Alan Simpson (American politician)
Alan Kooi Simpson (born September 2, 1931)[1] is an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was the Republican whip in the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1995, as majority whip from 1985 to 1987 and minority whip from 1987 to 1995. He also served as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Democratic Party co-chair Erskine Bowles of North Carolina.
Alan K. Simpson
Position established
Position abolished
Bob Dole
Alan Cranston
3, including Colin
Milward Simpson (father)
Pete Simpson (brother)
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1954–1956
Born in Denver, Simpson graduated from the University of Wyoming's law school (1958). Simpson served in the Wyoming House of Representatives (1965–1977) and won election to the United States Senate (1978). His father, Milward Simpson, had served in the same seat (1962–1967). Simpson served as the Senate Republican Whip (1985–1995). After serving three terms in the Senate, Simpson declined to seek re-election in 1996.
Since leaving office, Simpson has practiced law and taught at different universities. He also served on the Continuity of Government Commission, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Iraq Study Group. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed him to co-chair the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which made several recommendations on ways to reduce the national debt. He has been a vocal proponent of amending the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and allow Congress to set reasonable limits on campaign spending in U.S. elections.[2]
Wyoming House of Representatives[edit]
Simpson served from 1965 to 1977 in the Wyoming House of Representatives from Park County.
In popular culture[edit]
The June 7, 1994, edition of the now-defunct supermarket tabloid Weekly World News reported that 12 U.S. senators were aliens from other planets, including Simpson. The Associated Press ran a follow-up piece which confirmed the tongue-in-cheek participation of Senate offices in the story. Then-Senator Simpson's spokesman Charles Pelkey, when asked about Simpson's galactic origins, told the AP: "We've got only one thing to say: Klaatu barada nikto".[37] This was a quotation from a classic science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), in which an alien arrives by flying saucer in Washington, D.C.
Simpson also played himself in a cameo appearance for the 1993 film Dave.[38]
In December 2012, Simpson filmed a "Gangnam Style" video for a campaign, with a man in a tin can costume. The video, aimed at young people, is called "The Can Kicks Back," a reference to the tendencies of members of Congress to forever "kick the can down the road" in order to avoid making difficult decisions about lowering the national debt. In the video, Simpson admonishes younger Americans to make better use of their social media than "instagramming your breakfast and tweeting your first world problems." He advises younger people to use their social media skills and resources to rally their friends to join The Can Kicks Back. If younger Americans do not take heed, Simpson says, "These old coots will clean out the Treasury before you get there."[39]
Recognition[edit]
In 1998, Simpson received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[40] In 2011, Simpson and Erskine Bowles were presented the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government for their work on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.[41] In 2022 Simpson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House.