Senator Jay Rockefeller
Senator Jay Rockefeller first came to West Virginia in 1964, starting out as a young VISTA volunteer in the small mining community of Emmons and going on to serve as a state legislator, two-term governor and, since 1985, United States Senator.
Through “Volunteers in Service to America” (VISTA), Rockefeller was sent to Emmons for just one year, but he soon decided that he never wanted to leave. In Emmons Rockefeller found what he still calls his “moral compass” as well as his abiding, lifelong determination to fight for West Virginia's people, their values, and their future.
Rockefeller's years in the Senate have been marked by a passionate concern for the needs and aspirations of working families, success in attracting good-paying jobs to West Virginia, a strong voice on matters of national security, and a record of delivering on his promises.
Rockefeller has devoted much of his public life to the task of creating new jobs and opportunities for West Virginia, by bringing in new companies with high-skilled jobs and by championing policies that support the state's traditional industries. One of Senator Rockefeller's crowning accomplishments was Toyota 's hard-won decision to locate an engine plant in Buffalo, WV. This award-winning Toyota plant has expanded 6 times in the last decade – now totaling more than $1 billion in investment and more than 1,300 jobs.
Just as important, Rockefeller's Toyota project has shown other major top-tier corporations that West Virginia workers are second to none. AT&T in Wheeling, Hino Motors in Parkersburg, Amazon.com in Huntington, NGK in Sissonville, Sino Swearingen in Martinsburg, and so many others have worked in partnership with Jay Rockefeller to add jobs and stimulate economic growth in West Virginia.
Rockefeller has shown the same unyielding determination in his drive to make health care affordable and accessible for children, working families, seniors, and veterans. That's why in 1997 he co-wrote and helped push through Congress the ground-breaking State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), and why he's fighting today to provide S-CHIP care to millions more needy kids who deserve a healthy start in life.
Rockefeller also uses his passion and seniority to fight every day for West Virginia seniors, veterans, and coal miners. He is a constant voice and strong leader on the Finance Committee to keep Medicare premium costs affordable for our seniors; West Virginia Veterans are not forgotten by the administration or the Congress because of his long-term leadership as the senior Democrat on the Veterans Committee; and for over twenty years, Senator Rockefeller has stood with West Virginia's coal miners to pass legislation that keeps miners safe when they are working and saves their health care benefits when they retire.
Rockefeller is Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, where he plays a lead role in working to make America more secure, by reforming the intelligence community and returning accountability to our government. And he has long been seen as a strong advocate for our men and women in the military, Guard and Reserves, by ensuring they have the equipment they need in battle and the respect and benefits they deserve at home.
Rockefeller's accomplishments also include authorship of the E-Rate Program, which has brought West Virginia over $80 million and successfully connected nearly ninety percent of classrooms and libraries nationwide to the Internet since 1996. He has never wavered in his battle to clean up indecency and gratuitous violence on television, and he is known for his innovative programs to improve the teaching of math, science, and 21st Century skills. When West Virginia students go to college they can get higher Pell grants, pay lower interest rates on student loans, and earn financial support for careers in public service, all because of Rockefeller's tireless efforts.
Rockefeller graduated from Harvard University in 1961 with a B.A. in History and Far Eastern Languages. After college, Rockefeller worked for the Peace Corps in Washington, DC. He expanded his public service in 1964-65 as a VISTA volunteer in Emmons. After serving in the state legislature and as Secretary of State, Rockefeller spent four years as the President of West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon. He was elected Governor in 1976 and re-elected in 1980. He was first elected to the United States Senate in 1984.
Rockefeller is a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He and his wife Sharon Percy Rockefeller celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 2007 and enjoy frequent family gatherings with their four children – John, Valerie, Charles, and Justin – and five grandchildren.
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