Mike Crapo

Mike Crapo
United States Senator from Idaho
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1999 Serving with Jim Risch
Preceded by	Dirk Kempthorne
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Richard H. Stallings
Succeeded by	Mike Simpson
Personal details
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Susan Crapo
Children	Michelle Crapo Brian Crapo Stephanie Crapo Lara Crapo Paul Crapo
Residence	Idaho Falls, Idaho
Alma mater	Brigham Young University (B.A.) Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Occupation	attorney
Profession	Attorney

Michael Dean "Mike" Crap (Template:Pron-enborn May 20, 1951) is the senior United States Senator from Idaho. He is a member of the Republican Party. He became Idaho's Senior Senator in January 2009, as Larry Craig did not seek reelection in 2008.

Early life

Crapo was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, the son of Melba (née Olsen) and George Lavelle Crapo. He is distantly related to Henry Howland Crapo, who served as Governor of Michigan from 1865 to 1869, and William Crapo Durant, Henry's grandson, who founded General Motors. Mike Crapo and Henry Crapo are first cousins, four times removed, as Henry's father, Jesse Crapo, and Mike's great-great-great grandfather, Charles Crapo, were brothers. Crapo earned a B.A. from Brigham Young University in 1973 and J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1977.

The senator married Susan Diane Hasleton in June 1974; the couple has five children: Michelle, Brian, Stephanie, Lara and Paul.

Early political career

He served for one year as clerk to Judge James M. Carter, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit and then returned to Idaho to become a lawyer. While practicing law in Idaho Falls, Idaho in the 1980s, he was active in the Republican Party's campaigns for seats in the state legislature.

Crapo was elected to the state senate in 1984. He was a member of the state senate from 1985 until 1992, serving as Senate President Pro Tempore from 1988 to 1992, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the House from 1993 until 1999, being re-elected in 1994 and 1996.

U.S. Senate

Overview

Crapo was elected to the United States Senate in 1998, gaining the seat of Republican Dirk Kempthorne, who ran for governor and was elected to that position. In his Senate bid, as in his House campaigns, his campaign signs had a macron placed over the "a" in his name (Crāpo) to indicate at the correct pronunciation ("Cray-poe").

Crapo was re-elected in 2004 with 99% of the vote, with the other 1% going to write-in candidates. He was the only Senate candidate in 2004 to run unopposed on the ballot. Some Republicans want him to be appointed to a high position in the Senate Republican leadership because his seat is considered one of the 'safest' in the entire Senate.

In the 111th Congress, Crapo currently serves on the following Senate Committees: Banking, Housing and Urban Development; Budget; Environment and Public Works; Indian Affairs; and Finance. He co-chairs the Senate Nuclear Caucus, the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group (IPG); the COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Caucus, which he also founded; and the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus.

Crapo became the state's senior senator when the 111th United States Congress convened on January 3, 2009, succeeding Larry Craig, who decided not to seek reelection. With the convening of the 111th United States Congress he is now ranked 49 in seniority in the Senate.

Committees

• Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Institutions (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
  • Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health
  • Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Finance
  • Subcommittee on Health Care
  • Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness (Ranking Member)
• Committee on Indian Affairs

Environmental record

Idaho has a high proportion of public lands (approximately 64%), and as such Crapo's environmental record has come under scrutiny. He has introduced S. 700, legislation to update and improve conservation incentives for landowners to protect endangered and threatened species through tax benefits. The legislation is supported by a broad array of prominent environmental advocacy organizations and outdoor recreationists. This bipartisan, widely-supported legislation has twice been approved by the Senate Finance Committee.

Two environmental initiatives Crapo has sponsored or promoted continue that collaborative approach. He sponsored a local working group partnership in Owyhee County, Idaho, to protect and preserve sensitive ecological and riverine areas in the county while ensuring the cooperation of landowners and grazers in the area. The Owyhee Initiative working group brings together local tribal members, ranchers, recreators, land managers, environmentalists, and county leaders and the process has been endorsed by editorials in local papers, including the Boise-based Idaho Statesman newspaper. Another collaboration promoted by Crapo is the Elk Cooperative, a loose working group of tribal members, wildlife officials, and recreators to identify plans that preserve stable populations of elk in North-central Idaho.

An effort to assist small communities confronting environmental problems is another project Crapo has undertaken. Project SEARCH (Special Environmental Assistance for the Regulation of Communities and Habitat) has been approved in several Congresses, most recently authorized in the 2002 Farm Bill. It provides grants to small communities, to assist rural communities throughout the country with planning and engineering grants for environmental infrastructure projects necessary to meet the requirements of water and wastewater regulations.

Crapo partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency to provide funding and technical assistance to the Coeur d'Alene Basin Planning Commission, a partnership of state, local, community, and federal officials charged with implementing restoration of formerly-contaminated Superfund areas in the Silver Valley of North Idaho.

However, in 2006, Crapo was given the lowest possible score (0%) by the League of Conservation Voters for his voting record in the Senate. This followed his score of 5% in 2005 to bring his lifetime score down to 4%. The LCV uses selected set of votes to determine the scoring for its yearly rating. Reasons for the low score include his votes for offshore drilling, for arctic refuge drilling, against funding to help "low-income families insulate and weatherize their homes", against funding for the environment and natural resources, against independent review of Army Corps of Engineers projects, and for having the Army Corps of Engineers review themselves.

Personal life

Crapo was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999 and underwent a radical prostatectomy in January 2000. While he had a full recovery and was declared cancer-free at that time, prostate cancer recurred in 2005, and he underwent a series of radiation treatments. His experience led him to become active in advocating for early detection tests for cancer and other treatable diseases.

Crapo is an Eagle Scout, awarded in 1966, and was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) in 2000. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Electoral history

See also: United States Senate election in Idaho, 2010

Idaho's 2nd congressional district: Results 1992–1996

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1992		J. D. Williams	81,450	35%		Mike Crapo	139,783	61%		Steven L. Kauer	Independent	4,917	2%		David W. Mansfield	Independent	3,807	2%
1994		Penny Fletcher	47,936	25%		Mike Crapo	143,593	75%
1996		John D. Seidl	67,625	29%		Mike Crapo	157,646	69%		John Butler	Natural Law	3,977	2%

Senate elections in Idaho (Class III): Results 1998–2004

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1998		Bill Mauk	107,375	28%		Mike Crapo	262,966	70%		George J. Mansfeld	Natural Law	7,833	2%
2004		(no candidate)				Mike Crapo	499,796	99%		Scott F. McClure	Write-in	4,136	1%

External links

Media related to Mike Crapo at Wikimedia Commons

• United States Senator Mike Crapo official U.S. Senate site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart