Clarence William (Bill) Nelson, born on September 29, 1942, in Miami, Florida, served as both a U.S. Senator and Representative from Florida. Nelson attended Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He served in the U.S. Army and later worked as a legislative assistant to Florida Governor Reubin Askew. Nelson was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978 and served from 1979 to 1991. He later served as Florida's Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner from 1995 to 2000 before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. He served in the Senate from 2001 to 2019, being reelected in 2006 and 2012, and was chair of the Special Committee on Aging during the 113th Congress. Nelson was a prominent advocate for space exploration, having flown on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986. In 2018, he lost his bid for reelection. In 2021, Nelson was appointed as NASA Administrator.
