Alan Simpson (American politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Alan Simpson

| image = Alan Kooi Simpson (cropped).jpg

| caption = Official portrait, {{circa}} 1970s

| office = Co-Chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform

| alongside = Erskine Bowles

| term_start = February 18, 2010

| term_end = December 1, 2010

| office1 = Senate Minority Whip

| leader1 = Bob Dole

| term_start1 = January 3, 1987

| term_end1 = January 3, 1995

| predecessor1 = Alan Cranston

| successor1 = Wendell Ford

| office2 = Senate Majority Whip

| leader2 = Bob Dole

| term_start2 = January 3, 1985

| term_end2 = January 3, 1987

| predecessor2 = Ted Stevens

| successor2 = Alan Cranston

| jr/sr3 = United States Senator

| state3 = Wyoming

| term_start3 = January 1, 1979

| term_end3 = January 3, 1997

| predecessor3 = Clifford Hansen

| successor3 = Mike Enzi

| office4 = Member of the
Wyoming House of Representatives
from Park County

| term_start4 = January 1965

| term_end4 = November 10, 1977

| birth_name = Alan Kooi Simpson

| birth_date = {{birth date|1931|9|2}}

| birth_place = Denver, Colorado, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|3|14|1931|9|2}}

| death_place = Cody, Wyoming, U.S.

| party = Republican

| spouse = {{marriage|Susan Schroll|1954}}

| children = 3, including Colin

| relatives = Milward Simpson (father)
Pete Simpson (brother)

| education = University of Wyoming (BS, JD)

| awards = Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022)

| allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}}

| branch = {{army|United States}}

| serviceyears = 1954–1956

| rank = Second Lieutenant

| unit = 5th Infantry
2nd Armored Division

| appointer = Barack Obama

| module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Senate Minority Whip Alan Simpson on National Hispanic Heritage Month.ogg|title=Simpson's voice|type=speech|description=Simpson on the contributions of the Hispanic community to Wyoming
Recorded September 16, 1992}}

}}

Alan Kooi Simpson (September 2, 1931 – March 14, 2025) was an American politician from Wyoming. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Simpson was Republican Senate whip from 1985 to 1995, serving as majority whip from 1985 to 1987. He also served as co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often referred to as Simpson–Bowles) with Democratic co-chair Erskine Bowles of North Carolina.

Born in Denver, Simpson completed his undergraduate and law school studies at the University of Wyoming. He served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1965–1977 before being elected to the US Senate in 1978. After serving three terms, Simpson declined to seek re-election in 1996. After leaving office, Simpson practiced law and taught at multiple universities. He also served on the Continuity of Government Commission, American Battle Monuments Commission, and Iraq Study Group. He was a vocal proponent of amending the US Constitution to overturn Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and allow Congress to set campaign spending limits.{{cite web |last1=Mullen |first1=Maggie |title=Former Senator Simpson Working To Reverse Citizens United |url=https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/former-senator-simpson-working-reverse-citizens-united#stream/0 |website=wyomingpublicmedia.org |date=February 4, 2017 |publisher=Wyoming Public Media |access-date=November 16, 2019}}

Early life

Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado, on September 2, 1931,{{cite web |title=Simpson, Alan Kooi, (1931 – ) |url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=s000429 |website=congress.gov |access-date=November 16, 2019}} the son of Milward Simpson and the former Lorna Kooi. His middle name, Kooi, comes from his maternal grandfather, whose parents were Dutch immigrants.{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1995-01-24/html/CREC-1995-01-24-pt1-PgS1427-2.htm |title=Congressional Record, Volume 141 Issue 14 (Tuesday, January 24, 1995) |website=Gpo.gov |access-date=December 1, 2015}} Simpson has an older brother, Pete Simpson, a historian and former administrator at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming, who served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1981 to 1984, having represented Sheridan County, Wyoming, while he was then an administrator at Sheridan College. Pete Simpson was the 1986 Republican gubernatorial nominee, having sought the office while his younger brother was serving in the U.S. Senate.{{cite web |title=Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson And Brother To Lecture In Boulder, Denver Nov. 11-12 |url=https://www.colorado.edu/today/2002/10/29/former-us-sen-alan-simpson-and-brother-lecture-boulder-denver-nov-11-12 |website=Colorado.edu |date=October 29, 2002 |publisher=University of Colorado Boulder |access-date=November 15, 2019}}

Simpson had several run-ins with the law during his youth, later remarking, "I was just dumb and rebellious and stupid. And a different person," adding that "you're not who you are when you're 16 or 18. You're dumb and you don't care, and you think you are eternal."{{cite news|last=Prevost|first=Ruffin|title=Simpson speaks out on Supreme Court case|date=November 10, 2009|work=Casper Star-Tribune|publisher=Lee Enterprises|url=https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/simpson-speaks-out-on-supreme-court-case/article_357a5c82-eaee-5e35-bd9c-2c2c9d7fb2b0.html|access-date=September 6, 2019}} For the 2010 Supreme Court of the United States case Graham v. Florida on the constitutionality of sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses, Simpson submitted an amicus curiae brief explaining his own troubled youth:

{{blockquote|In Simpson's words to this Court, "I was a monster." One day in Cody, Wyoming, when Simpson was in high school, he and some friends "went out to do damage." They went to an abandoned war relocation structure and decided to "torch" it. They committed arson on federal property, a crime punishable by up to twenty years in prison if no one is hurt and punishable by up to life in prison if the arson causes a person's death, Luckily for Simpson, no one was injured in the blaze. Simpson not only played with fire, but also with guns. He played a game with his friends in which they shot at rocks close to one another, at times using bullets they stole from the local hardware store. The goal of the game was to come as close as possible to striking someone without actually doing so. Again, Simpson was lucky: no one was killed or seriously injured. Simpson and his friends went shooting throughout their community. They fired their rifles at mailboxes, blowing holes in several and killing a cow. They fired their weapons at a road grader. "We just raised hell," Simpson says. Federal authorities charged Simpson with destroying government property and Simpson pleaded guilty. He received two years of probation and was required to make restitution from his own funds.Nos. 08-7412 and 08-7621 IN The Supreme Court of the United States TERRANCE JAMAR GRAHAM Petitioner, v. FLORIDA Respondent. JOE HARRIS SULLIVAN Petitioner, v. FLORIDA Respondent. On Writs of Certiorari from the District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District, page 11. July 23, 2009.}}

Alan Simpson graduated from Cody High School in Cody, Wyoming in 1949 and attended Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in 1950 for a postgraduate year. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1954. Like his brother, he was a member of the university's Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.{{cite web |date=May 5, 2018 |title=From the Archives: Alpha Tau Omega |url=https://www.colorado.edu/libraries/2018/05/05/archives-alpha-tau-omega |access-date=November 15, 2019 |website=Colorado.edu |publisher=Regents of the University of Colorado}} Simpson served in the United States Army in Germany from 1955 to 1956 with the 10th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division and the 12th Armored Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Armored Division.{{cite news |date=June 1971 |title=The Jewish Veteran, Volume 32; Volumes 34-37; Volume 39 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TETjAAAAMAAJ&q=alan+simpson+5th+Infantry+Division&pg=RA7-PA26 |access-date=November 16, 2019 |work=The Jewish Veteran |volume=32, 34–37, 39}}

After graduating from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1958, he joined a private law firm and eventually became the city attorney of Cody, Wyoming. Simpson was first elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1964.{{cite news |title=Younger Simpson Announces |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/casper-morning-star-younger-simpson-anno/167950445/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=Casper Morning Star |date=May 7, 1964 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}} During his tenure, Simpson represented Park County and served as the speaker pro tempore of the Wyoming State Legislature. He resigned on November 10, 1977, to prepare to run for the U.S. Senate in 1978.{{cite news |title=Alan Simpson resigns his legislative seat |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/casper-star-tribune-alan-simpson-resigns/167950561/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=Casper Star-Tribune |date=November 10, 1977 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}

United States Senator

File:C28310-36.jpg meeting with President Ronald Reagan, Bob Michel and Bob Dole, 1985]]

Simpson was elected to the US Senate on November 7, 1978, but was appointed to the post early on January 1, 1979, following the resignation of Clifford Hansen, who had succeeded Milward Simpson, Alan Simpson's father, in the seat. From 1985 to 1995, Simpson was the Republican whip, assisting Republican Senate Leader Bob Dole of Kansas. He was chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs from 1981 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 1997 when Republicans regained control of the Senate. He also chaired the Immigration and Refugee Subcommittee of Judiciary, Nuclear Regulation Subcommittee, Social Security Subcommittee, and Committee on Aging.{{cite web |last1=DiGrappa |first1=Emy |title=Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson's Passion For Politics, Civility, And Family |url=https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/former-us-senator-alan-simpsons-passion-politics-civility-and-family#stream/0 |website=wyomingpublicmedia.org |date=March 14, 2018 |publisher=Wyoming Public Media |access-date=November 15, 2019}}

File:George H. W. Bush, Alan Simpson, and Craig Thomas.jpg with President George H. W. Bush (center) and Senator Craig L. Thomas (left)]]

Simpson was a moderate conservative. He supported the abortion-rights movement and in 1995 and 1996, he voted against a ban of late-term abortions that only exempted life-threatening conditions, rather than all physical health needs. However, he opposed federal funding for abortions by supporting the Hyde Amendment. In 2013, Simpson stating that abortion should not be a political issue in a party that believes in "government out of our lives," "the right to be left alone," and "the precious right of privacy".{{cite web |last1=Bedard |first1=Paul |date=November 26, 2013 |title=Alan Simpson: Only women should legislate abortion law |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/alan-simpson-only-women-should-legislate-abortion-laws |access-date=November 15, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Examiner}}

In the early 1980s, illegal immigrants were prohibited from working in the United States, but employers were not penalized for hiring them as unreported employment. Alongside Democratic Representative Peter W. Rodino of New Jersey, Simpson sponsored the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which prohibited the intentional hiring of illegal immigrants, while providing legal status to those that arrived before 1982. As a ranking minority member of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs, he drew criticism for calling Hmong refugees "the most indigestible group in society," which Hmong American scholar Kou Yang said was at the time the "worst of all" comments on Hmong.{{cite book | last=Yang | first=Kou | author-link=Kou Yang | title=The Making of Hmong America | publisher=Lexington Books | publication-place=Lanham, Maryland | date=October 5, 2017 | isbn=978-1-4985-4646-1 | page=162}}{{cite web | last=Kaufman | first=Marc| title=American Odyssey | website=Smithsonian Magazine | date=August 31, 2004 | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/american-odyssey-180940687/ | access-date=February 6, 2025 |id={{ProQuest|236855512}}}}

In his youth, Simpson was a Boy Scout and once visited Japanese American Scouts who, along with their families, were interned near Ralston, Wyoming, during World War II. He developed a life-long friendship with Norman Mineta, who later became a Democratic Representative from California and the US Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006.{{cite web |last1=Aratani |first1=Lori |title=Behind a WWII internment camp's barbed wire, two Scouts forged a bond. It endured when they both entered Congress. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/behind-a-world-war-ii-internment-camps-barbed-wire-two-scouts-forged-a-bond-it-endured-when-they-both-entered-congress/2017/08/11/7542170a-7794-11e7-9eac-d56bd5568db8_story.html |access-date=November 16, 2019 |website=washingtonpost.com |publisher=WP Company, LLC}} Their friendship spurred Simpson to support the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which provided reparations to Japanese Americans subjected to internment.{{Cite news |last=Brokaw |first=Tom |date=August 11, 2017 |title=Friends Across Barbed Wire and Politics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/opinion/brokaw-norman-mineta-alan-simpson.html |access-date=March 15, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Aside from their time in Congress, Mineta and Simpson also served on the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents.{{cite web |last=Matthews |first=Chris |year=2002 |title=A Pair of Boy Scouts |url=http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0201/d-wwas.html |access-date=December 16, 2006 |work=Scouting Magazine |publisher=Boy Scouts of America}}

Simpson voted in favor of the 1983 bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and initially voted in favor of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, though he voted to sustain President Ronald Reagan's veto.{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/98-1983/s293|title=TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19.}}{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|title=TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE THE BROAD COVERAGE AND CLARIFY FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY PROVIDING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION IS FEDERALLY FUNDED, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE.}}{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|title=TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE BROAD COVERAGE OF FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY DECLARING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE. TWO-THIRDS OF THE SENATE, HAVING VOTED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, OVERRODE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO.}} Simpson voted in favor of the Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nominations, the former of which failed.{{cite news |last=McFadden |first=Robert D. |date=March 14, 2025 |title=Alan K. Simpson, a Folksy Republican Force in the Senate, Dies at 93 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/us/politics/alan-k-simpson-dead.html |url-access=limited |accessdate=March 14, 2025 |newspaper=The New York Times |authorlink=Robert D. McFadden}}

Simpson was considered as a potential vice presidential candidate for George H. W. Bush in the 1988 United States presidential election.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/13/us/bush-prunes-running-mate-list-doles-quayle-and-3-others-stay.html|title = Bush Prunes Running-Mate List; Doles, Quayle and 3 Others Stay|last = Boyd|first = Gerald M.|date = August 13, 1988|accessdate = March 18, 2025|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = limited|page = 1}}

In March 1991, Simpson denounced CNN journalist Peter Arnett as a sympathizer for Saddam Hussein over the latter's reporting from Baghdad, Iraq, during the Gulf War.{{Cite news |date=March 31, 1991 |title=Calling a Truce |url=https://www.newsweek.com/calling-truce-201256 |access-date=March 17, 2025 |work=Newsweek}} Simpson was harshly criticized for questioning Arnett's patriotism based on the latter's 1964 marriage to a Vietnamese woman rumored, but never confirmed, to be related to Viet Cong soldiers. In a letter to The New York Times, Simpson apologized for disparaging Arnett's family.{{Cite news |last=Simpson |first=Alan |date=March 20, 1991 |title='The Word "Sympathizer" Was Not a Good One' |url=https://nyti.ms/42c1o91 |access-date=March 17, 2025 |work=The New York Times |pages=28}}

At {{convert|6|ft|7|in|cm|abbr=on}}, Simpson was the tallest Senator in United States history until overtaken by {{convert|6|ft|9|in|cm|abbr=on}} Luther Strange in 2017, 20 years after his retirement.{{Cite news |last=Dowd |first=Maureen |date=April 20, 1987 |title=WASHINGTON TALK: CONGRESS; A Matter of Measurement (Published 1987) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/20/us/washington-talk-congress-a-matter-of-measurement.html |access-date=March 11, 2021 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Simpson would later claim to have shrunk to {{convert|6|ft|5|in|cm|abbr=on}} at age 85.{{Cite web |date=February 9, 2017 |title=Alan Simpson Is No Longer the Tallest Senator, and He's OK With That |url=https://www.rollcall.com/2017/02/09/alan-simpson-is-no-longer-the-tallest-senator-and-hes-ok-with-that/ |access-date=March 11, 2021 |website=Roll Call |language=en}}

Post-Senate career

In 1995, he lost the position of Republican whip to Trent Lott of Mississippi,{{cite web |title=Party Whips |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Party_Whips.htm#2 |website=senate.gov |access-date=November 15, 2019}} and he did not seek reelection to the Senate in 1996. From 1997 to 2000, Simpson taught at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he served for two years as the Director of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School.

Simpson then returned to his hometown of Cody and practiced law there with his two sons (William and Colin) in the firm of Simpson, Kepler and Edwards. The three were also partners in the firm of Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine in Englewood, Colorado.{{cite news|url = https://www.argusleader.com/story/opinion/voices/2016/02/11/voice-allow-second-chance-youthful-offenders/80254240/|title = My Voice: Allow second chance for youthful offenders|last = Simpson|first = Alan|newspaper = Argus Leader|date = February 11, 2016|accessdate = March 18, 2025}} Colin M. Simpson, the third generation of his family in Wyoming politics, was a Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives who served as its Speaker from 2008 to March 2010. Colin Simpson finished fourth in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary election.{{cite web|url = https://sos.wyo.gov/Elections/Docs/2010/Results/Primary/2010_Statewide_Candidates_Summary.pdf|title = Statewide Candidates Official Summary|website = Wyoming Secretary of State|page = 2|accessdate = March 18, 2025}}

Simpson periodically taught at his alma mater, the University of Wyoming, with his brother Pete. From 2001 to 2005, he served as chairman of the UW Campaign for Distinction, which raised $204 million.{{cite news|url = https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2025/03/uw-statement-on-passing-of-sen-alan-simpson.html|title = UW Statement on Passing of Sen. Alan Simpson|website = University of Wyoming|date = March 14, 2025|accessdate = March 19, 2025}}

In 2018, Simpson was chosen as one of four speakers to eulogize President George H.W. Bush at his state funeral.{{cite news |last1=Tumulty |first1=Karen |title=Alan Simpson cried while writing George H.W. Bush's eulogy—so he wouldn't cry while giving it |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/05/alan-simpson-cried-while-writing-george-hw-bushs-eulogy-so-he-wouldnt-cry-while-giving-it/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=November 9, 2019}}

Simpson was involved in the 2002 Wyoming Republican gubernatorial primary on behalf of former Democrat Eli Bebout of Riverton, Wyoming.{{cite web |last1=Bohrer |first1=Becky |title=Former senator Simpson still 'loves the scrap' |url=https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/former-senator-simpson-still-loves-the-scrap/article_f5dae8a4-be6b-5657-9eea-9a78ae692953.amp.html |website=billingsgazette.com |date=December 20, 2003 |publisher=Billings Gazette |access-date=November 15, 2019}}

=Iraq Study Group=

In 2006, Simpson was one of ten (five Democratic and five Republican) contributors to the Iraq Study Group Report.{{cite web |title=Compromise Required With the Iraq Study Group |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6591605 |website=npr.org |publisher=National Public Radio (NPR) |access-date=November 9, 2019}}

=National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform=

File:President Obama meets with Fiscal Commission co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson.jpg

In 2010, Simpson was appointed to co-chair President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Erskine Bowles.{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704804204575069871801865444 | work=The Wall Street Journal | title=Bowles, Simpson to Head Debt Commission | first=Jonathan | last=Weisman | date=February 17, 2010}} Simpson extensively spoke about the burden being placed on future generations by the structure of current entitlement programs. In a 2012 opinion piece, journalist Matthew Miller recounted that as a senator, Simpson advised the nation's youth to collectively advocate for government reforms through an interest group.{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Matt |title=Young Americans Get the Shaft |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/young-americans-get-the-shaft/2012/06/13/gJQAeHp4ZV_story.html |access-date=November 15, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |publisher=}} He continued to advocate for fiscal responsibility as a board member of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and founder of the Campaign to Fix the Debt.{{citation| url=http://www.crfb.org/board-members | work=Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget | title=Board Members | date=October 11, 2019}}{{cite news| url=https://money.cnn.com/2012/11/28/news/economy/campaign-to-fix-the-debt/index.html | work=CNN Money | title=What is 'Fix the Debt?' | first=Jeanne| last=Sahadi| date=November 29, 2012}}

File:CRFB Annual Conference - Dinner Discussion with Judy Woodruff, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles.webm and Erskine Bowles]]

=Campaign finance reform=

Simpson was a strong critic of the US Supreme Court's 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, calling for an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in the case.{{Cite web |last=Simpson |first=Alan |date=August 11, 2017 |title=We need a 28th Amendment |url=http://trib.com/opinion/columns/simpson-we-need-a-th-amendment/article_237474f7-2f75-5310-a58a-8dbf5c1916a5.html |access-date=August 28, 2017 |publisher=Casper Star Tribune}} In an interview with Wyoming Public Radio, Simpson said: "I think most Americans would like to see reasonable limits on campaign spending."{{cite web|url=http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/former-senator-simpson-working-reverse-citizens-united |title= Former Senator Simpson Working To Reverse Citizens United |publisher=Wyoming Public Media |date=February 3, 2017 |access-date=August 28, 2017}} In 2016, he joined the advisory board of American Promise, a national, cross-partisan organization that advocates for a 28th Amendment to the US Constitution that would allow Congress and state governments to set limits on campaign finance in U.S. elections.{{cite web|url=http://www.americanpromise.net/who_we_are#ap_advisory_council |title= Who We Are -- American Promise |publisher=American Promise |access-date=August 28, 2017}}

=LGBTQ rights=

Simpson supported LGBTQ rights throughout his life. In 2001, Simpson became Honorary Chairman of the Republican Unity Coalition (RUC), a gay/straight alliance within the Republican Party.{{cite web |last1=Roerink |first1=Kyle |date=March 5, 2014 |title=UPDATED: Alan Simpson, Wyoming lawmakers sign Court brief in support of gay marriage |url=https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/updated-alan-simpson-wyoming-lawmakers-sign-court-brief-in-support/article_db966049-1cee-5811-95ea-e443c58bf75a.html |access-date=November 15, 2019 |website=trib.com}} In that capacity, Simpson recruited former President Gerald Ford to serve on the RUC advisory board.{{cite news |last=Chibbaro |first=Lou Jr. |date=October 31, 2013 |title=Alan Simpson speaks out on gay rights |url=https://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/10/31/alan-simpson-speaks-gay-rights/ |accessdate=March 16, 2025 |work=Washington Blade}} In a 2007 Washington Post article, Simpson criticized the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, stating that "'Gay' is an artificial category that says little about a person. Our differences and prejudices pale next to our historic challenge." The policy was ultimately ended in 2011.{{cite news |last1=Sturcke |first1=James |title=US general splits opinion with gay remarks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/blog/2007/mar/14/post275 |website=The Guardian |date=March 14, 2007|access-date=November 15, 2019}}

=Civic participation=

Simpson was on the board of directors at the National Institute for Civil Discourse (NICD). The institute was created at the University of Arizona after the shooting of US Representative Gabby Giffords.{{Cite web|url=http://nicd.arizona.edu/national-advisory-board|title=National Advisory Board}} He was an honorary board member of the humanitarian organization Wings of Hope and co-chair of the advisory board of Issue One, a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics.{{cite web|url=http://wings-of-hope.org |title=Start Page |website=Wings-of-hope.org |access-date=December 1, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.issueone.org/#team |title=Campaign Finance Reform is Possible |publisher=Issue One |access-date=December 1, 2015}}

Personal life and death

In 1954, Simpson married the former Susan Ann Schroll, who he had met while studying at the University of Wyoming. Together, they had three children named William Simpson, Colin M. Simpson, and Susan Gallagher.

Simpson's health declined after contracting frostbite in his late eighties, which led to the amputation of his lower left leg and foot. In December 2024, he had broken a hip and never fully recovered, which led to his death under hospice care in Cody, Wyoming, on March 14, 2025. He was 93.{{cite news |last1=Gruver |first1=Mead |title=Former US Sen. Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming dies at age 93 |url=https://apnews.com/article/senator-alan-simpson-dies-faf4826aba710283e4f4e6581082a41f |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=Associated Press |date=March 14, 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Klingsporn |first1=Katie |title=Towering Wyoming statesman Alan Simpson dies at 93 |url=https://wyofile.com/towering-wyoming-statesman-alan-simpson-dies-at-93/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=WyoFile |date=March 14, 2025}}

In popular culture

The June 7, 1994, edition of the supermarket tabloid Weekly World News reported that twelve senators were aliens from other planets, including Simpson. The Associated Press ran a follow-up piece which confirmed the tongue-in-cheek participation of Senate offices in the story. Then-Senator Simpson's spokesman Charles Pelkey, when asked about Simpson's galactic origins, told the AP: "We've got only one thing to say: Klaatu barada nikto," quoting the science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), in which an alien arrives in Washington, D.C. by flying saucer.[http://www.skepticfiles.org/ufo2/12senaln.htm "Senators Jokingly Confirm Tabloid Claim They Are Space Aliens"], Associated Press, May 25, 1994

In December 2012, Simpson filmed a "Gangnam Style" video for a campaign, with a man in a tin can costume. The video, aimed at young people, is called "The Can Kicks Back," a reference to the tendencies of Congress to "kick the can down the road" instead of making difficult decisions about lowering the government debt. In the video, Simpson admonishes younger Americans to make better use of their social media than "instagramming your breakfast and tweeting your first world problems." He advises younger people to use their social media skills and resources to rally their friends to join The Can Kicks Back. If younger Americans do not take heed, Simpson advised, "These old coots will clean out the Treasury before you get there."{{cite web |title=Must See: Fmr. Sen. Alan Simpson, 81, Dances To 'Gangnam Style' |url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/05/must-see-fmr-sen-alan-simpson-81-dances-to-gangnam-style/ |website=newyork.cbslocal.com |date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=November 15, 2019}}

Recognition

File:P20220707AS-1711 (52308684423).jpg by President Joe Biden in July 2022]]

In 1998, Simpson received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#public-service}} In 2011, Simpson and Erskine Bowles were presented the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government for their work on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.{{cite web |date= 2011 |title= Douglas Award Honorees |publisher= Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois System |url= https://igpa.uillinois.edu/page/Douglas-Honorees#section-8 |access-date= December 17, 2020 |archive-date= December 25, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201225200917/https://igpa.uillinois.edu/page/douglas-honorees#section-8 |url-status= dead }} In 2022 Simpson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a ceremony at the White House.{{cite web | url =https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/01/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ | title =President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

| last = | first = | date =July 1, 2022 | website =whitehouse.gov | publisher = White House| access-date =July 1, 2022| quote = }}

Works

Right in the Old Gazoo: A Lifetime of Scrapping with the Press. (William Morrow & Company, 1997). {{ISBN|0-688-11358-3}}.{{Cite web |title=Right in the Old Gazoo |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/simpson-gazoo.html |access-date=March 19, 2025 |work=The New York Times}}

References

External links

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[https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv505469 Alan K. Simpson papers] at the American Heritage Center
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170916035518/http://ww.fixthedebt.org/ Fix the Debt]—Campaign founded by Pete Peterson
[http://video.wyomingpbs.org/video/1838278337 Alan K. Simpson—Nothing Else Matters] Documentary produced by Wyoming PBS
[https://www.burgsimpson.com/ Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine]