Jeff Fortenberry

Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry (born December 27, 1960) is an American politician.

Fortenberry was an at-large member of the Lincoln City Council from 1997 to 2001.

Fortenberry won the seven-candidate Republican primary to replace the retiring Doug Bereuter with 39% of the vote.

He defeated Curt Bromm (33%), the Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, and Club for Growth-endorsed businessman Greg Ruehle (21%).

In the general election, he defeated State Senator Matt Connealy 54%–43%.

He won all but two counties: Thurston and Burt.

Fortenberry was reelected to a second term, defeating former Lieutenant Governor Maxine Moul, 58%–42%, winning all but Burt County.

Fortenberry was reelected to a third term, defeating Marine veteran Max Yashirin 70–30%.

Fortenberry was challenged in the Republican primary for the first time since 2004.

He drew two opponents and won with 84% of the vote.

He was reelected to a fourth term, defeating legislative staffer Ivy Harper, 71%–29%.

Fortenberry drew two opponents in the Republican primary again, but won with 86% of the vote.

Fortenberry was reelected to a sixth term, defeating the Democratic nominee, attorney Dennis Crawford.

Fortenberry was reelected to a seventh term, defeating the Democratic nominee, physician Dan Wik.

He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022, representing NE's 1st congressional district as a member of the Republican Party.

In October 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Fortenberry on three charges of lying to investigators and concealing information about foreign campaign contributions.

He was convicted of all three felony counts in March 2022.

After the convictions, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called upon Fortenberry to resign.

He officially resigned on March 31, 2022.

In June 2022, he was sentenced to 2 years' probation, plus community service and a fine.

His conviction was overturned in December 2023.

Fortenberry graduated from Catholic High in his native Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Louisiana State University, a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University, and a master's degree in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Fortenberry previously worked as an economist, in local economic development, and as a publishing executive for Sandhills Publishing.

He was also a policy analyst for the Senate Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations.

He introduced H.R. 321, the SCHIP Plus Act of 2009, to offer eligible families the choice to retain coverage for their children in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or using program funds to help pay for family insurance plans.

He introduced H.R. 5479, aimed at protecting people with preexisting conditions.

He introduced the Renewable Fuels for America's Future Act of 2010, designed to reduce subsidies for the production of ethanol.

The act would result in taxpayer savings of $5.67 billion, according to economists Ernie Goss of Creighton University and Bruce Babcock of Iowa State University.

Fortenberry voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but said in 2010 that he supported "the right type of [health care] reform", incorporating measures to reduce costs, improve outcomes and protect vulnerable people.

Campaigning for an eighth term in October 2018, it was reported that Fortenberry's chief of staff threatened a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ari Kohen, who had liked a Facebook post depicting a photo of a vandalized Fortenberry campaign sign, raising the issue to Kohen's supervisor as well as the dean and chancellor of the university.

In reaction, Kohen raised a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, alleging a chilling effect on free speech.

Fortenberry defeated Democratic nominee Jessica McClure with 60% of the vote, but lost in Lancaster County.

Fortenberry defeated Democratic state Senator Kate Bolz with 59% of the vote.

During the week of April 12, 2021, Fortenberry made two false calls for emergency service to the United States Capitol Police through the emergency duress button in his Capitol office.

The calls were apparently not for a genuine emergency, but only to check the agency's response time.

Fortenberry served on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.

In 2020, Fortenberry signed a forest management agreement and gathered producers across Nebraska to discuss growing the agriculture family through integrating big data, precision farming, and value-adds to maximize incomes of farms of all sizes.

On August 4, 2020, a bipartisan initiative supported by Fortenberry, the Great American Outdoors Act, was signed into law by President Donald Trump.

In September 2020, Fortenberry sponsored H.R. 3651, which serves to facilitate the use of certain land in Nebraska for public outdoor recreational opportunities and for other purposes.