WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) reflected on 30 years representing the Mountain State during a traditional address for retiring members of Congress on Thursday.
“My fellow West Virginians, I am forever inspired by you. And I am forever transformed by you,” said Rockefeller.
His service to West Virginia began a half-century ago when he volunteered with VISTA in Emmons. Rockefeller was 27 years old when he took that assignment in 1964.
“When I came to West Virginia 50 years ago, I was searching for a clear purpose for my life’s work,” he said. “I wanted the work to be really hard. And what I got was the opportunity to work incredibly hard – along with a real and utterly spiritual sense of mission.”
Rockefeller addressed his undertakings from economic endeavors to health concerns of constituents. His speech was filled with encouragement of his colleagues to move forward in bipartisanship when Senate commitments begin in January.
“The bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Program has opened doors for millions who desperately needed to get into a doctor’s office,” he said. “However, every door that CHIP opened will be closed unless we can agree to fund CHIP past 2015.”
Reflecting on tragedy in 2006 where 12 miners died in Sago Mine, Rockefeller said, “Together, out of that tragedy, we forged a compromise on mine safety legislation that brought about the strongest safety improvements in a generation.”
Rockefeller’s political career began in the state House of Delegates in 1966. He served as West Virginia’s Secretary of state, the president at West Virginia Wesleyan University and West Virginia’s governor before being elected to serve on Capitol Hill.
A Harvard graduate, Rockefeller chaired multiple committees in Washington D.C. including the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Health Care Subcommittee on the Senate Finance Committee. As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Rockefeller said he has taken that role seriously.
“Because the global threats we face increase daily as the world becomes more connected, we depend on the highly trained professionals at NSA to zero in on those threats. There’s really only 22 of them that make sort of final decisions. They are highly trained. They’ve taken the oath of office to protect our nation. I don’t think we have any excuse to outsource our intelligence work.”
His commitment to United State veterans has been shown through service on the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.