Mike Crapo (R-ID-Senate)

Mike Crapo Senator Idaho

Mike Crapo Biography from Senate.gov

Biography of Mike Crapo

Personal History at a Glance:

Born in Bonneville County, Idaho, 1951
Graduated from Idaho Falls High School, 1969
Graduated from Brigham Young University, Summa Cum Laude, B.A. in Political Science, 1973
Graduated from Harvard Law School, Cum Laude, Juris Doctorate, 1977
Eight years, Idaho State Senate, representing Bonneville County, 1984-1992; Senate President Pro Tem, 1988-1992
Six years, U.S. House of Representatives, Idaho’s 2nd District, 1993-1998
United States Senator, Idaho, 1999-present; elected 1998, re-elected 2004 and 2010
Wife, Susan; five children, three grandchildren

As a lifelong Idahoan and third-term U.S. Senator for Idaho, Mike Crapo has learned that a willingness to listen makes for a more effective leader and lawmaker. Mike’s commonsense approach and collaborative, creative problem-solving have enabled him to achieve lasting solutions to issues of importance to Idahoans and the nation.

Mike serves as the fifth-ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, giving Idaho an added voice in legislation that impacts their daily lives. This committee has a strong influence on what tax structure our country uses, how to execute certain health and human services programs and implementation of reciprocal trade agreements. The committee has jurisdiction over an extensive range of important policy, including tax, health care, trade and customs and mandatory spending programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. He serves on three Finance subcommittees: Ranking Member on the newly-created Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth; member of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight; and member of the Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness, on which he served as Ranking Member in the 111^th Congress. Senator Crapo’s experience and leadership in promoting Idaho and U.S. exports of goods and services also earned him a 2009 Senate Republican Leadership appointment to the President’s Export Council, which advises the White House on trade and export policy.

At the beginning of his Senate service in 1999, Mike became a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and he is second in seniority among Republicans serving on the committee. His strong background and interest in the finance arena has made him an effective member of the committee, and he made inroads in the areas of regulatory relief, expansion of homeownership, trade and securities and investment. He also maintains three subcommittee assignments. He is the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment, which has jurisdiction over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, securities, other financial investments, accounting standards and insurance. Mike also serves on the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, which oversees urban mass transit and development and various housing policy and programs. He is also a member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, which has jurisdiction that includes banks, credit unions, other financial institutions and e-commerce.

Idaho is defined, in part, by its vast natural resources and the environmental issues that often accompanying them. That is why Mike rejoined the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in 2009, having served on it previously from 1999 to 2005. Mike is the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health, which oversees issues of importance to North Idaho’s ongoing efforts to address environmental challenges related to mining operations. Mike is also a member of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and he continues his service on the Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife, on which he previously served as Ranking Member. Mike is heavily involved in issues ranging from updating and strengthening the Endangered Species Act to clean water to salmon recovery. The Idaho National Lab is a major Eastern Idaho employer and center for national energy and defense research, and Mike utilizes his committee assignments and other opportunities to promote Idaho’s essential energy research and development community and ensure Idahoans’ voices are heard in national energy policy and nuclear safety debates.

In 2003, Mike was selected to serve as a member of the Senate Budget Committee, which is responsible for crafting Congress’ annual budget plan, monitoring action on the budget and overseeing the operation of the Congressional Budget Office. Mike’s fiscally-conservative principles lend a measure of responsible restraint to the pressures for greater spending by the federal government. Mike also served on the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which crafted a proposal to shrink our nation’s debt by $4 trillion. This proposal generated strong, bipartisan support, and continues to be the basis for ongoing discussions in Congress to address our fiscal crisis in a meaningful way.

Rounding out his committee assignments for the 112th Congress, Mike serves on the Indian Affairs Committee. Idaho is home to five Native American Tribes, contributing to the richness of Idaho’s history and the State’s future. The Indian Affairs Committee is tasked with addressing the unique challenges of the Native peoples of our country, including health care access, education, economic development and land management, and considering any necessary legislative solutions.

From 2001 to 2008, Mike served as a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and advanced the needs of Idaho’s agriculture and timber industries during the crafting of the 2002 Farm Bill and the 2008 Farm Bill. During his service on the committee, he served as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit, with jurisdiction over rural development; conservation; stewardship of natural resources; state, local and private forests and general forestry; and agricultural and rural credit.

Mike also leads or serves on more than 27 caucuses, which provide an organized forum to join with others in advocating for a wide range of issues important to Idahoans. Mike is the founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Nuclear Cleanup Caucus. He also serves as Co-Chairman of the Western Water Caucus, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and the Senate Sweeteners Caucus. In early 2003, he founded the Congressional Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Caucus, reinforcing his role as a champion of men’s and women’s health issues. Mike also serves on the Air Force Caucus, the Senate Biotechnology Caucus, Senate Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children Caucus, the Medical Technology Caucus, the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group and others.

Mike’s sensible approach has earned him the respect of his colleagues, and he has been selected to serve in other various leadership roles. Mike currently serves as a Deputy Republican Whip, a position he has held for the last four Congresses. During Mike’s tenure in the House, he served on House Leadership as New Member Leader, Strategic Planning Leader and Deputy Whip for the Western Region.

Before being elected to the United States Senate in 1998, Mike served three terms as the 2nd District Representative for Idaho in the U.S. House of Representatives. Previously, he served in the Idaho State Senate from 1984 to 1992, and spent his final four years in the Idaho Legislature as Senate President Pro Tempore.

Prior to his service in Congress, Mike was a partner in the law firm of Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo. He is a member of the Idaho and California Bar Associations and the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. He received his Juris Doctorate cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1977, and he graduated summa cum laude from Brigham Young University in 1973 with a B.A. in political science. Following graduation from law school, he served a one-year clerkship with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mike and his wife, Susan, have five children and three grandchildren.

The urgent need to get our nation’s unsustainable deficit and debt under control and reform our tax code so that it encourages economic growth and job creation was brought to vivid focus by the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, on which Mike served, and continue to be Mike’s highest priorities through his involvement in discussions in Congress. Curtailment of unreasonable government mandates, increasing our nation’s global competitiveness and advancing local, collaborative problem solving and many more critical issues are among Mike’s other top priorities in the 112^th Congress.

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