Herb Kohl

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Herb Kohl
Senior Senator from Wisconsin
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1989 Serving with Russ Feingold
Preceded by	William Proxmire
Born	February 7, 1935 (1935-02-07) (age 73) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Religion	Jewish

Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American politician, business leader and philanthropist. He currently serves as the senior senator from the state of Wisconsin as a member of the Democratic Party, and is the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Association (NBA) team.

[edit] Early life

Kohl was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1956 and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1958. He served in the United States Army Reserve between 1958–64.

[edit] Political career

[edit] Overview

He served as the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin between 1975–77. He won election to the United States Senate in 1988 with his trademark catchphrase "nobody's Senator but yours."^[1] He was reelected in 1994, 2000 and 2006. He is one of the wealthiest U.S. senators with an estimated net worth in 2005 of $279 million.^[2]

[edit] Voting Record

Kohl has a fairly moderate voting record. He has voted in favor of most lawsuit reform measures as well as for rules tightening personal bankruptcy. He has long supported amending the Constitution to require a balanced budget. He was one of the few Democrats to vote for the tax cut passed in 2001 and like many moderate Democrats he voted in favor of welfare reform measures in the mid 1990s. Kohl on the other hand has voted against many free trade agreements including NAFTA and more recently CAFTA, and voted against the Freedom to Farm Act in 1996. He voted in 2002 to authorize military force in Iraq, however he voted against authorizing the Gulf War in 1990. Kohl has voted on a number of occasions with more liberal Democrats to reduce military spending.

He is strongly pro-choice and opposes the death penalty. He has consistently voted against the flag desecration amendment and in recent years has voted against restrictions on travel to Cuba and funding for TVMarti. In 2005 he secured a victory for one of his main causes: requiring handguns to be sold with child safety locks. The amendment was attached to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, with every Democrat and many Republicans voting in favor of the amendment. Earlier in his career, he helped push the Gun-Free Schools Act which the Supreme Court overturned in 1995 and has submitted many amendments to that effect.^[3]

In 2008, he voted to grant retroactive immunity for telecom companies engaged in illegal wiretapping. [1]

[edit] 2006 re-election

Main article: Wisconsin U.S. Senate election, 2006

In 2006, Kohl easily won re-election over Robert Lorge, the Republican nominee by default after more well known candidates such as former governor Tommy Thompson and 2004 Senate candidate Tim Michels opted not to run. In polls well before the primary, Kohl led Lorge by a large margin.^[4]

Sen. Kohl with Casey FitzRandolph of Verona, Wisconsin, who won a gold medal in speedskating at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

[edit] Committee assignments

• Appropriations Committee
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on the Judiciary
  • Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security
• Special Committee on Aging (Chairman)

[edit] Electoral history

• 1988 election for U.S. Senate — Democratic Primary
  • Herb Kohl (D), 47%
  • Tony Earl (D), 38%
  • Ed Garvey (D)
  • Doug LaFollette (D)

[edit] Business and philanthropy

Before his election to the Senate, Kohl helped build his family-owned business, Kohl's grocery and department stores. He served as president from 1970 through the sale of the corporation in 1979.

Kohl is recognized as dedicated Wisconsinite and sports enthusiast. In 1985 he bought the Bucks basketball team to ensure the team remained in Milwaukee. Kohl also donated $25 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for construction of its new sports arena, which was named the Kohl Center. It was the largest single donation in University of Wisconsin System history.

He remains active in other charitable activities. In 1990 he established the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Achievement Award Program, which provides annual grants totaling $100,000 to 100 graduating seniors, 100 teachers and 100 schools throughout Wisconsin.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• United States Senator Herb Kohl official Senate site
• Herb Kohl Educational Foundation official site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Herb Kohl profile
• Democratic Party of Wisconsin — Herb Kohl profile

v • d • e United States Senators from Wisconsin Class 1: Dodge • Doolittle • Carpenter • Cameron • Sawyer • Mitchell • Quarles • La Follette, Sr. • La Follette, Jr. • McCarthy • Proxmire • Kohl Class 3: Walker • Durkee • Howe • Carpenter • Cameron • Spooner • Vilas • Spooner • Stephenson • Husting • Lenroot • Blaine • Duffy • Wiley • Nelson • Kasten • Feingold