Published January 1997 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Leaving a Larger Imprint on West Virginia
I recently announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be adding 1,100 new employees at its Fingerprint Identification Division complex in Clarksburg. Those employees, who will initially be offered two-year term appointments, will bring the number of staff at that facility to a total of 3,000 by the end of this September -significantly more than the total staff number of 2,500 that the FBI had expected to employ upon the center's full implementation in 1999. It was in response to the FBI's concern that its fingerprint system stood at the brink of collapse, a potential disaster for law enforcement, that I, in 1990, helped to launch the new Clarksburg complex and its computer system by adding $185 million to a federal appropriations bill. Including that initial funding for construction and equipment, I have obtained more than $600 million in appropriations bills for the Clarksburg fingerprint division. The latest round of hiring responds to the growing numbers of inquiries from business interests and law enforcement agencies for the kinds of services that only this comprehensive, ultramodern fingerprint system can provide. Fingerprint division assistance, for example, is regularly sought by schools, child-care services, and adoption agencies that check the backgrounds of prospective employees and potential adoptive parents. In that way, the FBI helps to ensure that children are sheltered from child molesters and abusers and have safe environments in which to learn and live. The ability of local police forces to have quick access to a comprehensive database of criminal fingerprint and identification information is of immense value and importance to every community. Imagine the difference it will make when an individual is detained briefly for some minor offense on the East Coast, and, through this revolutionary fingerprint system, is identified within minutes as a fugitive murderer from the Pacific Northwest. This contribution to the security and the peace of mind of American families is inestimable. Additionally, the FlU complex, as a major employer, is contributing to an economic revitalization of our state. Currently, the complex provides an annual economic impact on the local community estimated at $50 million -- a figure that will rise as more employees come on board, resulting in the FBI's leaving an even larger imprint on our state. Therefore, the recent decision by the FBI to add another 1,100 employees -most of whom are expected to be awarded permanent positions -- can be celebrated as a most welcome piece of economic news for West Virginia. January 22, 1997