Rep. Adrian Smith passes bill naming Lexington post office for Bill and Elsie Barrett

LINCOLN — Republican U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith of Gering has secured House passage of a bill to name a Lexington, Nebraska, post office for one of his predecessors, former 3rd District GOP Rep. Bill Barrett of Lexington, and Barrett’s wife, Elsie. 

Barrett, a Korean War veteran who worked for his family’s real estate and insurance company, served a dozen years in the Nebraska Legislature in the 1970s and 1980s, finishing his term as speaker. He won election to Congress in 1990 and served five terms. 

A conservative on tax policy who rose through the ranks, Barrett finished his tenure as vice chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. The 3rd District is home to a large amount of Nebraska’s farm and ranch land. 

Barrett helped write and pass the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996, which eliminated federal price supports and production caps, freeing farmers to plant more of what made money but also eventually cut consumer prices. 

Smith, in his floor speech on the post office bill, said Barrett was “known for his ability to cultivate consensus and connect with anyone,” and served as president of his freshman congressional class, a group that Smith noted included future House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. 

“Tirelessly focused on issues important to Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers, Bill’s former staff have recounted how he would always ask, “Does this help the Third District?” Smith said. “He set a lasting standard of dedicated statesmanship.”

Elsie Barrett, a Connecticut native who later worked in nursing and real estate, met Bill Barrett while he was stationed out east in the Navy. They married in 1952. She later served on the Nebraska Foster Care Review Board.

The Senate will consider its own version of the bill, co-sponsored by Nebraska U.S. Sens. Pete Ricketts and Deb Fischer.  

Editor’s note: This story has been revised to correct the business background of former U.S. Rep. Bill Barrett, R-Neb.