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Jay Rockefeller
Junior Senator from West Virginia
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 15, 1985 Serving with Robert Byrd
Preceded by	Jennings Randolph
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2009)
29th Governor of West Virginia
In office January 17, 1977 – January 14, 1985
Preceded by	Arch A. Moore, Jr.
Succeeded by	Arch A. Moore, Jr.
Born	June 18, 1937 (1937-06-18) (age 70) New York, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Sharon Percy Rockefeller
Alma mater	Harvard University
Religion	Presbyterian

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-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.

Contents 1 Early life, education, and family 2 West Virginia state politics 3 United States Senate 3.1 Senate Committee Assignments 3.2 Iraq War 3.3 Television Violence 3.4 Retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies 3.5 Retroactive immunity for torture 4 Further reading 5 Electoral history 6 See also 7 References 8 External links 8.1 Articles

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 President Lyndon B. 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]

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.

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.

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

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." ^[8]

In July 2007, Senator 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.

In 2007, senator Rockefeller began steering the Senate Intelligence Committee to grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies who were accused of unlawfully assisting the National Security Agency (NSA) in monitoring the communications of American citizens (see Hepting v. AT&T)^[9].

This was an about-face of sorts for senator Rockefeller, who had hand-written a letter to Vice President Cheney in 2003 expressing his concerns about the legality of NSA's warrantless wire-tapping program. Some have attributed this change of heart to the spike in contributions from telecommunications companies to the senator just as these companies began lobbying Congress to protect them from lawsuits regarding their cooperation with the NSA ^[10].

Between 2001 and the start of this lobbying effort, AT&T employees had contributed $300 to the senator.^[10]. After the lobbying effort began, AT&T employees and executives donated $19,350 in 3 months ^[10]. The senator has pledged not to rely on his vast fortune to fund his campaigns ^[11], and the AT&T contributions represent about 2% of the money he raised during the previous year ^[10].

Though publicly deploring torture, Rockefeller was one of two Congressional Democrats briefed on waterboarding and other secret CIA practices in the early years of the Bush Administration, as well as the existence of taped evidence of such interrogations (later destroyed).^[12] In December 2007, Rockefeller opposed a special counsel or commission inquiry into the destruction of the tapes, stating "it is the job of the intelligence committees to do that."^[13]

On September 28, 2006, Rockefeller voted with a largely Republican majority to suspend habeas corpus provisions for anyone deemed by the Executive Branch an "unlawful combatant," barring them from challenging their detentions in court. Rockefeller's vote gave a retroactive, nine-year immunity to U.S. officials who authorized, ordered, or committed acts of torture and abuse, permitting the use of statements obtained through torture to be used in military tribunals so long as the abuse took place by December 30, 2005.^[14] Rockefeller's vote authorized the President to establish permissible interrogation techniques and to "interpret the meaning and application" of international Geneva Convention standards, so long as the coercion fell short of "serious" bodily or psychological injury.^[15][16] The bill became law on October 17, 2006.

• Jay Rockefeller: Old Money, New Politics, Richard Grimes, Parsons, West Virginia: McClain Printing Company, 1984.
• The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point, Haynes Johnson and David S. Broder, Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1996. (Significant mention)

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 C. Yoder (R) 31.5%

1984 West Virginia United States Senatorial Elections

Jay Rockefeller (D) 51.8%

John Raese (R) 47.7%

• Rockefeller family
• John D. Rockefeller III
• David Rockefeller
• Asia Society
• Kykuit
• US Senate Report on chemical weapons Rockefeller chaired this committee.

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• United States Senator Jay Rockefeller, U.S. Senate site

• Jay Rockefeller's biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Jay Rockefeller's voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Jay Rockefeller's campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Jay Rockefeller's campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Jay Rockefeller's biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Jay Rockefeller's issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• New York Times — John D. Rockefeller IV News ongoing collection of news stories and commentary
• Peace Corps biography of Jay Rockefeller
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — John D. Rockefeller IV profile
• West Virginia Culture — John D. Rockefeller, IV biography
• Inaugural Address of John D. Rockefeller, IV (1977)
• Inaugural Address of John D. Rockefeller, IV (1981)
• John D. Rockefeller - Congressional Staff Salary Information

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

Preceded by Robert D. Bailey	West Virginia Secretary of State 1968–1972	Succeeded by Edgar F. Heiskell, III
Preceded by Arch A. Moore, Jr.	Governor of West Virginia 1977–1985	Succeeded by Arch A. Moore, Jr.
Preceded by Jennings Randolph	United States Senator (Class 2) from West Virginia 1985– Served alongside: Robert Byrd	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Alan Cranston California	Chairman of Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1993–1995	Succeeded by Alan K. Simpson Wyoming
Preceded by Arlen Specter Pennsylvania	Chairman of Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee 2001–2003	Succeeded by Arlen Specter Pennsylvania
Preceded by Pat Roberts Kansas	Chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee 2007–Present	Succeeded by Incumbent

v • d • e Governors of West Virginia
Boreman • Farnsworth • Stevenson • Jacob • Mathews • Jackson • Wilson • Fleming • MacCorkle • Atkinson • White • Dawson • Glasscock • Hatfield • Cornwell • Morgan • Gore • Conley • Kump • Holt • Neely • Meadows • Patteson • Marland • Underwood • Barron • Smith • Moore • Rockefeller • Moore • Caperton • Underwood • Wise • Manchin

v • d • e United States Senators from West Virginia
Class 1: Van Winkle • Boreman • Caperton • Price • Hereford • Camden • Faulkner • Scott • Chilton • Sutherland • Neely • Hatfield • Holt • Kilgore • Laird • Revercomb • Byrd Class 2: Willey • Davis • Kenna • Camden • S. Elkins • D. Elkins • Watson • N. Goff • D. Elkins • G. Goff • Neely • Rosier • Shott • Revercomb • Neely • Hoblitzell • Randolph • Rockefeller

v • d • e West Virginia's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators	Robert Byrd (D), Jay Rockefeller (D)
Representative(s)	Alan Mollohan (D), Shelley Moore Capito (R), Nick Rahall (D)
All delegations	Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming — American Samoa • District of Columbia • Guam • Puerto Rico • U.S. Virgin Islands

v • d • e Current members of the United States Senate
AL: Shelby (R), Sessions (R) AK: Stevens (R), Murkowski (R) AZ: McCain (R), Kyl (R) AR: Lincoln (D), Pryor (D) CA: Feinstein (D), Boxer (D) CO: Allard (R), Salazar (D) CT: Dodd (D), Lieberman (I) DE: Biden (D), Carper (D) FL: Nelson (D), Martinez (R) GA: Chambliss (R), Isakson (R) HI: Inouye (D), Akaka (D) ID: Craig (R), Crapo (R) IL: Durbin (D), Obama (D) IN: Lugar (R), Bayh (D) IA: Grassley (R), Harkin (D) KS: Brownback (R), Roberts (R) KY: McConnell (R), Bunning (R) LA: Landrieu (D), Vitter (R) ME: Snowe (R), Collins (R) MD: Mikulski (D), Cardin (D) MA: Kennedy (D), Kerry (D) MI: Levin (D), Stabenow (D) MN: Coleman (R), Klobuchar (D) MS: Cochran (R), Lott (R) MO: Bond (R), McCaskill (D) MT: Baucus (D), Tester (D) NE: Hagel (R), Nelson (D) NV: Reid (D), Ensign (R) NH: Gregg (R), Sununu (R) NJ: Lautenberg (D), Menendez (D) NM: Domenici (R), Bingaman (D) NY: Schumer (D), Clinton (D) NC: Dole (R), Burr (R) ND: Conrad (D), Dorgan (D) OH: Voinovich (R), Brown (D) OK: Inhofe (R), Coburn (R) OR: Wyden (D), Smith (R) PA: Specter (R), Casey (D) RI: Reed (D), Whitehouse (D) SC: Graham (R), DeMint (R) SD: Johnson (D), Thune (R) TN: Alexander (R), Corker (R) TX: Hutchison (R), Cornyn (R) UT: Hatch (R), Bennett (R) VT: Leahy (D), Sanders (I) VA: Warner (R), Webb (D) WA: Murray (D), Cantwell (D) WV: Byrd (D), Rockefeller (D) WI: Kohl (D), Feingold (D) WY: Enzi (R), Barrasso (R)
Republican • Democrat • Independent

v • d • e Rockefeller family
ancestors	Johann Peter Rockefeller (1682–1763) (Arrived in America ca.1723) • (Grandson) William Rockefeller • Godfrey Rockefeller (1745–1818) • Godfrey Lewis Rockefeller (1784–1857) • William Avery Rockefeller
William Avery Rockefeller (1810–1906)	Lucy Rockefeller • John David Rockefeller (m.) Laura Spelman • William Rockefeller • Mary Ann Rockefeller • Franklin Rockefeller • Francis Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller (1839–1937) William Rockefeller (1841–1922)	Elizabeth "Bessie" Rockefeller Strong • Alice Rockefeller • Alta Rockefeller Prentice • Edith Rockefeller McCormick (m.) Harold Fowler McCormick • John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. (m.) Abigail "Abby" Greene Aldrich Lewis Edward Rockefeller • Emma Rockefeller McAlpin • William Goodsell Rockefeller • John Davison Rockefeller • Percy Avery Rockefeller • Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge
Elizabeth Rockefeller Strong (1866–1906) Alta Rockefeller Prentice (1871–1962) John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) ---- William Goodsell Rockefeller (1870–1922) Percy Avery Rockefeller (1878–1934) Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge (1882–1973)	Margaret Strong John Rockefeller Prentice • Mary Adeline Prentice Gilbert Abby Rockefeller Mauzé • John D. Rockefeller III (m.) Blanchette Ferry Hooker • Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (m.1st.) Mary Todhunter Clark (m.2nd.) Margaretta Fitler Murphy • Laurance Spelman Rockefeller • Winthrop Rockefeller • David Rockefeller ---- James Stillman Rockefeller • John Sterling Rockefeller Isabel Rockefeller Lincoln (m.) Frederic Walker Lincoln, Jr. • Avery Rockefeller • Winifred Rockefeller Emeny • Faith Rockefeller Model Marcellus Hartley Dodge, Jr.
John Rockefeller Prentice (1902–1972) ---- John D. Rockefeller III (1906–1978) Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908–1979) Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (1910–2004) Winthrop Rockefeller (1912–1973) David Rockefeller (1915) ---- ---- Faith Rockefeller Model (1909–1960)	Abra Prentice Wilkin ---- John Davison ("Jay") Rockefeller IV • Hope Aldrich Rockefeller • Alida Rockefeller Messinger Rodman Rockefeller • Steven Clark Rockefeller • Michael Rockefeller • Mark Fitler Rockefeller Laura Spelman Rockefeller Chasin • Marion French Rockefeller Winthrop Paul Rockefeller David Rockefeller, Jr. • Neva Rockefeller Goodwin • Peggy Dulany • Eileen Rockefeller Growald ---- ---- Robert Model
Jay Rockefeller (1937) ---- Rodman Rockefeller (1932–2000) Steven Clark Rockefeller (1936)	Justin Aldrich Rockefeller ---- Meile Rockefeller Steven C. Rockefeller, Jr.