A plain-spoken lawmaker from Wyoming, he balanced his conservative views with moderate stands on abortion rights, gay marriage and immigration reform.

Alan Simpson (R-WY) during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 7, 2022. WASHINGTON, (Reuters) -Alan Simpson, an old school moderate Republican senator who helped craft major U.

Pushing the 1986 immigration reform bill through Congress — his major legislative accomplishment — was like “giving dry birth to a porcupine,” he quipped.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives earlier this week passed the measure, which largely leaves spending steady at about $6.75 trillion in the fiscal year that ends September 30. Democrats expressed anger over the bill,