Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson United States Senator from Florida Incumbent Assumed office  January 3, 2001 Serving with George LeMieux Preceded by Connie Mack III Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal of Florida In office 1995-2000 Governor Lawton Chiles 1995-1998 Buddy MacKay 1998-1999 Jeb Bush 1999-2000 Preceded by Tom Gallagher Succeeded by Tom Gallagher Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 11th district In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1991 Preceded by Daniel A. Mica Succeeded by Jim Bacchus Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 9th district In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983 Preceded by Louis Frey Succeeded by Michael Bilirakis Member of the Florida House of Representatives In office 1972–1979 Born September 29, 1942 (1942-09-29) (age 68) Miami, Florida Nationality American Political party Democratic Spouse(s) Grace Cavert Nelson Children Bill Nelson, Jr. Nan Ellen Nelson Residence Orlando, Florida Alma mater Yale University (B.A.) University of Virginia (J.D.) Religion Episcopalian

Clarence William "Bill" Nelson NASA Payload Specialist Nationality American Current occupation U.S. Senator Previous occupation Representative, U.S. House Time in space 6d 02h 03m Selection 1985 Missions STS-61-C Mission insignia

For other people named Bill Nelson, see Bill Nelson (disambiguation).

Clarence William "Bill" Nelson (born September 29, 1942) is the senior U.S. Senator from Florida. Nelson is a member of the Democratic Party. In 1986, he became the second sitting member of the United States Congress to fly in space, as a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Personal life

Early life and career

Nelson was born in Miami, the only child of Nannie Merle Nelson and Clarence Nelson.^[1] He spent his formative years in Melbourne, Florida, where he attended Melbourne High School.^[2] In his youth, he served as an international president of Key Club International.^[1] He attended the University of Florida for several years, then transferred to Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1965. In 1968, he received his law degree from the University of Virginia.^[3]

In college, Nelson was enrolled in ROTC. In 1965, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve; he served on active duty from 1968 to 1970, attaining the rank of captain.^[3] He remained in the Army until 1971.^[2]

Nelson was admitted to the Florida bar in 1968, and began practicing law in Melbourne in 1970. In 1971, he worked as legislative assistant to Governor Reubin Askew.^[4]

Family

In 1972, Nelson married Grace Cavert. The couple has two adult children: Bill Nelson, Jr., and Nan Ellen Nelson.^[2] The Nelsons live in the Baldwin Park neighborhood of Orlando.^[5]

Religion

The biography on Nelson's Senate website does not list his religion.^[2] He was baptized as a Baptist, and grew up attending Baptist and Episcopal churches. In 2005, he joined the First Presbyterian Church in Orlando.^[6]

Florida legislature

In 1972, Nelson was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. He won re-election in 1974 and 1976.^[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Nelson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978. He served in the U.S. House from 1979 to 1991.

In 1986, Nelson became the second sitting member of Congress (and the first member of the House) to travel into space. He went through NASA training with Senator Jake Garn of Utah. He was a Payload Specialist on Space Shuttle Columbia's STS-61-C mission from January 12 to 18. Ten days after his return, on January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated shortly after lift-off.

1990–2000

Gubernatorial campaign

In 1990, Nelson ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Florida. He lost to former U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles, who went on to win the general election. During the primary campaign, Nelson tried to make an issue out of Chiles' health and age, a strategy that backfired on him in a state with a large population of retirees and senior citizens.

Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner

In 1994 Nelson announced his intention to seek the office of Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida. He won the election with 52% of the vote over State Rep. Tim Ireland's 48%. In 1998, he again defeated Ireland for his reelection to the office.

In 2000, Nelson resigned his post as Commissioner following his election to the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senate

Election

In 2000, Nelson ran as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican Senator Connie Mack. He won the election, defeating U.S. Representative Bill McCollum, who ran as the Republican candidate.

Political actions and positions

In his official Senate biography, Nelson calls himself "the leading congressional expert on NASA". He lists legislative priorities and accomplishments that include anti-identity-theft and anti-spam measures; opposition to reducing the U.S. Navy's aircraft-carrier fleet; opposition to oil drilling off the Florida coast; supporting a Medicare prescription-drug benefit that allows the government to negotiate lower prices from drug suppliers; and obtaining federal relief for victims of the 2004 hurricane season.^[2]

Nelson's votes have tended to be more liberal than conservative. He has received high ratings from left-of-center groups such as Americans for Democratic Action, and low ones from right-of-center groups such as the Eagle Forum and the Club for Growth. According to ratings by the National Journal, Nelson's votes have been strongly liberal on social and economic matters; liberal but close to the center on foreign policy.^[7]

In the 110th Congress, Nelson cast 91.8% of his votes in agreement with the majority of the Democratic Party. For comparison, the average Democratic senator voted with the party 87.5% of the time; the high number among Democrats was 97.5%, and the low was 81.2%. Among Republican senators, the frequency of voting with the party majority ranged from 64.5% to 93.0%, with an average of 77.8%.^[8]

In 2005, Nelson was one of ten Democrats who voted in favor of the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) on its 55-45 passage in the Senate;^[9] Nelson's vote was cast despite opposition by the sugar lobby.^[10]

On several occasions, Nelson has voted against his party to reduce or eliminate the estate tax,^[11] notably in June 2006, when he was one of four Democrats voting for a failed (57-41) cloture motion on a bill to eliminate the tax.^[12]

In 2007, Nelson was the lone Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee to vote against an amendment to withhold funds for CIA use of harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects. His vote, combined with those of all Republican members of the committee, killed the measure.^[13]

Nelson is a member of the Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus, which generally opposes easing sanctions on Cuba.^[14]

In March 2010, Nelson voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which passed and were signed into law by President Obama. A Mason-Dixon Florida poll indicated that the measure was opposed by a majority of those surveyed, and by nearly two-thirds of Florida voters aged 65 or older. The same poll showed Nelson's negative rating rising to 34%, from 16% at the time of his 2006 re-election.^[15]

2006 re-election campaign

Sen. Nelson works with government storm trackers during a hurricane-hunter flight into the center of Hurricane Charley in August 2004

Following the 2004 election, in which Republican George W. Bush was re-elected and the Republican party increased its majority in both the House and the Senate, Nelson was seen as vulnerable. He was a Democrat in a state that Bush had won, though by a margin of only five percentage points.^[16] Evangelical Christian activist James Dobson declared that such Democrats, including Nelson, would be "in the 'bull's-eye'" if they supported efforts to block Bush's judicial nominees;^[17] and Nelson's refusal to support efforts in Congress to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case was seen as "a great political issue" for a Republican opponent to use in mobilizing Christian conservatives against him.^[18] Florida governor Jeb Bush, precluded by term limits from seeking re-election in 2006, was suggested as an opponent who might secure Nelson's seat for the Republicans. ^[16]

Bush chose not to run for the seat. Katherine Harris, the former Florida Secretary of State and two-term U.S. representative, defeated three other candidates in the September 5 Republican primary. Nelson was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Harris's role in the 2000 presidential election made her a polarizing figure. Many Florida Republicans were eager to reward her for her perceived party loyalty in the Bush-Gore election; many Florida Democrats were eager to vote against her for the same reason.^[19] Harris's campaign was beset by difficulties: poor fundraising, a series of gaffes, and a high turnover of staff, including the loss of three campaign managers and of chief advisor Ed Rollins.^[20] In February, it was learned that Harris had received $32,000 in illegal campaign contributions from defense contractor Mitchell J. Wade.^[21]

In April, a National Review editorial urged Harris to withdraw, arguing that she would unquestionably win the primary and lose the general election.^[22] In May, when the party found itself unable to recruit a candidate who could defeat Harris in the primary, many Republican activists admitted that the race was already lost.^[23]

Harris's campaign focused heavily on evangelical Christianity.^[24] In an August interview with Florida Baptist Witness, she declared: "[I]f you're not electing Christians then in essence you are going to legislate sin"^[25] Nelson, meanwhile, focused on safe issues, portraying himself as a bipartisan centrist problem-solver.^[19] He obtained the endorsement of all 22 of Florida's daily newspapers.^[26] Harris failed to secure the endorsement of Jeb Bush, who publicly stated that she could not win; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which had supported her in her congressional campaigns, did not endorse her in this race.^[27]

As the election approached, polls showed Harris trailing Nelson by 26 to 35 points.^[20] Nelson transferred about $16.5 million in campaign funds to other Democratic candidates,^[28] and won the election with 60.4% of the vote to Harris's 38.2%.^[29]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on SeaPower
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences (Chairman)
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy
• Select Committee on Intelligence
• Special Committee on Aging

Trip to Damascus

On December 13, 2006, Nelson went to Damascus and met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "He (Assad) stated that we in fact, have an interest, common interest, to stabilize Iraq. I think it is a crack in the door, and it is for discussions to continue," Nelson said in a conference call from Amman, Jordan after meeting Assad in Damascus. The White House said that members of Congress should not be going to Syria. "I think it is a real stretch to think that the Syrians don't know where we stand or what we think. We have made it clear and we will continue to make it clear," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. In the days following Nelson's meeting with Assad, Senator Arlen Specter flew to Syria and met with Assad. Specter wrote an op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer that emphasized the importance of such visits and reaffirmed Nelson's position that it was part of his constitutional duty.^[30]

Florida primary controversy

In 2007, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature passed a measure that changed Florida's primary date to January 29, several weeks earlier than the previous date. The measure passed the Florida House of Representatives by a vote of 118-0, and passed the State Senate by a vote of 37-2.^[31] This change was in violation of the Democratic National Committee's rules regarding state primary dates, which caused the DNC Chairman Howard Dean to threaten to strip the state of its delegates to the Democratic National Convention if they did not schedule the primary for a date that fell within the guidelines of the DNC. Senator Nelson played an active role in attempting to restore the activity of the delegates, going so far as to threaten a lawsuit against the DNC if an appropriate settlement was not reached.^[32] On May 31, 2008 the DNC bylaws committee decided to seat all of the Florida delegates with each being apportioned one-half vote.^[33]

Electoral history

Footnotes

External links

• United States Senator Bill Nelson official U.S. Senate site
• Nelson for US Senate official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• NASA – Bill Nelson official NASA astronaut biography

Current statewide political officials of Florida U.S. Senators Bill Nelson · George LeMieux State government Charlie Crist, Governor · Jeff Kottkamp, Lieutenant Governor · Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer · Bill McCollum, Attorney General · Charles H. Bronson, Commissioner of Agriculture Senate Jeffrey Atwater, President · Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Majority Leader · Alfred Lawson, Jr., Minority Leader House Larry Cretul, Speaker · Adam Hasner, Majority Leader · Franklin Sands, Minority Leader Supreme Court (appointed) Charles T. Canady, Chief Justice · Barbara Pariente · R. Fred Lewis · Peggy Quince · Ricky Polston · Jorge Labarga · James E.C. Perry

United States Senators from Florida Class 1 Yulee • Mallory, Sr. • Welch • Gilbert • Jones • Pasco • Taliaferro • N. Bryan • Trammell • Loftin • Andrews • Holland • Chiles • Mack • Nelson Class 3 Westcott • Morton • Yulee • Osborn • Conover • Call • Mallory, Jr. • W. Bryan • Milton • Fletcher • Hill • Pepper • Smathers • Gurney • Stone • Hawkins • Graham • Martinez • LeMieux • Rubio (elect)