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My Biography
Senator Craig was born on the family ranch near Midvale, Idaho, which was homesteaded in 1899 by his grandfather. He later served as the Idaho State President and National Vice-President of the Future Farmers of America.
After graduating from the University of Idaho where he served as Student Body President and was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity, he pursued graduate studies before returning to the family ranching business in 1971.
In 1974, the people of Payette and Washington counties sent Senator Craig to the Idaho State Senate, where he served three terms before winning the 1980 race for Idaho's First District Congressional Seat. He was re-elected four times before winning the U.S. Senate election in 1990 and was re-elected to the Senate in 1996 and 2002.
Senator Craig served as chairman of the Steering Committee, a legislative "think tank" and action group for Senate conservatives. He was the youngest senator ever elected to that position.
Senator Craig quickly rose to the fourth highest Senate leadership position in his first term, when his colleagues elected him Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. He was re-elected to that position in the 106th and 107th Congresses. The Committee is responsible for developing policy positions for Senate Republicans.
A forceful advocate for common sense, conservative solutions to our nation's problems, Senator Craig has emerged as a leader in the battle for the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, limited taxation, private property rights, and greater accountability in government. He has been recognized by national groups including Citizens for a Sound Economy, Citizens Against Government Waste, Watchdogs of the Treasury, and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation for his votes to cut spending and protect the taxpayer.
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- Senate Committee Assignments
Senator Craig is a member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, which he chaired during the 109th Congress. He is also a member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he serves on the Subcommittee on Energy, the Subcommittee on Water and Power, and the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests.
With his appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Craig oversees funding on the following subcommittees: Agriculture; Energy and Water Development; Homeland Security; Labor, HHS, and Education; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Interior and the Environment. He is also a member of the Special Committee on Aging, which he chaired during the 107th and 108th Congresses, and the Committee on Environment and Public Works, where he serves on the Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, and Children's Health Protection Subcommittee and the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee.
In addition to his committee memberships, Senator Craig sits on a number of caucuses that work for issues important to Idaho, including: Air Force; National Guard; Nuclear; Rural Health; Diabetes; Congressional Sportsmen's; Congressional Potato; WTO for Farmers and Ranchers; Senate Sweetener; Idaho Safe Kids Coalition (Honorary Co-Chair); the Western States Senate Coalition; and Education Advisory Committee to the National Youth Leadership Conference. He is a former co-chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and helped to found and lead the CCAI, an institute working on adoption issues.
The Idaho lawmaker is also on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association, the Alliance to Save Energy and the Keystone Center, and he co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Property Rights Coalition.
As a Westerner and a former rancher, Senator Craig plays a leading role in the formation of natural resource and energy policies, and he has gained a national reputation as a stalwart against environmental extremism. He is also one of America's foremost defenders of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
He is married to the former Suzanne Thompson. They have three children: two sons, Mike and Jay, a daughter, Shae, and seven beautiful grandchildren.