Byrd was a senator from West Virginia and was a Democrat. He served from 1959 to 2010.
He was previously the representative for West Virginia’s 6th congressional district as a Democrat from 1953 to 1958.
![Photo of Sen. Robert Byrd [D-WV, 1959-2010]](/data/photos/300016-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Byrd is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the Senate in 2010 positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Byrd sponsored and cosponsored. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Byrd was the primary sponsor of 37 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 1298 (111th): Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010
- S. 1644 (110th): Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008
- S. 1576 (108th): Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Boundary Revision Act of 2004
- S. 2551 (107th): 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From and Response To Terrorist Attacks on the United States
- S. 1077 (107th): Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2001
- S. 595 (104th): A bill to provide for the extension of a hydroelectric project located in the State of West Virginia.
- S. 359 (104th): A bill to provide for the extension of certain hydroelectric projects located in the State of West Virginia.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Byrd sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Law (17%) Energy (15%) Government Operations and Politics (13%) Labor and Employment (12%) Commerce (12%) Armed Forces and National Security (12%) Economics and Public Finance (10%) Finance and Financial Sector (10%)
Recent Bills
Some of Byrd’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- S.Res. 487 (111th): A resolution honoring the coal miners who perished in the Upper Big ...
- S.Res. 337 (111th): A resolution designating December 6, 2009, as “National Miners Day”.
- S. 1579 (111th): Restore Our American Mustangs Act
- S. 1534 (111th): Appalachian Development Highway System Completion Act of 2009
- S. 1529 (111th): Executive Accountability Act of 2009
- S. 1298 (111th): Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010
- S.Res. 146 (111th): A resolution commending South Charleston, West Virginia, for celebrating its 50th annual ...
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Byrd’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Nay |
On the Nomination PN64-6: Timothy F. Geithner, of New York, to be Secretary of the Treasury
Jan 26, 2009. Nomination Confirmed 60/34.
|
| Nay |
S.J.Res. 5 (111th): A joint resolution relating to the disapproval of obligations under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
Jan 15, 2009. Joint Resolution Defeated 42/52.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 7081 (110th): United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act
Oct 1, 2008. Bill Passed 86/13.
|
| Nay |
S. 3001 (110th): Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009
Sep 17, 2008. Bill Passed 88/8.
|
| Yea |
On the Nomination PN177: Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., in the Army, to be General
Feb 8, 2007. Nomination Confirmed 83/14.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 1959 to Jun 2010, Byrd missed 679 of 19,246 roll call votes, which is 3.5%. This is worse than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of senators serving in Jun 2010. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- @unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
- Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
- Congressional Pictorial Directory for the photo
- GPO.gov/FDSys, for sponsored bills
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