Respect. Honor. Remember.
  

The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell (ret.),
Biography and Legislative Record

Colorado's senior U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell was born in Auburn, California on April 13, 1933. His mother, Mary Vierra, was a Portuguese immigrant, and his father, Albert Campbell, was a Northern Cheyenne Indian. Campbell is the only American Indian presently serving in the United States Senate, and is one of 44 Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

He received a B.A. degree in physical education and fine arts from San Jose University in 1957 and later attended Meiji University in Tokyo in 1960 as a special research student. Before entering college Campbell served in the U.S. Air force from 1951-53, stationed in Korea, where he attained the rank of Airman 2nd Class.

Campbell is a renowned jewelry designer, athlete, and trainer of champion quarter horses. He participated in the 1964 Olympic Games as a member of the U.S. Olympic Judo Team, and has been a judo instructor. He was elected to the Colorado State Legislature in 1982, serving for four years.

Campbell has been married to the former Linda Price for more than 35 years. He is the father of two grown children, Colin Campbell and Shanan Longfellow. He is a proud grandfather to Luke and Saylor Longfellow and Lauren Campbell. He and his family enjoy many activities together, including riding motorcycles.



Senator Campbell was elected to the U.S. Senate November 3, 1992, and again on November 3, 1998, Senator Campbell was the first American Indian to chair the Indian Affairs Committee.

Senator Campbell is a member of four key Senate Committees: Appropriations Committee; Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Veterans' Affairs Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee.

In addition Senator Campbell chairs the prestigious Helsinki Commission. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Senator Campbell served from 1987-92 in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Colorado's Third Congressional District. Before that he served two terms in the Colorado General Assembly.

Senator Campbell had more freestanding Senate legislation passed into law (12 public laws) than any other member of Congress in the 106th Congress. Senator Campbell has consistently fought to balance the federal budget through reduced spending, to reduce the tax rate on American families, and to impose strict accountability for all federal spending.

Senator Campbell is a recognized leader in public lands and natural resources policy. In the 106th Session of Congress he alone sponsored legislation that created the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000.

Through his support of a zero-tolerance for illegal drug use and legislation he crafted, Senator Campbell secured funding to fight the trafficking of drugs through the creation of the first ever Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The program coordinates federal, state and local law enforcement agencies efforts to combat the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs like methamphetamine.

During the 108th Congress, First Session Republicans regained control of the Senate at the start of the 108th Congress after a dismal year and a half of the Democrats in the majority. At the end of the 107th Congress, the Democrat-run Senate had failed to pass a budget, failed to pass a Medicare prescription drug law, and nearly failed to enact legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security because of petty partisan wrangling.

By contrast, the 108th Republican Senate, led by Dr. Bill Frist, has begun to make amends for those failings by passing a budget that reestablished the priorities of fiscal restraint and allowed both for significant tax relief and the enactment of the historic Medicare reform bill.