Gaylord Kent Conrad (born March 12, 1948) is a former American politician who was a United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he served as chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee for 12 years.
On January 18, 2011, Conrad announced that he was retiring from politics and would not run for reelection in 2012. He said in a statement that it was more important that "I spend my time and energy trying to focus on solving the nation's budget woes than be distracted by another campaign." Fellow Democrat Heidi Heitkamp was elected to replace him.
Conrad currently co-chairs the Bipartisan Policy Center's Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings. He is also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Early life
Conrad was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, the son of Abigail and Gaylord E. Conrad. He was orphaned at a young age and subsequently raised by his grandparents in Bismarck. He attended Roosevelt Elementary, Hughes Junior High, and Wheelus Air Base high school in Tripoli, Libya, before eventually graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy. He then went to college at Stanford, and received an M.B.A. from The George Washington University.
Personal life
Conrad has been married twice. His first wife, Pam, is the sister of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer; they have a daughter, Jessamyn. Jessamyn Conrad is the author of What You Should Know About Politics ... But Don't, subtitled a Nonpartisan Guide, which was praised by Barack Obama and Bob Dole.
On February 14, 1987, Conrad married Lucy Calautti, his 1986 Senate campaign manager, who is now a lobbyist for Major League Baseball.
Early political career
After graduating from college, Conrad became a civil servant, working as an assistant to the North Dakota State Tax Commissioner, Byron Dorgan, who later became his colleague in the Senate. Conrad made his first entry into politics when he ran unsuccessfully for the North Dakota Auditor's office in 1976. In 1980 Conrad succeeded Dorgan as Tax Commissioner. Conrad was state tax commissioner until 1986, when he ran for the Senate.
U.S. Senate career
Committee assignments
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support Committee on the Budget (chairman) Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth (chairman) Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth Committee on Indian Affairs Joint Committee on Taxation
Political positions
In April 2006 Time named Conrad one of "America's 10 Best Senators". That same year The American commended him for his knowledge of economic issues. Conrad endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
Conrad was a leading member of the "Gang of 10", a conservative group that pushed for much greater offshore drilling in sensitive environmental areas. He was well known for using charts as visual aids when speaking in the Senate, which earned him the nickname "Godfather of Charts."
Health care
In the 2009 negotiations over reforming America's healthcare system, Conrad strongly opposed a "public option." The AFL-CIO announced it would fund a primary challenge to Conrad in 2012 if he continued to oppose a public option.
On September 29, 2009, Conrad voted with Senate Finance Committee Republicans against an amendment to a health care bill that would have provided for a public option. He was supportive of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act.