John Ensign

John Eric Ensign, a Republican, has represented the state of Nevada in the Senate since 2000. (map)

Iraq War
Ensign voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

Iraq timetable
In 2007, Ensign vowed to vote against a Democratic resolution to pull troops out of Iraq because he believed that it would "restrict our troops' abilities in combat to only 'limited purposes.'" |2

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Organizations that have supported Ensign
As a conservative member of the Senate, Ensign has had the support of the National Right to Life Committee, American Shareholders Association, Freedom Works, Americans for Tax Reform, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, the John Birch Society, Concerned Women for America, Republican Liberty Caucus, Christian Coalition, National School Boards' Association, American Family Association, Citizens Against Government Waste, National Rifle Association, and American Security Council. 

Organizations that have opposed Ensign
Many groups have been opposed to Ensign. These include Planned Parenthood, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, Arab American Institute, National Education Association, Children's Defense Fund, Citizens for Global Solutions, Peace Action, National Organization for Women, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Global AIDS Alliance, and Alliance for Retired Americans. 

General Casey confirmation
Ensign, as a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, as well as Republican Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), voted against the confirmation of General George Casey as the chief of staff of the Army in early 2007. The overall confirmation vote was 14-3. 

Law Enforcement Assistance Force Amendment
Sen. Ensign's amendment, proposing a new system that would document retired law enforcement volunteering to be called on in case of a national disaster, passed in the Senate. The amendment was added to the 9/11 commission bill. |3

U.S. attorney firing controversy
Ensign, who was angered by the firing of U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden (whom he nominated for the post), released a statement after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales acknowledged mistakes in the firing of Bogden and seven other attorneys. He thanked him for "coming forward today to take responsibility for the mistakes that were made, to find out what went wrong and to address these problems immediately." Ensign believed that two things needed to be done to fix the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada. First, despite being one of the fastest growing states in the U.S., Nevada's resources were decreasing, when he felt they should be increasing. Second, Ensign believed Nevada needed "specific benchmarks to review U.S. attorneys."

Senate Finance Committee placement
On July 10, 2007, the Senate GOP Conference gave Ensign a seat on the Senate Committee on Finance which was vacated when Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas passed away earlier that year.

Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola commented, “Sen. Ensign is excited about this assignment... He’s worked hard as a member of the leadership and these issues are not new to him. These are issues he worked on as a member of the Ways and Means Committee in the House and these are issues that have long been priorities.”

Bio
Ensign was born March 25, 1958 in Roseville, California, but he and his family moved to Nevada when he was a child. He attended UNLV and earned a Bachelor's degree from Oregon State University. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1985. He then became a successful businessman, opening a 24-hour animal hospital in Las Vegas.

Congressional career
He was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1994. He was reelected in 1996 but declined to run again in 1998. Instead he ran for the Senate but was defeated by the Democratic incumbent, Harry Reid. He gained a Senate seat after his second try in 2000, defeating Democratic opponent Ed Bernstein, to succeed the retiring Democratic incumbent, Richard H. Bryan.

Senate career
Ensign has become a leading voice against the Kelo v. New London Supreme Court ruling, and has announced plans to introduce a bill that would strongly blunt the effects of the ruling.

Senator Ensign has been praised by many organizations for his support for fiscal conservatism. In 2003, the American Conservative Union named Ensign along with Senators Chuck Hagel (NE) and Don Nickles (OK) as the most conservative Senator in 2003. His accolades for 2004 include being named, along with Senator Jon Kyl (AZ), the most taxpayer-friendly senator by the National Taxpayers Union. Ensign also received the highest rating for a senator by the Citizens Against Government Waste, while being hailed as a "Taxpayer's Hero" for his lifetime efforts against government waste. Both Citizens for a Sound Economy, whose chairman is former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and the National Tax Limitation Committee gave Senator Ensign their highest ratings.

In 2006, he was named to head the Republican Senate Campaign Committee for the 2007-2008 election cycle. 

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated John William Carter to face Ensign in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Ensign retained his seat.

Money in politics
cid=N00006619&cycle=2006

Committees

 * Senate Committee on Finance
 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism
 * Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation - Ranking Member
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Airland
 * Subcommittee on Seapower
 * Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support - Ranking Member

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
 * Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
 * Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support (Chairman)
 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Communications
 * Subcommittee on Competition, Foreign Commerce, and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space
 * Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
 * Subcommittee on Aging
 * Subcommittee on Children and Families
 * Subcommittee on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
 * Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Contact
DC Office: 364 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-2805 Phone: 202-224-6244 TTYD Number: 202-224-7638 Fax: 202-228-2193 Web Email Website

District Office - Carson City: 600 East Williams Street, Suite 304 Carson City, NV 89701 Phone: 775-885-9111 TollFree: 877-894-7711 Fax: 775-883-5590

District Office - Las Vegas: Lloyd George Federal Building 333 Las Vegas Boulevard Suite 8203 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Phone: 702-388-6605 TollFree: 877-894-7711 Fax: 702-388-6501

District Office - Reno: Bruce Thompson Federal Building 400 South Virginia Street, Suite 738 Reno, NV 89501 Phone: 775-686-5770 TollFree: 877-894-7711 Fax: 775-686-5729

Twitter
 John Ensign posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/johnensign/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/johnensign.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

Articles

 * Ted Glanzer, "U.S. Sen. John Ensign Releases Telecom Act Rewrite," TMCNet, July 27, 2005.
 * Roxana Tiron, "Three GOP sens. vote against confirmation," The Hill, February 7, 2007.
 * Kevin Freking and Katheleen Hennessey, "Sen. Ensign admits affair with ex-campaign staffer", Associated Press, June 16, 2009.
 * Murray Waas, "Disgraced Senator Ensign Back in Legal Jeopardy" Reuters, May 26, 2011.
 * Karoun Demirjian, "Sen Tom Cobrun Says `Proud of What I Did in Ensign Case," Las Vegas Sun, May 26, 2011.

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * Washington Post page on Ensign
 * U.S. Gov. Info: Abortion at Issue as Senate Debates Child Custody Protection Act
 * About.com: Judicial Activists and Marriage: This Week's Presidential Radio Address
 * See how you compare to John Ensign

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Las Vegas Gleaner
 * Reno Discontent