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During his Senate tenure, Bellmon, a [[Moderate Republican]], sometimes took that put him at odds with the still conservative Oklahoma Republican Party. e backed unelected incumbent [[Gerald Ford|Gerald R. Ford, Jr.]], over [[Ronald Reagan]] in the 1976 presidential nomination contest. He voted against the failed constitutional amendment to prohibit busing for racial balance in public schools. He supported the surrender of the [[Panama Canal]] through the Torrijos–Carter treaties. During his second term he was the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. He co-founded the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which never produced a balanced budget.<ref name="CongBio"/><ref>Randy Krehbiel, "State mourns GOP giant: Ex-governor, senator dies at 88," ''The Tulsa World,'' September 30, 2009.</ref><ref name=findagrave/>He chose not to run for re-election in 1980 and was succeeded by a [[conservative]] Republican, [[Don Nickles]].

During his Senate tenure, Bellmon, a [[Moderate Republican]], sometimes took that put him at odds with the still conservative Oklahoma Republican Party. e backed unelected incumbent [[Gerald Ford|Gerald R. Ford, Jr.]], over [[Ronald Reagan]] in the 1976 presidential nomination contest. He voted against the failed constitutional amendment to prohibit busing for racial balance in public schools. He supported the surrender of the [[Panama Canal]] through the Torrijos–Carter treaties. During his second term he was the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. He co-founded the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which never produced a balanced budget.<ref name="CongBio"/><ref>Randy Krehbiel, "State mourns GOP giant: Ex-governor, senator dies at 88," ''The Tulsa World,'' September 30, 2009.</ref><ref name=findagrave/>He chose not to run for re-election in 1980 and was succeeded by a [[conservative]] Republican, [[Don Nickles]].

In 1976, Bellmon was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fam at the state capital of [[Oklahoma

In 1976, Bellmon was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fam at the state capital of [[Oklahoma City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oklahomaheritage.com/HallofFame/ByName/tabid/89/Default.aspx|title=Henry Bellmon induction|publisher=oklahomaheritage.com|accessdate=July 13, 2021}}</ref>

City]].<ref>[http://www.oklahomaheritage.com/HallofFame/ByName/tabid/89/Default.aspx]</ref>

 

In 1982, former Senator Bellmon was appointed the interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services by Democratic Governor George Patterson Nigh (born 1927), his predecessor in office for Bellmon's second term.<ref name="OklahomanObit"/>

In 1982, former Senator Bellmon was appointed the interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services by Democratic Governor George Patterson Nigh (born 1927), his predecessor in office for Bellmon's second term.<ref name="OklahomanObit"/>