Senator Byrd Relinquishes his Gavel

With Senator Barack Obama's victory as the 44th President of the United States as well as a solid victory for the Democrats in Congress on Tuesday, it is evident that the tides are definitely changing in Washington. However, only the Hillites and those who have followed his career would understand just how much Washington is really shifting when Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-Wva.), the President Pro Tempore and the longest serving member of the United States Senate in history, decided yesterday that it was his time to relinquish his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), 2nd in seniority on the committee, will be his successor as of January 6th, 2009. The Appropriations Committee is the body that handles all discretionary spending legislation and is arguably the most powerful committee on Capitol Hill. Byrd will remain on the committee as chairman of the subcommittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Robert Byrd was first appointed to the Appropriations Committee in 1959 by Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson, which was also his first year of taking office. His appointment at the time was unheard of since he was a freshman. At the time, it was customary to have more seniority in the Senate before being appointed to such an important committee. Coming from the coal-fields of West Virginia, Byrd had such enormous sensitivity to the economic conditions of his state as well a keen awareness of how much West Virginia had been robbed by the coal and railroad barons of the early 1900's. Therefore, he wouldn't accept anything else from Johnson besides Appropriations. He had his eyes set on the chairmanship from the time he stepped into the Senate chamber, knowing the power he would have to do all he could to help his home state. While it took many years to build seniority, it eventually paid off and allowed Byrd to handle the gavel for 20 years. All of the spending projects he has earmarked to bills have greatly benefited the economy of West Virginia, helped improve the livelihoods of its people, created thousands of jobs, and have opened the state to the rest of the world Having one of the highest unemployment rates and lowest median incomes in the country, West Virginia has relied heavily on Byrd's leadership and stature to help lift the state out of its economic condition and without him, who knows what the economy of WV today would look like.

Yes, there are those that dub Byrd as the Prince of Pork and have a disgust for earmark spending in government, but you have no right to put all of blame on Senator Byrd. Instead of being upset with one of West Virginia's first major highway systems (a miracle in itself), be upset with the appropriations process as a whole. Mr. Byrd has done exactly what he was elected to do as a United States Senator for West Virginia and has performed his service with utmost honor and humility, asking for nothing in return. As a native West Virginia and a former intern for Sen. Byrd, I am very honored to have someone of his character, judgment, and intellect to represent my state. This is even more evident with West Virginia having re-elected him 9 record times to the Senate. His lifetime of public service (50 years to be exact) should be honored and rendered by everyone who has any common decency. He is a living legend and an institution in itself in the U.S. Senate. He will forever be beloved by his Senate colleagues, his mastery of the Constitution and Senate procedure will be studied by every future freshman senator to come, and he will always be the West Virginian of the 20th Century.

The F.B.I. and its Dwindling Resources

Today, the Times reported that the F.B.I. has had limited resources to handle the influx of financial fraud cases that have wreaked financial havoc over these last couple of months.

The Bush Administration, over the last 7 years, has cut a tremendous amount of the FBI's criminal investigative workforce to supply more resources to counter-terrorism and intelligence. This now poses a problem for the FBI to adequately provide the resources it needs to conduct investigations on financial crimes that have led us to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. After 9/11, 1,800 agents, or close to one third of all criminal agents, were transferred from white-collar investigation to intelligence and counter-terrorism duties. This is now leaving the Bureau stretched thin and left with little manpower to combat the fraudulent mortgage deals made by Fannie, Freddie, and others from the Wall Street club. This is unacceptable to the American people. Our tax dollars are being channeled to bail out these firms and yet the administration can't even adequately staff the FBI to conduct proper investigations and hold people accountable for their unscrupulous practices.

Regrettably, one senior FBI official, Chris Swecker, publicly mentioned that an influx of fraudulent mortgage deals had the potential to become an "epidemic." The Times stated that

"Since 2004, F.B.I. officials have warned that mortgage fraud posed a looming threat, and the bureau has repeatedly asked the Bush administration for more money to replenish the ranks of agents handling nonterrorism investigations, according to records and interviews. But each year, the requests have been denied, with no new agents approved for financial crimes, as policy makers focused on counterterrorism." This is just another classic example of the Bush Administration's tragic neglect of the needs here at home."

The F.B.I. is carrying out investigations of AIG and Lehman Brothers alongside Fannie and Freddie, and it has opened more than 1,500 other mortgage-related investigations. In the wake of national alarm, the FBI is going to reassign hundreds of agents to work on the financial crimes. However, some are still wary of whether this will be enough and where they will come from. I am perplexed by this myself.

It sounds to me like the The White House crowd needs to start hearing the cries from its own people and respond to the appalling behavior on Wall Street with the kind of leadership this country deserves. The FBI can't be left with dwindling resources to tackle one of the biggest financial messes of the century. It's just unacceptable.