Sen. Kent Conrad of SD

Kent Conrad of North Dakota was first elected to the Senate in 1986. Sen. Conrad announced on January 18, 2011 that he is not running for reelection in 2012.

Sen. Conrad is a Democratic fiscal moderate, and was Senate Budget Committee Chair in the 110th and 111th Congresses.

Sen. Conrad led Congress in passing controversial Farm Bill legislation in 2002. Conrad voted against approving use of military force in Iraq in both 1991 and 2002. (Also see The Obama Budget: Why Sen. Kent Conrad Is So Angry.)

Budget Committee, Chair Finance Committee Finance Subcommittee on Taxation & IRS Oversight, Chair Finance Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, Family Policy Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee Agriculture Subcommittee on Energy, Science & Technology, Chair Agriculture Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection & Price Support Joint Congressional Committee on Taxation Indian Affairs Committee Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry

Agriculture Subcommittee on Production & Price Competitiveness, Chairman

Agriculture Subcommittee on Marketing, Inspection & Product Promotion

During his 1986 campaign, Conrad promised that if the federal deficit hadn't fallen by 1992, he wouldn't rerun for his Senate seat. When the deficit was not reduced, Conrad stuck to his word, despite urgings of North Dakotans.

In September 1992, the state's senior senator unexpectedly died. As this wasn't rerunning for his seat, Conrad ran and won to fill the remaining two years of that term. In December, Conrad was sworn-in to fill this seat and the next day, resigned the first seat.

"The abuse we've discovered is appalling....We shut down Saddam Hussein's torture chambers and then turned around and opened some of our own. We will feel the repercussions of these actions for years to come."

About President Bush's 2007 federal budget proposal, made public on February 6, 2006, "We have seen this playbook before. Every year, the Bush administration talks about fiscal responsibility, but in the end, its policies dig us deeper into deficit and debt. It is results that matter, not talk. The results so far have been serious for our country and the ones who lose most are future generations. It is time to cut up the charge card and start paying our bills."

About representing North Dakota in the US Senate, "I understand very, very well why I'm here. I negotiated the farm bill, and that's a North Dakota priority. This week, I've seen people from North Dakota on pulse crops, sugar interests, rural schools, bankers, the Devils Lake situation. I'm very focused on North Dakota. I always have been and I always will be."

"The biggest challenge will be ensuring that all seniors are treated fairly. As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implements the new policy, it must do so in a way that provides as many Medicare beneficiaries as possible access to additional health benefits. Unfortunately, the final version of the bill included limitations on the number of eligible beneficiaries and on spending for new benefits. I vigorously opposed these caps, but now that they are in place, we must ensure that seniors are treated fairly as CMS works to determine how to implement this provision."

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