I first realized in the summer of 1978 that Wyoming was headed for a joyful and meaningful ride with Al Simpson.
He was a candidate in the Republican US Senate primary for the seat being vacated by Cliff Hansen. Al’s primary opponent was an oilman who called himself Hugh “Bigfoot” Binford, claiming he was going to stomp his “big foot” all over Washington.
Al soon had enough of Binford’s routine and challenged him to a contest to see who had the biggest feet. The rest, as they say, is history.
Al’s quick-witted sense of humor immediately served him well in the Senate. One of his first committee assignments was on the Environment and Public Works Committee which was responsible for federal clean air legislation.
At a lunchtime debate, the Republican position was being trashed by a lawyer from the Clean Air Coalition. When it came time for rebuttal, Al stood and said simply “Pesky critter, ain’t he?”
People in the room erupted in laughter, including the target of Al’s humor. The two developed a bond of respect and ended up working together during the rest of his Senate career.
Their relationship turned out to be a decisive benefit for Wyoming a dozen years later, as Congress debated the 1990 Clean Air Act
Acid rain was a prominent concern in the country at that time and Congress was preparing to clamp down on sulfur dioxide emissions from coal fired power plants. Senators from the heavily unionized high-sulfur coal-producing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia saw an opportunity to cripple Wyoming’s emerging surface mining coal industry.
Democrats held a 55-45 majority in the Senate that year and were confident they could shackle Wyoming with a provision requiring utilities burning our coal to add expensive sulphur capturing equipment on their plants even though using low-sulphur coal from the Powder River Basin could meet that federal air standard without retrofits.
Through force of personality, humor, and laser-like reasoning, Al carried the day. He successfully recruited senators from both parties to defeat the punitive amendments, and that, in turn, led to 30 years of prosperity for a major Wyoming industry.
When he joined the Senate in 1979, Wyoming produced 58 million tons of coal a year. When he left in 1996, production had risen to 278 million tons and continued to rise another 200 million during the following decade.
Those early years set the tone for Al’s seamless way of navigating Washington. Everywhere he went he made friends armed with the steadfast belief that you’ll never accomplish anything if you can’t find a way to do it in a bi-partisan manner.
In 1986, he partnered with Democratic representative Romano Mazzoli of Kentucky to sponsor the Immigration Reform and Control Act known widely as the Simpson-Mazzoli Act.
It was signed by President Reagan and remains the last serious effort by Congress to reduce undocumented immigration, punish employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, and offer a path for citizenship.
He also demonstrated courage in other hot button issues by expressing opinions that might have proved fatal for less respected public servants. He opposed expanding veteran’s benefits to cover illnesses that were likely unrelated to military service.
And he took on the powerful lobby representing retired Americans by saying that Social Security benefits should be limited to those who needed them, instead of what he called people who “live in gated communities and drive their Lexus to the Perkins restaurant to get the AARP discount.”
Al’s career was defined by much more than his 18 years in the Senate, however. In fact, he’s probably one of the few former members of Congress who became more popular after he left government.
In 2010, he was named co-chairman of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, serving alongside President Clinton’s former chief of staff, Erskine Bowles.
The Simpson-Bowles Commission spoke to dozens of sold-out audiences around the United States to explain how Congress and the President could cut spending, rebalance tax policy, and restore long-term solvency of Social Security. Fifteen years later it is still considered the most sensible path forward.
Throughout it all, Al stayed anchored to the values that gave him purpose. His 70-year marriage to his amazing partner, Ann, was his guidepost as they proudly represented Wyoming in venues around the world.
Like Ann, Al’s wit was always nearby. At a recent ceremony at the University of Wyoming, he quipped that he was likely the only C student in the school’s history to have a building named after him.
There is a single book at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, which he chaired, with the title “How to Build a Western Museum with Eastern Money by Alan K. Simpson.”
I saw Al a short time ago and was drawn to a photograph hanging in his room. It was a 2018 image taken at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC during his eulogy for his longtime friend, President George H.W. Bush.
In the front row looking directly at Al were presidents Trump, Bush, Obama, Carter, and Clinton all laughing uncontrollably at something he had just said.
It was the perfect memory of a kid from Wyoming who conquered the world.
