History

Senator Harrington Byrd was skeptical about Tony Stark's accumulation for government contracts. When the Crimson Dynamo started destroying Stark facilities, Byrd suspected Stark was sabotaging his own company in order to deter any suspicions about him being a communist spy.

Stark was issued a summons to appear before a congressional hearing led by Byrd and testify about the dangers of the Iron Man suit as well as any Communist affiliations that Tony may have had. Even though Byrd disliked Stark's playboy antics during the hearing, he grudgingly respected him.

Byrd also attended a UN meeting where he along with many others opposed the tyrannical rule of General Chen.

In Other Media

Iron Man 2

Like Senator Byrd, Senator Stern who was played by Garry Shandling had a genuine dislike for Tony Stark's methods. Stern is a Pennsylvania senator and the presiding committee chair during a congressional hearing involving Tony Stark's Iron Man technology. Stern tried to convince Stark to surrender the technology to the government, but failed after Tony upstaged him and his competitor Justin Hammer. Stern later took some small measure of revenge when pinning a congressional medal on Stark by pressing the pin into Tony's chest.

Captain America Winter Soldier

Some time later, Stern had a brief meeting with SHIELD agent Jasper Sitwell in which he signed off with the words, "Hail Hydra." Sensitive information subsequently leaked from within S.H.I.E.L.D. exposed Stern as a HYDRA agent, whereupon he found himself under arrest by the FBI for his involvement with the conspiracy.