Obama]] for president. One week after the [[2008 West Virginia Democratic presidential primary]], in which [[Hillary Clinton]] defeated Obama by 67 to 25 percent,<ref>
[http://www.wvvotes5.com/results-statewide.php] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517153417/http://www.wvvotes5.com/results-statewide.php|date=May 17, 2008}}</ref> Byrd said, "Barack Obama is a noble-hearted patriot and humble Christian, and he has my full faith and support".<ref>{{cite news | author=Paul J. Nyden | title=Byrd endorses Obama for president | date=May 19, 2008 | newspaper=[[Charleston Gazette]] | url=http://wvgazette.com/News/200805190255 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520223856/http://wvgazette.com/News/200805190255 | archive-date=May 20, 2008}}</ref> When asked in October 2008 about the possibility that the issue of race would influence West Virginia voters, as Obama is [[African Americans|African American]], Byrd replied, "Those days are gone. Gone!"<ref>{{Cite news | title=Byrd on Race Issues in W. Va.: "Those days are gone. Gone!" | publisher=[[WSAZ-TV]] | date=October 24, 2008 | url=http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/33234189.html | access-date=December 9, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229165551/http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/33234189.html | archive-date=December 29, 2008 | url-status=dead }}</ref> [[2008 United States presidential election in West Virginia|Obama lost West Virginia]] (by 13%) but won the [[2008 U.S. presidential election|election]].

On January 26, 2009, Byrd was one of three Democrats to vote against the confirmation of [[Timothy Geithner]] as [[United States Secretary of the Treasury]] (along with [[Russ Feingold]] of [[Wisconsin]] and [[Tom Harkin]] of [[Iowa]]).<ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress – 1st Session |publisher=United States Senate|url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615114202/https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00015 |archive-date=June 15, 2010 }}</ref>

On February 26, 2009, Byrd was one of two Democrats to vote against the [[District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009]], which if it had become law would have added a voting seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]] for the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]] and add a seat for [[Utah]], explaining that he supported the intent of the legislation, but regarded it as an attempt to solve with legislation an issue which required resolution with a [[Constitutional amendment]]. (Democrat [[Max Baucus]] of [[Montana]] also cast a "nay" vote.)<ref>{{Cite web | title=U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111th Congress – 1st Session | publisher=United States Senate | url=http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00073 | access-date=February 28, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227153453/http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00073 | archive-date=February 27, 2009 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Although his health was poor, Byrd was present for every crucial vote during the December 2009 healthcare debate in the [[United States Senate]]; his vote was deemed essential so Democrats could obtain [[cloture]] to break a Republican filibuster. At the final vote on December 24, 2009, Byrd referenced recently deceased Senator [[Ted Kennedy]], a devoted proponent, when casting his vote: "Mr. President, this is for my friend Ted Kennedy! Aye!"<ref>Lisa Wangsness,[https://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/12/25/hurdles_remain_after_senate_approves_health_care_bill/?page=2 "Health win in hand; hurdles ahead"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111165541/http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/12/25/hurdles_remain_after_senate_approves_health_care_bill/?page=2 |date=January 11, 2012 }}, ''Boston Globe'', December 25, 2009.</ref>