United States Senator Robert Byrd (November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) represented the U.S. state of West Virginia as a Democrat in the United States Senate. During his tenure as chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, Byrd secured billions of dollars of Federal funds for projects throughout West Virginia, many of which bear his name.[1][2][3] Byrd served four terms as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee: January 3, 1989 through January 3, 1995; January 3, 2001 through January 20, 2001; June 6, 2001 through January 3, 2003; and January 3, 2007, through January 3, 2009. As a New Deal Democrat, Byrd used his position as chairman to battle persistent poverty in his home state of West Virginia, which he referred to as “one of the rock bottomest of states.”[4] "I lost no opportunity to promote funding for programs and projects of benefit to the people back home," said Byrd.“[4] Within two years of his chairmanship, Byrd surpassed his announced five-year goal of making sure more than $1 billion in Federal funds was sent back to West Virginia.[5] In referring to his economic contributions to West Virginia, Byrd said in 2000, "West Virginia has always had four friends: God Almighty, Sears Roebuck, Carter's Liver Pills and Robert C. Byrd."[3]
Byrd's steering of billions of Federal dollars to West Virginia earned him the sobriquets "King of Pork" by the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Citizens Against Government Waste[6] and "Prince of Pork" from other taxpayer groups.[3] According to Citizens Against Government Waste, Byrd was the first legislator to bring $1 billion of "pork" spending to his home state.[3] The group named Byrd its initial "Porker of the Year" in 2002.[3]
In addition to providing Federal funding to special projects, Byrd also ensured that many Federal complexes were built in West Virginia, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Justice Information Services Division complex in Clarksburg, the United States Coast Guard's National Maritime Center in Kearneysville, and a training center and firing range for U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers near Harpers Ferry.[1] Clarksburg's FBI facility was the first of the major Federal complexes to be built under Byrd's leadership as chairman of the appropriations committee.[3] In West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, Byrd helped bring ten federal facilities that employed more than 3,200 people.[7] None of these facilities are named for him, however.[1]
More than 50 buildings built with funds from US taxpayers directed to West Virginia are named for either Byrd or his wife, Erma Ora Byrd (née James).[2] Several transportation projects named for Byrd have gained national notoriety, including the Robert C. Byrd Highway.[8] Also known as "Corridor H" of the Appalachian Development Highway System, the highway was dubbed "West Virginia's road to nowhere" in 2009 after it received a $9.5 million earmark in the $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations Act.[8] The highway received another $21 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[8] Critics argued the traffic on the highway was too light and the cost too high for the project to continue construction until its proposed completion in 2035.[8] The State of West Virginia argued the highway was necessary as "an ideal evacuation route for Washington, about 100 miles away, in case of an emergency."[8]
The following places are named after Robert Byrd's wife, Erma Ora Byrd: