 On July 19, 2007, Byrd gave a 25-minute speech in the Senate against dog fighting, in response to the indictment of football player Michael Vick.In recognition of the speech, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named Byrd their "2007 Person of the Year".For 2007, Byrd was deemed the fourteenth-most powerful senator, as well as the twelfth-most powerful Democratic senator.