Senators cross party lines for collaboration
By JqshKnaub
Staff writer
When Republican Chuck Hagel
introduced campaign finance reform
legislation, he had an important ally
from the outset: Democrat Bob Kerrey.
While many in the state may be
surprised that Nebraska Sens. Kerrey
and Hagel would collaborate on an
national issue like campaign finance
reform, sources close to them say
cooperation defines the relationship
between the two senators.
Jody Ryan, Kerrey’s press secre
tary, said the two are natural allies on
some issues.
“They work together on issues that
affect the state,” Ryan said.
The relationship between Kerrey
and Hagel goes deeper than Nebraska
issues, though.
Ryan said Hagel and Kerrey were
friends before either was elected to the
Senate.
Kerrey and Hagel first met and
worked'together in a setting where par
tisan politics meant little. Both were
serving on a board appointed to help
Vietnam veterans affected by Agent
Orange, a hazardous chemical used to
clear foliage during the Vietnam War.
Now colleagues in a body where
partisan politics often overshadow
action, Hagel and Kerrey are once
againworkiBg together on an issue
• In ■ a telephone intervi^L'
Wednesday, Kerrey said he hoped the
bill introduced by Hagel would be a
step in the right direction.
“We are looking for the right solu
tion,” Kerrey said. “And the right solu
tion now is one that will attract 60
votes.”
It takes 60 votes to override a fili
buster in the Senate. A recent cam
paign finance reform bill introduced
by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and
Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) failed because
of a filibuster.
Kerrey was optimistic about the
passage of Hagel’s bill, which he
signed as an initial co-sponsor.
“Chuck may have the vehicle for
campaign finance reform to pass,”
Kerrey said.
In a statement introducing his cam
paign finance reform bill, Hagel said
the bill was in the best interest of
Americans.
“Changing the way federal cam
paigns are financed is inevitable. The
American people will demand it,”
Hagel said.
He said he was disappointed the
Senate had been prevented from debat
ing campaign finance reform.
The reforms proposed in Hagel’s
campaign finance reform bill are more
modest than those in the McCain
Feingold bill defeated this year.
Hagel’s bill would require'more
reporting of campaign fund raising and
campaign spending.
It also puts a $60,000 cap on “soft
2
money” donations are currently unlim
ited.
The bill raises the amount of
money individuals and political action
committees can give in “hard money,”
money given to candidates and politi
cal parties for election spending. The
dollar limits now in place have not
changed since they were instituted in
1974.
Although it is too early to tell if the
bill will pass, Sen. Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.), the chief nemesis of the
McCain-Feingold bill, has given the
bill modest praise.
Kerrey said he and Hagel had
worked together on issues such as crop
insurance, trade sanctions and main
taining Omaha’s Offutt Air Force Base.
“We are good friends,” Kerrey said.
“I like (Hagel). I admire him.”
Although the two share a friend
ship and a mutual admiration, they are
not afraid to disagree.
Deb Fiddelke, Hagel’s press secre
tary, said the pair took a different
approach to a number of issues.
“They have a philosophically dif
ferent approach to the role of govern
ment,” she said. “Bob Kerrey is a liber
al Democrat, and Chuck Hagel is a
Republican.”
But for Kerrey, disagreement about
issues does not impede friendship.
“Disagreement is not unpleasant,”
Kerrey said.
Ann Boyle, chairwoman of the
Nebraska Democratic Party, said both
She said both were alsdi t
unconventional, sometimes taking a
H
Changing the way federal campaigns are
financed is inevitable. The American people
will demand it.”
Sen. Chuck Hagel
R-Nebraska
different stand than leaders within their
parties.
“Both have taken party leaders to
task,” Boyle said. “Hagel has criticized
the Republican leadership, and Kerrey
has taken stands against President
Clinton.”
Boyle said she had been impressed
by the cooperation of Nebraska’s sena
tors and with how they handled their
differences.
She said the two maintained a rela
tionship while remaining loyal to their
parties. Kerrey supported fellow
Democrat Ben Nelson during Hagel’s
1996 Senate campaign.
“It would be an incredible news
story if Chuck Hagel endorsed Bob
Kerrey for Senate,” Boyle said.
UNL Political Science Professor
John Hibbing said the relationship
between Kerrey and Hagel, while
impressive, was not unheard of.
He said many, states elected a sena
Democrat and one kepubfecim.
He said both Hagel and Kerrey
Omtuedt will leave a legacy after retirement
OMTVEDT from page 1
and I suppose that is why I enjoy
administration now.”
Omtvedt’s days as vice chancellor
for the Institute of Agriculture and
Natural-Resources are numbered. After
announcing his retirementiast Julyr
Omtvedt is preparing to give up his
position in June 2000.
But even though he is leaving the
campus he has been a fixture of for 25
years, Omtvedt knows he won’t be able
to leave for good.
“I plan to be very active,” Omtvedt
said. “I might pick up a few assign
ments here and there.”
In his blood
It’s no wonder Omtvedt’s dedica
tion to agriculture runs so deep.
When you ask his wife, Wanda, for
an explanation, she tells it to you sim
ply.
“He was raised on a farm,” she
said. “He knew from the beginning he
wanted to work in agriculture.”
Growing up in Rice Lake, Wis.,
Omtvedt used die earnings he gained
from his flock of sheep and other live
stock to pay his way through college.
“After four years I had more money
in the bank than I started with because"
of the livestock operation,” Omtvedt
said.
Omtvedt brags about being the
grand champion winner at the Eau
Claire Livestock market show He talks
about how his livestock sold for $1.30
a pound - which was good “back then.”
Of course, Omtvedt remembers the
bad times along with the good. He was
born in 1935 during the Great
Depression. The first house his parents
bought cost $2,000. It was repossessed
from the original owners, stood vacant
for a number of years and eventually
sold to his family a i a sheriff’s sale.
Even after die family bought the
house, there were no guarantees it
would remain theirs, Omtvedt said.
“It was only $2,000, but it was bor
rowed,” he said. “My folks didn’t talk
about it much, but we could certainly
sense there was always concern about
where the next dollar would come
from.” .•
Omtvedt still remembers clearly^
Walking into the house for the first
time. Snow leaked from die roof inside
the house onto fee wood floors causing
them to buckle.
“I can still see that buckle through
^et^i|ilf 1 uncertainty his
family felt when he was young didn’t
discourage Omtvedt.
Instead, he enrolled at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison as
an animal science major and became
the first in his family to get a college
degree.
Spreading knowledge
Growing up during hard times for
farm families has given Omtvedt the
inspiration to do the job he has had at
fee University of Nebraska for fee last
25 years.
He’s seen other farmers suffer fee
same trials his family did. Omtvedt
recalls fee 1980s as a time when many
students graduated from fee university
and immediately went home and
expanded then farming operations.
“It was fee wrong time to do feat,”
Omtvedt said. “They ended up losing a
great deal.
“We want to prevent that from hap
pening.”
Omtvedt set out to look ior ways to
help farmers stay afloat in an ever
changing industry - an industry that
one in four families in Nebraska relies
on for its main source of income.
One of the chief means of keeping
farmers moving forward is having an
extensive research base at the universi
ty level, Omtvedt said.
With research, it is possible for
fanners to find ways to diversify their
operations. With corporations rapidly
becoming a presence in farming, diver
sification is essential, Omtvedt said.
“Our goal is to have a diverse eco
nomic base,” he said. “But we can’t
move Otit of agriculture and into other
areas without a high degree of proba
bility that it is going to work.”
his tenure, Omtvedt has relied on deans
and people in departments to look for
ways to bring in extensive amounts of
funding/
So far, Omtvedt feels his team has
been successful. / ~ .
“I’m proud of the fact it’s bringing
in external dollars into programs that
are important to Nebraska,” he said.
“And it has meaning — we’re not just
doing research for the sake of doing
research.”
Darrell Nelson, the dean and direc
tor of the agricultural research divi
sion* said Onatvedt’s dedication tc
research shd^ws his dedication ft
Nebraskans.
“He’s got a broad vision for doin£
what we need to do to provide new
knowledge for Nebraskans,” Nelsor
said. “He’s very thoughtful about how
we can enhance our resources to do a
better job for Nebraskans.”
Omtvedt and others have also rec
ognized that skills students need to lx
successful in agriculture professions
have changed. During his time at UNL.
professors have started putting empha
sis on the importance of business,
management and communication
skills
“When students leave here today
they are much more society-ready than
they were when the institute was first
formed,” he said.
Lasting Legacies
Omtvedt knows you don’t spend 25
years at a place without leaving some
kind of legacy.
As for what he will be remembered
for, Omtvedt hopes it is uniting the two
campuses - a goal he has worked
steadily for during his time at UNLT
To fulfill his vision, Omtvedt
became a key player in the building ol
the George W. Beadle Center for
Genetics and Biomaterials Research.
Then he convinced everyone il
should be on the edge of City Campus.
The center required many faculty
members and die biochemistry depart
ment to move from East Campus to
City Campus.
Alan Moeller, assistant vice chan
cellor to Omtvedt, said the center was
Omtvedt’s biggest contribution to unit
ing the university.
“He insisted it be located on City
Campus,” Moeller said. ‘Tie wanted it
to serve as a bridge between the two
campuSes.” T'"' -f
Omtvedt took other steps to unite
the campuses. UNL’s nationally known
agribusiness program is a result of the
College of Business Administration
and the College of Agricultural
Sciences and Natural Resources work
ing together.'
a result of a partnership between the
College of Arts and Sciences and
CASNR.
“There’s a much smaller gap
between the people in the institute and
people in other components ift the uni-'
versity,” Omtvedt said. “But it is some
; thing we need to continue to put a lot of
emphasis on.”
Distance education is another area
Omtvedt has influenced. His efforts
led to the founding of a distance-edu
cation consortium of 57 universities
that will celebrate its 10th anniversary
this year.
Omtvedt also served as vice chan
cellor for extended education for two
years.
Chancellor James Moeser said
Omtvedt’s other legacy was his worio
with distance education.
Moeser said his dedication to it
shows where his commitment lies.
, v “He has a strong engagement with
Nebraska and its community,” he said.
Nearing the end
Omtvedt fs spending his last
months in his office in Agriculture
Hall.
But if looming retirement is sup
posed to change how hard you work,
Omtvedt doesn’t know that.
“He sees it as a long way off,”
Moeller said. “He’s not going to coast”
But come June 2000, the year he
has been planning on retiring much of
his working life, Omtvedt feels he will
be ready to pass on the job.
After being in the position through
five chancellors and long enough to
hire every dean and director in the
institute, Omtvedt knows he’s leaving
behind the best people.
“You get to a point where you feel
you’ve made the best contribution you
can in terms of people,” Omtvedt said.
“Now it’s time to bring in some new
people with new ideas and new blood.”
Omtvedt plans on traveling, spend
ing time with his children, who live in
Kearney and Kansas City, volunteering
and participating in civic activities:
Omtvedt will do alfof that while
being a university outsider for the first
time since college. : * ■ : ~
It's something Omtvedt can f^el at-,
peaceabout. ^
* “I have no rigrets, and I’m Very
optimistic about the university and the
direction we are headed.”
would gain political standing by sup
porting Hagel’s bill.
“It’s good for them both.” Hibbing
said. “Both are trying to do some
thing.”
Hibbing said partial cooperation by
same-state senators from opposing
parties was often a reality but that bitter
disagreements could also develop.
“Feuds are common, especially on
judicial appointments,” he said.
Kerrey said such a feud would not
split himself and Hagel.
“It’s like when you have a good
friend you don’t discuss politics with,”
Kerrey said. “That friendship will
weather any political storm.”
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