Senator Larry Craig (R-ID)

U.S. Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs and is the immediate past chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, a committee on which he continues to be an active member. 

He is married to the former Suzanne Thompson. They have three children: two sons, Mike and Jay, a daughter, Shae, and eight beautiful grandchildren.

Senator Craig was born on the family ranch near Midvale, Idaho, which was homesteaded in 1899 by his grandfather. In his youth he 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.

Not long after coming to the Senate, 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.

During his first term as a U.S. Senator, Larry Craig quickly rose to the fourth highest Senate leadership position 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.

He also serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, and a member of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Subcommittee on Water and Power.

With his appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Craig oversees funding on the following subcommittees: Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; Homeland Security; Labor, HHS, and Education; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Interior and Related Agencies.

He also serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests, and a member of the Subcommittee on Energy and the Subcommittee on Water and Power.

With his appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Craig oversees funding on the following subcommittees: Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; Homeland Security; Labor, HHS, and Education; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; and Interior and Related Agencies.

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.

In addition to his committee memberships, he serves as Co-Chairman of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, and helped to found and lead the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute which works on adoption issues.

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. The Idaho lawmaker is also on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association, and he co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Property Rights Coalition.