Patrick Morrisey was elected as the Attorney General for the State of West Virginia on November 6, 2012, and was sworn into office on January 14, 2013. Patrick Morrisey is the first Republican to serve as Attorney General in West Virginia since 1933, and as a resident of Harpers Ferry, He is widely recognized for his knowledge and experience on Medicare, Medicaid and FDA legislative and regulatory issues, particularly those involving pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, plans and providers. Until March of 2004, Mr. Morrisey served as the Deputy Staff Director and Chief Health Counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In that capacity, Mr. Morrisey served as a principal staff author and key negotiator of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. He also helped author bioterrorism and public health legislation and some of the most far reaching changes to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act since its inception. During his tenure with the Committee, Mr. Morrisey regularly advised the Chairman and many Members of Congress on policy matters and served as the Committee's lead healthcare negotiator on matters involving the White House, CMS, FDA, the Ways and Means Committee and the Senate. He has spoken extensively at national healthcare forums on the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Medicare and Medicaid reforms, the AWP law, modifications to the Hatch-Waxman law and other topics. Before joining the Energy and Commerce Committee in 1999, Mr. Morrisey practiced law at another large law firm and represented numerous healthcare providers, including managed care organizations, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physicians, clinical diagnostic laboratories, home health agencies and nurse practitioners. He has also published articles on a wide range of Medicare regulations and counseled several members of Congress on election law matters. Mr. Morrisey has extensive political experience and has worked for a number of senior public officials, including Congressman Bill Paxon (R-NY), Chairman Tom Bliley (R-VA), Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Christine Todd Whitman (R-NJ). In 2000, he pursued the Republican nomination for Congress in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. A native of New Jersey, Mr. Morrisey graduated with honors from Rutgers College and earned his juris doctor from Rutgers Law School.