Jeff Fortenberry
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Lane "Jeff" Fortenberry, born December 27, 1960) is the U.S. Representative
for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party
. The district is based in Lincoln
and includes most of the eastern third of the state outside the immediate Omaha
area.
, a masters degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville
in Ohio, and a bachelors degree in economics from Louisiana State University
. He graduated from Catholic High
in Baton Rouge.
Fortenberry cites his work on City Council, maintaining a balanced budget while making "hard decisions about the numbers of firefighters and police officers, funding for parks and recreation, adequate city services, and reasonable taxes and fees to pay for city priorities," as an example of fiscal responsibility that citizens should demand from the federal government as well.
Fortenberry was listed by Foreign Policy
magazine in 2010 as a "new Republican powerbroker" on nuclear security issues. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership
.
, otherwise known as the bailout bill, decrying the "too big to fail" paradigm and unsustainable taxpayer exposure.
.
Fortenberry voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
, the health care reform bill that was signed into law on March 23, 2010, noting "This health-care debate is no longer about real health-care reform; it’s about power. Thoughtful health-care reform could have been achieved with 80-percent support: Health-care reform that drove down costs, improved health-care outcomes, and protected vulnerable persons.".
.
He has been endorsed by Mitt Romney
's Free and Strong America PAC.
. He is pro-life, believes women deserve better than abortion, and has spoken annually at the March for Life
.
in 2004, succeeding Doug Bereuter
. He was re-elected to additional terms in 2006 and 2008.
Fortenberry ran in 2004 for the seat being vacated by Bereuter. He won the Republican primary in a field of seven candidates with 39% of the vote. His most prominent opponent in the primary was Curt Bromm, the speaker of the Nebraska Legislature
. http://www.sos.state.ne.us/elec/canvass/primary2004/HOUSE.htm#Republican1 He defeated State Senator Matt Connealy
in the general election by 11 percentage points.
In the 2006 congressional election, Fortenberry was challenged by former Democratic
Lieutenant Governor Maxine Moul
. Fortenberry defeated Moul by 18 percentage points.
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. The district is based in Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
and includes most of the eastern third of the state outside the immediate Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
area.
Early life, education and career
Fortenberry was a U.S. Senate Subcommittee staffer working on a special project examining the decline of agriculture land values in the 1980s and its impact on local government revenues. He has previously worked as an economist, in local economic development, and as a publishing executive for Sandhills Publishing. He holds a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, a masters degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Franciscan University of Steubenville is a Catholic institution located in Steubenville, Ohio, west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school was founded in 1946 by the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. In 1974, Fr...
in Ohio, and a bachelors degree in economics from Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
. He graduated from Catholic High
Catholic High School (Baton Rouge)
Catholic High School is an all-male Catholic college-preparatory school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. It offers grades eight through twelve.-Awards and recognition:...
in Baton Rouge.
Early political career
Fortenberry was an at-large member of the Lincoln City Council from 1997 to 2001. His main commitments in this role were community revitalization and increasing public safety, but doing both without raising taxation. Among the economic development and community revitalization projects he worked on were the transition of a major public hospital and building a new baseball stadium.Fortenberry cites his work on City Council, maintaining a balanced budget while making "hard decisions about the numbers of firefighters and police officers, funding for parks and recreation, adequate city services, and reasonable taxes and fees to pay for city priorities," as an example of fiscal responsibility that citizens should demand from the federal government as well.
Committee assignments
- Committee on AgricultureUnited States House Committee on AgricultureThe U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding...
- Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry (Chairman)
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights (Vice Chair)
- Subcommittee on the Middle East and South AsiaUnited States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South AsiaThe U.S. House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia is a subcommittee within the House Foreign Affairs Committee.-Jurisdiction:The subcommittee is one of five with what the committees calls "regional jurisdiction" over a specific area of the globe...
Fortenberry was listed by Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
magazine in 2010 as a "new Republican powerbroker" on nuclear security issues. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership
Republican Main Street Partnership
The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group of moderate members of the United States Republican Party. They tend away from the dominant social conservatism of many Republicans and towards a moderate fiscal conservatism and limited government to a degree. The group is the rough equivalent of...
.
Caucus memberships
- Civil War Battlefield Caucus
- Congressional Biofuels Caucus
- Congressional Farmer Cooperative Caucus
- House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus
- International Conservation CaucusUnited States Congressional International Conservation CaucusThe U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus is a bipartisan congressional organization that was founded in September 2003 with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advance the conservation of natural resources for...
- Sportsmen's Caucus
Financial
Fortenberry believes that "a strong ag economy, small business diversification, and Nebraskans’ practical sense regarding responsible lending, finance, and governance” have influenced Nebraska's economic success, and has called for leaders in Washington to look to the Heartland as a model of economic revitalization. He voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Division A of , commonly referred to as a bailout of the U.S. financial system, is a law enacted in response to the subprime mortgage crisis...
, otherwise known as the bailout bill, decrying the "too big to fail" paradigm and unsustainable taxpayer exposure.
Agriculture, energy and environment
Fortenberry introduced the Renewable Fuels for America’s Future Act of 2010, "a smart and thoughtful way to reduce subsidies for the production of ethanol" that would result in taxpayer savings of $5.67 billion, according to economists Ernie Goss of Creighton University and Bruce Babcock of Iowa State UniversityIowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
.
Healthcare
Fortenberry supports patient-centered health care reform that lowers costs, improves outcomes, and protects vulnerable persons. He introduced H.R. 321, the SCHIP Plus Act of 2009 to offer eligible families the choice of retaining coverage for their children in the State Children' Health Insurance Program or using SCHIP funds to help pay for a family insurance plan, saving both family and taxpayer dollars.Fortenberry voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
, the health care reform bill that was signed into law on March 23, 2010, noting "This health-care debate is no longer about real health-care reform; it’s about power. Thoughtful health-care reform could have been achieved with 80-percent support: Health-care reform that drove down costs, improved health-care outcomes, and protected vulnerable persons.".
Foreign affairs
Fortenberry "is uncommonly well-informed on international issues,", and has prioritized foreign affairs work on the Middle East and Africa while in Congress.Nuclear security
Fortenberry co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Nuclear Security Caucus with Congressman Adam SchiffAdam Schiff
Adam Bennett Schiff is the U.S. Representative for . He has served in Congress since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
.
He has been endorsed by Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.The son of George W...
's Free and Strong America PAC.
Pro-life
Fortenberry received a 100% pro-life score from the National Right to Life CommitteeNational Right to Life Committee
The National Right to Life Committee is the oldest and largest pro-life organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide. The group works through legislation and education to work against abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted...
. He is pro-life, believes women deserve better than abortion, and has spoken annually at the March for Life
March for Life
March for Life is an annual pro-life rally protesting abortion, held in Washington, D.C., on or around the anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's decision legalizing abortion in the case Roe v. Wade. The march is organized by the March for Life Education and Defense Fund. The overall goal...
.
Political campaigns
Fortenberry was first elected to the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 2004, succeeding Doug Bereuter
Doug Bereuter
Douglas Kent "Doug" Bereuter is a retired Republican politician from Nebraska. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 until 2004.-Early life:Bereuter was born in York, Nebraska and reared in Utica, Nebraska...
. He was re-elected to additional terms in 2006 and 2008.
Fortenberry ran in 2004 for the seat being vacated by Bereuter. He won the Republican primary in a field of seven candidates with 39% of the vote. His most prominent opponent in the primary was Curt Bromm, the speaker of the Nebraska Legislature
Nebraska Legislature
The Nebraska Legislature is the supreme legislative body of the State of Nebraska, in the Great Plains region of the United States. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in the City of Lincoln, Lancaster County....
. http://www.sos.state.ne.us/elec/canvass/primary2004/HOUSE.htm#Republican1 He defeated State Senator Matt Connealy
Matt Connealy
Matthew James Connealy is a former Nebraska state senator from Decatur, Nebraska in the Nebraska Legislature, and current Executive Director of the Nebraska Democratic Party. -Personal life:...
in the general election by 11 percentage points.
In the 2006 congressional election, Fortenberry was challenged by former Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Lieutenant Governor Maxine Moul
Maxine Moul
Maxine B. Moul is a U.S. Democratic politician best known for being the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1993, the first woman to hold that position in the...
. Fortenberry defeated Moul by 18 percentage points.
Personal life
Fortenberry is married to the former Celeste Gregory, and they have five children. He is a devout Catholic and is strongly pro-lifePro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
.
External links
- Congressman Jeff Fortenberry official U.S. House site
- Jeff Fortenberry for U.S. Congress official campaign site
- Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...