About Mike

(pronounced CRAY-poe)

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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, 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
• Wife, Susan; five children

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Common sense approaches. Collaborative, creative problem-solving. As a lifelong Idahoan, Mike Crapo has learned that, in many cases, a willingness to listen make an effective leader and lawmaker. Currently in his second term as a Senator for Idaho, his responsibilities, activities and accomplishments to date are a testament to his Idaho roots and values.

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. His public service began well before this at home in Idaho where he served in the Idaho State Senate from 1984 to 1992, and spent his final four years there in the position of Senate President Pro Tempore.

Mike's confident leadership style has been recognized by his colleagues in the United States Senate. He was named a member of the Senate Budget Committee in 2003, which gives Idaho a steady voice in crafting the federal budget. Mike's natural fiscally-conservative nature lends a measure of responsible restraint to the pressures for greater spending by the federal government. The Senate Budget Committee is responsible for drafting Congress' annual budget plan and monitoring action on that budget. It also oversees the operation of the Congressional Budget Office.

In 2001, Mike became a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. In this role, he is able to prioritize the needs of Idaho's agriculture and timber industries. He is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit which maintains jurisdiction over a number of important Idaho concerns. These include rural development legislation and rural electrification development legislation; oversight of rural electrification, agricultural credit, the Farm Credit System, the Farm Credit Administration, and the Farmers Home Administration and its successor agencies; crop insurance; forestry in general and forest reserves that were acquired from state, local, or private sources, soil conservation, stream channelization, watershed and flood control programs involving structures of less than 4,000 acre-feet storage capacity. He is also a member of the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Food Assistance, Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, and General Legislation; and a member of the Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health.

At the beginning of his Senate service in 1998, Mike became a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Development Committee. His strong background and interest in the finance arena has made him an invaluable member of the committee, and he has been able to make inroads in the areas of regulatory relief, expansion of homeownership, trade, and securities and investment. He maintains three subcommittee assignments. Mike is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development which oversees urban mass transit, urban affairs and development, HUD, Federal Transit Authority, Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Senior Housing, Nursing home construction, Rural Housing Service and Indian Housing. He serves as a member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions which maintains oversight on banks, savings associations, credit unions, and other financial institutions, deposit insurance, the Federal Home Loan Bank System, and regulatory activities of the Federal Reserve System. He is also a member of the Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment which has authority over securities and other financial investments, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accounting standards, insurance, and financial exchanges and markets.

Mike's most recent committee assignment, earned at the beginning of his second term, is as a member of the Senate Finance Committee. Experience on the Budget and Banking Committees and in-depth knowledge of and interest in federal revenue collection provide him with the background necessary to be an effective member of this important committee. He serves on three Finance subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth, the Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure and the Subcommittee on International Trade and Global Competitiveness. Significant portions of the President's annual budget are reviewed by the Finance Committee, and Mike's position gives Idaho a critical voice in the financial affairs of our nation.

Idaho is defined, in part, by environmental issues. Although no longer a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Mike has retained the priorities that he set while serving there, remaining heavily involved in issues ranging from updating and strengthening the Endangered Species Act to clean water to salmon recovery. Through his committee assignments, Mike promotes Idaho's essential energy research and development community. The Idaho National Lab (INL) is a major Eastern Idaho employer and center for national energy and defense research. Through Mike, Idahoans can count on their voices being heard in debates over national energy policy and nuclear safety.

Mike is the founder and Co-Chair of the Senate Nuclear Cleanup Caucus. He also serves as Co-Chairman of the Western Water Caucus and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus and, in early 2003, he founded the Congressional COPD Caucus, reinforcing his role as a champion of men’s and women’s health issues. Mike serves on the Air Force Caucus, the Senate Biotechnology Caucus, Senate Missing, Exploited and Runaway Children Caucus, the Senate Biotechnology Caucus, Medical Technology Caucus, and the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group. Serving on more than 25 caucuses covering a wide range of issues helps keep him updated on concerns facing those affected by these issues. During Mike’s tenure in the House, he served on House Leadership as New Member Leader and Strategic Planning Leader and as Deputy Whip for the Western Region.

Professionally, Mike was a partner in the law firm of Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo prior to his service in Congress. He is a member of the Idaho and California Bar Associations. 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.

See also:     Committee Assignments

A Day In The Life