Sam Brownback
Table of contents
Credit: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty ImagesCurrent Position: U.S. Senator (since January 1997)
Why He Matters
At a Glance
Current Position: U.S. Senator (since January 1997); 2010 Kansas gubernatorial candidate
Career History: U.S. Representative (1994 to 1996); Kansas Secretary of Agriculture (1986 to 1993)
White House Fellow, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (1990 to 1991); City Attorney, Ogden and Leonardville, Kansas (1983 to 1986)
Birthday: Sept. 12, 1956
Hometown: Parker, Kansas
Alma Mater: Kansas State University, B.S., 1978; University of Kansas, J.D., 1982
Spouse: Mary
Religion: Catholic
Committees: Committee on Appropriations; the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Joint Economic Committee; and the Helsinki Commission
DC Office: 303 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510, (202) 224-6521
State Offices: 612 South Kansas Avenue Topeka, Kan. 66603, 785-233-2503; 11111 West 95th, Ste. 245, Overland Park, Kan. 66214, 913-492-6378; 245 N. Waco, Ste. 240, Wichita, Kan. 67202, 316-264-8066; 1001-C N. Broadway Pittsburg, Kan. 66762, 620-231-6040;811 North Main Street, Ste. A
Garden City, Kan. 67846, 620-275-1124
Brownback has made a Horatio Alger-esque climb from small-town Kansas farm boy to a leader of America’s religious right. Brownback’s 2008 presidential campaign — and his hope to become the second man elected on a “compassionate conservative” platform — ended after he peaked in the polls with the support of 3 percent of Republicans.
In the Senate, Brownback has balanced classically conservative positions of opposition to abortion, stem cell research and gay marriage with humanitarian stances. After a religious awakening, Brownback has worked to curb human trafficking, malaria deaths and the genocide in Darfur.
He is seeking to become the governor of Kansas in 2010.
In His Own Words
Path to Power
Sam Brownback was born in Parker, Kan., (population 281) on Sept. 12, 1956. His mother and father still live on the farm where he was raised. In high school, Brownback was the state president of the Future Farmers of America. In college, he was the student body president; in law school, he was the president of his class.Biography, Sen. Sam Brownback’s Web site,
After earning a B.S. from Kansas State University in 1978 and a law degree from the University of Kansas in 1982, Brownback became an attorney in Manhattan, Kan. He was appointed Secretary of the Kansas Board of Agriculture—the youngest person ever to hold that position in Kansas—from 1986 until 1993, when the board was dissolved. From 1990 to 1991, he was also a White House Fellow under President George H.W. Bush in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
In 1994, the Republican Revolution swept Brownback into the House of Representatives. He had targeted the second district seat after Democrat Jim Slattery stepped down to run for governor. In his campaign, Brownback promised to fight “a welfare system that discourages the work ethic and encourages the disintegration of families and a government that can’t say no to spending or yes to reform.” He won the primary by 48 to 35 percent and defeated former Kansas governor John Carlin by 66 to 34 percent in the general election.Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition, National Journal
But after taking office he refused to sign Newt Gingrich’s (R-Ga.) Contract with America because he said the funding behind it was unclear. In 1995, he and other GOP freshmen fought unsuccessfully to abolish four cabinet-level positions: the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Education and Housing and Urban Development.Salmon, Stephanie A., “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Sen. Sam Brownback,” U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 30, 2007
Just two years after he entered the House, Brownback announced plans to run in the special election for the final two years of the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican presidential nominee Sen. Robert S. Dole (R-Kan.). In the primary Brownback beat Lt. Gov. Sheila Frahm, 55 to 42 percent. He then faced Wichita stockbroker Jill Docking in the general election. Brownback campaigned on three Rs: “Reduce, reform and return. Reduce the size and scope of the federal government. Reform the Congress. Return to the basic values that built the country: Work and family and the recognition of a higher moral authority.” He pledged to serve only two terms and won the election with 54 percent of the vote.Almanac of American Politics, 2008 edition, National Journal
Against weak competition, Brownback won re-election and his first full term in 1998 with 65 percent of the vote. There weren’t strong Democratic candidates again in 2004 (Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declined to run) and Brownback won reelection with 69 percent of the vote.
2008 Presidential Race
In January 2007, Brownback announced that he was running for president and some pundits looked to him to promote more socially conservative values than such Republican candidates as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). “I could be the right person with the right message at the right moment. And I could be completely wrong and I’ll still be happy about it,” Brownback said shortly before announcing his candidacy.Copeland, Libby, “Faith-Based Initiative,” Washington Post, June 7, 2006, After peaking in the polls with the support of three percent of Republicans, and struggling to raise money, Brownback dropped out in October 2007.Associated Press. “Kansas’ Brownback bows out of ’08 race,” MSNBC.com, Oct. 19, 2007,
Outside of Kansas, Brownback may be best known for raising his hand during the first Republican presidential debate when the candidates were asked who did not believe in evolution.
He later clarified his position by saying, “One of the problems we have with our society today is that we've put faith and science at odds with each other. They aren't at odds with each other. If they are, check your faith, or check your science.”
In an op-ed in the New York Times soon after, Brownback wrote, “I am wary of any theory that seeks to undermine man’s essential dignity and unique and intended place in the cosmos. I firmly believe that each human person, regardless of circumstance, was willed into being and made for a purpose."Hanna, John, AP, “Brownback files paperwork for gov’s race,” The Topeka Capital-Journal, Jan. 6, 2009,
2010 Gubernatorial Race
Brownback announced in December 2008 that he would honor his pledge to serve just two terms and would not run for reelection to the Senate in 2010. But that doesn’t mean he wants to leave public office. In January 2009 he filed paperwork to run for Kansas governor in 2010. His competition in the Republican primary will be Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh.Eastland, Terry, “Mr. Compassionate Conservative,” Weekly Standard, Aug. 7, 2006, They are running to replace departing Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), who has been nominated as Obama's health and human services secretary.
In the Senate, Brownback sits on the Committee on Appropriations; the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the Joint Economic Committee, and the Helsinki Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. He is also chairman of the Senate Values Action Team, co-chairman of the Senate Cancer Coalition and the Human Rights Caucus, and he helped found the Senate Fiscal Watch Team.
Brownback has become increasingly committed to humanitarian causes, which he explains is a result of his experience with a melanoma that was removed in 1995. “With the cancer, I did a lot of internal examination. My conclusion was that if this were to be terminal, at that point in time I would not be satisfied with how I had lived life. I had tried to be a Christian, but I had failed,” he later explained.The U.S. Congress Votes Database, Washington Post
Brownback is known for his religious conservatism, but he has been a Roman Catholic only since he converted in 2002. He had been raised Methodist and later attended a nondenominational evangelical church.
Brownback and his wife Mary Stauffer Brownback have five children, including one adopted from Guatemala and one adopted from China.
The Issues
Brownback is known for his conservative positions, such as opposing abortion, stem cell research and same-sex marriage. But his religious values come before his Republican ones. He has frequently cosponsored humanitarian legislation with Democrats such as Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) (the Iran Democracy Act), Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) (the North Korea Human Rights Act), and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) (the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act). Some speculated that his support for President George W. Bush’s comprehensive immigration policy, which included paths to legalization and a guest worker program, hurt his chances in the presidential race.
Brownback voted with the majority of Republicans 89.1 percent of the time in the 110th Congress.The Senate Bailout Vote, Politico, Oct. 1, 2008
The Economy
Last October, Brownback voted against the $700 billion bailout package.“Brownback to vote against bail-out bill,” Sen. Sam “A rushed $700 billion bailout package is unlikely to produce the long-term results we need. Plus, $700 billion is a lot of money. You could buy all the farm land in the top 16 agricultural producing states in America with that amount of money. Or it could buy 4.4 million Americans a home at the median price in Kansas,” Brownback said in a statement.Brownback’s Web site, Oct. 1, 2008,
He voted “no” again in February 2009, when he joined the majority of his Republican colleagues to oppose President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan that passed the Senate 61to 36.“Senate roll call: How they voted on stimulus bill,” Associated Press via Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 9, 2009, Calling the bill a “speculative bet on government,” Brownback pointed out in a statement that it was the single biggest increase in the U.S. deficit in history, something that is important to the man with a national debt clock on his homepage.“Brownback votes against stimulus package,” Sen. Sam Brownback’s Web site, Feb. 13, 2009,
Brownback has called the current tax code “unintelligible” and favors a flat income tax. He has proposed making it optional in Washington D.C.
Darfur and Human Rights
Brownback has been focused on the genocide in Darfur for some time. He supported the Sudan Peace Act of 2002 and the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which passed in 2005. In 2004, he visited refugee camps in Darfur in 2004, the same year that he supported the congressional declaration of genocide. He has repeatedly called for more African Union troops and a NATO or U.N. force and for prosecutions of human rights violators in international court. On malaria, he has introduced legislation to “require the majority of funding to go to proven life-saving interventions on the ground – effective medicines, insecticide-spraying programs and free bed-net distribution.”
For malaria, HIV and other conditions, he authored a successful bill amendment in 2007 with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to provide incentives for drug companies to develop new treatments.
Health Care Reform
During the 2009 health care reform debate, Brownback said he would oppose the public option. Stand With Doctor Dean web siteThe Network
After dropping his own bid for the presidency, Brownback endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in November 2007. In a statement, Brownback said, “While I respect all of the Republicans running for president this year, John McCain is the only candidate who can rally the Reagan coalition of conservatives, Independents and conservative Democrats needed to defeat Hillary Clinton or any other Democrat in the general election next year.”“Sam Brownback Endorses John McCain,” FOXNews.com, Nov. 7, 2007
When Brownback was in the process of converting to Roman Catholicism in 2002, former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) was his sponsor.
Perhaps surprisingly, Brownback has worked closely with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the Senate. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, they co-sponsored a successful bill to tighten security at America’s borders and in 2002 they cosponsored the North Korea Refugee Act.
A key adviser during Brownback’s shortened presidential run was Tom Monaghan, the Domino’s Pizza founder and Roman Catholic philanthropist who started a membership organization for conservative Catholic businessmen called Legatus.Mosk, Matthew, “Brownback Announces Presidential Bid,” Washington Post, Jan. 21, 2007,
Footnotes
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