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Jefferson Beauregard "Jeff" Sessions III (born December 24 , 1946 ) is the junior United States Senator from Alabama . He is a member of the Republican Party . EARLY LIFE Sessions was born in . In 1964 he became an Eagle Scout . In his adult life, he became a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts Of America . After attending school in nearby degree from the University Of Alabama in 1973. Sessions became a practicing attorney first in Russellville and then in Mobile , where he now lives. He was also an Army Reservist in the 1970s, achieving the rank of Captain . Sessions and his wife Mary have three children: Mary Abigail, Ruth Walk, and Sam. POLITICAL CAREER Following a two-year stint as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (1975–1977), Sessions was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the United States Attorney for Alabama's Southern District, a position he held for 12 years. In 1986, Sessions was nominated for a federal judgeship by Reagan. The nomination was killed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which refused by a 10-8 voteSarah Wildman, Closed Sessions: The Senator Who's Worse than Lott , ''The New Republic'', December 30, 2002 to let the nomination come to the Senate floor for a vote. Sessions' opponents accused him of "gross insensitivity” on racial issues. One of those voting against him was Democratic Senator Howell Heflin of Alabama. Sessions was elected Alabama Attorney General in November 1994. In 1996, Sessions won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, after a runoff, and then defeated Democrat Roger Bedford , 52%-46% in the November General Election . He succeeded Heflin, who had retired after 18 years in the Senate. In 2002, Sessions won re-election by defeating Democratic challenger and State Auditor Susan Parker. In August 2007, State Senator Vivian Davis Figures announced she will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Sessions in 2008. Sessions was only the second freshman Republican Senator from Alabama since the Reconstruction , and gave Alabama two Republican senators, also a first since the Reconstruction. Sessions was easily reelected in 2002 becoming the first (or second, if one counts his colleague Richard Shelby , who switched from Democrat to Republican in 1994) Republican reelected to the Senate from Alabama. POLITICAL POSITIONS Sessions was ranked by ''. He backs conservative Republican stances on Foreign Affairs , Tax es, and social policy. He opposes Abortion and illegal Immigration . Sessions serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee , and is its only member to have unsuccessfully faced the Committee before becoming a senator. Sessions was a supporter of the " Nuclear Option ," a tactic favored by then- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in the spring of 2005 to stop Filibuster s of judicial nominees. When 14 Senators led by Republican John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska struck a deal to avert the option, Sessions was one of the agreement's most severe critics. An August 2007 poll shows Sessions has a 59% approval rating, with 33% disapproving. {Link without Title} On September 25 , 2005 , he spoke at a rally attended by 400 people in Washington, D.C. in favor of the War In Iraq . It was held in opposition to an Anti-war Protest held the day before that was attended by 100,000 people. Sessions spoke of the anti-war protesters, saying "The group who spoke here the other day did not represent the American ideals of freedom, liberty and spreading that around the world. I frankly don't know what they represent, other than to blame America first."Elisabeth Goodridge, "Praise, Anger at Pro-War Rally in D.C." , ''Associated Press'', September 25, 2005 On October 5 , 2005 , he voted against a bill restricting treatment of Terrorist suspects {Link without Title} . Sessions has taken a strong stand against any form of citizenship for Illegal Immigrants . Sessions was one of the most vocal critics of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act Of 2007 , leading the charge to its being tabled (killed) on June 28 , 2007 . Sessions was one of 37 Senators to vote against funding for Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Brief exchange with Chuck Grassley On June 26, 2007, Sessions got into a brief exchange with Senator Chuck Grassley , a Republican from Iowa . Sessions stated that he did not support Grassley's amendment, but would yield time to Grassely, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wouldn't allow a real debate on the amendment, Grassley angrily fired back saying, "I don't care if I speak, I can speak sometime else, but I would like to have time for debate on my amendment, and can I talk about why I should bring my amendment up." {Link without Title} CONTROVERSIES Sessions had unsuccessfully prosecuted three Civil Rights workers (including Albert Turner , a former aide to Martin Luther King, Jr ), on a case of Election Fraud for the 1984 election. Sessions spent hours interrogating black voters in predominantly black counties, finding only 14 allegedly tampered ballots out of the more than 1.7 million ballots cast. The three civil rights workers were acquitted after four hours of jury deliberation. During his nomination to federal court, it was revealed that Sessions had once labeled the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People (NAACP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) "un-American," " Communist -inspired," and had said that they "forced civil rights down the throats of people." At his confirmation hearings, Sessions said that the groups could be un-American when "they involve themselves in un-American positions" in foreign policy. Sessions also stated about the Ku Klux Klan , "I used to think they're OK," until he learned that some Klan members were "pot smokers". Sessions claims he was joking or misunderstood.http://www.cqpress.com/ls/pia/pdfs/106/als2.pdf On September 9, 2005, after and I were talking about the estate tax. If we knew anybody that owned a business that lost life in the storm, that would be something we could push back with." Massimo Calabresi, "Looking for a Corpse to Make a Case: Senators look for a wealthy casualty of Katrina as evidence against the estate tax" , ''Time Magazine'', September 17, 2005 Sessions was one of only nine opponents of Senator John McCain 's anti- Torture amendment. Sessions supports Vice President Dick Cheney 's proposal to exempt the CIA from any ban on torture. Sessions has long been a supporter of Federalism including opposition to parts of the Voting Rights Act , which he described as a "piece of intrusive legislation". In 2006 he was in favor of letting it expire, and also said that Congress should consider if it was needed in some northern cities and states. "Sessions wants to extend Voting Rights Act north" , ''Decatur Daily News'', May 11, 2006 He later voted in favor of extending it.http://sessions.senate.gov/pressapp/record.cfm?id=259273http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00212 FOOTNOTES EXTERNAL LINKS
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