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Alan Simpson (American politician)

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Alan Simpson (American politician)

Alan Kooi Simpson (September 2, 1931 – March 14, 2025) was an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives representing Park County, Wyoming from 1965 to 1977 and as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was Republican whip of the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1995, serving as majority whip of the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1987. He also served as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often referred to as Simpson–Bowles) with Democratic co-chair Erskine Bowles of North Carolina. Born in Denver, Simpson completed his undergraduate and law school studies at the University of Wyoming. He served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1965–1977 before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978. After serving three terms, Simpson declined to seek re-election in 1996. After leaving office, Simpson practiced law and taught at multiple universities. He also served on the Continuity of Government Commission, American Battle Monuments Commission, and Iraq Study Group. He was a vocal proponent of amending the Constitution of the United States to overturn Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and allow Congress to set spending limits on campaign finance.

Infobox

Appointed by
Barack Obama
Leader
Bob Dole
Preceded by
Clifford Hansen
Succeeded by
Mike Enzi
Born
Alan Kooi Simpson(1931-09-02)September 2, 1931Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Died
March 14, 2025(2025-03-14) (aged 93)Cody, Wyoming, U.S.
Political party
Republican
Spouse
mw- Susan Ann Schroll (m. 1954)
Children
3, including Colin
Relatives
Milward Simpson (father)Pete Simpson (brother)
Education
University of Wyoming (BS, JD)
Awards
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022)
Allegiance
United States
Branch/service
United States Army
Years of service
1954–1956
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Unit
5th Infantry2nd Armored Division
Party
Republican

Tables

· External links › Archives
Preceded byClifford Hansen
Preceded byClifford Hansen
Party political offices
Preceded byClifford Hansen
Party political offices
Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Wyoming(Class 2) 1978, 1984, 1990
Party political offices
Succeeded byMike Enzi
Preceded byTed Stevens
Preceded byTed Stevens
Party political offices
Preceded byTed Stevens
Party political offices
Senate Republican Whip 1985–1995
Party political offices
Succeeded byTrent Lott
U.S. Senate
U.S. Senate
Party political offices
U.S. Senate
Preceded byClifford Hansen
Preceded byClifford Hansen
Party political offices
Preceded byClifford Hansen
Party political offices
United States Senator (Class 2) from Wyoming 1979–1997 Served alongside: Malcolm Wallop, Craig Thomas
Party political offices
Succeeded byMike Enzi
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Party political offices
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Party political offices
Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1981–1985
Party political offices
Succeeded byFrank Murkowski
Preceded byTed Stevens
Preceded byTed Stevens
Party political offices
Preceded byTed Stevens
Party political offices
Senate Majority Whip 1985–1987
Party political offices
Succeeded byAlan Cranston
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Party political offices
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Party political offices
Senate Minority Whip 1987–1995
Party political offices
Succeeded byWendell Ford
Preceded byJay Rockefeller
Preceded byJay Rockefeller
Party political offices
Preceded byJay Rockefeller
Party political offices
Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1995–1997
Party political offices
Succeeded byArlen Specter
Government offices
Government offices
Party political offices
Government offices
New office
New office
Party political offices
New office
Party political offices
Chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform 2010 Served alongside: Erskine Bowles
Party political offices
Position abolished
Party political offices
Preceded byClifford Hansen
Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Wyoming(Class 2) 1978, 1984, 1990
Succeeded byMike Enzi
Preceded byTed Stevens
Senate Republican Whip 1985–1995
Succeeded byTrent Lott
Senate
Preceded byClifford Hansen
United States Senator (Class 2) from Wyoming 1979–1997 Served alongside: Malcolm Wallop, Craig Thomas
Succeeded byMike Enzi
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1981–1985
Succeeded byFrank Murkowski
Preceded byTed Stevens
Senate Majority Whip 1985–1987
Succeeded byAlan Cranston
Preceded byAlan Cranston
Senate Minority Whip 1987–1995
Succeeded byWendell Ford
Preceded byJay Rockefeller
Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1995–1997
Succeeded byArlen Specter
Government offices
New office
Chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform 2010 Served alongside: Erskine Bowles
Position abolished

References

  1. wyomingpublicmedia.org
    https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/former-senator-simpson-working-reverse-citizens-united#stream/0
  2. congress.gov
    http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=s000429
  3. Gpo.gov
    https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1995-01-24/html/CREC-1995-01-24-pt1-PgS1427-2.htm
  4. Colorado.edu
    https://www.colorado.edu/today/2002/10/29/former-us-sen-alan-simpson-and-brother-lecture-boulder-denver-nov-11-12
  5. Casper Star-Tribune
    https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/simpson-speaks-out-on-supreme-court-case/article_357a5c82-eaee-5e35-bd9c-2c2c9d7fb2b0.html
  6. Nos. 08-7412 and 08-7621 IN The Supreme Court of the United States TERRANCE JAMAR GRAHAM Petitioner, v. FLORIDA Responde
  7. Colorado.edu
    https://www.colorado.edu/libraries/2018/05/05/archives-alpha-tau-omega
  8. The Jewish Veteran
    https://books.google.com/books?id=TETjAAAAMAAJ&q=alan+simpson+5th+Infantry+Division&pg=RA7-PA26
  9. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/us/politics/alan-k-simpson-dead.html
  10. Casper Morning Star
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/casper-morning-star-younger-simpson-anno/167950445/
  11. Casper Star-Tribune
    https://www.newspapers.com/article/casper-star-tribune-alan-simpson-resigns/167950561/
  12. wyomingpublicmedia.org
    https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/former-us-senator-alan-simpsons-passion-politics-civility-and-family#stream/0
  13. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/10/19/simpson-the-anglo-behind-the-immigration-bill/9e5c3904-f255-4714-a6e9-a6cd5245978e/
  14. The Washington Examiner
    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/alan-simpson-only-women-should-legislate-abortion-laws
  15. The Making of Hmong America
    https://archive.org/details/makingofhmongame0000yang
  16. Smithsonian Magazine
    https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/american-odyssey-180940687/
  17. The Handbook of International Migration
    https://people.wou.edu/~mcgladm/GEOGRAPHY%20CLASSES/Geography%20470%20Energy/optional%20material/misc%20items/Rumbaut3.pdf
  18. Contexts
    https://contexts.org/articles/rumbaut/
  19. American Democracy and the Pursuit of Equality
    https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1887824
  20. Settler Colonialism, Race, and the Law
  21. TDR (1988-)
    https://www.jstor.org/stable/1145914
  22. Sleep Paralysis
    https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.36019/9780813552378-007/html
  23. Entenmann, Robert. "The Myth of Sonom, the Hmong King." () Hmong Studies Journal, Volume 6, 2005. p. 1. Retrieved on Jul
    https://web.archive.org/web/20051219074933/http://hmongstudies.org/EntenmannHSJ6.pdf
  24. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
    https://books.google.com/books?id=DUHAXXvSUeYC&q=paul+pao+herr#v=onepage&q=simpson&f=false
  25. Illegal aliens and employer sanctions: solving the wrong problem
    https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/14166362
  26. Congress.gov
    https://www.congress.gov/event/110th-congress/house-event/LC8113/text
  27. Immigration and the Nation-State
    https://academic.oup.com/book/11895/chapter/161057096
  28. NPR
    https://www.npr.org/transcripts/128303672?storyId=128303672
  29. The Karma of Brown Folk
    https://commons.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2018/02/Prashad_The_Karma_of_Brown_Folk.pdf
  30. Learning to Be Old
  31. washingtonpost.com
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/behind-a-world-war-ii-internment-camps-barbed-wire-two-scouts-forged-a-bond-it-endured-when-they-both-entered-congress/2017/08/11/7542170a-7794-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html
  32. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/opinion/brokaw-norman-mineta-alan-simpson.html
  33. Scouting Magazine
    http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0201/d-wwas.html
  34. "TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19"
    https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293
  35. "TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE THE BROAD COVERAGE AND CLARIFY FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY PROVIDING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION IS FEDERALLY FUNDED, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE"
    https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432
  36. "TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE BROAD COVERAGE OF FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY DECLARING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE. TWO-THIRDS OF THE SENATE, HAVING VOTED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, OVERRODE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO"
    https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487
  37. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/13/us/bush-prunes-running-mate-list-doles-quayle-and-3-others-stay.html
  38. Newsweek
    https://www.newsweek.com/calling-truce-201256
  39. The New York Times
    https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1991/03/20/817991.html?zoom=15.84
  40. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/20/us/washington-talk-congress-a-matter-of-measurement.html
  41. Roll Call
    https://www.rollcall.com/2017/02/09/alan-simpson-is-no-longer-the-tallest-senator-and-hes-ok-with-that/
  42. senate.gov
    https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Party_Whips.htm#2
  43. Argus Leader
    https://www.argusleader.com/story/opinion/voices/2016/02/11/voice-allow-second-chance-youthful-offenders/80254240/
  44. Wyoming Secretary of State
    https://sos.wyo.gov/Elections/Docs/2010/Results/Primary/2010_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf
  45. University of Wyoming
    https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2025/03/uw-statement-on-passing-of-sen-alan-simpson.html
  46. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/05/alan-simpson-cried-while-writing-george-hw-bushs-eulogy-so-he-wouldnt-cry-while-giving-it/
  47. billingsgazette.com
    https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_f5dae8a4-be6b-5657-9eea-9a78ae692953.html
  48. npr.org
    https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6591605
  49. The Wall Street Journal
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704804204575069871801865444
  50. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/young-americans-get-the-shaft/2012/06/13/gJQAeHp4ZV_story.html
  51. Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
    http://www.crfb.org/board-members
  52. CNN Money
    https://money.cnn.com/2012/11/28/news/economy/campaign-to-fix-the-debt/index.html
  53. "We need a 28th Amendment"
    https://trib.com/opinion/columns/simpson-we-need-a-th-amendment/article_237474f7-2f75-5310-a58a-8dbf5c1916a5.html
  54. "Former Senator Simpson Working To Reverse Citizens United"
    http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/former-senator-simpson-working-reverse-citizens-united
  55. "Who We Are -- American Promise"
    http://www.americanpromise.net/who_we_are#ap_advisory_council
  56. trib.com
    https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/updated-alan-simpson-wyoming-lawmakers-sign-court-brief-in-support/article_db966049-1cee-5811-95ea-e443c58bf75a.html
  57. Washington Blade
    https://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/10/31/alan-simpson-speaks-gay-rights/
  58. The Guardian
    https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2007/mar/14/post275
  59. "National Advisory Board"
    http://nicd.arizona.edu/national-advisory-board
  60. Wings-of-hope.org
    http://wings-of-hope.org
  61. "Campaign Finance Reform is Possible"
    http://www.issueone.org/#team
  62. Associated Press
    https://apnews.com/article/senator-alan-simpson-dies-faf4826aba710283e4f4e6581082a41f
  63. WyoFile
    https://wyofile.com/towering-wyoming-statesman-alan-simpson-dies-at-93/
  64. "Senators Jokingly Confirm Tabloid Claim They Are Space Aliens", Associated Press, May 25, 1994
    http://www.skepticfiles.org/ufo2/12senaln.htm
  65. newyork.cbslocal.com
    https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/05/must-see-fmr-sen-alan-simpson-81-dances-to-gangnam-style/
  66. www.achievement.org
    https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service
  67. "Douglas Award Honorees"
    https://web.archive.org/web/20201225200917/https://igpa.uillinois.edu/page/douglas-honorees#section-8
  68. whitehouse.gov
    https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/01/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/
  69. The New York Times
    https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/simpson-gazoo.html
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