Ben Nelson
Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson, born May 17, 1941 (age 85), is the senior U.S. Senator from Nebraska and a member of the Democratic Party. He currently serves on the Committees on Appropriations, Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Armed Services, and Rules and Administration. He has voted with Democrats 73% of the time during the current Congress. [1]
| Ben Nelson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| U.S. Senator from Nebraska From: January 3, 2001 â Present | |||
| Predecessor | J. Robert Kerrey | ||
| Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
| Governor of Nebraska From: January 9, 1991 â January 7, 1999 | |||
| Predecessor | Kay A. Orr | ||
| Successor | Mike Johanns | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Democrat | ||
| Spouse(s) | Diane Nelson | ||
| Religion | Methodist | ||
Political career
Ben Nelson was elected governor of Nebraska in 1990 and reelected in 1994. Nelson cut the sales and income tax, and $157 million in state spending. He was able to pass eight balanced budgets. He ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1996, but was defeated by Republican war hero Chuck Hagel. Nelson left the governor's office in January 1999 after two terms and was succeeded by Republican Mike Johanns. Nelson was again nominated by the Democrats for the Senate in 2000 after his fellow Democrat, incumbent Bob Kerrey, announced his retirement. Nelson won with 50.99% of the vote in a campaign in which he spent 50% more ($1,004,985) than his opponent. In 2006 Nelson was reelected by a much wider margin, winning with 64% of the vote.
Political views
Next to Zell Miller, Ben Nelson became the most conervative Democat in the Senate, with his votes often placing him at odds with the leadership of the Democratic Party. A 2007 National Journal congressional vote rating placed him to the right of eight Senate Republicans. [2] He was one of only two Democratic senators to vote against the 2002 Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold). Nelson supports eliminating the estate tax and voted in favor with the Bush administration's tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. He voted for the 2006 Federal Marriage Amendment. [3]
Nelson is strongly pro-life. From 2007-2008 he earned an 85% rating from the National Right to Life Committee. [4] He voted for the imposition of criminal penalties when an unborn fetus was harmed during the commission of a crime and is against embryonic stem cell research. Nelson praised and voted for President Bush's two nominees for the Supreme Court, John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Some of Nelson's positions fall well within the mainstream of the Democratic Party: he has consistently voted against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He also opposed President Bush's plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq in January 2007.
In February 2009, Senator Nelson and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine reached a deal that cut $100 billion from the 2009 economic spending package, with it still totalling $787 billion. It passed on a 60-38 vote. [5]
Ben Nelson voted to allow debate for an $848 billion health care reform bill [6] and has announced he will vote for the final passage of the bill. [7]
External links
References
- â http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/n000180/
- â http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/cons.htm
- â http://www.hrc.org/issues/5556.htm
- â http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=21744
- â http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/02/6038_senate_passes_stimulus.html
- â http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Sen-Ben-Nelson-will-vote-to-start-health-care-debate-70633422.html
- â http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2009/1219/Ben-Nelson-backs-healthcare-reform-bill-Dems-see-finish-line