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At a Glance
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About Ben: Profile“Although Nelson is regarded as one of the nation's ‘New Power Players,’ it's good to see he hasn't forgotten the folks back home.”
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 opportunity to impact major legislation for a first-term Senator. 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. Nelson’s positions and willingness to compromise to achieve progress makes him a frequent target of White House and interest group lobbying. For example, he has had ads run in Nebraska newspapers accusing him of not supporting tax cuts and others praising his support for tax cuts. President George W. Bush has visited Nebraska four times to “woo” Nelson’s vote on issues. Each time, Nelson has insisted he doesn’t feel the political pressure but feels only “the pressure to do what is right for Nebraska.” Nelson often says those who “choose to work with” him are far more successful than those who “choose to work on” him. In 2004, Nelson’s centrist tendencies were awarded when he was named Vice-Chair of the Senate Centrist Coalition. A National Journal 2004 Senate vote study places Nelson in near center of the Senate as the most centrist Democrat. 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. 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 Nebraska’s Senator, Nelson has put the interests of agriculture and trade in the forefront. He has built on the work he did as Nebraska’s Governor to help establish Nebraska’s place in the global economy by using 12 trade missions to several countries including Japan, China, Vietnam, Brazil, Argentina and Egypt. On each trade mission Nelson brought along key Nebraska agriculture and business leaders. Serving on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Nelson’s priorities begin with the drought that has plagued the United States for the last five 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. As a former two-term governor, Nelson has fought 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 works closely with other members of the Centrist 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. Nelson considers his role as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee to be one of pushing reform and providing support to our armed services and military personnel. 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 for answers to questions about how high up the chain of command the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq reached. He ridiculed a plan to reduce combat pay for soldiers serving in the war on terror and, promoted by a story related to him by a concerned Nebraska father, he probed military brass about the lack of suitable body armor for soldiers conducting door-to-door searches in Baghdad. Another military servicewoman brought her story of difficulty in adopting children to Nelson, and adoptive parent himself, promoting the Senator to introduce legislation to expand military leave policy to allow time for adoptive parents to spend more time with their children especially in the early days after adoption. To address concerns about long term and multiple deployments of National Guard and Reserve troops which he has said indicates an “over-reliance” on these soldiers, Nelson pushed the Pentagon to provide Guard and Reserve soldiers with better rotation schedules. Nelson has also pushed for benefits for employers who are asked to keep open the jobs those serving long term deployments in Iraq so those soldiers will have jobs to come home to. 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, Nelson joined the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. This committee sets federal spending priorities, allocating funding for programs ranging from defense to education, from agriculture to transportation. As a member of the committee, Nelson works with local officals in Nebraska to ensure that their needs are being met and their voices are being heard in Washington. Nelson’s moderate to conservative voting record hasn’t caused friction with his Democratic colleagues. Nelson has served on a four-member Executive Committee within the Democratic Caucus to help shape the Senate’s agenda and to unify members. Nelson has used his position to caution against the perception of obstructionism and as a platform to tout his personal experience and business background to communicate a business perspective to the Senate Democrats. 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, increased 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.” After a brief stint in the private sector upon leaving the governor’s office, Nelson returned to Nebraska politics to run for 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. In addition to his committee positions and his role in the Centrist Coalition, Nelson serves as co-chairman of both the Space Power Caucus and the U.S.-Russian Federation Parliamentary Council. Nelson was also the 2005 co-chair of the Congressional Sportsman’s Caucus, a congressional organization dedicated to protecting the interests of hunters and anglers in the U.S. Congress. 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. Nelson is known for his practical jokes and his strong sense of humor. In addition to naming the drought, Nelson has attempted to name himself by having some fun with President Bush’s penchant for nicknames. When President Bush announced aboard Air Force One that he had dubbed Nelson “Nelly” the Senator good-naturedly objected. Nelson offered some of his own suggestions to the President including “El Tigre” and “Killer.” Ultimately, Nelson secured an agreement for President Bush to refer to him by a nickname created by Nelson’s staff, the “Benator.” Nelson’s work on behalf of Nebraska has been recognized by many groups. These awards include the Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award, the Distinguished Eagle award from the National Eagle Scout Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce “Spirit of Enterprise” award, the Groundwater Achievement Award from the Nebraska Groundwater Foundation, the American Optometric Association Health Care Leadership Award, the Information Technology Industry Council's Legislator of the Year Award, and the George W. Norris Award for his support of public power. In 2003, American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) awarded Nelson their Congressional Award for his success in providing $20 billion in temporary fiscal relief to states as part of the 2003 tax cut. The National Farmers Union awarded Nelson their 2003 Golden Triangle for his leadership on rural issues. In 2004 Nelson received the Friend of the Farm Bureau Award and the American Legion Department of Nebraska’s Outstanding Service and Assistance to Veterans Award. 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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"To get things done, sometimes you have to lean on your friends," Grand Island Mayor Jay Vavricek has said of working with Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson. (The Independent 10/22/04) His comment succinctly summarizes Ben Nelson’s years of service first as Governor and now as Nebraska’s Senator.