the 1950s. Having taken part in the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the union, Byrd was the last surviving senator to have voted on a bill granting statehood to a U.S. territory. At the time of Byrd's death, 14 sitting or former members of the Senate had not been born when Byrd's tenure in the Senate began, as well as then-President Barack Obama. Committee assignments These are the committee assignments for Sen. Byrd's 9th and final term. Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Subcommittee on Homeland Security (chairman) Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee on Strategic Forces Committee on the Budget Committee on Rules and Administration Filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Byrd was a member of the wing of the Democratic Party that opposed federally-mandated desegregation and civil rights. However, despite his early career in the KKK, Byrd was linked to such senators as John C. Stennis, J. William Fulbright and George Smathers, who based their segregationist positions on their view of states' rights in contrast to senators like James Eastland, who held a reputation as a committed racist. Byrd joined with Southern Democratic senators to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1964, personally filibustering the bill for 14 hours, a move he later said he regretted. Despite an 83-day filibuster in the Senate, both parties in Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Act (Democrats 47–16, Republicans 30–2), and President Johnson signed the bill into law. Byrd cast no vote on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and voted against the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court. He did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto and voted for the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 2005, Byrd told The Washington Post that his membership in the Baptist church led to a change in his views. In the opinion of one reviewer, Byrd, like other Southern and border-state Democrats, came to realize that he would have to temper "his blatantly segregationist views" and move to the Democratic Party mainstream if he wanted to play a role nationally. Vietnam In