Larry E. Craig

picture of Larry CraigWith 28 years in the United States Senate and House of Representatives, Larry Craig became recognized nationally as a voice of common sense who advocated conservative solutions to our nation’s problems, and as a specialist in issues specific to the West.

In his ten years in the US House of Representatives he served on the Mining Subcommittee of the Interior Committee, blocking the demise of the 1872 mining law. He introduced a balanced budget amendment and served on the Ethics Committee.

When elected to the Senate, he quickly rose in leadership, becoming the youngest Senator ever elected Chairman of the Steering Committee, a legislative think tank and action group for Senate conservatives. In his first Senate term, Senator Craig was elected Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the fourth highest leadership position in the Senate. From this position, he crafted the acknowledged Senate position on climate change.

Senator Craig quickly became a leader in nearly all public land and public land resource issues. As a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, he was influential in writing and passing the Energy Policy Acts of 2005 and 2007. He coined the phrase “The No Zone” while speaking out in favor of offshore drilling. The Healthy Forest Act, the first major forest policy to pass Congress in 20 years, was written by Senator Craig as Chair of the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests.

On the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, he served on Public Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittees. As a recognized national leader in immigration reform, Senator Craig authored “Ag Jobs”, and built a national coalition in support of H2A reform. His legislation became the core of the comprehensive immigration reform package. He also chaired the Special Committee on Aging in the 107th and 108th Congress and also chaired the Veterans Affairs Committee in the 109th Congress.

Senator Craig, as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, oversaw funding on the subcommittees of:

Among many other areas of involvement, Senator Craig is a former co-Chair of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and helped to found and lead CCAI, an institute working on adoption issues worldwide. He is also recognized as one of America’s foremost defenders of the Second Amendment right "to keep and bear arms", and has been on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association since 1982.

As a westerner and former rancher, he has gained a national reputation as a stalwart against environmental extremism and as a strong advocate for the wise use and conservation of America’s resources. He has also served on the Alliance to Save Energy Council and the Keystone Center’s Energy Committee.

Larry Craig is a graduate of the University of Idaho with a major in Political Science, a minor in Ag Economics and did his graduate work at George Washington University in US Foreign Policy. He served 3 terms in the Idaho State Senate. He is married to the former Suzanne Thompson. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren.