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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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Byrd, 90, Resigns as Appropriations Chairman

Senator, rumored to be under pressure from Reid, will be replaced by Hawaii's Inoyue

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(Newser) – Robert Byrd resigned today as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, acquiescing to Democratic leaders who reportedly wanted him out of the job, the Hill reports. Byrd, 90, has been hospitalized three times in the past year, and said he was willing to leave the committee in younger hands—namely, those of 84-year-old Hawaiian Daniel Inouye.

“A new day has dawned in Washington, and that is a good thing,” Byrd said in a statement. “For my part, I believe that it is time for a new day at the top of the Senate Appropriations Committee. I will step away from the chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee effective Jan. 6, 2009.”

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., will turn 91 later this month.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., will turn 91 later this month.   (AP Photo)
In this May 15, 2008 file photo Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., presides over the committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in history, is stepping down from his cherished post as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In this May 15, 2008 file photo Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., presides over the committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Byrd, the longest-serving senator...   (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)
In this July 17, 2008 file photo, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Byrd presides over a hearing of the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in history, is stepping down from his cherished post as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In this July 17, 2008 file photo, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Byrd presides over a hearing of the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in...   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Sen. Robert Byrd has been in poor health the past year, and there were rumors that Majority Leader Harry Reid wanted the 91-year-old to step aside from the key committee post.
Sen. Robert Byrd has been in poor health the past year, and there were rumors that Majority Leader Harry Reid wanted the 91-year-old to step aside from the key committee post.   (AP Photo)
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I have learned that nothing is quite so permanent as change. It is simply a part of living and should not be feared. To be serving in the Senate at such a momentous time in our history fills me with enormous pride.
- Robert Byrd

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