John Ensign

John Eric Ensign, a Republican, represented the state of Nevada in the Senate from 2000 to 2011, when he was replaced by the appointment of Dean Heller.

Affair with campaign staffer
On June 16, 2009, Sen. Ensign admitted to an affair with a former campaign staffer, Cynthia Hampton, who was also the wife of Ensign's administrative assistant in his Washington, DC office, Douglas Hampton. Ensign acknowledged that the affair occurred between December 2007 and August 2008.

Payments to the Hamptons
Questions have arisen around payments from Ensign's Member Representational Allowance (MRA) to Douglas Hampton during his final months working in Ensign's office. According to the Politico, Hampton received $101,000 for four months of work in 2008 compared to $144,000 for the entire year of 2007. This could show that he was receiving excessive pay during the time that Ensign was engaged in an affair with his wife. However, staff salaries often contain additional payments including benefits, bonuses, and paid out sick leave.

Ensign has acknowledged that his parents paid the Hamptons a one-time amount of $96,000 after leaving work respective work at Ensign's congressional office and campaign office. Ensign stated, through his lawyer, that his parents gave the money to the Hamptons "out of concern of the well-being of the longtime family friends during a difficult time." Ensign would have had to report the monetary gift to the Hamptons on his personal financial disclosures were he to have given the monetary gift himself.

Son paid by NRSC
While Ensign was the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the son of Douglas and Cynthia Hampton was hired to do "research policy consulting" and paid $5,400.

Collusion to break ethics rules
Recent allegations detailed in a New York Times article state that Ensign aided Doug Hampton in obtaining work as a lobbyist, helped Hampton get clients and then colluded with Hampton to break congressional ethics laws banning former staffers from lobbying their former office for one year.

In February 2008, Ensign contacted Michael Slanker, formerly Ensign's top fundraiser, about restarting Slanker's lobbying firm November, Inc. and hiring Doug Hampton as it's sole lobbyist. At the time, Slanker was unaware of the affair between Ensign and Cynthia Hampton. Ensign told Slanker that the Hamptons were leaving his employ because Cynthia Hampton was sick.

In May 2008, Doug Hampton and November, Inc. signed their first client, NV Energy, with Ensign's help. Soon, Nevember, Inc. signs another client, Allegiant Air. Both clients are campaign contributors to Sen. Ensign.

During this time, Doug Hampton began contacting Ensign's office, breaking congressional ethics laws, with the approval of Ensign. Numerous contacts were made by Hampton to Ensign's office on a variety of issues including the reduction of a fine levied by the Department of Transportation for Allegiant Air and the expediting of an environmental review for one of NV Energy's coal-burning plants. Ensign's office aids Hampton in both of these requests.

Statements on Clinton Impeachment
During the impeachment of President Bill Clinton, Ensign repeatedly called for Clinton to resign for engaging in sexual acts with a woman who was not his wife. Ensign called Clinton's behavior "an embarrassing moment for the country" and later called for the President to resign, "I came to that conclusion recently, and frankly it's because of what he put his whole Cabinet through and what he has put the country through ... He has no credibility left."

Iraq War
Ensign voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

Iraq timetable
In 2007, Ensign vowed to vote against a Democratic resolution to pull troops out of Iraq because he believed that it would "restrict our troops' abilities in combat to only 'limited purposes.'" |2

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Organizations that have supported Ensign
As a conservative member of the Senate, Ensign has had the support of the National Right to Life Committee, American Shareholders Association, Freedom Works, Americans for Tax Reform, the Small Business &amp; Entrepreneurship Council, the John Birch Society, Concerned Women for America, Republican Liberty Caucus, Christian Coalition, National School Boards' Association, American Family Association, Citizens Against Government Waste, National Rifle Association, and American Security Council. 

Organizations that have opposed Ensign
Many groups have been opposed to Ensign. These include Planned Parenthood, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, NAACP, Arab American Institute, National Education Association, Children's Defense Fund, Citizens for Global Solutions, Peace Action, National Organization for Women, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Global AIDS Alliance, and Alliance for Retired Americans. 

General Casey confirmation
Ensign, as a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, as well as Republican Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), voted against the confirmation of General George Casey as the chief of staff of the Army in early 2007. The overall confirmation vote was 14-3. 

Law Enforcement Assistance Force Amendment
Sen. Ensign's amendment, proposing a new system that would document retired law enforcement volunteering to be called on in case of a national disaster, passed in the Senate. The amendment was added to the 9/11 commission bill. |3

U.S. attorney firing controversy
Ensign, who was angered by the firing of U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden (whom he nominated for the post), released a statement after Attorney General Alberto Gonzales acknowledged mistakes in the firing of Bogden and seven other attorneys. He thanked him for "coming forward today to take responsibility for the mistakes that were made, to find out what went wrong and to address these problems immediately." Ensign believed that two things needed to be done to fix the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada. First, despite being one of the fastest growing states in the U.S., Nevada's resources were decreasing, when he felt they should be increasing. Second, Ensign believed Nevada needed "specific benchmarks to review U.S. attorneys."

Senate Finance Committee placement
On July 10, 2007, the Senate GOP Conference gave Ensign a seat on the Senate Committee on Finance which was vacated when Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas passed away earlier that year.

Ensign spokesman Tory Mazzola commented, “Sen. Ensign is excited about this assignment... He’s worked hard as a member of the leadership and these issues are not new to him. These are issues he worked on as a member of the Ways and Means Committee in the House and these are issues that have long been priorities.”

Bio
Ensign was born March 25, 1958 in Roseville, California, but he and his family moved to Nevada when he was a child. He attended UNLV and earned a Bachelor's degree from Oregon State University. He received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Colorado State University in 1985. He then became a successful businessman, opening a 24-hour animal hospital in Las Vegas.

Congressional career
He was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1994. He was reelected in 1996 but declined to run again in 1998. Instead he ran for the Senate but was defeated by the Democratic incumbent, Harry Reid. He gained a Senate seat after his second try in 2000, defeating Democratic opponent Ed Bernstein, to succeed the retiring Democratic incumbent, Richard H. Bryan.

Senate Career
Ensign has become a leading voice against the Kelo v. New London Supreme Court ruling, and has announced plans to introduce a bill that would strongly blunt the effects of the ruling.

Senator Ensign has been praised by many organizations for his support for fiscal conservatism. In 2003, the American Conservative Union named Ensign along with Senators Chuck Hagel (NE) and Don Nickles (OK) as the most conservative Senator in 2003. His accolades for 2004 include being named, along with Senator Jon Kyl (AZ), the most taxpayer-friendly senator by the National Taxpayers Union. Ensign also received the highest rating for a senator by the Citizens Against Government Waste, while being hailed as a "Taxpayer's Hero" for his lifetime efforts against government waste. Both Citizens for a Sound Economy, whose chairman is former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and the National Tax Limitation Committee gave Senator Ensign their highest ratings.

In 2006, he was named to head the Republican Senate Campaign Committee for the 2007-2008 election cycle. 

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated John William Carter to face Ensign in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Ensign retained his seat.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * Senate Committee on Finance
 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism
 * Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation - Ranking Member
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Airland
 * Subcommittee on Seapower
 * Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support - Ranking Member

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
 * Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
 * Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support (Chairman)
 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Communications
 * Subcommittee on Competition, Foreign Commerce, and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space
 * Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
 * Subcommittee on Aging
 * Subcommittee on Children and Families
 * Subcommittee on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
 * Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
 * Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Twitter
 John Ensign posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/johnensign/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/johnensign.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

Articles

 * Ted Glanzer, [www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/jul/1167581.htm "U.S. Sen. John Ensign Releases Telecom Act Rewrite,"] TMCNet, July 27, 2005.
 * Roxana Tiron, "Three GOP sens. vote against confirmation," The Hill, February 7, 2007.

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database
 * Washington Post page on Ensign
 * U.S. Gov. Info: Abortion at Issue as Senate Debates Child Custody Protection Act
 * [usconservatives.about.com/b/a/257239.htm About.com: Judicial Activists and Marriage: This Week's Presidential Radio Address]
 * See how you compare to John Ensign

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Las Vegas Gleaner
 * Reno Discontent