Larry Craig (Idaho ’67)

U.S. Senate Committee Assignments::

Special Committee on Aging - Chairman

Judiciary Committee - Member

Appropriations Committee - Member
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and related Agencies
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Subcommittee on Military Construction
Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources - Member
Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management - Chairman Subcommittee on Energy Research, Development, Production and Regulation
Subcommittee on Water and Power

Veterans' Affairs Committee - Member


Larry Craig is serving his third term as a United States Senator from Idaho.

Senator Craig quickly rose to the fourth highest Senate leadership position in his first term, 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. Other Republican Policy Committee duties include overseeing research, sponsoring issue forums and helping the Majority Leader operate the Senate.

Senator Craig served previously 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.

A forceful advocate for common sense and 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.

With his appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Craig oversees funding on the following subcommittees: Homeland Security; Energy and Water Development; Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; Military Construction; VA, HUD and Independent Agencies; and Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies.

Senator Craig is the Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and a member of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management, and a member of the Subcommittee on Energy Research, Development, Production and Regulation, and the Subcommittee on Water and Power. He is also a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Committee where he is a member of the Subcommittees on Immigration; Courts; and Constitution.

In addition to his committee memberships, Senator Craig sits on the following caucuses: Air Force, Diabetes, Education Advisory Committee to the National Youth Leadership Conference, Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation in the National Capitol, WTO for Farmers and Ranchers, Congressional Potato, National Congressional Award Board of Directors, Idaho Safe Kids Coalition (Honorary Co-Chair), National Committee for Adoption, the Western States Senate Coalition, and he serves as Co-Chairman of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption.

The Idaho lawmaker is on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association and is Senate co-chairman of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. He also co-founded and co-chairs the Congressional Property Rights Coalition.

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 Second Amendment rights.

Senator Craig was born on the family ranch, which was homesteaded in 1899 by his grandfather. He later 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 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 the U.S. Congress from Idaho's First Congressional District. 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.

http://craig.senate.gov