From Wikipedia:
Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American businessman, lawyer and politician. He is currently the junior United States Senator from Colorado, and a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life, family, and education
He was born in New Delhi while his father, Douglas J. Bennet, was serving as an aide to Chester Bowles, then the U.S. ambassador to India. The elder Bennet ran the United States Agency for International Development under President Jimmy Carter, served as President and CEO of National Public Radio (1983-1993), Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in the Clinton Administration (1993-1995), and President of Wesleyan University (1995-2007). His grandfather, Douglas Bennet, had been an economic adviser in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration.His grandmother, Phoebe Bennet née Benedict, is a direct-line descendant of Edward Fuller, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean from England to Plymouth Colony on the Mayflower in 1620.
Bennet's mother, Susanne Bennet née Klejman, immigrated to the United States with her family from Warsaw, Poland in 1950. Her parents were Polish Jews and survived imprisonment in the Warsaw Ghetto.Bennet's mother is a retired school librarian who teaches English as a second language for a Washington nonprofit, and is also an art historian specializing in Roman antiquities. She is fluent in English, Polish, Swedish and Spanish.
His brother, James Bennet, is editor of The Atlantic and a former correspondent of The New York Times.
He grew up in Washington, D.C. as his father served as an aide to Vice President Hubert Humphrey, among others. Bennet was held back in second grade because of his struggle with dyslexia. He was enrolled at St. Albans School, an all-boys preparatory school, and served as a page on Capitol Hill.
On October 26, 1997, he married Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund attorney Susan Daggett in Marianna, Arkansas. They have three daughters and reside in Denver's Congress Park neighborhood.
Bennet earned his bachelor's degree in history with honors from Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, and his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal.
Though neither of his parents were religiously observant, Bennet has stated that he was "raised with two different heritages, one [that] was Jewish and one [that] was Christian," and that he believes in God.
Career
Bennet began his career in public service in 1988 when he served as an aide to Ohio Governor Richard Celeste. In 1990, he left Ohio public service in order to attend law school. He then served as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General during Bill Clinton's administration. His father, Douglas J. Bennet, worked in the Clinton White House as well, as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.
Bennet then entered the business world, working for six years in Denver as Managing Director for the Anschutz Investment Company where he had direct responsibility for the investment of over $500 million. He led the reorganizations of four distressed companies including Forcenergy (which later merged with Denver-based Forest Oil), Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards Theaters, which together required the restructuring of over $3 billion in debt. Bennet also managed, on behalf of Anschutz, the consolidation of the three theater chains into Regal Entertainment Group, the largest motion picture exhibitor in the world.
Moving back into public service, Bennet served for two years as the Chief of Staff to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Highlights of his accomplishments at the city include: closing an initial 10-percent budget gap in the first two months of office; balancing two consecutive budgets in Denver's worst recession in history while preserving city services; conducting five collective-bargaining negotiations; devising strategies to pass five ballot initiatives; and assembling a very diverse, widely acknowledged leadership team for the city.
Bennet was appointed superintendent of Denver Public Schools on June 27, 2005, taking office on the following July 1. During his tenure, he revised a merit pay proposal that earned the support of local teachers and he was initially opposed to closing the failing Manual High School, which was later reopened.
Bennet was among the many officials whose names were circulated for United States Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration, which was eventually filled by Arne Duncan.[16][17] Bennet and his wife were early supporters of Barack Obama's presidential bid during the 2008 Democratic primaries and he was among those who advised Barack Obama on education issues.
U.S. Senator
On January 3, 2009, he was named by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to fill the seat in the United States Senate vacated by United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on January 20. Since taking office on January 21, 2009, he has stated that he will seek election at the end of his term in 2010.
Bills and policy positions
Healthcare reform
Bennet voted in support of the healthcare reform bill signed by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. In November 2009, when the bill was still working its way through Congress, Bennet stated that he would support healthcare reform even if it meant losing the election in a CNN interview. In his speeches on the floor, Bennet has emphasized reports by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office to argue that a vote for health care reform is fiscally responsible.
Although Bennet had initially drafted a letter in support of the public option, he did not, in fact, ever propose to introduce a public option. This act earned him scorn from many progressive health care advocates.
Immigration
Bennet has been a strong supporter of immigration reform. In September 2009, Bennet cosponsored the DREAM Act (S. 729), which proposed amending the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 by giving residency to aliens enrolled in higher education programs. Bennet has also stated that the country is in need of comprehensive immigration reform and that even bills like DREAM will not be adequate to solve US immigration problems.
Fiscal responsibility and financial regulation
In August 2009, Bennet sponsored a bill which placed spending caps on the federal government. Bennet is also a cosponsor, and outspoken supporter of the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO, S.1600) Act, which would require Congressional proposals which requires spending to state in detail where the funds come from. Bennet has also been a strong supporter of financial regulatory reform, stating that he believes strong regulatory reform is necessary to America’s future economic well-being, and that the proposed legislation recently unveiled by Senator Chris Dodd’s Banking Committee (of which Bennet is also a member) is a “strong start”.
Alternative energy
In December 2009, Bennet cosigned a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid and President Obama urging them to consider supporting the Solar Manufacturing Jobs Creation Act (S.2755). The letter, signed by the bill’s sponsor and cosponsors, explained that this bill could create as many as 10,000 new jobs. The letter further stated concern that China and other countries are passing the US in production of alternative energy, and that this bill would provide an opportunity to reduce that trend.
2010 U.S. Senate election
Bennet is seeking election at the end of his term in 2010. On September 16, 2009, Former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff officially announced his campaign to challenge Bennet for the Democratic nomination. Bennet has received endorsements from President Barack Obama, U.S. Senator Mark Udall, and U.S. Representatives Betsy Markey, Jared Polis, and John Salazar of the Colorado congressional delegation.
Controversies
On July 9, 2010, one of the Senator's interns was fired over allegedly trying to sell the Senator's time in exchange for campaign donations. The intern was fired and the Senator's office insists that this was an isolated event.
On July 19th, 2010, Radio show host David Sirota wrote a Huffington Post article entitled "C-SPAN As Red Pill: Camera Catches Senate Vote-Switching to Protect Credit Card Usury," in which he alleges that Bennet changed a vote to protect the credit card industry only after he knew the vote would fail.
Rolling Stone Magazine also covered this issue, saying "Right after it happened, Bennet was accused of changing his vote so that he could seem like he was for the measure, even though he had no intention of voting "yes" if the bill had any chance of passing."
Committee assignments
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit
Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology (Chairman)
Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions
Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Special Committee on Aging
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