[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Page 29371]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    A. JAMES MANCHIN--WEST VIRGINIAN

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on November 3, the State of West Virginia 
lost one of its most enduring and most colorful political figures, A. 
James Manchin.
  A. James Manchin was born in Farmington, WV, on April 7, 1927. He had 
a deep love for West Virginia and its people, and that deep love showed 
everywhere he went, in every office he held, in everything he did, and 
with every person he met.
  With his booming voice, his flamboyant oratory, and his wonderful 
sense of humor, A. James was an undeniable presence. I find it 
difficult to imagine traveling around the State of West Virginia and 
speaking before a crowd without seeing my friend Jimmy Manchin standing 
there somewhere in the crowd, lifting his hat into the air--by the way, 
he wore big hats--and shouting out a greeting to me.
  With his political skills and his tenacious determination to make 
West Virginia a better place in which to live and work and raise 
families, Jimmy Manchin won a place in the hearts and minds of people 
throughout West Virginia. He found a way to touch the hearts of all 
whom he met. Everybody loved him, even his political opponents. He was 
a man and a public servant who cared deeply for others and they, in 
turn, cared a lot for Jimmy Manchin.
  I first met Jimmy Manchin in 1949. That was in my second term in the 
West Virginia House of Delegates. Jimmy had been elected to the house 
of delegates and was being sworn in that year, 1949. So I first met 
Jimmy Manchin in 1949, as he and I wove our political careers, when 
both of us served there in the house of delegates. After that, he 
pursued and held a multitude of political offices.
  In 1961, President Kennedy named Jimmy Manchin as West Virginia State 
director of the Farmers Home Administration.
  In 1972, he was appointed State director of the Rehabilitation 
Environmental Action Program, REAP, where he was placed in charge of 
cleaning up and restoring the natural beauty of our State's magnificent 
rolling green hills and beautiful valleys, which he loved so dearly. 
His campaign to restore our State's beauty was fueled by his 
personality and fashioned by his talent for poetic oratory. As part of 
his REAP campaign, Jimmy called on all West Virginians to ``purge our 
proud peaks of these jumbled jungles of junkery.'' That was pure A. 
James Manchin politicking. He understood the theatrical part of 
politics better than most politicians of this era and, as a 
consequence, his incredibly successful work for REAP earned him a 
national ``Keep America Beautiful'' award.
  In 1976, he was elected secretary of state, and in 1984, he was 
elected State treasurer.
  In 1998, he again won a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates, 
a half century after his first election to that body.
  His political career, which spanned 55 years, earned him numerous 
awards, honors, and recognitions. In 1974, for example, Salem College 
named him ``Mr. West Virginia,'' while, just this year, the West 
Virginia Italian Heritage Festival named him ``Italian American of the 
Year.''
  He was an outspoken booster and promoter of West Virginia, a genuine 
public servant who will be sorely missed by the people of West 
Virginia.
  The Bible says: ``In my Father's house are many mansions.'' Well, 
Jimmy had a way of using this beautiful verbiage from the King James 
Bible and, before huge audiences he would quote that. ``In my Father's 
house are many mansions.'' On November 3, our Father brought home one 
more. My friend, A. James Manchin.
  Mr. President, my wife Erma and I offer our most heartfelt 
condolences to Jimmy Manchin's wife Stella and their children, Patricia 
Lee, Mark Anthony, and Rosanna.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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