WASHINGTON – Following up on a request from U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Gov. Joe Manchin today met with the senator’s top aides and briefed them on the state’s financial condition and provided an update on state highway projects during a visit to the senator’s office. Gov. Manchin also spoke by telephone with Sen. Byrd, who is recuperating from an illness at his home near Washington.
The governor traveled to Washington with State Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox and State Highway Engineer Marvin Murphy.
“Sen. Byrd asked for me to bring him and his staff up to speed on our highway needs and other pressing issues with which he can help,” Manchin said. “He wanted to know where we ended the fiscal year, what concerns we have and the priorities we see for West Virginians – kind of a mid-year State of the State.
“I was very pleased to speak with Sen. Byrd and I’m happy to report that he is doing better and he’s giving us direction and orders as he always does. The first thing he wanted to know was our status on finishing Corridor H.”
In addition to the meeting with Sen. Byrd’s staff, the governor was in Washington to take his oath of office as a member of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation Board of Trustees. The prestigious James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 for the purpose of improving teaching about the United States Constitution in secondary schools. The Foundation is an independent agency of the Executive Branch of the federal government and its Board of Trustees is chaired U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy.