Byron Dorgan

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Byron Dorgan
Junior Senator from North Dakota
Incumbent
Assumed office  December 15, 1992 Serving with Kent Conrad
Preceded by	Kent Conrad
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Dakota's At-Large district
In office January 5, 1981 – December 15, 1992
Preceded by	Mark Andrews
Succeeded by	Earl Pomeroy
Born	May 14, 1942 (1942-05-14) (age 66) Dickinson, North Dakota
Political party	Democratic-NPL
Spouse	Kim Dorgan
Alma mater	University of North Dakota
Religion	Lutheran

Byron Leslie Dorgan (born May 14, 1942) is the junior 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. In the Senate, he is Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee and Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs.

[edit] Early life and career

Dorgan was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, the son of Dorothy (née Bach) and Emmett Patrick Dorgan, and was raised in Regent, North Dakota.^[1] He earned a B.S. from the University of North Dakota in 1964 and an M.B.A. from the University of Denver in 1966. He served as tax commissioner of North Dakota from 1969 until 1980, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, of which he was a member from 1981 until 1992 (being re-elected every two years).

[edit] United States Senate

In 1992, the Democratic incumbent, Kent Conrad opted not to run for re-election because of a campaign promise. Dorgan won the election for the seat. However, that September the state's other senator, Quentin Burdick, died and Conrad ran for the seat in the special election. Conrad took the new seat in 1992 and Dorgan assumed Conrad's old seat a few weeks early. Dorgan was re-elected in 1998 and 2004. Conrad later was elected for a full term from North Dakota's other Senate seat.

As chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, Dorgan is one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate. In recent years he has been increasingly sought by the national media for comment on political issues. He is a strong opponent of U.S. policy toward Cuba. He has introduced, with varying levels of success, several amendments to end the U.S. prohibition on travel to Cuba, and to terminate funds for anti-Castro broadcasting. Dorgan has also opposed most bills "liberalizing" trade policies between the USA and other countries. He has a mixed record on civil lawsuit issues, voting against the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and the Class Action Lawsuit Fairness Act of 2005, but voting in favor of the failed Common Sense Product Liability and Legal Reform Act and legislation to shield gun manufacturers and distributors from lawsuits.

In 2006 he was a major supporter of Net Neutrality legislation in the Senate.

In 2007 he was a major opponent of the Bush-Kennedy Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1639) saying that the legislation would continue the downward push of illegal aliens on the wages of American workers.^[2]

[edit] Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
  • Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security
• Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on National Parks
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
• Committee on Indian Affairs (Chairman)

[edit] News and notes

He is briefly featured in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, in which he discusses the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was not being interviewed by Moore.

His book Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America, about the impact of outsourcing on the economy of the United States, was published in 2006. On October 4th, 2006, he appeared on The Colbert Report on Comedy Central to discuss his book, and his views on American labor. On February 27, 2008 he announced he would be endorsing Barack Obama for President of the United States, becoming the 10th senator to officially endorse the Illinois senator's bid for the Democratic nomination.

Dorgan is married to the former Kimberly Olson. Together they have two children, Brendon and Haley, and from his first marriage Dorgan has a son Scott and a daughter Shelly, who is deceased.

[edit] Controversy

In November 2005, Dorgan was accused of receiving campaign contributions from people who worked for companies connected to Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Because Dorgan is the top Democrat on the committee investigating Abramoff, questions were raised about a possible conflict of interest.

In a statement released on November 28, 2005,^[3] Dorgan responded by asserting that he has never personally met Jack Abramoff, nor has he ever received money from Abramoff. Dorgan did acknowledge receiving money from Abramoff's clients, but the donations began prior to their involvement with Abramoff. Dorgan's statement went on to say that he has supported the programs that benefited Abramoff's clients years prior to the contribution.

Dorgan's statement pointed out other errors in the news reports, such as correcting who made a call to the Department of the Interior and for what purpose. The news reports claimed that one of Dorgan's staff members made the call in order to express support for the program that benefited Abramoff's clients, whereas in reality it was a staff member for the Chairman of the Interior Subcommittee who made the call, and the call was made in opposition to the program.

On December 13, 2005 Dorgan announced that he was returning all donations from Abramoff's clients as a precaution that the contributions may have been directed or requested by Abramoff.^[4]

[edit] Writings

• Dorgan, Byron Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America Thomas Dunne Books (July 25, 2006) ISBN 0-312-35522-X
• Dorgan, Byron (editor) Electric Transmission Infrastructure and Investment Needs: Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate Diane Pub Co (January 2003) ISBN 0-7567-2997-1

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] See also

• North Dakota United States Senate election, 1986
• North Dakota United States Senate election, 1992
• North Dakota United States Senate election, 1998
• North Dakota United States Senate election, 2004

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• United States Senator Byron Dorgan official Senate site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• New York Times — Byron L. Dorgan News collected news and commentary
• Video appearances of Sen. Byron_Dorgan

v • d • e United States Senators from North Dakota Class 1: Casey • Roach • McCumber • Frazier • Langer • Brunsdale • Q. Burdick • J. Burdick • Conrad Class 3: Pierce • Hansbrough • Johnson • Thompson • Purcell • Gronna • Ladd • Nye • Moses • Young • Andrews • Conrad • Dorgan