William Emery Barrett (February 9, 1929 – September 20, 2016) was an American Republican politician from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

who served five terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1991 to 2001 as the congressman for Nebraska's third congressional district.

Biography

Barrett was born in

Lexington, Nebraska Lexington is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 10,348 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dawson County. Lexington is located in southern Nebraska, on the Platte River, southeast of North Platte. It si ...

. He attended

Hastings College Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska. History The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. Ha ...

and then earned his license to become a

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

. Before seeking elective office, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, was a longtime

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

and Republican activist. He had also previously served as an administrator at his college alma mater. Barrett served as a member of the Nebraska Republican State Executive Committee in the 1960s and chaired the Nebraska arm of President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

's campaign in 1976. In 1978, Barrett was elected to the unicameral Nebraska Legislature, where he served until his election to Congress. He was speaker of the legislature from 1987 to 1991 and generated some controversy in that position after heated state budget negotiations. In 1990, Barrett entered the Republican primary for the 3rd District after eight-term incumbent

Virginia D. Smith Virginia Dodd Smith (June 30, 1911 – January 23, 2006) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1991 from the Third Congressional District of Nebraska. She was first and to date only woman from Nebrask ...

announced her retirement. Despite being the highest-profile candidate in the field, he only won the five-way primary by 2,000 votes. He then faced fellow state senator

Sandra Scofield Sandra Scofield is an American novelist, essayist, editor and author of writers’ guides. Biography Sandra Scofield was born to Edith Aileen Hambleton in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1943. Scofield taught in public schools and colleges, but stopped ...

in the general election. Although Barrett was initially thought to be a prohibitive favorite in this heavily Republican district, the race was extremely close, with Barrett only prevailing by 4,400 votes. This was the closest a Democrat had come to winning the 3rd since Smith won her first race in 1974 by only 737 votes. Barrett never faced another contest nearly that close, and was reelected four more times by well over 70 percent of the vote; the Democrats did not field a challenger in 1998. In Congress, Barrett was a low-key member who generally supported the priorities of Republican leaders. He served on the

House Agriculture Committee The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of s ...

, helping write the

Freedom to Farm Act The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-127), known informally as the Freedom to Farm Act, the FAIR Act, or the 1996 U.S. Farm Bill, was the omnibus 1996 farm bill that, among other provisions, revises and simplifies d ...

of 1996 and eventually rising to become vice chairman, as well as the

Education and the Workforce Committee The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

. Barrett retired from Congress in 2000 and resided in Lexington. He died on September 20, 2016, at age 87 at an assisted living facility in Lexington.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Bill 1929 births 2016 deaths People from Lexington, Nebraska American Presbyterians Hastings College alumni Republican Party Nebraska state senators Speakers of the Nebraska Legislature United States Navy sailors Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska 20th-century American legislators