Ex-Nebraska Rep. Bill Barrett, who pushed farm issues, dies
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Longtime Nebraska politician Bill Barrett, who was known for seeking consensus and compromise while helping shape the nation's farm policy during his 10 years in Congress, has died. He was 87.
The conservative Republican died Tuesday at an assisted living facility in Lexington, his hometown, according to Tami Reynolds of Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington.
Barrett was outspoken on farm issues and helped write the Freedom to Farm Act in 1996 that limited farm subsidies. He also tried to keep the federal government out of local water rights issues during his decade representing the western two-thirds of Nebraska in the state's 3rd Congressional District.
Barrett served in the U.S. House from 1991 through 2000 - and he visited each of his district's 66 counties annually, to keep a campaign promise. Before his terms in Congress, Barrett spent 12 years in the Nebraska Legislature, his final four years as speaker.
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Nebraska Democrat, said Barrett succeeded in politics the right way: by building relationships and seeking to understand other people's point of view even when he disagreed.
"He had a phenomenal attitude about life," Kerrey said. "He was always considerate even when someone had a different point of view."
In addition to serving in Congress together, Kerrey worked with Barrett to balance Nebraska's budget when Kerrey was governor and Barrett was speaker of the Legislature.
Barrett graduated from Hastings College in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in business administration. After college, he served in the Navy during the Korean War.
He then worked in the admissions office at Hastings College before returning to Lexington, where he was born, in 1956 to join his family's general insurance, real estate brokerage and appraising firm, Barrett-Housel & Associates. When he retired from politics, he returned to Lexington.
He also served on the Republican National Committee during the 1960s, campaigned for Gerald Ford in the state in 1976 and served as state GOP chairman.