Bruce Lee Bostelman (born July 20, 1962) is an American politician who has served in the Nebraska Legislature from the 23rd district since 2017.[1][2]
Early life
Bostelman was born in Superior, Nebraska, in 1962, to Dwayne Bostelman and Avis Pingel and was baptized in the Lutheran faith.[3] He graduated from Superior High School in 1980. After high school, Bostelman joined the United States Air Force and served as a security specialist through 1984, and then as a paralegal from 1985 to 2000.[4] He received an associate's degree in paralegal science from the Community College of the Air Force and a Bachelor of Science in business management from Bellevue University in 2002. In 2001, he was promoted to director for Pre Paid Legal Services Inc.[5]
Political career
In 2016, Bostelman was elected to the Nebraska Unicameral. In 2016 and in his 2019 reelection campaign, Bostelman campaigned on issues of opposing tax increases, opposing extending public benefits to illegal immigrants, supporting veterans, opposing human trafficking, and retaining the death penalty.[6][7] Among the bills Bostelman presented in 2017 was a bill to give spouses of active duty and recently discharged service members preference for hiring by government entities in Nebraska.[8] In 2018, Bostelman worked to weaken the Nebraska Public Records Act, pushing bills that gave exemptions to records created in the registration, possession, or sale of guns and that gave exemptions to public power utilities companies.[9][10]
Bostelman is noted for his anti-tax stance. He and Elmwood's Robert Clements received the top scores from anti-tax group, Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom in 2019.[11] Bostelman was the sole vote against allowing Gage County, Nebraska, to raise sales taxes to reimburse the exonerated Beatrice Six.[12] He also supported Governor Pete Ricketts' opposition of Critical Race Theory at the University of Nebraska in 2021.[13]
Natural Resources Committee Chair
In 2022, Bostelman served as chair of the Natural Resources Committee. In this role, he has been heavily involved in 2022 water disputes with Colorado, Nebraska's neighboring state to the west.[14] He is also a key player in cleanup of the Mead, Nebraska AltEn factory pesticide contamination site.[15]
Media coverage
Bostelman received national media attention for a speech on the floor of the legislature in which he repeated a debunked rumor about schools providing litter boxes for students who identify as furries. "They meow and they bark and they interact with their teachers in this fashion," Bostelman said during legislative debate. "And now schools are wanting to put litter boxes in the schools for these children to use. How is this sanitary?" He later acknowledged that the story was not true; "It was just something I felt that if this really was happening, we needed to address it and address it quickly," Bostelman said.[16][17]
The litter box rumor is connected to attempts to legally regulate transgender students' bathroom usage in conservative states.[18][19]
Personal life
Bostelman married Jan Uldman in 1992. They have two children: Micah and Jen.[4]
References
- ^ "Bostelman to challenge for District 23". columbustelegram.com. March 16, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ "Johnson, challenger Bostelman vie for District 23 seat". columbustelegram.com. October 25, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ [Baptism] The Fairbury Journal-News (Fairbury, NE) August 2, 1962, page 9 [1]
- ^ a b "Biography". news.legislature.ne.gov. Nebraska Legislature. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
- ^ Bostelman named legal services head, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) April 9, 2001, page 5 [2]
- ^ Ricketts opposes Johnson of Wahoo, Fremont Tribune (Fremont, Nebraska) 31, Aug 2016, page A5 [3]
- ^ Walton, Don. State Sen. Bostelman is seeking reelection, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) October 1, 2019, page A4 [4]
- ^ VA gains oversight of state homes, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) 26, Apr 2017 [5]
- ^ Capitol Days, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) 4 Apr 2018, page B2
- ^ Capitol Days, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) 7 Apr 2018, page A20
- ^ Finishing Up, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) 12 Aug 2019, page A3
- ^ Beatrice 6, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) 5 Apr 2019, page B2
- ^ Ricketts, Janssen endorse resolution, Fremont Tribune (Fremont, NE) August 12, 2021, page A4 [6]
- ^ Senators discuss project behind closed doors, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) February 18, 2022, page B1 [7]
- ^ AltEN, Lincoln Journal Star (Lincoln, NE) 25 Feb 2022, page B3
- ^ Sculte, Grant (March 29, 2022). "Nebraska lawmaker apologizes for debunked litter box claim". columbustelegram.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
- ^ Peiser, Jaclyn (March 29, 2022). "GOP legislator backtracks on claims students meow, bark, use litter boxes". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Furry Fury: US Senator Facing Backlash Over School Litter Box Claim". Barron's. Agence France Presse. March 29, 2022.
The debunked rumor is a surreal twist in the heated debate in the United States around transgender students and their rights to use bathrooms matching their gender and participate in school sports.
- ^ "Republican retracts false claim schools placing litter boxes for 'furry' students". The Guardian. Associated Press. March 29, 2022.
The furor over public school restrooms comes as a growing number of conservative states seek laws to ban transgender students from using bathrooms that match their gender identity.