Lloyd Bentsen

Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr February 11 1921 May 23 2006 was an American politician who served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1994 He served as a United States senator from Texas from 1971 to 1993 and was the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket Born in Mission Texas Bentsen graduated from the University of Texas School of Law before serving in the US Air Force during World War II He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Europe After the war he won election to the US House of Representatives serving from 1948 to 1955 He defeated incumbent Senator Ralph Yarborough in the 1970 Democratic senatorial primary and won the general election against George H W Bush He was reelected in 1976 1982 and 1988 and served as chairman of the US Senate Committee on Finance from 1987 to 1993 In the Senate he helped win passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and played a role in the creation of the individual retirement account Bentsen sought the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination but was unable to organize an effective national campaign