William A. Halter Jr (born November 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 18th
lieutenant governor of Arkansas
The lieutenant governor of Arkansas presides over the Arkansas Senate with a tie-breaking vote, serves as acting governor of Arkansas when the governor is out of state and assumes the governorship in cases of impeachment, removal from office, deat ...
from 2007 to 2011. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, he was elected to succeed the late
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Winthrop Paul Rockefeller
Winthrop Paul "Win" Rockefeller (September 17, 1948 – July 16, 2006) was an American Republican politician and businessman who served as the 17th lieutenant governor of Arkansas from 1996 until his death in 2006. He was a member of the Rock ...
in 2006, defeating Republican challenger
Jim Holt.
Before his election as lieutenant governor, Halter served as the Deputy Commissioner (1999–2001) and Acting Commissioner (2001) of the
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability and survivor benefits. To qualify ...
. He previously worked as a senior adviser in the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
from 1993 to 1999. A native of
North Little Rock
North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...
, he is a graduate of
Stanford University and
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
.
He unsuccessfully challenged two-term incumbent
Blanche Lincoln
Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born Blanche Meyers Lambert; September 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the Senate in ...
for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, losing in the June 8, 2010, runoff after neither won a majority in the May primary. After the bruising primary, Lincoln lost to her Republican opponent
John Boozman
John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repres ...
in the general election. Halter ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Arkansas
in 2014 but dropped out, citing concerns over a divisive primary hurting Democratic chances for the seat.
Early life and career
A fourth-generation
Arkansan
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, Halter was born and raised in
North Little Rock
North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...
. He graduated from
Little Rock Catholic High School as
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
of his class in 1979.
A
National Merit Scholar
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...
and a 1981
Harry S. Truman Scholar,
he studied economics and political science at
Stanford University in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was es ...
, where in 1983 he earned a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
with honors and distinction in 1983. He was a member of
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
. Upon graduation from Stanford, he won a
Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in England, where he received a
Master of Philosophy
The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...
degree in economics in 1986. Following his return to the United States, he became a management consultant with
McKinsey & Company.
Public service
Halter entered the public sector, serving as an economist to the
U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee and as chief economist for the
U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Following the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
of fellow Arkansan
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
as President of the United States, Halter joined the new administration as a senior adviser in the
Office of Management and Budget
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...
(OMB) in 1993. He advised on a range of policy issues, reviewed and evaluated budgets and management practices of Federal cabinet departments, presented budget options to the President, and formulated Administration positions on domestic and international policy issues. He also coordinated the work of the President's Management Council, a group consisting of the Chief Operating Officers of the Federal Cabinet departments.
On October 1, 1999, Halter was nominated by President Clinton to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability and survivor benefits. To qualify ...
. He was unanimously confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on November 10, 1999, becoming the first confirmed Deputy Commissioner of the SSA as an
independent agency
A regulatory agency (regulatory body, regulator) or independent agency (independent regulatory agency) is a government authority that is responsible for exercising autonomous dominion over some area of human activity in a licensing and regulati ...
. As the agency's Chief Operating Officer, he was responsible for the delivery of more than $500 billion in benefits to over 48 million Americans and managed 65,000 employees in 1,500 offices.
During his tenure, he encouraged the use of computer technology in all aspects of SSA's operations. Of particular interest to Halter was the use of the Internet, both as an informational service and a service-delivery method. He pushed the Agency to accelerate its adoption of Internet service delivery and maintained constant pressure on the organization to find new and innovative ways to use the Internet in its business operations. From January 21 to March 28, 2001, Halter served as Acting Commissioner of the SSA during the first months of the administration of
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
. Halter re-entered the private sector by joining the board of directors of several companies in biotechnology and information technology, including Akamai Technologies, webMethods, InterMune, Threshold Pharmaceuticals and Xenogen.
Political career
In the run-up to the 2006 Arkansas elections, Halter initially ran for
Governor of Arkansas, but dropped out in March 2006 and instead ran successfully for lieutenant governor. He won a Democratic primary election run-off against Tim Wooldridge and then defeated
Jim L. Holt of
Springdale, a conservative former Republican state legislator and
Southern Baptist minister, in the general election.
In 2007, there was speculation that Halter would run for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
against incumbent
Mark Pryor
Mark Lunsford Pryor (born January 10, 1963) is an American attorney, politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to becoming senator, he was Attorn ...
in 2008, but this did not occur. He chaired the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association and of the Southern Region of the
National Lieutenant Governors Association The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) is the non-profit, nonpartisan professional association for elected or appointed officials who are first in line of succession to the governors in the 50 U.S. states and the five organized terr ...
.
On March 1, 2010, Halter announced his candidacy in the
2010 U.S. Senate election, challenging two-term incumbent
Blanche Lincoln
Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born Blanche Meyers Lambert; September 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the Senate in ...
in the Democratic primary. After one month of fund-raising, the Halter campaign announced that it had raised more than $2 million, mostly from out-of-state and from national labor unions. On May 18, 2010, Halter and a minor third candidate prevented Lincoln from polling over 50% of the vote, thus triggering a runoff on June 8 between Lincoln and Halter, which Lincoln narrowly won. Lincoln ultimately lost the general election to her Republican opponent,
U.S. Representative
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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
John Boozman
John Nichols Boozman ( ; born December 10, 1950) is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. repres ...
.
Halter has been described as an outspoken supporter of
gay rights and a "classic
populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
,
progressive Democrat".
''Huffington Post'' report on Halter
huffingtonpost.com; November 19, 2009; accessed September 23, 2014.
Political positions
The economy
Halter supports investment in clean energy, making broadband accessible to all Arkansans and raising the minimum wage. He opposes trade deals that "send Arkansas jobs abroad and undermine American businesses by undercutting American workers by not requiring the same working conditions as American businesses have to meet."[Halter campaign website](_blank)
, billhalter.com; accessed September 23, 2014.
Education
A supporter of the scholarship lottery, which has helped 28,000 families afford higher education without raising taxes, Halter supports making loans and grants more affordable. He criticised then-U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln
Blanche Lambert Lincoln (born Blanche Meyers Lambert; September 30, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1999 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected to the Senate in ...
's support for the big banks that profit from student loans. He supports the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act
The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 (SAFRA; ) is a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives of the 111th United States Congress by Congressman George Miller that would expand federal Pell Grants to a maximum of $ ...
which would expand federal Pell Grants
A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled i ...
and end federally-subsidized private loans, using all federal student loan funding for direct loans and cutting the deficit by $87 billion over 10 years. Halter criticised Lincoln for opposing the act.
Health care
Halter backs then President Obama's efforts to reform health care, saying that although the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could have been better, he supports it because it provides 450,000 uninsured Arkansans with health care. He criticized Blanche Lincoln for watering down the act, claiming she "sided with the insurance companies and HMOs who gave her campaign more than $800,000."
Farming and rural communities
Halter has made agriculture one of his "top priorities", pledging to support farmers, not corporate agribusiness. He believes that too much money is given in subsidies to those who don't need it, whilst failing to provide support for family farmers.
Consumer protection and financial reform
Halter has repeatedly criticised Congress' close relationship with special interests and lobby groups. He has said that banks that take taxpayers' money should be held to account. He supports reforms that get banks lending money to Main Street and small businesses whilst preventing a repeat of the financial crisis
A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...
. Halter supports the creation of an independent watchdog agency, an end to sky-high corporate compensation, and better checks and balances on financial industry practices.
Family
Halter and his wife Shanti have two daughters. They are members of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in North Little Rock.
Electoral history
References
External links
*
Campaign contributions
OpenSecrets.org (U.S. Senate race)
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halter, Bill
1960 births
21st-century American politicians
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
American Rhodes Scholars
Arkansas Democrats
Candidates in the 2010 United States elections
Clinton administration personnel
Lieutenant Governors of Arkansas
Living people
Politicians from North Little Rock, Arkansas
Stanford University alumni
Catholics from Arkansas
George W. Bush administration personnel
Commissioners of the Social Security Administration