Washingtonpost.com staff
Updated April 24, 1998

Sen. Robert Kerrey (D-Neb.) serves as vice chairman for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and co-sponsored the Secure Public Networks Act [S. 909] with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Kerrey's arguments on behalf of some limited encryption controls stem in part from his belief that individual privacy rights must be protected without hampering proper law enforcement activities. "Our nation's policy on encryption is only a single piece of the puzzle ... [w]e need to ensure that the whole system of our public communications networks provides the security required," Kerrey said in a Senate floor speech.

Kerrey was elected governor of Nebraska in 1982, and served one four-year term. He then was elected to the Senate in 1988 and reelected in 1994. In addition to serving on the Intelligence panel, Kerrey sits on the Senate Finance and Agriculture committees.

He served in the U.S. military as a member of the elite Navy SEAL Team and earned the Medal of Honor for his service in the Vietnam War. After the war, Kerrey built a chain of restaurants and health clubs now employing more than 900 people.

See Senator Kerry's Congressional Guide profile and send him e-mail.