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At a Glance
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About Ben: Biography“Nebraskans knew five years ago they had chosen an independent centrist when they sent Nelson to Washington. He deserves credit for sturdily filling that role in Washington’s bitter partisan atmosphere.”
That sensible approach is rooted in Nelson’s background. Nelson is a native of McCook (Pop. 8000), a southwest Nebraska town that has been home to two of Nebraska’s U.S. Senators and three Governors. His mother, Birdella, started a local taxpayers group to keep an eye on how property taxes were spent. Nelson’s home-grown sense of fiscal responsibility is reflected in Nelson’s many votes to reduce America’s tax burden. At age 17 Nelson won his first election, as governor in a mock legislature, sparking his interest in public service. As a young man at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Ben Nelson spent his Sundays serving as a lay minister to rural Nebraska congregations. In a nod to his public service leanings, Nelson chose law school over the ministry. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1963, a master’s degree in 1965 and a law degree from the University of Nebraska in 1970. Nelson enjoyed a successful career in insurance law. He has served as CEO of the Central National Insurance Group, as chief of staff and executive vice president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and as director of the Nebraska Department of Insurance. In 1990, Ben Nelson entered the realm of Nebraska politics by running for Governor. He won the Democratic primary by only 42 votes. He won the governor’s office be besting incumbent Kay Orr by 4,000 votes. Nelson’s eight years in the governor’s office were highlighted by balanced budgets, expanded health care for children, tax reductions, ethanol production and approval ratings that reached eighty percent. Nelson’s plan as Governor was to bridge the gaps between rural and urban areas; he called his initiative “One Nebraska.” Nelson was re-elected Governor in 1994 with 74% of the vote, the largest margin of victory for a governor in half a century. His second term agenda included creating a “more efficient and effective state government.” In 2000, Nelson ran for the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Senator Bob Kerrey. Nelson carried the day even as George W. Bush won Nebraska with 62% of the vote. Nelson’s rural roots have always served as the basis for his policy positions. As governor, Nelson pressed to expand the ethanol industry in Nebraska. He established the Governors’ Ethanol Coalition as part of the National Governors’ Association. Under Nelson’s leadership, Nebraska moved to the forefront of ethanol production, increasing production from 15 million gallons to more than 300 million gallons in 1997. More than 6000 Nebraskans are now employed directly or indirectly in Nebraska ethanol production. In the Senate, one of the first bills Nelson cosponsored is a bill to boost production of ethanol and other renewable fuels, sponsored by Indiana Senator Richard Lugar and South Dakota’s Tom Daschle. Nelson serves as National Co Chair of Ethanol Across America, a grassroots organization designed to increase ethanol awareness and production. As a former two-term governor, Nelson has fought in the Senate against unfunded and underfunded federal mandates. He is a firm believer in states’ rights. He has supported full funding for education for children with disabilities and opposed the No Child Left Behind Act because its requirements were duplicitous to Nebraska’s existing standards and the testing requirements were not funded. Nelson has also fought to prevent federal tax policy from having a negative impact on state budgets and in 2002 he teamed up with Maine Senator Susan Collins, another prominent member of the Centrist Coalition, to provide $20 billion to States to help them pay for increased costs associated with the federal Medicaid program as part of a round of tax cuts. Nelson, as the 2005 Vice Chairman of the Centrist Coalition, works closely with other members of the Coalition on a variety of issues. He was part of a core group in 2001 that cobbled together a coalition that supported $1.35 trillion in tax cuts. His efforts to include his “circuit breaker”, a safety mechanism to guard against a return to federal deficits, fell short. Serving on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Nelson’s priorities begin with the drought that has plagued the United States for the last eight years. As Governor, Nelson helped establish the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska and has tirelessly pushed Congress to provide comprehensive emergency disaster assistance for agriculture producers. He borrowed the practice of naming hurricanes by naming the drought “David” as a ploy to raise awareness of the devastating economic impact the drought is having in rural America. Nelson considers his role as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee to be one of pushing reform and providing support to our armed services and military personnel. As Chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee, Nelson works to ensure troops have the proper support they need to defend our country. He has had great success working to improve benefits from health care to education to combat pay for America’s service men and women. He has pushed the Pentagon for better policies for deployment and rotation and pressed them on decisions on combat pay and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Nelson has used his position on the Armed Services Committee to serve as an advocate for Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue and other military installations in Nebraska. He has directed defense research and development dollars to Nebraska companies and has pushed for major modernization projects at Offutt. Nelson also works closely with U.S. Strategic Command officials to ensure the command’s role in out national security and defense strategy remains prominent. Nelson’s commitment to strengthening our military to enhance national security goes beyond active duty personnel. He is committed to keeping America’s promise to our veterans. As a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee from 2001 through 2004 he pushed to preserve access to health care for Nebraska veterans and to expand Veterans Administration’s use of clinics to provide quality care for Nebraska veterans. Nelson has questioned administration polices that change benefits for Nebraska’s veterans and has called for full funding for the Veterans Administration. In 2007, Ben Nelson joined the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Nelson’s experience balancing Nebraska's budget will be an asset as he works to reign in runaway federal spending. As a proud grandfather, Nelson enjoys spending time with his family, reading, hunting, fishing, and the whole of outdoor life. An avid hunter, Nelson has won both the domestic Grand Slam and international World Slam for wild turkeys and has hunted on safari in Africa. Ben Nelson and his wife, Diane, live in Omaha. They have four children and three grandchildren. Nelson commutes home nearly every weekend to be with his family and with the people of Nebraska. |
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With a reputation for problem solving and a voting record to support his common sense approach to issues, Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson has carved for himself a bipartisan role in a bitterly partisan Washington environment. In a closely-divided Senate, Nelson’s ability to cross party lines gives him an unusual amount of power and opportunity to impact major legislation. While media reports indicate that he is emerging as a consensus builder in the Senate, Nelson has worked to forge compromises between the Bush Administration and the Senate on tax cuts, Medicare reform, and homeland security. But he has never forgotten that he represents the diverse views of the citizens of Nebraska while working to get things done in Washington.