Mike Enzi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mike Enzi
Mike Enzi
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 7, 1997
Serving with John Barrasso
Preceded by Alan K. Simpson
Born February 19, 1944 (1944-02-19) (age 64)
Bremerton, Washington
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse Diana Enzi
Alma mater George Washington University
Religion Presbyterian

Michael Bradley "Mike" Enzi (born February 1, 1944) is a United States Senator from Wyoming. Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 1996, Enzi had been a businessman, who at one time owned family shoe stores. He later became a politician on the state level, having served in the state legislature for more than a decade. He was reelected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and will be up for election again in 2008.

Contents

[edit] Early life and career

Born in Bremerton, Washington, to the former Dorothy M. Bradley and Elmer Jacob Enzi,[1] Enzi attended public schools in Thermopolis and Sheridan in northern Wyoming. He graduated from Sheridan High School in 1962. He is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.[2][3]

Enzi received a degree in accounting from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in 1966. Enzi is also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and of Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity. He received an M.B.A. in retail marketing from the University of Denver in Colorado in 1968. He served in the Wyoming Air National Guard from 1967 to 1973.[4] On June 7, 1969, Enzi married the former Diana Buckley; the couple has two daughters, Amy and Emily, and a son, Brad.

Enzi served as mayor of Gillette, Wyoming, from 1975 to 1982. After that, Enzi was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991 and the Wyoming Senate from 1991 to 1996.

[edit] Senate career

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (May 2008)

Enzi was first elected to the United States Senate in 1996. He became senior senator when his Wyoming colleague, Senator Craig L. Thomas, died on June 4, 2007. His new colleague is fellow Republican John Barrasso, a former state senator from Casper, whom Enzi, as a then state senator himself, only narrowly defeated in the 1996 Republican primary by 33%-32%.

Enzi's second term will expire in 2008 and he has announced his candidacy for a third term.[5]

[edit] Committee assignments

  • Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Ranking Member)
    • Subcommittee on Children and Families (Ex-Officio)
    • Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety (Ex-Officio)
    • Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging (Ex-Officio)
  • Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
    • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
    • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
    • Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
  • Committee on the Budget

[edit] Political views

Enzi was ranked by National Journal as the sixth-most conservative United States senator in their March 2007 conservative/liberal rankings[1] He was one of fourteen senators to vote against the Iraq Funding bill in May 2007 despite his strong support of the war because he opposes the clauses of the bill which increase domestic spending.

In 2005, Enzi became the ninth Wyoming senator to ascend to the rank of chairman on one of the 16 standing Senate committees. Enzi has been a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, since his arrival in the Senate in 1997.

Enzi’s committee led the first revisions to mine safety laws in 28 years by promoting the use of new technologies to improve mine safety and save lives. During his time as chairman of the HELP Committee 37 bills were reported out of the committee, 23 bills passed the Senate, 352 nominations were reported favorably, and 15 laws came through the committee that were signed by President Bush.

Enzi has joined Barrasso in endorsing the nomination of Richard Honaker of Rock Springs to the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne. The selection has been pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee for more than a year because of opposition from secularists and supporters of abortion access.

[edit] Electoral history

Wyoming Senator (Class II): Results 1996–2002[6]
Year Democratic Party Votes Pct Republican Party Votes Pct Other Party Votes Pct Other Party Votes Pct
1996 Kathy Karpan 89,103 42% Michael B. Enzi 114,116 54% W. David Herbert Libertarian 5,289 3% Lloyd Marsden Natural Law 2,569 1%
2002 Joyce Jansa Corcoran 49,570 27% Michael B. Enzi 133,710 73%

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ 1
  2. ^ Townley, Alvin [2006-12-26]. Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press, pp. 239. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. Retrieved on 2006-12-29. 
  3. ^ Distinguished Eagle Scouts. Troop & Pack 179. Retrieved on 2006-03-02.
  4. ^ Veterans in the US Senate 109th Congress (PDF). Navy League. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
  5. ^ "Sen. Mike Enzi to seek re-election", UPI, 2008-03-26. Retrieved on 2008=05=06. 
  6. ^ Election Statistics. Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.

[edit] External links

United States Senate
Preceded by
Alan K. Simpson		 United States Senator (Class 2) from Wyoming
1997 – present
Served alongside: Craig Thomas, John Barrasso		 Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Judd Gregg		 Chairman of Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
2005–2007		 Succeeded by
Edward Kennedy
v • d • e
Wyoming's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Mike Enzi (R), John Barrasso (R)
Representative(s)
State delegations
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Non-voting delegations
v • d • e
Current members of the United States Senate
   

AL: Shelby (R), Sessions (R)
AK: Stevens (R), Murkowski (R)
AZ: McCain (R), Kyl (R)
AR: Lincoln (D), Pryor (D)
CA: Feinstein (D), Boxer (D)
CO: Allard (R), Salazar (D)
CT: Dodd (D), Lieberman (I)
DE: Biden (D), Carper (D)
FL: Nelson (D), Martinez (R)
GA: Chambliss (R), Isakson (R)
HI: Inouye (D), Akaka (D)
ID: Craig (R), Crapo (R)
IL: Durbin (D), Obama (D)

IN: Lugar (R), Bayh (D)
IA: Grassley (R), Harkin (D)
KS: Brownback (R), Roberts (R)
KY: McConnell (R), Bunning (R)
LA: Landrieu (D), Vitter (R)
ME: Snowe (R), Collins (R)
MD: Mikulski (D), Cardin (D)
MA: Kennedy (D), Kerry (D)
MI: Levin (D), Stabenow (D)
MN: Coleman (R), Klobuchar (D)
MS: Cochran (R), Wicker (R)
MO: Bond (R), McCaskill (D)

MT: Baucus (D), Tester (D)
NE: Hagel (R), Nelson (D)
NV: Reid (D), Ensign (R)
NH: Gregg (R), Sununu (R)
NJ: Lautenberg (D), Menendez (D)
NM: Domenici (R), Bingaman (D)
NY: Schumer (D), Clinton (D)
NC: Dole (R), Burr (R)
ND: Conrad (D), Dorgan (D)
OH: Voinovich (R), Brown (D)
OK: Inhofe (R), Coburn (R)
OR: Wyden (D), Smith (R)

PA: Specter (R), Casey (D)
RI: Reed (D), Whitehouse (D)
SC: Graham (R), DeMint (R)
SD: Johnson (D), Thune (R)
TN: Alexander (R), Corker (R)
TX: Hutchison (R), Cornyn (R)
UT: Hatch (R), Bennett (R)
VT: Leahy (D), Sanders (I)
VA: Warner (R), Webb (D)
WA: Murray (D), Cantwell (D)
WV: Byrd (D), Rockefeller (D)
WI: Kohl (D), Feingold (D)
WY: Enzi (R), Barrasso (R)
v • d • e
United States Senators from Wyoming
Class 1
Warren · Clark · Kendrick · O'Mahoney · Barrett · McGee · Wallop · Thomas · Barrasso
 United States Senate
Class 2
J. Carey · Warren · Sullivan · R. Carey · Schwartz · Robertson · Hunt · Crippa · O'Mahoney · Hickey · M. Simpson · Hansen · A. Simpson · Enzi