- In full:
- Theodore F. Stevens
- Born:
- Nov. 18, 1923, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.
- Found dead:
- Aug. 10, 2010, near Dillingham, Alaska
- Political Affiliation:
- Republican Party
Ted Stevens
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Who was Ted Stevens?
Ted Stevens (1923–2010) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Alaska (1968–2009). He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and later graduated from Harvard Law School.
Throughout his 40 years as senator, Stevens became known as a powerful advocate for Alaskan industry. He helped draft the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act and directed billions in federal funds toward his state, particularly as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In 2008, Stevens was indicted for failing to disclose gifts he had received. Though he was found guilty, a federal judge later overruled the conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct. Stevens died in a plane crash on August 9, 2010.
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Which state did Ted Stevens represent in the U.S. Senate?
Ted Stevens, born on Nov. 18, 1923, was a Republican U.S. senator who represented Alaska from 1968 to 2009. During his time as senator, Stevens became known as a strong advocate for Alaskan industry. In 1971, he played a role in drafting the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which facilitated the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, completed in 1977. He passed away on Aug. 10, 2010.
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How long did Ted Stevens serve as a U.S. senator?
Ted Stevens served as a Republican U.S. senator for Alaska from 1968 to 2009. Appointed to the Senate on December 24, 1968, he filled the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. E.L. Bartlett and served for 40 years. During his tenure, Stevens became known as a strong advocate for Alaskan industry, playing a key role in drafting the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which facilitated the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
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What were some major issues or causes Ted Stevens supported?
As a U.S. senator for Alaska, Ted Stevens advocated for Alaskan industry and helped draft the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, which enabled the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Despite concerns from environmentalists, Stevens brokered legislation that opened the Tongass National Forest to logging in the early 1980s. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, he introduced a bill to allocate more federal money to cleanup efforts. Also, Stevens was a proponent of allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. From 1995 to 2008, he funneled more than $3 billion to Alaska.
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What important roles or leadership positions did he have in the Senate?
Ted Stevens, a Republican U.S. Senator from Alaska (1968–2009), played significant roles in the Senate, particularly as a powerful advocate for Alaskan industry. As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee (1997–2001, 2003–2005), he directed substantial federal funds to Alaska, totaling over $3 billion between 1995 and 2008. Stevens helped draft the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, facilitating the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. He also brokered legislation that opened the Tongass National Forest to logging and secured millions in federal payments to Alaska for prohibiting development in other wilderness areas.
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How did Ted Stevens impact Alaska and U.S. politics during his career?
Ted Stevens, a Republican U.S. Senator for Alaska from 1968 to 2009, significantly impacted both Alaska and U.S. politics. He was known as a powerful advocate for Alaskan industry, helping draft the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, which facilitated the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Stevens directed substantial federal funds to Alaska, especially as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, channeling over $3 billion to the state between 1995 and 2008. Although his career was marred by a corruption trial, which was later overturned, Stevens left a legacy of advocating for Alaska's interests in the U.S. Senate.
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Ted Stevens (born Nov. 18, 1923, Indianapolis, Ind., U.S.—found dead Aug. 10, 2010, near Dillingham, Alaska) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. senator from Alaska (1968–2009).
Stevens served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1947 and from Harvard Law School in 1950. After working for the Department of the Interior (1956–61) in Washington, D.C., he moved to Anchorage, Alaska, to practice law. He was twice defeated (1962, 1968) in bids for the U.S. Senate. Elected to the Alaska State House of Representatives in 1964, he became majority leader in 1966. On Dec. 24, 1968, he was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. E.L. Bartlett.
In his 40 years as senator, Stevens earned a reputation as a powerful advocate for Alaskan industry. In 1971 he helped to draft the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which enabled construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (completed 1977). Despite concerns voiced by environmentalists, in the early 1980s he brokered legislation that opened the Tongass National Forest to logging and mandated millions of dollars in federal payments to Alaska for prohibiting development in other large wilderness areas. (The federal government cut the earmark in 2009.) After the tanker Exxon Valdez spilled some 10.9 million gallons of crude oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989, Stevens introduced a bill to allocate more federal money to cleanup efforts, arguing that Exxon Corporation had not done enough. In 1993 Stevens convinced Congress to allot $10 million for research to determine the effects of large amounts of nuclear waste reportedly dumped into the oceans by the former Soviet Union. Stevens was a fierce advocate of allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, though his efforts did not meet success. In a passionate speech on the Senate floor, Stevens warned his colleagues: “People who vote against this today are voting against me. I will not forget it.” He was more successful in directing federal funds toward his state, particularly as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee (1997–01, 2003–05), funneling more than $3 billion to Alaska between 1995 and 2008.
In 2003 an article in the Los Angeles Times suggested that Stevens had invested his own money in Alaskan companies that benefited from legislation he sponsored and from earmarks he obtained. Stevens responded by insisting that his actions had not violated any Senate rules. In 2007 the Justice Department announced that it was investigating the senator’s ties to Bill J. Allen, a former oil-service company executive who had been accused of bribing members of the state legislature. After Allen claimed that he had paid for renovations to Stevens’s home in Girdwood, Alaska, and even had provided workers for the job, Stevens was indicted in July 2008 for failing to disclose those gifts. The ensuing corruption trial cast a shadow not only on Stevens’s own 2008 reelection campaign—which he lost—but also on the vice presidential campaign of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the running mate of Republican Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Although jurors returned a guilty verdict in Stevens’s trial, in 2009 a federal judge overruled the conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct.
Stevens died after an airplane he was traveling in crashed on Aug. 9, 2010; he had survived a 1978 crash that killed his first wife.