Mike Enzi

Mike Enzi
United States Senator from Wyoming
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1997 Serving with John Barrasso
Preceded by	Alan K. Simpson
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Judd Gregg
Succeeded by	Ted Kennedy
Personal details
Born	February 1, 1944 (1944-02-01) (age 67) Bremerton, Washington
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Diana Enzi
Children	Amy Enzi Emily Enzi Brad Enzi
Residence	Gillette, Wyoming
Alma mater	George Washington University (B.S.) University of Denver (M.B.A.)
Occupation	accountant, energy executive
Religion	Presbyterian
Website	Senator Mike Enzi
Military service
Service/branch	United States Air National Guard
Years of service	1967-1973
Unit	Wyoming

Michael Bradley "Mike" Enzi (pronounced /ˈɛnzi/; born February 1, 1944) is the senior U.S. Senator from Wyoming (serving since 1997) and a member of the Republican Party.

Raised in Thermopolis, Wyoming, Enzi attended George Washington University and the University of Denver. He expanded his father's shoe store business in Gillette before being elected mayor of Gillette in 1974. In the late 1970s he worked in the United States Department of the Interior. He served as a state legislator in the Wyoming House of Representatives (1987–1991) and the Wyoming Senate (1991–1996). During the 1980s and 1990s he worked as an accountant and executive director in the energy industry.

Enzi won a tight primary for election to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and was re-elected by comfortable margins in 2002 and 2008. He has been ranked as one of the most conservative members of the Senate. He is the ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which he chaired from 2005 to 2007. He was a member of the 2009 Gang of Six which attempted to negotiate a health care reform program.

Early life and career

Born in Bremerton, Washington, to Elmer Enzi and the former Dorothy M. Bradley,^[1] Enzi grew up in Thermopolis, Wyoming after his father's return from military duty on the Pacific Coast. He attended elementary school in Thermopolis and graduated from Sheridan High School in 1962. He is an Eagle Scout and a 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. He is also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity. He received an M.B.A. in retail marketing from the University of Denver in Colorado in 1968. He also 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.

Soon after his marriage, Enzi moved to Gillette, where he expanded his father's shoe-sale business,^[5] NZ Shoes, which later also featured locations in Sheridan and in Miles City, Montana. As a young business owner, he served as president of the Wyoming chapter of the United States Junior Chamber. Enzi was elected as Mayor of Gillette, in 1974 at the age of 30 and held the position for two terms. He served until 1982, and during his tenure, the city doubled in size. From 1976 to 1979, Enzi worked with the U.S. Department of Interior on energy policy via its Coal Advisory Committee.

Enzi was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives as a Republican and served from 1987 to 1991. He was then a member of the Wyoming Senate from 1991 to 1996. While a member of the State Senate, Enzi became a vocal opponent of proposals to allow legalized gambling within his state. He served as the primary spokesman of WyBett, an anti-casino group in 1994 [2]. During this time period, he also worked professionally as an accountant with an oil drilling company, holding this job from 1985 to 1997. During the 1990s, he also worked as an executive director with the Black Hills Corporation, an energy holding company that owns utilities and natural gas and coal mining operations. Enzi was also hit from the other side, as constituents criticized him for taking significant campaign cash from the health insurance industry while opposing a public insurance option that would compete with private plans and take a bit out of their bottom line.

Senate career

Enzi was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. He endured a tough primary challenge during his first campaign, before winning election by an 8-point margin. Enzi won by a very comfortable margin in 2002. He became the senior U.S. Senator from Wyoming when his colleague Craig L. Thomas died on June 4, 2007, from leukemia. 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 GOP senatorial primary 33 percent to 32 percent.

Enzi is currently serving his third term in the U.S. Senate which he won with over 76 percent of the vote against Democratic opponent Chris Rothfuss, a professor of political science at the University of Wyoming.^[6]

Enzi served as Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee from 2005 to 2007 and—following the Democrats; taking control of Congress—is now currently the Ranking Member on the committee. On this committee, Enzi has sent to the desk of the President several bills on reform for all of these areas. Enzi was also crucial in the passage of George W. Bush's controversial No Child Left Behind Act.

Political Positions

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Ranking Minority Member)
  • As Ranking Minority Member of the full committee, Sen. Enzi may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Political views

Enzi was ranked by National Journal as the sixth-most conservative U.S. Senator in its March 2007 conservative/liberal rankings.^[7] Despite his strong support of the War in Iraq, he was one of 14 U.S. Senators to vote against the Iraq War funding bill in May 2007 because he opposes the clauses of the bill which increase domestic spending.

On social issues, Enzi is strongly conservative. He opposes all types of abortion and has voted in favor of proposals that would provide restrictions on the procedure for minors, those stationed on military bases, and other groups. He has voted in favor of failed constitutional amendments that suggested banning gay marriage and flag desecration. Enzi also is a strong supporter of gun rights and is ranked very favorably by the National Rifle Association (NRA).^[8]

Enzi supports overall taxation decreases and has voted for the repeal of legislation governing such things as the estate tax and "marriage penalty." He also calls for a partial privatization of Social Security and has consistently voted against measures to expand Medicare or to enroll more children or lower-class individuals in public health care. A strong supporter of the coal industry, Enzi also rejects alternative energy proposals and advocates Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and offshore drilling. He has a somewhat mixed record on trade issues: he has voted to approve most free trade bills but has rejected the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), one of the largest pieces of such legislation, and is opposed to presidential fast-tracking of trade relation normalization.^[8]

Enzi takes a hard-line view on illegal immigration and has been rated highly by groups that support tighter border controls. He has voted in favor of the construction of a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border and against the implementation of guest worker programs. Enzi has voted to uphold the PATRIOT Act and is opposed to calls to cut down on wiretapping and to extend rights to Guantanamo Bay detainees. Enzi has also rejected calls for a timetable for military withdrawal from Iraq.^[8]

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

At the time of his election, Enzi was the only accountant in the U.S. Senate.^{[citation needed]}

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 U.S. Senate, 352 nominations were reported favorably, and 15 laws came through the committee that were eventually signed by President George W. Bush.

Health Care Reform

Enzi opposed President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009,^[9] and he voted against the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.^[10]

Enzi was one of the Gang of Six senators working to find a bipartisan solution to health care reform.^[11] Speaking on the topic, Enzi told the media, "We all want health care reform that will reduce costs, improve quality and expand access without breaking the bank. The bipartisan talks we're having in the Finance Committee represent the best chance we have of achieving our shared goals, and I urge Democrat leaders not to close the door on these productive discussions."^[12]

Election History

United States Senate election in Wyoming, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Enzi*	189,046	75.63%	+ 2.68
	Democratic	Chris Rothfuss	60,631	24.26%

United States Senate election in Wyoming, 2002
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Enzi*	133,710	72.95%	+ 18.89
	Democratic	Joyce Jansa Corcoran	49,570	27.05%

United States Senate election in Wyoming, 1996
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Mike Enzi	114,116	54.06%
	Democratic	Kathy Karpan	89,103	42.21%
	Libertarian	W. David Herbert	5,289	2.51%
	Natural Law	Lloyd Marsden	2,569	1.22%

See also

• United States Senate elections in Wyoming, 2008

Footnotes

1. ^ 1
2. ^ Townley, Alvin. Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 239. ISBN 0-312-36653-1. http://www.thomasdunnebooks.com/TD_TitleDetail.aspx?ISBN=0312366531. Retrieved 2006-12-29. 
3. ^ "Distinguished Eagle Scouts". Scouting.org. http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-04. 
4. ^ "Veterans in the US Senate 109th Congress" (PDF). Navy League. Archived from the original on 2007-06-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070628064917/http://www.navyleague.org/legislative_affairs/SenateVets.pdf. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
5. ^ Miniclier, Kit. "Wyo. U.S. Senate race is close: Both candidates are scrambling for votes and campaign funds". Denver Post. 
6. ^ "Sen. Mike Enzi to seek re-election". UPI. 2008-03-26. http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/04/26/sen_mike_enzi_to_seek_re-election/4936/. Retrieved 2008=05=06. 
7. ^ "Political Arithmetik: National Journal 2006 Liberal/Conservative Scores". Politicalarithmetik.blogspot.com. 2007-03-05. http://politicalarithmetik.blogspot.com/2007/03/national-journal-2006.html. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} "Michael Enzi on the Issues". Ontheissues.org. http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Michael_Enzi.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
9. ^ [1]
10. ^ "U.S. Senate: Legislation & Records Home > Votes > Roll Call Vote". Senate.gov. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00105. Retrieved 2010-08-29. 
11. ^ "Health Care Battle: Abortion, Public Plan Among Hurdles in Senate Debate". Fox News. November 19, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/19/health-care-battle-senate-rife-sticking-points/. Retrieved November 21, 2009. 
12. ^ "Enzi: Don’t Close the Door on Bipartisan Health Care Talks". September 9, 2009. http://enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=a1a0ef5d-802a-23ad-44dc-45bfaf7d8c67. Retrieved November 21, 2009. 

External links

• United States Senator Michael B. Enzi official U.S. Senate site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• 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
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• 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
• Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States Senate
Preceded by Alan K. Simpson	United States Senator (Class 2) from Wyoming January 7, 1997 – present Served alongside: Craig Thomas, John Barrasso	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Judd Gregg R-New Hampshire	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions January 3, 2005–January 3, 2007	Succeeded by Ted Kennedy D-Massachusetts
Party political offices
Preceded by Alan K. Simpson	Republican nominee for United States Senator from Wyoming (Class 2) 1996, 2002, 2008	Succeeded by Current nominee
United States order of precedence
Preceded by Susan Collins R-Maine	United States Senators by seniority 37th	Succeeded by Chuck Schumer D-New York

Persondata
Name	Enzi, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 1, 1944
Place of birth	Bremerton, Washington
Date of death
Place of death