| Bob Bennett | |
|---|---|
| United States Senator from Utah |
|
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Jake Garn |
| Succeeded by | Mike Lee |
| Personal details | |
| 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 (Mormon) |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Utah Army National Guard |
| Years of service | 1957-1969 |
| Unit | Chaplain Corps |
Robert Foster "Bob" Bennett (born September 18, 1933) is a former United States Senator from Utah and a member of the Republican Party. In 2006, Bennett was tapped to serve on the Senate Republican Leadership Team as Counsel to the Minority Leader, United States Senator Mitch McConnell.[1] Bennett held chairmanships and senior positions on a number of key Senate committees, including the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, Appropriations Committee, Rules and Administration Committee, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Joint Economic Committee. Following his exit from the Senate, Bennett formed the Bennett Consulting Group [2] and went to work as a Senior Policy Advisor [3] at the firm Arent Fox.[4] He serves as a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where he focuses on budget, energy, and health issues,[5] and serves as Chairman of TechAmerica Foundation, the educational outreach arm [6] of TechAmerica.[7] Bennett is a part-time teacher, researcher and lecturer at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. He is also a fellow at the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs [8]
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Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Bennett is the son of Frances Marion (née Grant) and the U.S. Senator Wallace Foster Bennett,[9] as well as a grandson of Heber J. Grant, the seventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). 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.
Bennett was an LDS Church 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. During Bennett's tenure, the PR firm did work for President Nixon's reelection campaign, and even employed Watergate felon E. Howard Hunt.[10] 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 technology industry, 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, where he was also a founding shareholder. Bennett held this position until he ran for public office.
A Senate seat opened up in 1992, when Jake Garn declined to enter the race 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%.
Bennett was challenged by seven other Republicans and two Democrats in his bid for re-election in 2010, including Mike Lee, Cherilyn Eagar, Tim Bridgewater, and Democrats Sam Granato and Christopher Stout. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff dropped out of the race, citing family concerns.[11][12][13]
Despite a strong approval rating among statewide voters, Bennett was defeated on May 8, 2010, at the Utah Republican Convention after finishing third in the second round of balloting, to Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater.[14] After the convention, Senator Bennett was widely encouraged by his constituents and colleagues to pursue a write-in bid to retain his U.S. Senate seat, but Bennett declined, citing the toxic atmosphere such a bid would bring to the state's political environment.[15]
During part of his tenure in the Senate, Bennett sat at the Candy desk.
During the 106th Congress, Bennett was tapped by then Majority Leader, Bill Frist, to serve as the Chief Deputy Republican Party "Whip". Later, as Counsel to Mitch McConnell, Senator Bennett was an influential member of the Republican Leadership Team and advised the Minority Leader on "legislative strategy and policy priorities".[16]
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.[17]
On December 16, 2009, Bennett was the sole vote (of any party) on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to oppose the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (S. 1102), which would provide benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian federal employees.[18]
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.[17]
On March 25, 2010, during the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 debate, the U.S. Senate defeated an attempt by Bennett[19] to "suspend the issuance of marriage licenses to any couple of the same sex until the people of the District of Columbia have the opportunity to hold a referendum or initiative on the question".[20]
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.[17]
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.[17]
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.[17]
Bennett was the lead Republican sponsor of the Healthy Americans Act, championed by Democratic Senator Ron Wyden.
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.[17]
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.[17]
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.[17]
In 1962, Bennett married Joyce McKay, a granddaughter of David O. McKay, the ninth president of the LDS Church. This couple has six children: Julie, Robert, James, Wendy, Heather, and Heidi.
| Candidate | Pct | Candidate | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
| 2010 Republican State Convention results (First Round) [22] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | Mike Lee | 982 | 28.75% | |
| Republican | Tim Bridgewater | 917 | 26.84% | |
| Republican | Bob Bennett | 885 | 25.91% | |
| Republican | Cherilyn Eagar | 541 | 15.84% | |
| Republican | Merrill Cook | 49 | 1.43% | |
| Republican | Leonard Fabiano | 22 | 0.64% | |
| Republican | Jeremy Friedbaum | 16 | 0.47% | |
| Republican | David Chiu | 4 | 0.12% | |
| Totals | 3,416 | 100.00% | ||
| 2010 Republican State Convention results (Second Round) [23] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | |
| Republican | Tim Bridgewater | 1274 | 37.42% | |
| Republican | Mike Lee | 1225 | 35.99% | |
| Republican | Bob Bennett | 905 | 26.99% | |
| Totals | 3404 | 100.00% | ||
| United States Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jake Garn |
United States Senator (Class 3) from Utah 1993–2011 Served alongside: Orrin Hatch |
Succeeded by Mike Lee |
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