Alan Andrews

Alan Brett Andrews (born November 19, 1949) is an American politican serving as the Junior United States senator from Minnesota since 2001. Andrews served as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 6th congressional district from 1995 to 2001 before being elected to the United States Senate in 2000.

Before entering politics, Andrews served in the United States Army as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps during much of the Vietnam War.

Early Life, Education and Military Career
Andrews was born on November 19, 1949 in St Paul, Minnesota, the son of Blanche Andrews (nee Brennan; b. 1925) and Norman Andrews (b. 1920). Norman was a decorated World War II veteran, having served in the Italian front of the Second World War as a member of the Army from 1943 to 1945. Blanche was a middle school teacher in the Twin Cities metro area for her career. Andrews graduated from Harding Senior High School in St Paul in 1967, before enlisting in the Army immediately after graduation. Once Andrews was in the military, he joined the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps where he became a Judge Advocate in the Army for several years during the Vietnam War.

Andrews was relived of active duty in 1973 following the end of major American involment in the war in Vietnam, however he remained in the Army reserve for several more years. Once Andrews returned to Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota Law School from 1974 to 1980, earning a Juris Doctorate along with a Bachelor of Arts.

Early Career
While attending the University of Minnesota, Andrews became a law clerk at a local law firm, eventually fully joining the firm in 1980 after graduating from law school. Andrews spent several years in the Twin Cities area working as a defense attorney, before becoming interested in politics in the early 1990s. In late 1993, Andrews decided to run for congress in Minnesota's 6th congressional district which at that time was held by a republican. The race soon became competitive as the incumbent congressman, Rod Grams had decided to retire from the house and run for the retiring senate seat held by Senator David Durenberger.

1994
In the Democratic primary, Andrews faced off against several challengers. Inital polls put him in single digits, but he soon quickly rose up in the polls ending up defeating his strongest opponent, State Senator Bill Luther by a margin of 14%. In the general election, Andrews faced off against Republican State Senator Tad Jude. The campaign soon became very ugly, as both Andrews and Jude used attack ads against each other. Jude appeared to have the advantage going into election night, but a late night surge for Andrews pulled up in front and his extremely narrow lead of 560 votes held.

1996
Andrews was easily re-elected for a second term in a rematch of 2 years prior against Tad Jude.

1998
Andrews was able to narrowly defeated Republican John Kline to win his third term as a congressman. For most of the election, polls and predictions both showed a likely defeat of Andrews, but he was able to pull a suprise victory on election night.

Tenure
Andrews was sworn into office as a congressman on January 3, 1995 alongside many new member of the 104th United States Congress, the majority being Republican. Andrews sided with the more moderate faction of the Democratic party while a member of the House. Andrews took moderate positons much similar to President Bill Clinton's while as a member of congress. Andrews voted to against President Clinton's impeachment in 1998.

2000
Andrews decided to challenge Republican senator Rod Grams in the 2000 U.S Senate election in Minnesota. Andrews won the primary, winning roughly 41% of the overall vote. In the general election campaign, Andrews held a close lead over Grams over most of the campaign and into election day. On election night, Andrews defeated Grams, becoming Senator-elect.

Tenure
Andrews was sworn into office as a senator on January 3, 2001.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on Armed Services
 * Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
 * Committee on Foreign Relations

Political Positions
Andrews is considered to be a moderate or a "New Democrat" member of the Democratic Party and is a member of the Senate New Democrat Coalition. Andrews was given a 28% rating from American Conservative Union (ACU) and a 72% rating from Americans for Democratic Action for the 107th Congress.

Abortion
Andrews is pro-choice. He voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.

Crime
Andrews supports the death penalty and other "tough on crime" measures such as expanding the war on drugs. Andrews supports tougher gun control measures, including making the Assault Weapons ban of 1993 permanent.

Economy
Andrews supports much of the economic measures created by the Clinton administration, calling them "Not just great for the middle class, but for America as well." He supports reducing the debt of the United States and retaining the budget surplus for the year 2000, using it to both create middle class tax cuts and reducing the national debt.

Education
Andrews supports educational reform to increase American test scores and to increase both the funding of the Department of Education and teacher's salaries to boost education nationwide.

Enviroment
Andrews does not support the United States entering the Kyoto Protocol due to his concern about the effectivness and economic imapct of the treaty. However, Andrews does support more domestic enviromential protections including the preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) from drilling in Alaska.

Foreign Policy
Andrews is a self described "hawk" on foreign policy, due to his personal experience in the war in Vietnam. Andrews supports a regime change in Iraq, and supports airstrikes on international terrorists such as Al-Qaeda. Andrews voted Aye and heavily supported both the AUMF against Terrorists and the USA PATRIOT act following the September 11th attacks on New York City in 2001.

Healthcare
Andrews supports healthcare reform. He supported the Clinton healthcare plan of 1993 despite opposition from many at the time. He contiunes to advocate for greater healthcare reform in the government.

LGBT rights
Andrews voted in favour of the Defense Against Marriage Act, and has stayed silent about the issue of same sex rights for the majority of his political career.

Presidential Politics
Andrews supported Bill Clinton in the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections. In 2000, Andrews supported Vice President Anthony Hagel in his run for the Presidency. In 2004, Andrews declined to endorse a Democratic presidential candidate untill Daniel Waters became the presumptive nominee.

Personal Life
Andrews married Pamela Andrews (nee Singleton) on September 22, 1976 in St Paul, Minnesota. The couple have two children, Robert (b. April 5, 1977) and Monica (b. January 17, 1979). They reside in Eagan, Minnesota. Andrews is a Presbyterian.