Senator Bob Bennett
Distinguished Professional Fellow

Background

Former Senator Robert F. Bennett (UT) has earned the reputation among his colleagues, constituents, and clients as a pragmatic problem-solver who seeks creative and common sense solutions to their issues.

Mr. Bennett entered the political arena by managing his father’s Senatorial reelection campaign 49 years ago, in 1962. Wallace F. Bennett was a U.S. Senator from 1951 to 1974. It was this experience that would later inspire Mr. Bennett to seek public office.

In the meantime, he used his strong leadership skills and lessons learned from working as a staffer on Capitol Hill in several successful entrepreneurial pursuits. His greatest triumph in the business world came when he was CEO of Franklin International Institute, now known as Franklin Covey. Mr. Bennett grew the business from four employees to more than 1,000, and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1992, Mr. Bennett followed in his father's footsteps and ran a successful campaign for the U.S. Senate, carrying his businessman-like approach with him to the Hill. He served as a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee and a member of the distinguished Joint Economic Committee, where he was at the center of national economic policy discussions. He also served as the ranking Republican on the Senate Rules Committee.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Bennett strived to balance fiscal discipline in government while representing the needs of his constituents in the distribution of federal funds. He also represented the interests of the West as the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water and a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Senator Bennett was at the forefront of healthcare reform. He co-sponsored the Healthy Americans Act, the first major bipartisan healthcare legislation in more than a decade. His Healthy Americans Act guaranteed quality, affordable, portable health coverage for every American, cutting health costs by more than $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Mr. Bennett is a graduate of the University of Utah, where he was student body president. He and his wife Joyce are the proud parents of six children and 20 grandchildren.