Bob Packwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bob Packwood
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| Chair of the Senate Finance Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – October 1, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Daniel Patrick Moynihan |
| Succeeded by | William Roth |
| In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1987 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Dole |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Bentsen |
| Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985 |
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| Preceded by | Howard Cannon |
| Succeeded by | John Danforth |
| United States Senator from Oregon |
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| In office January 3, 1969 – October 1, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Wayne Morse |
| Succeeded by | Ron Wyden |
| Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 6th district |
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| In office January 14, 1963 – January 3, 1969 |
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| Preceded by | Multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | Multi-member district |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert William Packwood
September 11, 1932 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Georgie Oberteuffer
(m. 1964; div. 1991)Elaine Franklin
(m. 1998) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Willamette University (BA) New York University (JD) |
Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is a retired American lawyer and politician from Oregon. He served as a member of the United States Senate from 1969 to 1995. He resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1995 due to serious concerns about his conduct. He is a member of the Republican Party.
As of November 2024, Packwood is the earliest-serving living U.S. senator. He is also the last living former U.S. senator who started his term in the 1960s.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Robert "Bob" Packwood was born in Portland, Oregon. He finished high school in 1950. In 1954, he graduated from Willamette University in Salem.
Packwood is the great-grandson of William H. Packwood. William H. Packwood was the youngest member of the Oregon Constitutional Convention in 1857. Bob Packwood showed an interest in politics from a young age. During college, he joined Young Republican groups. He also worked on political campaigns. One campaign was for Mark Hatfield, who later became a governor and U.S. Senator.
Packwood received a special scholarship to New York University's Law School. There, he won national awards in mock court competitions. He was also elected student body president. After law school in 1957, he became a lawyer. He practiced law in Portland.
State Politics in Oregon
In 1960, Packwood became the Chairman of the Multnomah County, Oregon Republican Central Committee. This made him the youngest leader of a major city's political party in the country. In 1962, he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. This made him the youngest member of the Oregon Legislature. His campaign was very effective. Many volunteers went door-to-door. They gave out leaflets and put up lawn signs.
Because his campaigns were so successful, Packwood was chosen to lead a political action committee. This group found good Republican candidates for the Oregon House. They also taught them "Packwood-style" campaign methods. The success of these candidates helped Republicans take control of the Oregon House. Oregon was the only state where Republicans won a big victory in 1964.
Packwood served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1963 to 1968. In 1965, he started the Dorchester Conference in Seaside, Oregon. This is an annual political meeting for Oregon Republicans. It brings together elected officials and citizens. They discuss important issues and make decisions on them.
Serving as a U.S. Senator
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In 1968, Packwood ran for the U.S. Senate in Oregon. He was the Republican candidate against the current Democratic Senator, Wayne Morse. Morse had been a Senator since 1944. Packwood was not well-known. Many thought he had little chance to win. However, after a debate with Senator Morse, Packwood was seen as the winner. After a statewide recount of votes, Packwood won by only 3,500 votes. He became the youngest U.S. Senator at that time. Packwood was re-elected four more times: in 1974, 1980, 1986, and 1992.
Packwood's voting record was considered moderate. This means he often supported ideas from both major political parties. He supported some limits on gun owners. He also supported laws that protected civil rights. For example, he voted for the bill that made Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday. He also supported the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.
Packwood sometimes disagreed with President Richard Nixon. He voted against Nixon's choices for the Supreme Court of the United States. He also voted against some of Nixon's military spending plans. Packwood was the first Republican Senator to support the idea of removing President Nixon from office. This effort was not successful. In 1973, he told President Nixon that people no longer trusted him.
In 1987, Packwood voted against the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. He was also one of only two Republicans to vote against the nomination of Clarence Thomas in 1991.
He helped create the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Act. This law protected the beautiful Hells Canyon, which is the deepest river gorge in North America. It made the area a large National Recreation Area. Environmental groups also liked his support for solar energy, returnable bottles, and bike paths.
Packwood was also interested in deregulation. This means reducing government rules on businesses. In the late 1970s, he strongly supported removing rules for trucking companies.
He was known for his strong support for Israel. He opposed selling F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia when President Reagan was in office.
Packwood was most famous for his work on tax reform in 1986. At the time, he was the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. President Ronald Reagan had suggested changing tax laws in 1984. Packwood helped create a new tax code. This plan would increase taxes for businesses. It would also lower personal income taxes by about the same amount.
USA Today rated Packwood's debating skills as excellent in 1986. His skills could help pass laws or stop them. He was credited with stopping President Clinton's health care bill in 1993. He could also be very determined. In 1988, he was carried into the Senate Chamber by police. This happened during a vote on campaign finance reform.
Resignation from the Senate
The Senate Ethics Committee investigated Packwood. Their report was very long, with over 10,000 pages. Much of it came from Packwood's own writings. The report detailed concerns about his conduct and ethics. On September 7, the committee decided that Packwood should be removed from the Senate.
The next morning, the committee shared its findings. With pressure from both political parties, Packwood announced he would resign from the Senate. He said he was "aware of the dishonor that has befallen me" and that it was his "duty to resign." Democratic Representative Ron Wyden won his Senate seat in a special election.
During the debate about impeaching President Clinton four years later, Senator McConnell said that Republicans knew they might lose Packwood's seat to the Democrats if he was forced out. However, McConnell said they felt it was a choice between keeping the Senate seat or keeping their honor.
After the U.S. Senate
Soon after leaving the Senate, Packwood started a lobbying firm called Sunrise Research Corporation. A lobbyist tries to influence lawmakers. The former senator used his knowledge of taxes and trade. His past role as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee helped him get many clients. These included companies like Freightliner Trucks and Marriott International. Among other projects, he helped in the effort to remove the estate tax in 2001.
In 2015, Packwood returned to the Senate as a witness. He spoke to the United States Senate Committee on Finance. They were again thinking about tax reform. He and former Senator Bill Bradley spoke about the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
See also
- List of United States senators expelled or censured
- List of American federal politicians convicted of crimes
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
Images for kids
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Bob Packwood's official portrait
