Published February 1987 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd West Virginia's Defense-Dollar Ranking Recently, a myth has confused some West Virginians; the myth that West Virginia ranks last among the states in obtaining defense dollars. The myth does not square with the facts. Certainly, defense industries do not come uppermost to mind when one thinks of West Virginia. Landlocked, our state cannot boast the vast shipbuilding facilities of Virginia, Maryland, or Massachusetts, for example. Likewise, West Virginia is not noted as an aircraft-industry center, as is California, with its incomparable high-technology resources; or for its tank factories, as is Michigan, the vortex of the U.S. automobile industry. In fact, for better than a century, West Virginia's economy has rested primarily on its vast raw material and energy stores, and on its advantages for steel, glass, chemical, and other manufacturing. However, many of these West Virginia products are defense-related, such as chemicals, and vast quantities of West Virginia coal, metals, and other products that are sold directly to the military, or major primary defense contractors that manufacture military weapons and equipment. Annually, the Pentagon and Department of Defense (DOD) publish a comprehensive and authoritative projection of future defense dollars to be spent on a state-by-state basis. The projection is called the Defense Economic Impact Modeling System (DEIMS). The DEIMS includes defense dollars paid directly to primary contractors, DOD payrolls, military construction figures, and to defense subcontractors. The DEIMS projections for 1987 in West Virginia are encouraging. According to 1987 DOD projections, West Virginia will rank 44th among the states in direct defense-related purchases. Moreover, our state is projected to rank 39th in the total sum of defense spending, including direct purchases, subcontracts, construction, and payrolls. Many West Virginia manufacturers found helpful the DOD procurement conferences that I have held over the past two years in Charleston, Morgantown, and Washington, as well as the defense trade fair I held in the state capital. At those well-attended conferences, I assembled DOD and defense-industry experts who explained to West Virginia business people how to obtain defense contracts, and who also explained DOD product and service requirements. This year, I plan to hold such defense procurement conferences in Huntington, Logan, Bluefield, and other cities, as well as additional Software Valley conferences. Anyone wanting more information on those conferences, or seeking help in pursuing defense- related contracts, should feel free to contact me, either at my Washington office (Telephone: 202-224-3954), or my Charleston office (Telephone: 304-342-5855). February 4, 1987