HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 56

(By Delegates Boggs, Doyle, Walker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Thompson, and Delegates Barill, Barker, Butcher, D. Campbell, T. Campbell, Cann, Caputo, Craig, Crosier, Ennis, Ferns, Ferro, Frazier, Givens, Hall, Hartman, Hunt, Iaquinta, Jones, Kominar, Lawrence, Longstreth, Mahan, Manypenny, Marshall, Martin, Michael, Moore, Morgan, O'Neal, Paxton, Perry, Pethtel, L. Phillips, R. Phillips, Pino, D. Poling, Poore, Reynolds, Rodighiero, Shaver, Sigler, Smith, Snuffer, Staggers, Stephens, Stowers, Swartzmiller, Talbott, Varner, White and Williams)

Requesting the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress to approve the replacement of the statue of John Edward Kenna with one of Robert Carlyle Byrd in Statuary Hall and creating a legislative committee to study the implementation of the Robert Carlyle Byrd statue placement and designating Robert Carlyle Byrd to be honored and memorialized with a statue in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C.

    Whereas, By Act of Congress of the United States, each state is invited to provide two statues of distinguished citizens for display in the United States Capitol. West Virginia provided two statues of notable citizens as part of the National Statuary Hall collection: John Edward Kenna, given in 1901, and Francis Harrison Pierpont, given in 1910; and

    Whereas, Robert C. Byrd was born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Junior on November 20, 1917, and was raised by his adoptive parents who renamed him Robert Carlyle Byrd. He worked as a gas station attendant, a grocery store clerk, a shipyard welder and a butcher growing up in a small mining community in Southern West Virginia. He married his high school sweetheart, Erma Ora James, in 1937; and

    Whereas, Robert C. Byrd was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1946 and 1948; elected to the West Virginia Senate in 1950; and elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1952, 1954 and 1956. He was then elected to the United States Senate where he served continuously from January 3, 1959, until his death on June 28, 2010. During that time, Robert C. Byrd was elected to more leadership positions in the United States Senate than any other Senator in the history of our great nation, serving as Majority Whip, Majority Leader, Minority Leader and President Pro Tempore. He served as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the United States Senate, directing hundreds of millions of dollars to funding infrastructure, education and economic development in West Virginia; and

    Whereas, Robert C. Byrd cast more votes than any other member of the United States Senate than any other member of the United States Senate, including more than 15,580 roll call votes in his career, with a ninety-seven and nine percent attendance record during his five decades in the United States Senate. On November 18, 2009, Robert C. Byrd became the longest-serving member of the United States Congress with fifty-six years, three hundred twenty-one days of continuous and dedicated service, surpassing Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona, who served fifty-six years, three hundred nineteen days. Robert C. Byrd passed away on June 28, 2010, after a long and distinguished career in the United States Congress; therefor, be it

    Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That the Legislature of the State of West Virginia hereby acknowledges the extraordinary and exemplary service of Robert C. Byrd and respectfully requests the Congress of the United States to allow West Virginia to replace a statue of John Edward Kenna with a statue of Robert C. Byrd in the National Statuary Hall to honor and memorialize the life and work of Robert C. Byrd; and, be it

    Resolved further, That Legislature of the State of West Virginia select a commission to implement and oversee the replacement of the statue of John Edward Kenna with a statue of Robert C. Byrd; and, be it

    Resolved further, That the commission shall be responsible of the following:

    (a) Selecting the sculptor or sculptors,

    (b) Paying the sculptor or sculptors to carve or cast the statue,

    (c) Creating a pedestal and desired inscription,

    (d) Transporting the statue and pedestal to the United States Capitol,

    (e) Removing and transporting the replaced statue of John Edward Kenna back to the West Virginia State Capitol,

    (f) Temporarily erecting the new statue of Robert C. Byrd in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol for the unveiling ceremony,

    (g) Paying the expenses related to the unveiling ceremony and any other expenses that the commission finds necessary to incur in implementing this resolution, and

    (h) Other actions and costs associated with the replacement of the statue; and, be it

    Resolved further, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates is hereby directed to forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Architect of the Capitol, the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress, the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, each member of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States Congress.