JAY ROCKEFELLER

'John Davison Rockefeller IV' (born June 18, 1937), generally known as 'Jay Rockefeller', has served as a Democratic U.S. Senator from West Virginia since 1985. He was Governor of West Virginia from 1977 to 1985. As a great-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, he is the only current politician of the prominent six-generation Rockefeller family and the only Democrat in what has been traditionally a staunchly, albeit generally progressive, Republican dynasty.^[1]
He is related to several prominent Republican supporters and former officeholders: He is a great-great-grandson of Rhode Island Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, a nephew of banker David Rockefeller and Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller and of former U.S. Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller, and the son-in-law of former Senator Charles H. Percy of Illinois.

Early life, education, and family

Born in New York City to John D. Rockefeller III and Blanchette Ferry Hooker, Jay Rockefeller graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1954. He graduated from Harvard University in 1961 with a B.A. in Far Eastern Languages and History after having spent three years studying Japanese at the International Christian University in Tokyo.
After college, Rockefeller worked for the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C., under John F. Kennedy, where he developed a friendship with Robert Kennedy and worked as an assistant to Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver. He served as the operations director for the Corps' largest overseas program in the Philippines. He continued his public service in 1964–1965 as a VISTA volunteer, under Johnson, during which he moved to Emmons, West Virginia.
Rockefeller, along with his son Charles, is a trustee of New York's Asia Society, established by his father in 1956; he is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He voted against the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, which was heavily backed by his uncle, David Rockefeller.
Since 1967, Rockefeller has been married to the former Sharon Percy, the chief executive officer of WETA, the leading PBS station in the Washington, D.C., area, which broadcasts such notable programs as ''The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer'' and ''Washington Week''.
Sharon is the daughter of former U.S. Senator Charles H. Percy of Illinois, who had an association with the Rockefeller family. They have four children: John D. Rockefeller V ("Jamie"), Valerie, Charles, and Justin. Jamie's wife Emily is the daughter of former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
The Rockefellers reside in Charleston, West Virginia. They also, like other members of the family, have a ranch in the Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Bill Clinton (a friend of Rockefeller's) and his family spent their summer vacation in August, 1995, at the ranch.^[2]

West Virginia state politics

He was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1966, and to the office of West Virginia Secretary of State in 1968. He won the Democratic nomination for Governor in 1972, but was defeated in the general election by the Republican incumbent Governor Arch Moore. Rockefeller then served as president of West Virginia Wesleyan College from 1973 to 1976.
Rockefeller was elected Governor of West Virginia in 1976 and re-elected in 1980. He served as Governor when manufacturing plants and coal mines were closing as the national recession of the early 1980s hit West Virginia particularly hard. Between 1982 and 1984, West Virginia's unemployment rate hovered between 15 and 20 percent.

United States Senate

In 1984, he was elected to the United States Senate, narrowly defeating businessman John Raese. As in his 1980 gubernatorial campaign against Arch Moore, Rockefeller spent over $12 million to win his Senate seat. He was re-elected in 1990, 1996 and 2002 by substantial margins. He was chair of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs (1993–1995; January 3 to January 20, 2001, and June 6, 2001–January 3, 2003).
In April 1992, he was the Democratic Party's finance chairman and considered running for the presidency, but pulled out after consulting with friends and advisers. He went on to strongly endorse Clinton as the Democratic candidate.^[3]
He is Chairman of the prominent Senate Intelligence Committee, from which he comments frequently on the war in Iraq.
In 1993 Rockefeller became the principal Senate supporter, with Ted Kennedy, behind Bill and Hillary Clinton's sweeping health care reform package, liaising closely with the First Lady, even opening up his mansion in Rock Creek Park for its first strategy meeting. The reform was subsequently defeated by an alliance between the Business Roundtable and a small-business coalition.^[4]
In 2002, Rockefeller made an official visit to several Middle Eastern countries, during which he discussed his personal views regarding United States military intentions with the leaders of those countries. In October of that year, Rockefeller strongly expressed his concern for Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction program while addressing the U.S. Senate,
"There has been some debate over how "imminent" a
threat Iraq poses. I do believe that Iraq poses an
imminent threat, but I also believe that after
September 11, that question is increasingly outdated.
It is in the nature of these weapons, and the way they
are targeted against civilian populations, that
documented capability and demonstrated intent may be
the only warning we get. To insist on further evidence
could put some of our fellow Americans at risk. Can we
afford to take that chance? We cannot!" ^[5]
In July 2005 it was reported, that the Justice Department had started an investigation to find out whether Rockefeller, Dick Durbin and Ron Wyden have leaked details about a secret CIA program.^[6] In November 2005 during a TV interview, Rockefeller stated: "I took a trip...in January of 2002 to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, and I told each of the heads of state that it was my view that George Bush had already made up his mind to go to war against Iraq, that that was a predetermined set course that had taken shape shortly after 9/11."
Rockefeller noted that this was his personal opinion, and that he was not privy to any confidential information indicating that such action was planned. ^[7] On October 11 of that year, he was one of 77 Senators who voted for the Iraq Resolution authorizing the Iraq invasion.

Senate Committee Assignments

As of 2007, Rockefeller serves on the following:

★ 'Select Committee on Intelligence' — Chairman

★ Committee on Veterans' Affairs

★ Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

★
★ Subcommittee on Aviation

★
★ Subcommittee on Communications

★
★ Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space

★
★ Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marines

★ Committee on Finance

★
★ Subcommittee on Health Care

★
★ Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy

★ Joint Committee on Taxation

★ United States Trade Advisor

★ Senate Steel Caucus — Co-Chairman

Iraq War

Rockefeller has been an outspoken critic of President Bush and the Iraq war in the past years, especially starting in late 2003. As chair of the Intelligence committee, he has indicted the President for his handling of intelligence and war operations. The previous year, however, Rockefeller was very much in line with Bush and those pushing for strong action — military, if necessary — against Iraq and Saddam Hussein.
On October 10, 2002, he said that "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years... The global community -- in the form of the United Nations -- has declared repeatedly, through multiple resolutions, that the frightening prospect of a nuclear-armed Saddam cannot come to pass. But the U.N. has been unable to enforce those resolutions. We must eliminate that threat now, before it is too late... Saddam Hussein represents a grave threat to the United States, and I have concluded we must use force to deal with him if all other means fail." ^[5]

Television Violence

In July 2007, Rockefeller announced that he planned to introduce legislation before the August Congressional recess that would give the FCC the power to regulate TV violence. According to the July 16, 2007 edition of Broadcasting & Cable, the new law would apply to both broadcast as well as cable and satellite programming. This would mark the first time that the FCC would be given power to regulate such a vast spectrum of content, which would include almost everything except material produced strictly for direct internet use. An aide to the senator said that his staff had also been carefully formulating the bill in such a way that it would be able to pass constitutional scrutiny by the courts.

Electoral history

'2002 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election'

'Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 63%'
Jay Wolfe (R) 37%

'1996 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election'

'Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 77%'
Betty Burkes (R) 23%

'1990 West Virginia United States Senatorial Election'

'Jay Rockefeller (D) (inc.) 68.5%'
John Howard Yoder (R) 31.5%

'1984 West Virginia United States Senatorial Elections'

'Jay Rockefeller (D) 51.8%'
John Raese (R) 47.7%

References

1. Only Democrat in a staunchly Republican dynasty — see John Ensor Harr and Peter J. Johnson, ''The Rockefeller Century: Three Generations of America's Greatest Family'', New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988. (p.394)
2. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=990CE0D8113AF931A25754C0A963958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fC%2fClinton%2c%20Bill
3. http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F10615FD3C5D0C728DDDAD0894DA494D81
4. The Clintons and health care reform — see Haynes Johnson & David S. Broder, ''The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point'', Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1996. (pp.32–34,50,227)
5. http://www.senate.gov/~rockefeller/news/2002/flrstmt0102002.html
6.
7. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,175433,00.html
8. http://www.senate.gov/~rockefeller/news/2002/flrstmt0102002.html

External links

★ United States Senator Jay Rockefeller 'official Senate site'

★

★ Federal Election Commission — John Davison Rockefeller IV campaign finance reports and data

★ New York Times — John D. Rockefeller IV News ongoing collection of news stories and commentary

★ On the Issues — Jay Rockefeller issue positions and quotes

★ OpenSecrets.org — Jay Rockefeller campaign contributions

★ Peace Corps biography of Jay Rockefeller

★ Project Vote Smart — Senator John D. 'Jay' Rockefeller IV (WV) profile

★ SourceWatch Congresspedia — John D. Rockefeller IV profile

★ Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Jay Rockefeller voting record

★ West Virginia Culture — John D. Rockefeller, IV biography

★ Inaugural Address of John D. Rockefeller, IV (1977)

★ Inaugural Address of John D. Rockefeller, IV (1981)
'Articles'

★ Senator Outlines Plans For Intelligence Panel Rockefeller's agenda on becoming chairman in January, 2007.

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JAY ROCKEFELLER

Early life, education, and family

West Virginia state politics

United States Senate

Senate Committee Assignments

Iraq War

Television Violence

Further reading

Electoral history

See also

References

External links

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