Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the 46th governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Brownback also served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom during the administration of President Donald Trump and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2008.
Born in Garnett, Kansas, Brownback grew up on a family farm in Parker, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in agricultural economics in 1978 and received a J.D. from the University of Kansas in 1982. He worked as an attorney in Manhattan, Kansas, before being appointed Secretary of Agriculture of Kansas in 1986 by Democratic governor John W. Carlin. Brownback ran for Congress in 1994 and defeated Carlin in the general election in a landslide. He represented Kansas's 2nd congressional district for a single term before running in a 1996 special election for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Bob Dole. He won the election and was reelected by large margins in 1998 and 2004. Brownback ran for president in 2008, but withdrew before the primaries began and endorsed eventual Republican nominee John McCain.
Brownback declined to run for reelection in 2010, instead running for governor. He was elected governor of Kansas in 2010 and took office in January 2011. As governor, Brownback signed into law one of the largest income tax cuts in Kansas history, known as the Kansas experiment. The tax cuts caused state revenues to fall by hundreds of millions of dollars and created large budget shortfalls. A major budget deficit led to cuts in areas including education and transportation."Kansas Legislature approves budget deal, after lawmakers deliver blistering critiques of state finances," May 2, 2016, Topeka Capital-Journal"Kansas Republicans Sour on Their Tax-Cut Experiment" February 24, 2017, The Atlantic In a repudiation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in 2013 Brownback turned down a $31.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to set up a public health insurance exchange for Kansas. Also in 2013, he signed a bill that blocked tax breaks for abortion providers, banned sex-selection abortions, and declared that life begins at fertilization. In the run-up to the 2014 gubernatorial election, over 100 former and current Kansas Republican officials criticized Brownback's leadership and endorsed his Democratic opponent, Paul Davis."Paul Davis secures endorsement of more than 100 former and current Republican officials," July 15, 2014, Wichita Eagle"Some in Kansas GOP Break With Gov. Brownback, Endorse Democratic Opponent," July 15, 2014, The Wall Street Journal Despite this, Brownback was narrowly reelected.Sam Brownback prevails over Paul Davis for second term as Kansas governor , Wichita Eagle, Byron Lowry & Suzanne Perez Tobias, November 4, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017. In June 2017, the Kansas Legislature repealed Brownback's tax cuts, overrode Brownback's veto of the repeal, and enacted tax increases. Brownback left office as one of the least popular governors in the country.
On July 26, 2017, the Trump administration announced that Brownback would be nominated as the new U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Brownback was confirmed in January 2018 in a party-line vote; Vice President Mike Pence cast the necessary tie-breaking votes to end a filibuster and to confirm his nomination. Brownback resigned as governor of Kansas effective January 31, 2018, and was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom on February 1, 2018. His ambassadorial tenure ended in January 2021.
Early life and education Sam Brownback was born on September 12, 1956, in Garnett, Kansas, to Nancy (née Cowden) and Glen Robert Brownback. He was raised in a farming family in Parker, Kansas. Some of Brownback's German-American ancestors settled in Kansas after leaving Pennsylvania following the Civil War. Throughout his youth, Brownback was involved with the FFA (formerly the Future Farmers of America), serving as president of his local and state FFA chapters, and as national FFA vice president from 1976 to 1977.
After graduating from Prairie View High School, Brownback attended Kansas State University, where was elected student body president and became a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho agricultural fraternity. After graduating from college in 1978 with a degree in Agricultural Economics in 1978, he spent about a year working as a radio broadcaster for the now-defunct KSAC farm department, hosting a weekly half-hour show. Brownback received his J.D. from the University of Kansas in 1982.
Early career Brownback was an attorney in Manhattan, Kansas, before being appointed as Kansas Secretary of Agriculture by Governor John W. Carlin on September 18, 1986. In 1990, he was accepted into the White House Fellow program and detailed to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 1990 to 1991. Brownback returned to Kansas to resume his position as Secretary of Agriculture. He left his post on July 30, 1993. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 and ran in the 1996 special election for the U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by Bob Dole.
U.S. Senator (1996–2011)
Elections Sheila Frahm was appointed to fill the seat of U.S. senator Bob Dole when Dole resigned in 1996 to campaign for president. Brownback defeated Frahm in the 1996 Republican primary and went on to win the general election against Democrat Jill Docking by 112,677 votes. In 2001, the Federal Election Commission assessed fines and penalties against Brownback's campaign committee and against his in-laws for improper 1996 campaign contributions. As a result of these improper contributions, the campaign was ordered to pay the government $19,000 and Brownback's in-laws, John and Ruth Stauffer, were ordered to pay a $9,000 civil penalty for improperly funneling contributions through Triad Management Services.
In 1998, Brownback was elected to a full six-year term, defeating Democrat Paul Feleciano by 244,921 votes. He won reelection in the 2004 Senate election defeating Democratic former lobbyist Lee Jones by 470,526 votes.
Throughout his U.S. Senate career, his principal campaign donors were the Koch brothers of Wichita-based Koch Industries, who donated more to Brownback than to any other political candidate during this period.Lowry, Bryan, "Governor: Koch Industries has no undue influence in Kansas politics," December 14, 2014, Wichita Eagle October 5, 2017Helling, Dave, and David Klepper, "Democrats highlight Brownback's ties to Koch brothers," September 19, 2010, Kansas City Star in McClatchy News Service Washington Bureau website, retrieved October 5, 2017
Tenure
Brownback was a member of the Judiciary Committee, the Appropriations Committee (where he chaired the Subcommittee on District of Columbia when the Republicans were in the majority), the Joint Economic Committee, and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, which he at one time chaired. The Helsinki Commission monitors compliance with international agreements reached in cooperation with Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
In 2000, Brownback and Congressman Chris Smith led the effort to enact the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.Library of Congress: Thomas. House Resolution 3244. Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 President Clinton signed the legislation in October 2000. According to Christianity Today, the stronger enforcement increased the number of U.S. federal trafficking cases eightfold in the five years after enactment.Alford, Deann. "Free at Last" , Christianity Today, February 21, 2007
By August 12, 2007, in the 110th Session of Congress, Brownback had missed 123 votes due to campaigning (39.7 percent)–surpassed only by Tim Johnson (D) of South Dakota who due to a critical illness had missed 100% of the votes of the 110th Session, and John McCain (R) of Arizona with 149 votes missed due to campaigning (48.1 percent).Washington Post."Missed Votes" , August 12, 2007
In 2006, Brownback blocked a confirmation vote on a George W. Bush federal appeals court nominee from Michigan, judge Janet T. Neff. He objected to her joining the bench solely because she attended a same-sex commitment ceremony in Massachusetts in 2002 that involved a next-door neighbor who was a close childhood friend of Neff's daughters. Brownback's action blocked confirmation votes on an entire slate of appointments that had been approved by a bipartisan group of senators.Senator Removes His Block on Federal Court Nominee , The New York Times, Neil A. Lewis, December 19, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2017. In July 2007, Brownback lifted the block that had prevented the vote, and the Senate confirmed Neff by an 83–4 vote. Brownback was joined in opposition by just three other conservatives, then-Senators Jim Bunning, Jon Kyl, and Mel Martinez.110th Congress, roll call vote 240 , United States Senate, July 9, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
In the mid-1990s, Brownback hired Paul Ryan as his chief legislative director. Ryan later became a member of Congress, vice-presidential candidate, and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.Wise, Lindsay McClatchy News Service, and Scott Canon, Kansas City Star, in "The troubled 'Kansas experiment' goes to Washington," January 29, 2017, The Charlotte Observer, retrieved October 5, 2017.
CREW complaints
In 2009, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed an ethics complaint over a fundraising letter signed by Brownback for a conservative Catholic group which they alleged violated Senate rules by mimicking official Senate letterhead.CREW files Brownback complaint , Politico, Glenn Thrush, February 26, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2017. The letter had targeted five senators for being both Catholic and pro-choice: Maria Cantwell, John Kerry, Robert Menendez, Barbara Mikulski, and Patty Murray.A Washington group has filed a complaint with the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee against Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback , Hutchinson News, February 27, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2017. A spokesman said Brownback had asked the group to stop sending the letter even before the complaint was filed.
In 2010, CREW lodged an ethics complaint claiming a possible violation of the Senate's gifts rule by four senators and four congressmembers. The congressmembers lived in a $1.8 million Washington, D.C. townhouseEthics Complaint Leveled at Right-Wing Congressional Members of Shadowy Christian Group , Alternet, Adele M. Stan, April 2, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2018. owned by C Street Center, Inc., which was in turn owned by Christian-advocacy group The Fellowship. CREW alleged that the property was being leased exclusively to congressional members, including Brownback, and that the tenants were paying rent that was below market value. Senator Tom Coburn's spokesman asserted that the rents charged were fair.
Committees Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member) Subcommittee on Defense Subcommittee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion