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Tom Brewer (politician)

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Thomas Ross Brewer
Member of the Nebraska Legislature
from the 43rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2017
Preceded byAl Davis
Personal details
Born (1958-08-06) August 6, 1958 (age 66)
Casper, Wyoming, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Oglala Lakota
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKelli Brewer
Children2
EducationDoane University (BA)
CommitteesGovernment, Military and Veterans Affairs
Education
General Affairs
Websitewww.VoteTomBrewer.com
Military service
Branch/service United States Army
RankColonel
Battles/warsGulf War, War in Afghanistan

Tom Brewer (born August 6, 1958) is an American politician serving as a member of the Nebraska Legislature from the 43rd Legislative District. Elected in 2016, he assumed office in 2017.

Early life and education

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Brewer was born in Casper, Wyoming and attended high school in Gordon, Nebraska.[1][2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Doane University and attended the United States Army War College.

Military Career

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For 36 years, Brewer served as a member of the United States Army, including six tours in Afghanistan.[3] Brewer was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.[4]

After attending U.S. Army Field Artillery School and earning the Air Assault and Airborne qualifications, he was commissioned an infantry officer in 1983. After infantry officer training, he completed the Pathfinder Course, Jumpmaster Course, and Ranger School. In 1985, he was assigned to the 167th Cavalry Regiment as an attack helicopter pilot and qualified on the AH-1 Cobra, UH-1 Huey, and OH-58 Kiowa aircraft. He served with the 4th Brigade 1st Cavalry Division in Operation Desert Storm.[5]

Afghanistan

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Brewer was mobilized to Afghanistan in May 2003 to take command of the training battalion of the Afghan National Army.[5] On October 12, 2003, Brewer was shot six times and received numerous shrapnel injuries in an engagement at a decommissioned Soviet tank depot, later dubbed the "Battle of the Bone Yard."[6] He was awarded the Bronze Star and his first Purple Heart as a result.[5]

In late 2007, Brewer was assigned as Operations Officer for the National Airborne Operations Center at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska.[5]

In January 2010, Brewer was assigned an advisor for the US CENTCOM counternarcotics mission in Afghanistan. While carrying out this assignment on December 16, 2011, he was again severely injured after a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle. He received the Secretary of Defense Medal for the Defense of Freedom for his conduct in this event. His injuries resulted in his involuntary medical retirement in 2013. [5]

Ukraine

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Brewer has been supportive of Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in 2022, explaining that he serves as a "pipeline to share information" with members of Congress on the war.[7] He began making visits to the country's frontlines in May 2022 to assist in training the Armed Forces of Ukraine and deliver supplies.[8][9] During a trip in July 2022, he said that if the US did not help Ukraine, then American troops would eventually be fighting Russians.[10]

Political Career

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2014 Congressional Campaign

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Shortly after completing rehabilitation from injuries sustained from the 2011 rocket-propelled grenade attack in Afghanistan,[11] Brewer announced his campaign for Nebraska's Third Congressional District seat against Republican incumbent Adrian Smith in the 2024 primary election.[12] Brewer lost to Smith in the Republican primary, receiving 31.8 percent of the votes cast in the two-way race.[13]

Nebraska Legislature

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Brewer (left) prepares to enter a county rodeo grounds as part of a campaign event in 2020

Brewer was elected to the Nebraska Legislature in 2016, defeating incumbent Al Davis.[14] Brewer received 9,169 votes of 17,545 cast (52.2 percent) in the general election.[15]

Brewer faced a challenge in his 2020 reelection campaign from ranch owner Tanya Storer. In the 2020 general election, he won reelection with 57.9 percent of the total votes cast.[16] The relatively large amount of money spent on the race drew commentary from local media.[17]

As a legislator, Brewer has focused on veterans issues, Native American issues, religious freedom, and firearms laws. As chairman of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, he has also carried a number of bills relating to elections.

Military and veterans

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Brewer sponsored a succession of bills to reduce and ultimately eliminate taxation of military retirement benefits.[18][19][20] His Legislative Bill 1394 passed in 2024, exempting National Guard drill and annual training pay from Nebraska income tax.[21]

Brewer introduced LB 253 in 2023 and later amended it to create a new veterans court program that would allow veterans to have their criminal cases dismissed upon successful completion of a specialized training mandated by the court. Former United States Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel spoke in support of the proposal at a public hearing on the bill, which ultimately passed in 2024 on a vote of 44-0.[21]

Citing the effects of his own military service as a motivation, Brewer introduced successful legislation to improve support for emergency responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.[22]

Native American issues

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Early in his first term in the Nebraska Legislature, Brewer took a prominent role in discussions about how to address alcoholism on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the alcohol trade in the border town of Whiteclay, Nebraska.[23][24][25]

In his second year in the Unicameral, Brewer co-sponsored legislation to replace the statue of William Jennings Bryan with one honoring Chief Standing Bear, and he subsequently served on the committee that commissioned the replacement statue and participated in its installation at the United States Capitol.[26] Brewer later introduced successful legislation to rename a state government building after Chief Standing Bear.[27]

Brewer introduced LB 154 in 2019, directing the Nebraska State Patrol to investigate and publish a report on missing and murdered indigenous women in Nebraska.[28] Governor Pete Ricketts signed it into law on March 7, 2019.[29]

In 2024, Brewer saw his "First Freedom Act" pass as part of a package prioritized by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. This bill included protections duplicating those found in the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and provisions specifically protecting the wearing of tribal regalia in Nebraska schools.[30] Brewer had previously introduced the First Freedom Act and tribal regalia proposals in 2022 as separate bills.[31][32]

In part for his work on these topics, Brewer received the Chief Standing Bear Prize for Courage from the Chief Standing Bear Project in 2023.[33]

Firearms

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Governor Jim Pillen looks on as Senator Tom Brewer delivers a speech at the LB 77 signing ceremony on April 25, 2023.

As a freshman senator in 2017, Brewer introduced several unsuccessful firearms-related bills, including a constitutional carry proposal. He introduced several more iterations of this proposal over the course of his two terms in office.[34] He finally succeeded in passing permitless carry and state preemption legislation with LB 77 in 2023.[35] The Legislature's only two African-American senators broke ranks with Democratic Party colleagues to support the bill, and this support was credited as making its passage possible. These senators, Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney cited racist motivations of the original concealed weapon ban and racist enforcement of it in Omaha as central to their support of the change.[36][37]

Brewer introduced LB 582 in 2019 to make it easier to prosecute criminal cases relating to stolen guns. The bill passed early in the 2020 session.[38]

In 2024, Brewer introduced school security legislation to authorize armed security by non-law enforcement at public and private schools in the state of Nebraska. A compromise version of the bill limited the changes to smaller rural public schools, private schools, and post-secondary institutions.[21]

Elections

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As chairman of the committee with jurisdiction over elections, Brewer has frequently carried omnibus election law updates.[39][40]

In 2023, Brewer carried the bill to implement photographic voter identification after Nebraska voters approved a 2022 constitutional amendment requiring it. The bill ultimately passed in the final moments of the 2023 session despite a contentious fourteen-hour filibuster.[41][42][43]

Reputation as a senator

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From before his first election in 2016, Brewer was described as an unusual fit for the job of senator. He campaigned from the back of a mule.[44] He competed in international sniper competitions.[2] In 2021, he made news when he led a team of five Nebraska legislators on a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.[45]

He also drew attention when he traveled to Ukraine in wartime on four occasions during his tenure in the Legislature.[46] Brewer's legislative colleagues presented him with a framed Ukrainian flag featuring their signatures at the conclusion of his final regular legislative session in April 2024.[47]

Competitive marksmanship

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Brewer has long been involved in competitive shooting. He helped coach the 1996 U.S. Men's shooting team in preparation for the 1996 Olympic Games, and he has won ten national championships as a shooter and others as a coach of the All Guard and All Army shooting teams. In 1999, he was named director of the Marksmanship Training Center at Little Rock, Arkansas. As a soldier, he qualified as an expert in both pistol and rifle, and he earned the President's Hundred tab awarded to the hundred top-scoring military and civilian shooters in the President's Pistol and President's Rifle Matches.[5]

After previously taking first place as a military servicemember in 1997, he returned to a world sniper competition in Bulgaria as a sitting state senator in 2018.[48] He competed again in 2019, and his two-man team took the top prize in the 2019 International T-Class Confederation Multigun competition.[2] This win occurred weeks after Brewer broke several ribs in a bicycle accident while training for the contest.[49]

Personal life

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Brewer and his wife Kelli have two children.[50] Kelli has served in the Nebraska National Guard, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 3.[5][51] Both of Brewer's children have also served in the Nebraska National Guard.[5]

Brewer is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe and the first Native American elected to the state legislature of Nebraska.[52] He is a descendant of Chief Red Cloud.[53]

Awards and decorations

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Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze star
1st row Bronze Star Medal with cluster
2nd row Purple Heart with cluster Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal with 4 clusters
3rd row Aerial Achievement Medal Army Commendation Medal with 5 clusters Army Achievement Medal with 3 clusters
4th row Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal Global War on Terrorism Service Medal Humanitarian Service Medal
5th row Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/ gold hourglass (30 years) and 2 mobilization devices Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon
6th row Army Service Ribbon Army Overseas Service Ribbon North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal (International Security Assistance Force)
7th row Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon w/ numeral 12 Nebraska Meritorious Service Medal w/ cluster Nebraska Commendation Medal w/ 5 clusters
8th row Nebraska Individual Achievement Medal w/ cluster Nebraska National Guard Recruiting Achievement Ribbon Nebraska National Guard Desert Storm/Shield Service Ribbon
9th row Nebraska Homeland Defense Service Ribbon w/ device Nebraska Emergency Service Medal w/ star Nebraska Service Medal w/ 3 devices

References

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  1. ^ Bosman, Julie (2017-03-25). "Nebraska May Stanch One Town's Flow of Beer to Its Vulnerable Neighbors (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  2. ^ a b c Young, JoAnne. "Nebraska state senator's two-man team takes first place in international sniper competition". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  3. ^ COLUMNIST, Matthew Hansen WORLD-HERALD. "Hansen: Col. Tom Brewer eager for one last tour". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  4. ^ "Biography « District 43 News and Information". news.legislature.ne.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Sen. Tom Brewer, 2023 Award Winner." Chief Standing Bear Project. [1]
  6. ^ Christ, James F. The Bone Yard. Battlefield Publishing. 2009. ISBN 9780978860431
  7. ^ "Nebraska State Senator Tom Brewer". Ukrinform (Interview). May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  8. ^ Knapp, Fred (June 22, 2022). "Sen. Tom Brewer Heading to Ukraine". Nebraska Public Media. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Knapp, Fred (November 4, 2022). "Brewer helping Ukrainians prepare for winter". Nebraska Public Media. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  10. ^ "Nebraska state senator spends Fourth of July in Ukraine". WOWT. 2022-07-06. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  11. ^ Zelaya, Kevin. "Brewer vying for Smith's seat." Lexington Clipper-Herald. February 22, 2014. [2]
  12. ^ Sievers, Caitlin. "Brewer discusses election chances, national challenges during Sidney stop." Sidney Sun-Telegraph. April 14, 2014. [3]
  13. ^ "Nebraska Primary Election Results." The New York Times. May 2014. [4]
  14. ^ "Colonel Tom Brewer ousts Al Davis from 43rd District legislative seat". KNEB. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  15. ^ "Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers, General Election, November 8, 2016." Nebraska Secretary of State. [5]
  16. ^ "Official Report of the Nebraska Board of State Canvassers, General Election, November 3, 2020." Nebraska Secretary of State. [6]
  17. ^ Garcia, Justin. "The $170,000 campaign of Tom Brewer." North Platte Telegraph. October 23, 2020. [7]
  18. ^ "Veterans income tax break bill advanced". AP NEWS. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  19. ^ "Tax exemption for military retirees wins initial approval". AP NEWS. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  20. ^ "Nebraska to offer full tax exemption to military retirees." Associated Press. May 25, 2021. [8]
  21. ^ a b c Bamer, Erin and Martha Stoddard. "Nebraska lawmakers pass bill to let some schools authorize staff to carry guns." Omaha World-Herald. April 11, 2024. [9]
  22. ^ "Nebraska advances bill to help first responders with PTSD". AP NEWS. 2020-02-26. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  23. ^ "Nebraska leaders jerk alcohol licenses for Whiteclay stores blamed for problems on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation." Capital Journal. April 20, 2017. [10]
  24. ^ Hammel, Paul. "Nebraska State Sen. Tom Brewer catches flak for stand against Whiteclay beer stores." Associated Press. April 24, 2017. [11]
  25. ^ Schulte, Grant. "Nebraska seeks fixes for reservation border-town beer sales." Associated Press. March 9, 2017. [12]
  26. ^ "Chief Standing Bear, who ‘changed the course of history,’ is honored with statue in U.S. Capitol." Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. September 19, 2019. [13]
  27. ^ Gonzales, Cindy. "Nebraska government building to be renamed for Chief Standing Bear" Nebraska Examiner. May 28, 2022.[14]
  28. ^ Mollenkamp, Allison. "Bill Seeks Study on Murdered and Missing Native American Women." Nebraska Public Media. February 26, 2019.[15]
  29. ^ "Legislative Bill 154: Authorize a study to improve reporting and investigation of missing Native American women and children." 106th Nebraska Legislature, First Session. [16]
  30. ^ Wendling, Zach. "Legislature outlaws public records special fees, extends grace period before charges." Nebraska Examiner. March 21, 2024. [17]
  31. ^ Van Kampen, Todd. "West central Nebraska senators begin filing legislation on 'microTIF,' 'constitutional carry'". North Platte Telegraph. January 5, 2022. [18]
  32. ^ Gilbert, Noemi. "Nebraska legislation update." The Register. February 18, 2022. [19]
  33. ^ Hammel, Paul. "State senator who is member of Oglala Lakota Tribe is chosen for ‘courage’ award from Standing Bear group." Nebraska Examiner. September 25, 2023. [20]
  34. ^ Sanderford, Aaron. "Nebraska Sen. Tom Brewer offers a 'cleaner' permitless concealed carry bill." Nebraska Examiner. January 5, 2023. [21]
  35. ^ Beck, Margery A. "Nebraska lawmakers pass permitless concealed carry gun bill." April 19, 2023[22]
  36. ^ Beck, Margery A. "Permitless concealed carry gun bill advances in Nebraska." Associated Press. March 3, 2023. [23]
  37. ^ "Floor Debate March 3, 2023." Transcriber's Office, Clerk of the Legislature. 108th Nebraska Legislature. [24]
  38. ^ "New law places more responsibility on Nebraskans to know if they possess a stolen gun." KHGI. February 14, 2020. [25]
  39. ^ Whitney, Alex. "Election bills see contentious debate in committee hearing." NTV News. January 27, 2022. [26]
  40. ^ "Omnibus elections bill clears first round." Unicameral Update. Nebraska Legislature. February 6, 2024. [27]
  41. ^ Sanderford, Aaron. "Committee votes for Brewer’s voter ID proposal; Slama vows floor fight against ‘abomination.’" Nebraska Public Media. May 18, 2023. [28]
  42. ^ Beck, Margery A. "Nebraska voter ID bill passes, despite filibuster by lawmaker." Associated Press. June 1, 2023. [29]
  43. ^ Hammel, Paul. ""On final day of session, legislators give final OK for voter ID, tax break bills." Nebraska Examiner. June 1, 2023. [30]
  44. ^ Walton, Don. "Tom Brewer — he's a whole different type of senator." Lincoln Journal Star. March 12, 2017. [31]
  45. ^ Bonderson, Aaron. "'I kept my fingers crossed that we could get through it:' Senator Brewer Describes Hike up Kilimanjaro." Nebraska Public Media. November 19, 2021. [32]
  46. ^ Grinvalds, John. "War-Torn: Stories from Ukraine - Nebraska state senator makes fourth trip to embattled country." 1011 Now. July 17, 2024.[33]
  47. ^ Van Kampen, Todd. "Brewer, Erdman say farewell to Unicam after 8 years each." North Platte Telegraph. April 19, 2024.[34]
  48. ^ Walton, Don. "State senator, longtime soldier returns to world sniper competition." Lincoln Journal Star. September 24, 2018[35]
  49. ^ Young, JoAnne. "Nebraska state senator breaks ribs in 'no-big-deal' biking accident." Lincoln Journal Star. October 11, 2019. [36]
  50. ^ Star, KEVIN ABOUREZK / Lincoln Journal. "After 36 years of service, Col. Brewer stepping back, speaking out". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  51. ^ writer, David Hendee / World-Herald staff. "3rd District House race: Tom Brewer battle-scarred but still itching for the front lines". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  52. ^ "A Lakota Warrior Swaps Bullets for Ballots". The Wounds of Whiteclay. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  53. ^ Pierce, Charles P. "Here's a Conservative Republican I'd Vote For." Esquire. February 28, 2017. [37]
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