The article “Conrad” discusses the life of Gaylord Kent Conrad. He was born on 12 March 1948 in Bismarck, North Dakota. As a young adult, Conrad attended Wheelus High School located in Libya. In 1966, he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, and then made his way to Stanford University, earning a BA in 1971. In 1975, Kent Conrad received his MBA from George Washington University. As a young man, he married Pam Schafer, and he had a daughter, Jessamyn, with her. However, their marriage did not last. He later married Lucy Calautti in 1987 and is still with her now. By marrying her, he gained a stepson, Ivan Miluski. Not only is he a family man, but he is a religious man; he attends the local Christian, Universal Unitarian Church. Besides family and church, Conrad has interest in politics.
After graduating from college, he became a civil servant, working as an assistant to the North Dakota tax commissioner, Byron Dorgan, who later became his colleague in the Senate. Conrad made his first entry into politics in 1976; however, when he ran for North Dakota Auditor’s office, he was unsuccessful. In 1980, Conrad succeeded Dorgan as tax commissioner. Conrad was state tax commissioner until 1986, when he ran for the Senate. In this election, Conrad defeated the Republican incumbent, Mark Andrews, by 2,100 votes. Conrad went on to win the special election, and was sworn-in to the Senate December 14, 1992, resigning his original seat the same day. Despite North Dakota's Republican leanings, Conrad was re-elected in 1994 - a year when Republicans swept up most of the Congressional seats that were not in heavily Democratic-leaning parts of the U.S. Now, he is the senior United States Senator from North Dakota (“Conrad”). He is also currently chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and is an active participant in multiple other committees and their subcommittees. He is a member of: the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forests; 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 Finance; Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure; Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy; Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth (Chairman); Committee on Indian Affairs; Joint Committee on Taxation (Jansen).
Even though Kent Conrad seems like a stand up guy by being an active participant in all of those committees, he still managed to be mixed up in a countrywide financial political loan scandal (Jansen). According to On the Issues, in June 2008, a reliable source reported that Senator Conrad had received mortgages on favorable terms for a second home and an apartment building due to his association with Countrywide CEO Angelo R. Mozilo. Conrad acknowledged that he spoke with Angelo Mozilo, the Countrywide CEO, by phone. In an April 23, 2004, email about one of Senator Conrad loans, Mozilo encouraged an employee to “make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator.” Conrad denied any prior knowledge of such treatment and gave away the mortgage discount to charity. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (aka CREW) called on the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Conrad.
According to On the Issues, because Conrad is associated with liberal committees, it is clear that he is a democrat; he is even associated with the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. However, Conrad is more politically conservative than most Democrats. For instance, he is a leading member of the "Gang of 10,” a conservative group which pushes for much greater offshore drilling in sensitive environmental areas, even though North Dakota is not directly effected, because it is geographically the most inland state of the U.S. He has had many other cases of “conservative” acts. For example, he has voted time after time in favor of banning the "partial-birth" abortion medical procedure. In addition, he opposes public funding of abortion. Though, Conrad voted in favor of lifting the ban on military base abortions. Even if Conrad appears to act in favor of a number of conservative beliefs, he is still very much a democrat. For example, while Conrad personally is opposed to gay marriage, he voted against a proposed constitutional ban on the matter and has supported bills that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. In even more recent years, Conrad has endorsed Democrat Senator Barack Obama for the 2008 Presidential Race. Not too long ago, he voted against Republican proposals to repeal the estate and alternative minimum taxes. He supports lowered middle class taxes, but increasing them for those making over $1 million per year. He supports extending the expiring Bush tax cuts "at least until the economy is clearly recovering" and supports addressing them before the fall elections (Jansen). According to Veterans Today, Conrad is also highly opinionated regarding the recent health care plans. In the 2009 negotiations over reforming America's healthcare system, Conrad strongly opposed any "public option". On 29 September 2009, Conrad voted with Senate Finance Committee Republicans against an amendment to a health care bill that would have provided for a public insurance option. He was supportive of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places a limit on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act (Leon).
Works Cited
Jansen, Alan K. On the Issues. 28 January 2010. 18 September 2010. Web.
Leon, Michael. Veterans Today. 22 July 2010. 19 September 2010. Web.
“Conrad.” United States Senator Kent Conrad. The Kent Conrad Group. 20 September 2010. 21 September 2010. Web.
The article “Conrad” discusses the life of Gaylord Kent Conrad. He was born on 12 March 1948 in Bismarck, North Dakota. As a young adult, Conrad attended Wheelus High School located in Libya. In 1966, he graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy, and then made his way to Stanford University, earning a BA in 1971. In 1975, Kent Conrad received his MBA from George Washington University. As a young man, he married Pam Schafer, and he had a daughter, Jessamyn, with her. However, their marriage did not last. He later married Lucy Calautti in 1987 and is still with her now. By marrying her, he gained a stepson, Ivan Miluski. Not only is he a family man, but he is a religious man; he attends the local Christian, Universal Unitarian Church. Besides family and church, Conrad has interest in politics.
After graduating from college, he became a civil servant, working as an assistant to the North Dakota tax commissioner, Byron Dorgan, who later became his colleague in the Senate. Conrad made his first entry into politics in 1976; however, when he ran for North Dakota Auditor’s office, he was unsuccessful. In 1980, Conrad succeeded Dorgan as tax commissioner. Conrad was state tax commissioner until 1986, when he ran for the Senate. In this election, Conrad defeated the Republican incumbent, Mark Andrews, by 2,100 votes. Conrad went on to win the special election, and was sworn-in to the Senate December 14, 1992, resigning his original seat the same day. Despite North Dakota's Republican leanings, Conrad was re-elected in 1994 - a year when Republicans swept up most of the Congressional seats that were not in heavily Democratic-leaning parts of the U.S. Now, he is the senior United States Senator from North Dakota (“Conrad”). He is also currently chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and is an active participant in multiple other committees and their subcommittees. He is a member of: the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forests; 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 Finance; Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure; Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy; Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth (Chairman); Committee on Indian Affairs; Joint Committee on Taxation (Jansen).
Even though Kent Conrad seems like a stand up guy by being an active participant in all of those committees, he still managed to be mixed up in a countrywide financial political loan scandal (Jansen). According to On the Issues, in June 2008, a reliable source reported that Senator Conrad had received mortgages on favorable terms for a second home and an apartment building due to his association with Countrywide CEO Angelo R. Mozilo. Conrad acknowledged that he spoke with Angelo Mozilo, the Countrywide CEO, by phone. In an April 23, 2004, email about one of Senator Conrad loans, Mozilo encouraged an employee to “make an exception due to the fact that the borrower is a senator.” Conrad denied any prior knowledge of such treatment and gave away the mortgage discount to charity. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (aka CREW) called on the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Conrad.
According to On the Issues, because Conrad is associated with liberal committees, it is clear that he is a democrat; he is even associated with the North Dakota Democratic-NPL. However, Conrad is more politically conservative than most Democrats. For instance, he is a leading member of the "Gang of 10,” a conservative group which pushes for much greater offshore drilling in sensitive environmental areas, even though North Dakota is not directly effected, because it is geographically the most inland state of the U.S. He has had many other cases of “conservative” acts. For example, he has voted time after time in favor of banning the "partial-birth" abortion medical procedure. In addition, he opposes public funding of abortion. Though, Conrad voted in favor of lifting the ban on military base abortions. Even if Conrad appears to act in favor of a number of conservative beliefs, he is still very much a democrat. For example, while Conrad personally is opposed to gay marriage, he voted against a proposed constitutional ban on the matter and has supported bills that prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation. In even more recent years, Conrad has endorsed Democrat Senator Barack Obama for the 2008 Presidential Race. Not too long ago, he voted against Republican proposals to repeal the estate and alternative minimum taxes. He supports lowered middle class taxes, but increasing them for those making over $1 million per year. He supports extending the expiring Bush tax cuts "at least until the economy is clearly recovering" and supports addressing them before the fall elections (Jansen). According to Veterans Today, Conrad is also highly opinionated regarding the recent health care plans. In the 2009 negotiations over reforming America's healthcare system, Conrad strongly opposed any "public option". On 29 September 2009, Conrad voted with Senate Finance Committee Republicans against an amendment to a health care bill that would have provided for a public insurance option. He was supportive of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places a limit on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act (Leon).
Works Cited
Jansen, Alan K. On the Issues. 28 January 2010. 18 September 2010. Web.
Leon, Michael. Veterans Today. 22 July 2010. 19 September 2010. Web.
“Conrad.” United States Senator Kent Conrad. The Kent Conrad Group. 20 September 2010. 21 September 2010. Web.