Kent Conrad

Senior Senator from North Dakota

In the finals throes of the stalled deficit-reduction talks of the supercommittee, Joe Manchin urged Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner to schedule votes on the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson fiscal commission, which call for significant reforms to Medicare and Social Security.

Working to put the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson commission into legislative language, the Gang of Six supposedly agreed to a legislative framework.  Though there are conflicting reports regarding the proposed legislation, and if it’s ready for a vote, Senator Kent Conrad – our Member of the Week – says the group has a ready bill.

Born on March 12, 1948, in Bismarck, North Dakota, Conrad endured tragedy very early in his life; at the age of five his parents were killed in an automobile accident.  Despite being raised by his grandparents, Conrad was exposed to a wealth of political connections in North Dakota; one grandfather owed an affluent newspaper in Bismarck, the other was a doctor for former Governor and Senator William Luger.

As a young chap, Conrad graduated from Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1966 before attending the University of Missouri and Stanford University, where he graduated in 1971 with a degree in Government & Politics.  Afterwards, he earned his MBA from the George Washington University in 1975.

Before becoming a civil servant, working in North Dakota’s tax commission office under commissioner and future Senator Byron Dorgan, Conrad, at the age of 19, led an effort in North Dakota to grant voting rights to people his age.  Like many other young politicians before him, Conrad followed in the footsteps of Drogan.

In 1974, Drogan ran for Congress and lost, while Conrad ran for North Dakota Auditor in 1976, and lost.  Four years later, the pair was back at it.  Drogan ran again for House seat and won.  Conrad succeeded his former boss as tax commissioner in 1981.  He remained North Dakota’s tax commissioner for six years, during which he was primarily responsible for investigating tax fraud.

After serving a single term as tax commissioner, Conrad ran for the U.S. Senate in 1986.  In incumbent Mark Andrews, Conrad faced an opponent who had been in Congress in 1963.  Moreover, Andrews was a North Dakota farmer who had moderate voting record.  Though Conrad would end up winning by just 2,100 votes, he did so on the back of a unique campaign pledge; he said he would not see re-election if the federal budget deficit did not decline during his term.  By 1992 it became obvious that this would not be the case, and although polls shows that the electors would have welcomed him going back on his pledge, Conrad considered his promise binding and did not run for re-election.

In September 1992, North Dakota Senator Quentin Burdick died at the age of 84.  Sensing a renewed opportunity to remain in Senate, Conrad, with the support of North Dakota Democrats and substantial financial backing, ran and won the Democratic – NPL’s nomination.  He went on to win the special election, defeating Republican Lt. Governor Jack Dalrymple, and was sworn in December 14, 1992.  The same day, he resigned his original Senate seat.  For a few hours, Conrad became the only senator ever to hold two seats at the same.

In 2001, as President Bush took office, Conrad became chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.  Since taking over, he has presented proposals targeting the national debt and is considered the Senate’s champion for balanced federal budgets.  He is personally against gay marriage but has opposed a constitutional ban on such unions and has supported legislation that seeks to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Though he has announced that he would not seek re-election in 2012, Conrad remains a focal player in the ongoing deficit reduction issues gripping Congress.  He is considered one of the “10 Most Economically Literate Members of Congress” and has been dubbed the “statistician” by Time magazine.  His opinions, and more importantly his work with the Gang of Six, will play a substantial role in the aftermath of the super committee failure.

–Amendment202

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