Bob Bennett
Robert Foster Bennett was born September 18, 1933, in Salt Lake City, Utah, the the son of Frances Grant Bennett and four-term U.S. Senator Wallace Foster Bennett. He is the grandson of Heber J. Grant, former President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He attended Utah public schools and received a B.S. from the University of Utah in 1957. Bennett married Joyce McKay in 1962; the couple has six children: Julie, Robert, James, Wendy, Heather, and Heidi. He was a chaplain in the Army National Guard from 1957 to 1969.
Bennett earned distinction in entrepreneurial and government activities. For his success as chief executive officer of the Franklin International Institute, Bennett was named Inc. Magazine's "Entrepreneur of the Year" for the Rocky Mountain region. His Washington, D.C., experience includes service as chief congressional liaison at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Bob Bennett was chosen as the chairman of the special committee "responsible for the relatively glitch-free Year 2000 computer switch." He has continued to be at the forefront of issues relating to technology. He has been especially concerned about and active in fixing vulnerabilities in America's technological infrastructure. He is working to ensure that the infrastructure can be protected as United States' security is enhanced.
Reelected to a third term in the United States Senate in 2004, the Republican Utah senator is a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee, and a member of the Joint Economic Committee.
- From his seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, where he is the ranking member for the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Bennett works to balance fiscal discipline in government while also representing the needs of Utah in the distribution of federal funds. The Utah Republican also serves as the ranking Republican member on the Senate Rules Committee. Named an "Emerging Leader in a Post-September 11 Senate" by Congressional Quarterly Magazine, Bennett has received numerous awards for his contributions in the U.S. Senate.
