| Bob Bennett | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 1993 Serving with Orrin Hatch |
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| Preceded by | Jake Garn |
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| Born | September 18, 1933 Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Joyce McKay |
| Children | Julie Bennett Robert Bennett James Bennett Wendy Bennett Heather Bennett Heidi Bennett |
| Residence | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Alma mater | University of Utah |
| Occupation | Public relations consultant, technology executive |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army National Guard |
| Years of service | 1957-1969 |
| Unit | Chaplain Corps |
Robert Foster "Bob" Bennett (born September 18, 1933) is the Junior Senator from Utah and a member of the Republican Party. In 2006, Bennett was tapped to serve on the Senate Republican Leadership Council as counsel to the Minority Leader, United States Senator Mitch McConnell.[1]
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Early life
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Bennett is the son of Frances Marion Grant and the U.S. Senator Wallace Foster Bennett,[2] as well as the grandson of Heber J. Grant, the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bennett attended high school at East High, and he earned his B.S. from the University of Utah in 1957 majoring in Political Science. He also served as the Student Body President at the University of Utah.
In 1962, Bennett married Joyce McKay, a granddaughter of David O. McKay, the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This couple has six children: Julie, Robert, James, Wendy, Heather, and Heidi.
Bennett was an LDS chaplain in the Utah Army National Guard from 1957 to 1969, when he entered public service as congressional liaison of the United States Department of Transportation. He held this position from 1969 to 1970. That year he became president of Robert Mullen Company, a Washington, D.C., public-relations company that occasionally provided cover for Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations. During Bennett's tenure, the PR firm did work for President Nixon's reelection campaign, and even employed Watergate felon E. Howard Hunt. [3]
In 1974, Bennett became the public relations director for the billionaire Howard Hughes's holding company, Summa Corporation, working there until 1978 when he became the president of Osmond Communications. In 1979, he went into the computer business, first as the chairman of the American Computers Corporation, and then as the president of the Microsonics Corporation from 1981 to 1984. In 1984, Bennett was named as the CEO of Franklin Quest, the maker of organizers and appointment books. Bennett held this position until he ran for public office.
U.S. Senate career
A Senate seat opened up in 1992, when Jake Garn, who hated being in Washington, D.C., and wanted to return to Utah, and made little secret of it, declined to run for a fourth term. Bennett narrowly won the heavily contested Republican Party primary election (with 51% of the votes cast) in 1992, his primary opponent being another millionaire with prominent LDS forebears. Bennett then went on to defeat his Democratic opponent, Congressman Wayne Owens, in the general election. He was re-elected in 1998 and 2004. His Democratic opponent in 2004 was the former state Attorney General Paul Van Dam, and Bennett won by a vote total of 68% to 29%.
During the 106th Congress, Bennett was tapped by then Majority Leader, Bill Frist, to serve as the Chief Deputy Republican Party "Whip". Now, as counsel to Mitch McConnell, Senator Bennett remains on the Republican Leadership Team and advises the Minority Leader on "legislative strategy and policy priorities"[4].
On June 27, 2006, Bennett was one of only three Republicans to vote against the controversial and defeated Flag Desecration Amendment. One of this amendment's chief sponsors was Bennett's fellow Utah Republican Senator, Orrin Hatch.
Bennett is being challenged by at least three other Republicans and one Democrat in his bid for re-election in 2010, including Cherilyn Eagar, James Russell Williams, Democrat Sam Granato and Tim Bridgewater.[5]. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff dropped out of the race, citing family concerns. [6]
Political positions
Abortion
Bennett has been a strong opponent of abortion, and has supported measures to restrict it. These include requirements of parental notification for one to take place and bans on allowing minors to cross state lines to obtain the procedure and late-term abortions. However, he has shown some support for embryonic stem cell research.[7]
Civil rights
Although he has voted in favor of expanding funding to women and minority-owned businesses, Bennett has generally rejected affirmative action proposals involving quotas.
Bennett has supported Bush Administration wiretapping proposals. He was one of only three Republican senators to vote against a proposed constitutional ban on flag burning. He stated that he supports legislation to ban U.S. flag desecration on federal property, and desecration of federally-owned flags.[7]
Taxes and the economy
Bennett has been a supporter of flat taxation and has been a leading voice for the repeal of the Inheritance Tax, Alternative Minimum Tax, and "marriage penalty". He has publicly stated that he sees it as unfair for the tax burden to fall on the wealthiest one percent of the population (for whom inheritance taxes are an issue). Bennett has also voted against minimum wage increases and bills that would increase the ease in which workers could organize.[7]
A free trade advocate, Bennett has voted in favor of CAFTA, presidential fast-tracking for normalizing trade relations, and removing common goods from national security export controls. He has favored recent trade deals with countries such as Chile, Singapore, and Oman.[7]
Health care
Bennett has been an opponent of public health care and has blamed government policies for the high cost of insurance. He has voted against proposals to expand government health care, such as those that would let Medicare negotiate in bulk with drug companies or those that would enroll more children in federally-provided insurance. He also voted against the State Children's Health Insurance Program. During his most recent Senate campaign, he stated that high taxes were causing insurers to pass the costs off to customers. He also believed that new drugs were not being properly developed because pharmaceutical companies feared lawsuits if unexpected side effects occurred.[7]
Bennett is the lead Republican sponsor of the Healthy Americans Act, championed by Democratic Senator Ron Wyden.
Immigration and homeland security
Generally, Bennett has supported tighter immigration control. He voted in favor of the fence along the US-Mexico border, making English the nation's official language, and denying citizenship rights to guest workers. However, he voted to uphold the legalization of nonimmigrant guest worker status.[7]
Bennett has been a supporter of the PATRIOT Act. He also voted no on limiting the tours of duty for soldiers in Iraq and on granting habeas corpus rights to detainees in Guantanamo Bay.[7]
Energy and the environment
Bennett has voted against energy standards proposals. He is against CAFE, defining goals for a 40 percent reduction in oil use by 2025, and factoring global warming into government planning. Bennett supports ANWR drilling and using nuclear power as an energy solution. He also voted against providing emergency energy funding to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.[7]
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on Defense
- Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
- Committee on Rules and Administration (Ranking Member)
- Joint Committee on the Library
- Joint Committee on Printing
- Joint Economic Committee
Electoral history
| Candidate | Pct | Candidate | Pct | |
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| Robert F. Bennett | 51% | Joseph A. Cannon | 49% |
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Wayne Owens | 301,228 | 40% | Robert F. Bennett | 420,069 | 55% | Anita R. Morrow | Populist | 17,549 | 2% | Maury Modine | Libertarian | 14,341 | 2% | Patricia Grogan | Socialist Workers | 5,292 | 1% | ||||||
| 1998 | Scott Leckman | 163,172 | 33% | Robert F. Bennett | 316,652 | 64% | Gary R. Van Horn | Independent American | 15,073 | 3% | * | |||||||||||||
| 2004 | Paul Van Dam | 258,955 | 28% | Robert F. Bennett | 626,640 | 69% | Gary R. Van Horn | Constitution | 17,289 | 2% | Joe LaBonte | Personal Choice | 8,824 | 1% | * |
* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1998, write-ins received 12 votes. In 2004, write-ins received 18 votes.
See also
Footnotes
- ^ "GOP Convention Biography". The Republican National Committee. http://portal.gopconvention2008.com/people/details.aspx?id=291. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/bennett.htm
- ^ Nixonland. Rick Perlstein. Scribner: New York. 2008. p.681.
- ^ "Official Biography of Senator Bob Bennett". The Office of Senator Bennett. http://bennett.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Biography. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
- ^ Eagar officially announces Senate candidacy
- ^ http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705342044/Shurtleff-drops-out-of-US-Senate-race.html
- ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Robert_Bennett.htm
- ^ "Election Statistics". Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bob Bennett (politician) |
- United States Senator Robert F Bennett, official U.S. Senate website
- Bob Bennett for Senate official campaign website
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- mormoncentury.org — Why Bennett supported stem cell research
- New York Times — Robert F. Bennett News collected news and commentary
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jake Garn |
United States Senator (Class 3) from Utah 1993 – present Served alongside: Orrin Hatch |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Patty Murray (D-Washington) |
United States Senators by seniority 32nd |
Succeeded by Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) |
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