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John Jay Rockefeller, heir to famed dynasty and healthcare advocate in US Senate, dead at 89
John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV, a former West Virginia governor and US senator, has died at home in Washington aged 89. A Democrat and heir to the Rockefeller family fortune, he spent three decades in the Senate advocating greater healthcare access and support for people on low incomes, veterans and coal miners.
Elected to the Senate in 1984, Rockefeller helped shape a 1997 programme providing health coverage for uninsured children and backed Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare law, while unsuccessfully pushing for a public insurance option. He voted to authorise the Iraq War in 2002, later regretted the decision, and as Senate intelligence committee chairman said the Bush administration had presented a misleading case for war. His family did not give a cause of death.
In short
- Former senator Jay Rockefeller has died aged 89.
- He championed healthcare access during 30 years in the Senate.
- He later said the Iraq War vote was based on misleading claims.
Americas Government Politics World