Senator Malcolm Wallop

 

Senator Malcolm Wallop had deep roots in Wyoming, where his family homesteaded in the 1880s. He attended public school in Big Horn and later became a businessman, cattle rancher and politician in the Cowboy State. Today, Wallop’s children and grandchildren in Big Horn and Sheridan represent the fourth and fifth generations of the family in Wyoming. Born on February 27, 1933, in New York City, Wallop graduated from Cate School in Santa Barbara CA, and Yale University in 1954.  Post-graduation he served in the United States Army and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in 1957 and then spent the next decade as a cattle rancher in Big Horn, Wyoming. He ran successfully for the Wyoming House of Representatives as a Republican in 1969 serving until 1973, and as a Wyoming State Senator from 1973-1976.

In 1976 he ran for and was elected to the United States Senate for the first of three terms, serving the people of Wyoming until 1995. His time in the U.S. Senate came at a critical time for the country and state, and during his tenure he spearheaded a number of initiatives important for Wyoming.  Among them, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (or SMCRA “smack-ra”), which created two programs: one for regulating active coal mines and a second for reclaiming abandoned mine lands.  This legislation not only assisted Wyoming’s mining industry it also impacted education – funding that is important to the state to this day.   Senator Wallop served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee where he was the ranking member from 1990-1994 and played a critical role in passing the 1992 Energy Policy Act.  He also served as the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics from 1981-1983.