Name	Max S. Baucus
jr/sr	Senior Senator
state	Montana
party	Democratic
term start	December 15, 1978
alongside	Jon Tester
preceded	Paul G. Hatfield
state2	Montana
district2	1st
term start2	January 3, 1975
term end2	December 14, 1978
preceded2	Richard Shoup
succeeded2	John Patrick Williams
order3	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance
term start3	January 4, 2007
predecessor3	Chuck Grassley
term start4	June 6, 2001
term end4	January 3, 2003
predecessor4	Chuck Grassley
successor4	Chuck Grassley
term start5	January 3
term end5	January 20, 2001
predecessor5	William V. Roth, Jr.
successor5	Chuck Grassley
order6	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
term start6	January 1993
term end6	January 3, 1995
predecessor6	Daniel Patrick Moynihan
successor6	John Chafee
order7	Member of theMontana House of Representatives
term start7	1973
term end7	1974
birth date	December 11, 1941
birth place	Helena, Montana
residence	Helena, Montana
occupation	Attorney
spouse	Melodee Hanes (2011-) Ann Geracimos (divorced 1982)Wanda Minge (1984-2009, divorced)
children	Zeno Baucus
alma mater	Stanford University (B.A., J.D.)
religion	United Church of Christ
website	Max Baucus, Senator From Montana }}

Max Sieben Baucus (born December 11, 1941) is the senior United States Senator from Montana and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected to the Senate in 1978, as of 2010 he is the longest-serving Senator from Montana, and the fifth longest-serving U.S. Senator currently in office.

As the current chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Baucus has played an influential role in the debate over health care reform in the United States. He is also chairman of the Joint Committee on Taxation, and a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and is chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Before his election to the Senate, Baucus was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1978, representing Montana's (now defunct) 1st congressional district. He previously served in the Montana House of Representatives from 1973 to 1974.

On August 9, 2011, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appointed Baucus to the United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Early life, education, and early career

Baucus was born to a wealthy ranching family in Helena, Montana, and graduated from Helena High School in 1959. He attended Carleton College in Minnesota for a year before transferring to Stanford University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics in 1964, and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduating, he attended Stanford Law School and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1967.

After finishing law school, Baucus spent three years as a lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. He moved back to Montana in 1971 to serve as the executive director of the state's Constitutional Convention, also opening a law office in Missoula, Montana.

In November 1973, Baucus was elected to the Montana House of Representatives as a state representative from Missoula. In November 1974 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, and was re-elected in 1976.

U.S. Senate tenure

Baucus was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 7, 1978 for the term beginning January 3, 1979, but was subsequently appointed to the seat by Montana's Democratic Governor Thomas Lee Judge on December 15, 1978 to fill the brief vacancy created by Senator Paul G. Hatfield's resignation. He has served consecutively ever since.

Connections to Jack Abramoff

In December 2005, following the public corruption probe of lobbyist Jack Abramoff—who was later convicted of fraud and corruption—Baucus returned $18,892 in contributions that his office found to be connected to Abramoff. Included in the returned donations was an estimated $1,892 that was never reported for Baucus's use of Abramoff's sky box at a professional sports stadium and concert venue in downtown Washington in 2001.

Recommendation of U.S. Attorney

In March 2009, Baucus recommended his live-in girlfriend and recent state director, Melodee Hanes, for the vacant position of U.S. Attorney for Montana. Baucus's romantic relationship with Hanes was discovered in December 2009, after Hanes had withdrawn her name from consideration and Michael Cotter, another of Baucus's recommendations, was selected.

Baucus withdrew the Hanes recommendation the day after he was told that a newspaper was "poised to publish a story about Hanes’s relationship with the senator and the fact that he had nominated her for the U.S. attorney job."

In December, Baucus told the Associated Press, "Mel would have been an excellent U.S. Attorney for Montana." Baucus added, "I, for one, did not want her relationship with me to disqualify her from applying for the position."

To bolster Baucus's statements, his office gave the AP a written statement that Hanes has "an extensive background as a prosecutor and extensive legal experience" along with a copy of her resume. The resume, however, listed her only federal court experience as handling personal injury and employment discrimination cases from 1982 to 1986 as a partner in a private Iowa law firm. Hanes later received prosecutor's training in 1994 at the FBI's National Law Institute in Quantico, Va., the resume states.

Hanes attended Drake University Law School.

Committees

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

*Subcommittee on Domestic and Foreign Marketing, Inspection, and Plant and Animal Health

*Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support

*Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms

Committee on Finance (Chairman)

*As Chairman of the full committee, Sen. Baucus may serve as an ''ex officio'' member of all subcommittees of which he is not already a full member.

*Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-term Growth

Committee on Environment and Public Works

*Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety

*Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health

*Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Chairman)

Joint Committee on Taxation (Chairman)

Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Political positions

Baucus's campaign materials claim that he is a moderate Democratic member of the Senate, occasionally breaking with his party on the issues of taxes, the environment, and gun control. The web site That's My Congress gives him a 23 percent rating on progressive issues it tracks. NARAL Pro-Choice America's political action committee endorsed Baucus during his 2008 election campaign.

Civil rights

The ACLU rated Baucus at 60 percent in December 2002, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record.

Voting Rights for Washington, DC

Baucus has voted against giving voting representation to the District of Columbia.

Freedom of speech

He voted for an anti-flag burning constitutional amendment, of American flags, in 2006. He supported a bill to require online pornography sites to have a .XXX domain, together with Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) He supports the death penalty.

LGBT rights

In December 2006 the Human Rights Campaign rated Baucus at 67 percent. He opposes gay marriage, but voted against a proposed constitutional ban on it and has supported measures to curb job discrimination and hate crimes based on sexual orientation.

Gun rights

In 1999, he was the only Democrat to vote against an amendment by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) that sought to "regulate the sale of firearms at gun shows." Baucus can be frequently found hunting and fishing on public lands around Montana.

Adoption abuse

In August 2008, Baucus' panel met to mark up bills on Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative Guardianship Support Act, the Elder Justice Act and Safety, and the Abuse Prevention Act.

Economic issues

Baucus has a 74 percent pro-business voting record as rated by the United States Chamber of Commerce. He twice voted to make filing bankruptcy more difficult for debtors, once in July 2001 to restrict rules on personal bankruptcy, and a second time in March 2005 to include means-testing and restrictions for bankruptcy filers.

He has frequently visited places of employment within the state and has personally participated in activities that he calls "Work Days". He has also hosted economic development conferences.

In March 2005, Baucus voted against repealing tax subsidies that benefit companies that outsource U.S. jobs offshore. On January 4, 2007, he wrote an editorial in the ''Wall Street Journal'' calling on Democrats to renew President George W. Bush's fast-track authority for international trade deals. In response, the Montana State Senate passed a resolution, 44-6, "that the U.S. Congress be urged to create a replacement for the outdated fast track system".

Environmental issues

Baucus's environmental record is mixed. He supports Democratic leadership in voting against oil and gas subsidies and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling, as well as by voting in favor of national standards to reduce oil consumption and spur the use of hydrogen-powered cars. But he has voted against the corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFE) and on increasing federal funds for solar and wind power. He was a leader in the massive Montana Legacy Project conservation project.

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) gave Baucus a 100 percent rating, but only for the second session of the 110th Congress., but rated him at only 42 percent in December 2003.

Foreign affairs

Cuba

He has opposed the United States embargo against Cuba and travel restrictions.

Iraq War

Baucus voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, and has also joined the Democrats in the Senate in demanding the phased withdrawal of the Levin Amendment (no firm deadline). He voted with a majority of Democrats against Senator John Kerry's amendment stipulating a firm deadline for withdrawal of American combat personnel from Iraq.

On July 29, 2006, Baucus's nephew Marine Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus (September 24, 1977–July 29, 2006) was killed in combat in Al Anbar province. Phillip Baucus, a 28-year-old resident of Wolf Creek, Montana, had been a member of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force. On January 10, 2007, the day of Bush's presidential address on his plan to increase troop levels in Iraq, Baucus spoke against the increases and called for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Israel

Baucus is one of the Senate's largest career recipients of pro-Israel Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions, receiving $550,589 since 1989.

Vietnam

On July 14, 2009, ''The Wall Street Journal'' published an editorial on Baucus's attitude over Vietnam’s "tra" and "basa" pangasius, saying there was no reason for America to launch a trade war with Vietnam over fish. "He's dead right about a trade issue now percolating in Washington," said the newspaper. The article, entitled "Max Baucus's Fish Sense - Protectionism often hurts the protectionist", outlined this controversial topic in Washington and underlined the possibility that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) could effectively ban imports of pangasius fish from Vietnam, which are similar to U.S.-produced catfish.

The ostensible reason for the move would be food safety and the USDA is considering whether Vietnamese fish should be subject to a stricter safety inspection regime. But the article said that there have been no reported cases of Vietnamese fish making American consumers sick and the proposed inspections would be onerous. It quoted Baucus as telling ''Congress Daily'', "If we expect other countries to follow the rules and drop these restrictions, it is critical that we play by the rules and do not block imports for arbitrary or unscientific reasons."

Health care reform

Senate finance committee

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Baucus called the first Senate meeting of interested parties before the committee to discuss health care reform, including representatives from pharmaceutical groups, insurance companies, and HMOs and hospital management companies. The meeting was controversial because it did not include representatives from groups calling for single-payer health care.

Opposition to single payer health care

Advocate groups attended a Senate Finance Committee meeting in May 2009 to protest their exclusion as well as statements by Baucus that "single payer was not an option on the table." Baucus later had eight protesters removed by police who arrested them for disrupting the hearing. Many of the single-payer advocates claimed it was a "pay to play" event. A representative of the Business Roundtable, which includes 35 memberships of HMOs, health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, admitted that other countries, with lower health costs, and higher quality of care, such as those with single-payer systems, have a competitive advantage over the United States with its private system.

At the next meeting on health care reform of the Senate Finance Committee, Baucus had five more doctors and nurses removed and arrested.

Baucus admitted a few weeks later in June 2009 that it was a mistake to rule out a single payer plan because doing so alienated a large, vocal constituency and left President Barack Obama’s proposal of a public health plan to compete with private insurers as the most liberal position.

Baucus has used the term "uniquely American solution" to describe the end point of current health reform and has said that he believes America is not ready yet for any form of single payer health care. This is the same term the insurance trade association, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), is using. AHIP has launched the Campaign for an American Solution, which argues for the use of private health insurance instead of a government backed program. Critics have said that Medicare is already effectively a single-payer system.

Conflict of interest charges

Baucus has been criticized for his ties to the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, and has been one of the largest beneficiaries in the Senate of campaign contributions from these industries. From 2003 to 2008, Baucus received $3,973,485 from the health sector, including $852,813 from pharmaceutical companies, $851,141 from health professionals, $784,185 from the insurance industry and $465,750 from HMOs/health services, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. A 2006 study by Public Citizen found that between 1999 and 2005 Baucus, along with former Senate majority leader Bill Frist, took in the most special-interest money of any senator.

Only three senators have more former staffers working as lobbyists on K Street, at least two dozen in Baucus's case. Several of Baucus's ex-staffers, including former chief of staff David Castagnetti, are now working for the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries. Castagnetti co-founded the lobbying firm of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, which represents "America’s Health Insurance Plans Inc.", the national trade group of health insurance companies, the Medicare Cost Contractors Alliance, as well as Amgen, AstraZeneca PLC and Merck & Co. Another former chief of staff, Jeff Forbes, went on to open his own lobbying shop and to represent the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Advanced Medical Technology Association, among other groups.

A statistical analysis of the impact of political contributions on individual senators' support for the public insurance option conducted by Nate Silver has suggested that Baucus was an unlikely supporter of the public option in the first place. Based on Baucus's political ideology and the per capita health care spending in Montana, Silver's model projects that there would be only a 30.6% probability of Baucus supporting a public insurance option even if he had received no relevant campaign contributions. Silver calculates that the impact on Baucus of the significant campaign contributions that he has received from the health care industry further reduces the probability of his supporting a public insurance option from 30.6% to 0.6%.

In response to the questions raised by the large amount of funding he took from the health care industry, Baucus declared a moratorium as of July 1, 2009 on taking more special interest money from health care political action committees. Baucus, however, declined to return as part of his moratorium any of the millions of dollars he has received from health care industry interests before July 1, 2009, or to rule out a resumption of taking the same or greater health care industry contributions in the future. Baucus's new policy on not taking health care industry money reportedly still permits him to take money from lobbyists or corporate executives, who the Washington Post found continued to make donations after July 1, 2009.

A watchdog group found that in July 2009 Baucus took more money from the health care industry in violation of the self-defined terms of his moratorium, leading Baucus to return the money.

Tax policy

Baucus voted for the Bush tax cuts in 2001. He has usually voted against repealing portions of that bill and against repealing more recent tax cut bills that benefit upper income taxpayers. In 2008, he voted in favor of permanently repealing the estate tax.

Ability to seek legal redress

He was one of 26 senators to vote against the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.

Political campagins

2002

The 2002 Montana elections got national attention when Baucus's opponent, state senator Mike Taylor, accused Baucus of having implied that Taylor was gay in a campaign ad. The ad was paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, not by the Baucus campaign. The ad, which alleged that Taylor had embezzled funds from the cosmetology school he once owned, showed footage from the early 1980s of Taylor massaging another man's face while wearing a tight suit with an open shirt. Taylor dropped out of the race and Baucus won with 63 percent of the vote.

2008

Baucus sought re-election in 2008 in Montana, a state that has seen political change starting in 2004 when it elected Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer and then Democratic Senator Jon Tester in 2006 by a slim margin. Montana was the only state in the U.S. to switch a chamber of its legislature to Republican control in 2006. The legislative chamber had a one-seat Democratic majority that became a one-seat Republican majority.

Baucus raised a record amount of money for his 2008 re-election bid, 91 percent of which came from individuals living outside of Montana. Similarly, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, Baucus's 2008 campaign raised $11.6 million, only 13 percent of which came from Montana donors; the rest included millions from health care and other industries overseen by Finance and Baucus's other committees. The overwhelming ratio of special interest and out-of-state dollars to donations from Montana donors have raised questions:

So as Baucus and other lawmakers attempt to craft a bill that can smash through a virtual gridlock of interests, the awkward question lingers: To whom are they more attentive, their voting constituencies back home or the dollar constituencies who are at the Capitol every day?

As a result of Baucus's significant fund-raising advantage, in the week that he announced his intentions to run for re-election, he opened eight state offices—one more than he has official offices in the state. Baucus also announced that he had hired 35 full-time campaign staff members. Baucus won re-election in 2008 by a 73-27 margin.

Electoral history

Personal

Baucus has come under fire from critics calling him a beltway insider who no longer really lives in Montana and only occasionally comes to visit. Until 1991, Baucus owned a house in Missoula, where he practiced law for three years before running for Congress in 1974. He didn't own a home again in Montana until February 2002, when he bought half of his mother's house from the Sieben Ranch Company, the ranch started by Baucus's great-grandfather in 1897. The ranch company, and Baucus's mother, still own the other half of the house. Baucus lives in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill district. As of November 2007, the ''Missoulian'' newspaper reported he owned no other property in Montana.

In April 2009, The Associated Press reported that Baucus and his second wife, the former Wanda Minge, are divorcing after 25 years of marriage and have "parted ways amicably and with mutual respect.". Starting in 2008, Senator Baucus has been romantically linked with his state office director, Melodee Hanes, whom he later nominated to the vacant position of U.S. Attorney in Montana. Hanes then withdrew her nomination before the conflict of interest was discovered, because according to Baucus they wanted to be together in Washington, D.C. Both the Senator and Ms. Hanes had ended their marriages within the previous year. Senator Baucus claims he was separated from his wife before he began seeing Ms. Hanes.

Baucus has one son, Zeno, by his first wife, Ann Geracimos. Baucus and Geracimos divorced in 1982.

Baucus has completed a 50-mile ultramarathon and has crewed for female winner and fellow Montana native Nikki Kimball at the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run, which he hopes to run in the future.

References

External links

United States Senator Max Baucus ''official U.S. Senate site''

Profile at SourceWatch

{{U.S. Senator box | before=Paul G. Hatfield | state=Montana | class=2 | start=1978-12-15 | alongside=John Melcher, Conrad Burns, Jon Tester}}

Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:United Church of Christ members Category:Members of the Montana House of Representatives Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Montana Category:Montana Democrats Category:Montana lawyers Category:People from Helena, Montana Category:Stanford University alumni Category:United States Senators from Montana Category:Ultramarathon runners Category:Stanford Law School alumni Category:Democratic Party United States Senators

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The America’s Healthy Future Act () is a proposed law by Democrat Senator Max Baucus of Montana, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, on September 16, 2009. It is also colloquially known as the Baucus Health Bill, the Baucus Health Plan, or BaucusCare. Baucus initially publicly released a 223-page summary of the proposal. It started going through the Senate mark-up process on September 22. That amendment process finished Oct. 2, and was passed by the Finance Committee on October 13 by a 14 to 9 vote,. An October CBO report stated that enacting the proposal would, on net, end up reducing the federal deficit by $81 billion over the 2010-2019 period.

History behind the proposal

Chairman Baucus was known as the head of a bipartisan group called the 'Gang of Six' in the Senate Finance Committee. Senators Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Kent Conrad of North Dakota made up the other Democrat members of the 'gang', while Olympia Snowe of Maine, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and Mike Enzi of Wyoming made up the Republican side. They underwent months of negotiations and compromises over the summer of 2009 to achieve a healthcare plan. In the first week of September, Baucus began saying that he would push through a plan even if he could not obtain bipartisan backing. He remarked that "time has come for action, and we will act" on September 9.

Before the proposal was made, President Barack Obama publicly promised that he would not support a plan that would cost more than $900 billion over the next ten years. He also said that a plan could not add to the federal deficit, with every bit of new spending completely offset. The Baucus proposal stalled in the committee in August 2009 due to the town hall meetings faced by members of Congress, in which many opponents attended.

Alleged conflicts of interests in its creation

Senator Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, received over $3 million from the health and insurance industries from 2003 to 2008, more than any other member of Congress. The Republican Ranking Member on the Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley, received more than $2 million since 2003. Commentator Jack Cafferty and representatives from the Physicians for a National Health Program and Campaign Money Watch have argued that this lobbying creates a conflict of interest for the Senators. Baucus disputes the allegations, referring to a 2007 meeting reported on by ''The Wall Street Journal'' in which he told medical lobbyists "[y]ou should worry about me coming after you."

Economic background

According to Sen. Olympia Snowe, the cost of the average employer-provided insurance plan will rise to nearly $31,000 in several years if no health care reform measures are done.

Proposal details

Components of the proposal

The proposal specifies the creation of health insurance cooperatives, which would be member-controlled, non-profit forms of health insurance that would compete with private insurers. It does not include a public insurance plan. The co-operatives would receive $6 billion in federal funding in 2012 to start off, but they would operate independently after that point. The introduction of the co-ops is intended to drive health care costs downward.

The proposal also creates an individual mandate that requires people to either buy insurance or pay a penalty. Those with incomes below three times the federal poverty level would receive subsidies to purchase their plans. For a family of four, $66,150 would be the dividing line. The penalty would be up to $950 per person or $3,800 per family each year. These measures would come into effect for all American residents in 2013. According to ''The Politico'':

"Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance. Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it 'Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold'."

Individuals would be able to buy their insurance from an exchange created in their state, which would be created in 2010. Premiums would be capped at 13% of the buyer's income, with the rest of the costs paid by subsidies. Insurance companies would be required to cover certain services such as hospitalization, maternity care, newborn care, chemotherapy, and pediatric care. Their plans would be presented as either bronze, silver, gold, and platinum options, sorted by the least to the most expensive. Only individuals and firms with fifty or fewer employees would be eligible to use the exchanges until 2017, when states would bring in larger employers. In 2022, they would become open to all. Persons who are not lawfully in the United States would not be permitted to participate in the exchange, either with or without subsidies. According to Baucus:

"In order to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing the state exchanges obtaining federal health care tax credits, the Chairman‘s Mark requires verification of the following personal data. Name, social security number, and date of birth will be verified with Social Security Administration (SSA) data. For individuals claiming to be U.S. citizens, if the claim of citizenship is consistent with SSA data then the claim will be considered substantiated."

Although the proposal does not establish an employer mandate, which would have required firms to provide insurance for their workers or pay a penalty, the proposal requires businesses with more than fifty employees to pay fees going towards the aforementioned subsidies. The maximum possible fee would either be $400 per full-time employee or the average cost of the subsidies a firm's employee's take in multiplied by the number of those receiving them. The proposal forbids insurance companies from restricting coverage based on 'pre-existing conditions'. The insurance premiums can take into account tobacco use, age, family size, and geographic location. Insurance companies would also be forbidden from setting up lifetime or annual caps that specify a maximum amount of care that customers can receive.

The proposal also includes a new excise tax on so-called 'Cadillac' health care plans that are more expensive and comprehensive than the majority of plans. Any plan costing over $8,000 for an individual and $21,000 for a family would be subject to a 35% tax on the amount past those levels. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning think tank, estimated that about 10% of families have plans that would be subject to the tax. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has argued that this tax is beneficial both because it grows fast enough to keep up with new costs and because it can helps to slow health care cost growth. The group has also stated that the tax will cause employers to offer workers higher (taxable) cash wages instead of health benefits, thus generating more government revenue. According to Congress' joint committee on taxation, the proposal would create $215 billion in the next ten years from the tax. Another $93 billion in funds will come from new annual fees imposed on groups such as pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers. Additionally, the Senate Finance Committee approved provisions that would lump Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) together with high-cost insurance plans and subject them to the excise tax, which would likely cause many employers to reconsider offering FSAs altogether.

Other funds come a reduction in future Medicare spending, which would be over $400 billion in the next decade. Specifically, payments under the Medicare Advantage system would be decreased by $113 billion in the next decade. The so-called 'doughnut hole' in prescription drug coverage would be closed. In the long term, the proposal would set up an independent commission that could alter payments further.

Additionally, a small portion of funds would come from a new cap imposed on Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), pre-tax health benefits that enable millions of Americans to manage their out-of-pocket health care costs. Americans Healthy Future Act would impose a $2,500 limit on contributions to FSAs. Unfortunately, 7 million Americans have FSAs above $2,500, and those with the highest out-of-pocket health care costs- the sickest – would be hit the hardest by the restrictions.

CBO scoring of the bill

The proposal was initially designed to cost $856 billion over the next ten years. However, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated on September 16 that it would only cost about $774 billion over that period. The CBO report stated that enacting the proposal would, on net, end up reducing the federal deficit by $16 billion in 2019. It also estimated that, by 2019, the number of non-elderly uninsured people would fall about 29 million, which would leave about 25 million of the non-elderly (about one-third illegal immigrants) still uninsured. Thus, the number of non-elderly legal residents with insurance would rise from about 83% being covered to about 94% being covered. A Forbes.com report has stated that "it's not entirely clear what will happen to health care costs in 2020 and beyond."

On September 24, the CBO re-evaluated the proposal, taking into account the changes created by the Senate Committee. The CBO stated that the proposal would bring in $23 billion in the first ten years. Specifically, the Committee decreased the penalties for avoiding buying insurance, expanded the subsidies, and lowered the excise tax on high end insurance plans. A CBO report issued on October 7 stated that enacting the proposal would, on net, end up reducing the federal deficit by $81 billion over the 2010-2019 period. That report prompted praise from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Dem. from Nevada, who called the scoring a "landmark occasion". Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Rep. from Kentucky, criticized the numbers as misleading given that the Baucus proposal would not come into effect for about another five years.

Changes to the proposal

On September 25, the health correspondent for the ''News Hour with Jim Lehrer'' reported that the Committee had cut the proposed tax to medical supplies that belong to 'Class A', which includes items such as condoms and band-aids that cost below $100. Only the other classes would be taxed. On October 14, journalists from the ''Financial Times'' stated that the 'Cadillac plans' tax would now impose a 40% fee on any plans exceeding $8,000 a year for individuals and $21,000 a year for families. They also described the individual mandate requirement as "much watered-down", with those earning less than 300% of the federal poverty now subject to a penalty of between $750 and $1,500 a year.

The premium subsidies for low-income individuals included in the final bill were structured to initially limit the premium middle-income people would have to pay for coverage to 12% of income. After the first year, however, the subsidy would be based on a percentage of premium rather than a percentage of income. Because costs are expected to rise more quickly than income, over time cost of coverage after subsidies will rise above the initial 12% of income limit.

Comparisons with other bills

Both the House health care reform bill (HR 3200) and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's bill (S 1679) have a public plan. Baucus' proposal does not. The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is considered to be more liberal than the Finance Committee. According to Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, the Health Committee's proposal and the House bill will both lead to budget deficits in contrast to the Baucus' plan, which would reduce the debt. Ornstein has argued that this is an important advantage for the Baucus plan. Howard Dean has stated that the majority of Senate Democrats support a more liberal plan. If it reaches the Senate floor, Baucus' proposal will have to be amalgamated with the Health Committee's proposal.

On September 29, the Finance Committee rejected two amendments to add a public plan to Baucus' proposal. Senator Jay Rockefeller's amendment was rejected 15 to 8, with five Democrats (Baucus, Kent Conrad, Blanche Lincoln, Tom Carper, Bill Nelson) and all Republicans voting no. Senator Chuck Schumer's amendment was defeated 13 to 10, with three Democrats (Baucus, Conrad, Lincoln) and all Republicans voting no.

Finance Committee debate and votes

Responses from Finance Committee members

According to ''The San Francisco Chronicle'', the proposal was "much-anticipated" and it represented the only attempt by a Senate committee to reach bipartisan compromise. McClatchy Newspapers has also called the proposal "closely watched". After its release, the proposal divided Congressional Democrats and attracted no support at all from Congressional Republicans according to National Public Radio health correspondent Julie Rovner.

All of the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee initially announced opposition to the proposal. Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming remarked, "[t]his bill does not do enough to lower costs, and in many cases, it will actually increase health-care costs through the new taxes mandated". Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine released a statement on Sept. 22 reading that "the mark before us is a solid starting point -- but we are far from the finish line." She said in the first week of October that she had not yet decided whether or not to vote for the plan. Norman Ornstein of the AEI has stated that the high cost "Cadillac" insurance plans, which would face a new tax under the Baucus plan, are more common in Maine compared to other states.

Amendments and proposed amendments

The amending process, known officially as the 'mark-up', began on September 22. The committee members offered 564 possible amendments, which involved a wide variety of issues. Baucus said in his opening statement that "[t]his is our opportunity to make history". The members, collectively, spent over three hours in their opening comments.

Baucus played a key role in facilitating the recent agreement between the Obama administration and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in which the group promised a $80 billion reduction in Medicare drug prices over ten years. The administration then promised in return not to make any more financial demands on the group in the future. On Sept. 25, Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida created an amendment to reverse the deal. The Committee voted 13-10 to reject the amendment.

The Finance Committee also rejected, by 14-9, an amendment removing the individual mandate from the proposal. Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky proposed the change, which he said would remove an 'un-American' requirement. Baucus labeled the amendment "mortally wounding" to the health care system set forth in the proposal.

Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, who is Vice-Chairman of the Senate Democratic Conference, introduced an amendment to include a public plan in the proposal. The committee rejected his amendment on on Sept 29, in a 13 to 10 vote. Three Democrats (Baucus, Conrad, Lincoln) and all the Republicans voted no. Schumer had said on Sept. 24, that "I think we have a strong chance on the Senate floor to get it".

Finance Committee vote

On October 13, the Senate Fiance Committee made their final vote on the Baucus proposal. The committee passed its bill 14 to 9. All Republicans voted no with the exception of Sen. Olympia Snowe. She later commented, "When history calls, history calls." ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' referred to her vote as "a coup" for Baucus, coming after criticism from his fellow Democrats for making too many compromises. Snowe, as well as some moderate Democratic members of the committee, have vowed that they will drop their support for the Baucus plan if a 'public option' is added at any point.

Responses

Responses from other lawmakers

Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, who became Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions following the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy, generally praised the proposal and was reported as then becoming more "optimistic" that health care reform would pass the Congress in 2009. He also commented, however, that the co-operatives system leaves "a lot to be desired." Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a key figure behind the rival Healthy Americans Act, expressed concern that Baucus' plan would not do enough to promote competition in the private insurance marketplace.

In an official GOP weekly message in mid-October, Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas argued that "Americans inherently know government interference drives costs up, not down... The massive health care plans being crafted behind closed doors in Washington will ultimately allow the government to decide what doctors we can see, what treatments the government thinks you deserve and what medicines you can receive."

Responses from the Obama administration

The day after Baucus made his proposal, President Barack Obama referred to the plan during a speech at the University of Maryland. He declined to endorse Baucus's plan directly, but he criticized the opponents of his broader goals in health care reform. The crowd of left-leaning college students booed at the mention of Baucus' proposal and cheered at Obama's other comments.

Obama praised the Senate Finance Committee's vote in support of the Baucus plan on a September 13 address. He described the vote as a "critical milestone" and stated that it "has brought us significantly closer to achieving the core objectives I laid out". The President also said, "We are now closer than ever before to passing health care reform, but we're not there yet... Now's the time to dig in and work even harder to get things done."

Other responses

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Baucus and Ranking Republican Member Chuck Grassley that labeled the proposal "unacceptable in many areas" while still "the most balanced health reform proposal to be marked up by Congress to date." The group highlighted the proposed tax on high-value insurance plans as unacceptable. Michael D. Tanner, a CATO Institute senior fellow, criticized several aspects of the proposal such as the health care materials tax, which he said "will result in higher health care costs that will be passed on to consumers", and the individual mandate, which he labeled "heavily punitive".

Harold A. Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, stated that the proposal "puts a bigger tax on middle-income Americans who are already paying enough". Jim Hoffa, president of the Teamsters union, and Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV also expressed opposition to the health plan tax. President Barack Obama expressed support for the proposed tax, saying that "I do think that giving a disincentive to insurance companies to offer Cadillac plans that don’t make people healthier is part of the way that we’re going to bring down health care costs for everybody over the long term." Republicans in the Finance Committee have called the tax a violation of Obama's campaign promise to not raise taxes on anyone earning less than $250,000 a year.

The AARP has not objected to the cuts to future Medicare spending in the proposal. Charles Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, has called the proposal "the right thing to do." ''The Washington Post'' has labeled the possible changes as "designed to be relatively painless". The National Council of La Raza opposes the measures in the proposal that require individuals to prove their citizenship status before receiving coverage. The group has created a campaign to leave Senators voice mail messages about the issue.

Former CIGNA VP-turned health care activist Wendell Potter has criticized the Senate Committee for rejecting a public option. He charged that Senators are only taking their positions due to pressure from insurance industries in an interview with Amy Goodman. Howard Dean, former Democratic National Committee chairman, has remarked that "The Baucus bill is the worst piece of healthcare legislation I've seen in 30 years". He has also said, "it's a $60 billion giveaway to the health insurance industry every year... It was written by healthcare lobbyists, so that's not a surprise. It's an outrage."

Americans United for Life (AUL), the first national pro-life organization in the United States, has stated that federal taxpayer funding of abortion could still be mandated by the Baucus bill, despite claims to the contrary. AUL's CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest stated that the bill "provides $6 billion for the establishment of health insurance cooperatives which would be permitted to cover abortion". He also said that if the Hyde Amendment is not renewed, coverage for all abortions would be mandated, under this legislation.

The editors of ''National Review'' criticized the plan, arguing that "his proposal resorts to the same kinds of arbitrary fee cuts, taxes, and regulatory payment-control schemes that have been tried many times before and have never worked." ''The Weekly Standard'' also ran an article blasting the proposal and stating that it would increase the cost of health insurance premiums through controls such as making individuals buy more comprehensive insurance than they would otherwise want. The ''Wall Street Journal'' editorialized that Baucus' plan, a "Rube Goldberg proposal", would eventually lead to a total government takeover of the health care industry.

B'nai B'rith International and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism both released statements praising the Senate Finance Committee after its vote in favor of the Baucus plan on October 13. The latter group stated that "Jewish tradition teaches that human life is of infinite value and that the preservation of life supersedes all other consideration. Providing health care is not just an obligation for the patient and the doctor, but for society as well." It also referred to Maimonides' placing of health care first on his list of the ten most important communal services in Maimonides' work ''Mishneh Torah'' (Hilchot De’ot IV: 23).

On October 14, journalists from ''Financial Times'' stated that "[t]he bill claims that it will bend the fiscal curve by reducing the rate of healthcare inflation... Economists are sceptical on whether it will achieve this aim." Shawn Tully, editor at large for ''Fortune'', stated on Oct. 9 that the Baucus bill would provide incentives for employers not to provide insurance to its employees. She further argued that at worst the plan would add $90 billion to the CBO's original projection annually.

See also

Health care reform debate in the United States

History of health care reform in the United States

Affordable Health Care for America Act

Wyden-Bennett Act

Max Baucus#Health care reform

References

External links

Cost of the Finance Committee Health Care Bill, The Bottom Line (Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget)

*Understanding the Health Care Excise Tax

Text of a Summary of the Proposal

Side-by-side Comparison of Health care Reform Efforts from the Kaiser Family Foundation

Category:2009 in law Category:United States proposed federal legislation Category:111th United States Congress Category:Healthcare reform legislation in the United States

Name	Kent Conrad
Jr/sr	sr
State	North Dakota
Term start	December 14, 1992
Predecessor	Jocelyn Burdick
Alongside	John Hoeven
Term start2	January 3, 1987
Term end2	December 14, 1992
Predecessor2	Mark Andrews
Successor2	Byron Dorgan
Order3	Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget
Term start3	January 4, 2007
Predecessor3	Judd Gregg
Term start3	January 4, 2007
Predecessor3	Judd Gregg
Term start4	June 6, 2001
Term end4	January 3, 2003
Predecessor4	Pete Domenici
Successor4	Don Nickles
Term start5	January 3
Term end5	January 20, 2001
Predecessor5	Pete Domenici
Successor5	Pete Domenici
Order6	Tax Commissioners of North Dakota
Term start6	1981
Term end6	1987
Governor6	Allen I. OlsonGeorge Sinner
Predecessor6	Byron Dorgan
Successor6	Heidi Heitkamp
Birth date	March 12, 1948
Birth place	Bismarck, North Dakota
Spouse	Pam Schafer (divorced), Lucy Calautti
Children	Jessamyn Conrad
Party	Democratic-NPL
Religion	Unitarian Universalist
Alma mater	Stanford University (B.A.)George Washington University (M.B.A.)
Residence	Bismarck, North Dakota
Occupation	Civil servant
Signature	Kent Conrad Signature.svg
Website	Senator Kent Conrad }}

Gaylord Kent Conrad (born March 12, 1948) is the senior 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. First elected to the Senate in 1986, he is currently chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.

On January 18, 2011, Conrad announced that he would not run for re-election in 2012, but will instead retire. Conrad said in a statement that it was more important that "I spend my time and energy trying to focus on solving the nation's budget woes than be distracted by another campaign."

Early life

Conrad was born in Bismarck, North Dakota and lived much of his early life in Bismarck. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his grandparents. He attended Roosevelt Elementary and Hughes Junior High, and several years of high school in Tripoli, Libya. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy before attending college at Stanford, and received an M.B.A. from the George Washington University.

Conrad has been married twice. His first wife, Pam, is the sister of former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer. They had one daughter, Jessamyn. On Valentine's Day 1987, Conrad married Lucy Calautti, his 1986 Senate campaign manager who is currently a lobbyist for Major League Baseball.

Early political career

After graduating from college, he became a civil servant, working as an assistant to the North Dakota State Tax Commissioner, Byron Dorgan, who later became his colleague in the Senate. Conrad made his first entry into politics when he ran unsuccessfully for the North Dakota Auditor's office in 1976. In 1980, Conrad succeeded Dorgan as Tax Commissioner. Conrad was state tax commissioner until 1986, when he ran for the Senate.

U.S. Senate career

Committees

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

*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 the Budget (Chairman)

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

Political positions

In April 2006, he was selected by ''Time'' as one of "America's 10 Best Senators". That same year, he was commended by ''The American'' for his knowledge of economic issues. Conrad endorsed Senator Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Race. Conrad is also a leading member of the "Gang of 10", a conservative group which pushed for much greater offshore drilling in sensitive environmental areas.

Health care

In the 2009 negotiations over reforming America's healthcare system, Conrad strongly opposed any "public option". The AFL-CIO announced they will fund a primary challenge against Conrad in 2012 if he continues to oppose a "public option".

On September 29, 2009, Senator 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 limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Social policies

Conrad is more politically conservative than most Democrats. He has voted consistently in favor of banning the so-called "partial-birth" abortion medical procedure. He also opposes public funding of abortion. However, Conrad voted in favor of lifting the ban on military base abortions. Conrad also has a mixed record on gay rights. While he 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. On January 31, 2006, Conrad was one of only four Democrats to vote in favor of confirming Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

Fiscal policies

Conrad presents himself as knowledgeable about his analysis of monetary policies and budget issues. He considers himself a "deficit hawk" because of his calls for a balanced federal budget, in spite of his support for farm subsidies. He has 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."

Conrad was very vocal in his opposition to the spending policies of the George W. Bush administration. He contends that Bush has worsened the problems of national debt. Conrad is also opposed to most free-trade measures, and is a strong supporter of farming subsidies to family farmers.

Iraq war

Conrad voted against approving use of military force in Iraq in 1991 and was one of only 23 senators to vote against the war resolution of 2002. While he initially voted in favor of the USA PATRIOT Act, he has been an opponent of warrantless wiretapping and of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

Countrywide Financial loan scandal

In June 2008, it was reported that Senator Conrad had received mortgages on favorable terms for a second home and an apartment building due to his association with Countrywide Financial 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 (CREW) called on the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Conrad. In August 2009, after a year-long inquiry, the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee exonerated Senator Conrad of any unethical behavior regarding his dealings with Countrywide Mortgage.

Electoral history

Overview

In the 1986 election, Conrad defeated the Republican incumbent, Mark Andrews, by 2,100 votes. Andrews had represented North Dakota at the federal level since 1963 (he had previously served in the House before moving to the Senate in 1981).

During the campaign, Conrad pledged that he would not run for re-election if the federal budget deficit had not fallen by the end of his term. By 1992 it became obvious that this would not be the case, and although polls showed that the electors would have welcomed him going back on his pledge, Conrad considered his promise binding and did not run for re-election. Dorgan won the Democratic primary election.

Conrad received a convenient opportunity to remain in the Senate when the other North Dakota senator, long-serving Dem-NPLer Quentin Burdick, died on September 8, 1992. Burdick's widow, Jocelyn Birch Burdick, was appointed to that seat temporarily, but a special election was needed to fill the rest of the term. Viewing this opportunity as different from "running for re-election", Conrad ran for and won the Democratic-NPL's nomination. He went on to win the special election, and was sworn-in December 14, 1992, resigning his original Senate seat the same day. (Conrad's original Senate seat was then filled by Dorgan, via appointment by the governor on December 15, 1992 to fill the seat for the brief interim until he would have been sworn in under normal circumstances.)

Despite North Dakota's Republican leanings, Conrad was comfortably 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.

1986

Kent Conrad (D) 49.8%

Mark Andrews (R) (inc.) 49%

1992

1994

Kent Conrad (D) (inc.) 58%

Ben Clayburgh (R) 42%

2000

Kent Conrad (D) (inc.) 61%

Duane Sand (R) 38%

2006

Kent Conrad (D) (inc.) 68.8%

Dwight Grotberg (R) 29.5%

Roland Riemers (I) 1%

James Germalic (I) 0.6%

References

External links

United States Senator Kent Conrad ''official U.S. Senate site''

Profile at SourceWatch

FY2010 Budget Resolution

{{U.S. Senator box |before=Mark Andrews |state=North Dakota |class=3 |years=January 3, 1987 - December 14, 1992|alongside=Quentin N. Burdick, Jocelyn Burdick |after=Byron Dorgan}} {{U.S. Senator box |state=North Dakota |class=1 |before=Jocelyn Burdick |start=December 14, 1992 |alongside=Byron Dorgan, John Hoeven}}

Category:1948 births Category:American Unitarian Universalists Category:George Washington University alumni Category:Living people Category:North Dakota Democrats Category:North Dakota Tax Commissioners Category:People from Bismarck, North Dakota Category:Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Category:Stanford University alumni Category:United States Senators from North Dakota Category:Democratic Party United States Senators

ar:كينت كونراد de:Kent Conrad fr:Kent Conrad nl:Kent Conrad ja:ケント・コンラッド no:Kent Conrad pl:Kent Conrad pt:Kent Conrad simple:Kent Conrad fi:Kent Conrad sv:Kent Conrad

Name	John Kerry
Nationality	U.S. Citizen
Order1	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Term start1	January 6, 2009
Predecessor1	Joseph Biden
Jr/sr2	Senior Senator
Alongside2	Scott Brown
State2	Massachusetts
Party2	Democratic
Term start2	January 2, 1985
Preceded2	Paul Tsongas
Succeeded2
Order3	Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Term start3	January 4, 2007
Term end3	January 3, 2009
Predecessor3	Olympia Snowe
Successor3	Mary Landrieu
Term start4	June 6, 2001
Term end4	January 3, 2003
Predecessor4	Kit Bond
Successor4	Olympia Snowe
Term start5	January 3, 2001
Term end5	January 20, 2001
Predecessor5	Kit Bond
Successor5	Kit Bond
Order6	Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs
Term start6	August 2, 1991
Term end6	January 2, 1993
Successor6
Order7	66th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
Term start7	March 6, 1983
Term end7	January 2, 1985
Governor7	Michael Dukakis
Predecessor7	Thomas P. O'Neill III
Successor7	Evelyn Murphy (1987)
Birth date	December 11, 1943
Birth place	Aurora, Colorado
Occupation	Attorney
Residence	Boston, Massachusetts
Spouse	Julia Thorne (divorced) Teresa Heinz
Children	Alexandra Kerry Vanessa Kerry H. John Heinz IV (stepson) Andre Heinz (stepson) Christopher Heinz (stepson)
Alma mater	Yale University (B.A.) Boston College (J.D.)
Religion	Roman Catholic
Signature	John Kerry Signature2.svg
Website	kerry.senate.gov
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch	United States Navy
Serviceyears	1966–1970
Rank	Lieutenant
Commands	PCF-44, PCF-94
Unit	Coastal Squadron 1
Battles	Vietnam War
Awards	Silver Star Bronze Star Purple Heart (3) }}

John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to incumbent President George W. Bush.

The son of an Army Air Corps serviceman, Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado. He attended boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and went on to graduate from Yale University class of 1966, where he majored in political science. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966 and, during 1968-1969, served a four month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge (OIC) of a Swift Boat. For that service he was awarded several combat medals to include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. After returning to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in which he served as a nationally recognized spokesperson and as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam war. During that period, he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs where he deemed his superiors to be "war criminals".

After graduating from Boston College Law School, Kerry worked as an Assistant District Attorney and co-founded a private firm. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts under Michael Dukakis from 1983 to 1985, where he worked on an early forerunner to the national Clean Air Act. He won a tight Democratic primary in 1984 for the U.S. Senate and was sworn in the following January. On the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he led a series of hearings from 1987 to 1989 which were a precursor to the Iran–Contra affair. He was an early backer of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but became a strong opponent of the subsequent war.

Kerry based his 2004 presidential campaign on opposition to the Iraq War. He and his running mate Senator John Edwards lost by 34 electoral votes. Since then, he has established the Keeping America's Promise PAC.

On August 9, 2011, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appointed Kerry to the United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.

Biography

Kerry is the child of Richard Jerry Kerry (1915–2000), a Foreign Service Officer and an attorney for the Bureau of United Nations Affairs, and Rosemary Forbes Kerry (1913–2002), a World War II nurse and member of the wealthy Forbes family. He has three siblings: two sisters, Diana (born in 1947) and Margerie (aka Peggy; born in 1941) and a brother, Cameron (born in 1950), Cameron Kerry was picked to be Barack Obama's general counsel of the Commerce Department.

His immediate family members were reportedly observant Roman Catholics. As a child, Kerry served as an altar boy. Although the extended family enjoyed a great fortune, Kerry's parents themselves were upper-middle class; a wealthy great aunt paid for Kerry to attend elite schools in Europe and New England. Kerry spent his summers at the Forbes family estate in Brittany, and there, he enjoyed a more opulent lifestyle than he had previously known in Massachusetts.

It was discovered in 2003 by genealogist Felix Gundacker, working with ''The Boston Globe'', that Kerry's paternal grandparents, who had been born "Fritz Kohn" and "Ida Löwe" in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, changed their names to "Frederick and Ida Kerry" in 1900 and converted from Judaism to Roman Catholicism in 1901 or 1902. Fritz' elder brother Otto had earlier, in 1887 or 1896, also embraced Catholicism. The "Kerry" name, widely misinterpreted as indicative of Irish heritage, was reputedly selected arbitrarily: "According to family legend, Fritz and another family member opened an atlas at random and dropped a pencil on a map. It fell on County Kerry in Ireland, and thus a name was chosen." Leaving their hometown Mödling, a suburb of Vienna where they had lived since 1896, Fred and Ida, together with their son Eric, emigrated to the United States in 1905, living at first in Chicago and eventually moving to Brookline, Massachusetts by 1915.

The village where Fritz Kohn was born in 1873 was at that time known as Bennisch and was a part of Silesia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but is today known as Horní Benešov in the Czech Republic. After learning of his ancestral connection with their village, the mayor and citizens sent congratulatory correspondence to John Kerry with regard to his political pursuits.

For a time, Fred Kerry was a prosperous and successful shoe merchant, and Ida and two of the children, Richard (who would become the father of John Kerry) and Mildred, were able to afford to travel to Europe in the autumn of 1921, returning on October 21. A few weeks later, on November 15, Fred Kerry filed a will leaving everything to Ida and then, on November 23, walked into a washroom of the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston and committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a handgun. The suicide was front-page news in all of the Boston newspapers, reporting at the time that the motive was severe asthma and related health problems, but modern reports cite family sources saying that the motive was financial trouble: "He had made three fortunes and when he had lost the third fortune, he couldn't face it anymore", according to granddaughter Nancy Stockslager.

John Kerry has said that although he knew his paternal grandfather had come from Austria, he did not know until informed by ''The Boston Globe'' on the basis of their genealogical research that Fred Kerry had changed his name from "Fritz Kohn" and had been born Jewish, nor that his great-uncle and great-aunt, Ida Kerry's brother Otto and sister Jenni, died in Nazi concentration camps.

On his mother's side, the Forbes name can be traced back to Thomas Dudley of the Dudley-Winthrop family who landed in Salem, Massachusetts on June 14, 1630 with his daughter, poet Anne Dudley Bradstreet and others aboard the Arbella.

Kerry is 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), enjoys surfing and windsurfing, as well as ice hockey, hunting and playing bass guitar. According to an interview he gave to ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2004, Kerry's favorite album is ''Abbey Road'' and he is a fan of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, as well as of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Buffett. He never liked heavy metal. During his 2004 presidential campaign, Kerry used Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender" as one of his campaign songs. Later he would adopt U2's "Beautiful Day" as his official campaign song.

Kerry is described by ''Sports Illustrated'', among others, as an "avid cyclist", primarily riding on a road bike. Prior to his Presidential bid, Kerry was known to have participated in several long-distance rides (centuries). Even during his many campaigns, he was reported to have visited bicycle stores both in his home state and elsewhere. His staff requested recumbent stationary bikes for his hotel rooms.

Kerry appeared in a cameo as himself on the April 30, 1992 episode of the hit television sitcom ''Cheers'', in the episode, "Bar Wars VI: This Time It's For Real."

In 2003, Kerry was diagnosed with and successfully treated for prostate cancer.

Family

Kerry was married to Julia Thorne in 1970, and they had two daughters together: Alexandra and Vanessa. Alexandra was born on September 5, 1973, days before Kerry began law school. A graduate of Milton Academy and Brown University, she received her M.F.A. in June 2004 from the AFI Conservatory. She is a documentary filmmaker. Vanessa was born on December 31, 1976. She is a graduate of Phillips Academy and Yale University, and attended Harvard Medical School and a master's program in health policy at the London School of Economics. Both daughters were active in their father's 2004 Presidential campaign.

In 1982 Thorne, who was suffering from severe depression, asked Kerry for a separation. They were divorced on July 25, 1988, and the marriage was formally annulled in 1997. "After 14 years as a political wife, I associated politics only with anger, fear and loneliness" she wrote in ''A Change of Heart'', her book about depression. Thorne later married Richard Charlesworth, an architect, and moved to Bozeman, Montana, where she became active in local environmental groups such as the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. Thorne supported Kerry's 2004 presidential run. She died of cancer on April 27, 2006.

Kerry and his second wife, Teresa Simões-Ferreira Heinz, the widow of Pennsylvania Senator H. John Heinz III, a Republican, and former United Nations interpreter were introduced to each other by John Heinz at an Earth Day rally in 1990. They did not meet again until after John Heinz's death, at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. They married on May 26, 1995, in Nantucket. John Kerry's stepsons Teresa's three sons from her previous marriage are H. John Heinz IV, André Heinz and Christopher Heinz, who married Alexandra DeRuyter Lewis on February 10, 2007.

The ''Forbes 400'' survey estimated in 2004 that Teresa Heinz Kerry had a net worth of $750 million. However, estimates have frequently varied, ranging from around $165 million to as high as $3.2 billion, according to a study in the ''Los Angeles Times''. Regardless of which figure is correct, Kerry is the wealthiest U.S. Senator. Kerry is wealthy in his own name, and is the beneficiary of at least four trusts inherited from Forbes family members, including his mother, who died in 2002. ''Forbes'' magazine (a major business magazine named for an unrelated Forbes family) estimated that if elected, Kerry would have been the third-richest U.S. President in history when adjusted for inflation. This assessment was based on the couple's combined assets, but Kerry and Heinz signed a prenuptial agreement that keeps their assets separate. Kerry's financial disclosure form for 2002 put his personal assets in the range of $409,000 to $1.8 million, with additional assets held jointly by Kerry and his wife in the range of $300,000 to $600,000.

Religious beliefs

A Roman Catholic, Kerry was said to carry a rosary, a prayer book, and a St. Christopher medal (the patron saint of travelers) when he campaigned. However, while Kerry is personally against abortion, he supports a woman's legal right to have one, which puts him at odds with the Catholic Church. Similar tension exists between the Church and several other Catholic national political figures, including Rudy Giuliani, George Pataki, Nancy Pelosi, Tom Ridge, Tom Vilsack (one of his possible vice-presidential choices in the 2004 election), Joe Biden, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Discussing his faith, Kerry said, "I thought of being a priest. I was very religious while at school in Switzerland. I was an altar boy and prayed all the time. I was very centered around the Mass and the church." He also said that the Letters of Paul moved him the most, stating that they taught him to "not feel sorry for myself."

According to ''Christianity Today'', Kerry remarks about his faith: }}

Early years (1943–1966)

Childhood

Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital on December 11, 1943; his father was a member of the Army Air Corps at the time.

Kerry has said that his first memory is from when he was three years old, of holding his crying mother's hand while they walked through the broken glass and rubble of her childhood home in Saint-Briac, France. This visit came two and a half years after the United States had liberated Saint-Briac from the Nazis on August 14, 1944. The family estate, known as Les Essarts, had been occupied and used as a Nazi headquarters during the war. When the Germans abandoned it, they bombed Les Essarts and burned it down.

The sprawling estate was rebuilt in 1954. Kerry and his parents would often spend the summer holidays there. During these summers, he became good friends with his first cousin Brice Lalonde, a future Socialist and Green Party leader in France, who ran for president of France in 1981.

While his father was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, Kerry was sent to Massachusetts to attend boarding school. In 1957, he attended the Fessenden School in West Newton, a village in Newton, Massachusetts. The Fessenden School is the oldest all-boys independent junior boarding school in the country. There he met and became friends with Richard Pershing, grandson of First World War U.S. Gen. John Joseph Pershing. Former Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy also attended the Fessenden School, although several years prior to Kerry.

The following year, he enrolled at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and graduated from there in 1962. Kerry learned skills in public speaking and began developing interest in politics. In his free time, he enjoyed ice hockey and lacrosse, which he played on teams captained by classmate Robert S. Mueller III, the current director of the FBI. Kerry also played bass guitar for the prep school's band ''The Electras'', which produced an album in 1961. Only five hundred copies were made—one was auctioned on eBay in 2004 for $2,551.

In 1959, Kerry founded the John Winant Society at St. Paul's to debate the issues of the day; the Society still exists there. In November 1960, Kerry gave his first political speech, in favor of John F. Kennedy's election to the White House.

In 1962, Kerry was a volunteer for Ted Kennedy's first Senatorial campaign. The summer after his graduation from St. Paul's, he dated Janet Jennings Auchincloss, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's half-sister. Auchincloss invited Kerry to visit her family's estate, Hammersmith Farm, in Rhode Island where Kerry met President John F. Kennedy for the first time.

According to Kerry, when he told the president he was about to enter Yale University, Kennedy grimaced, because he had gone to rival Harvard University. Kerry later recalled, "He smiled at me, laughed and said: 'Oh, don't worry about it. You know I'm a Yale man too now.'" According to Kerry "The President uttered that famous comment about how he had the best of two worlds now: a Harvard education and Yale degree", in reference to the honorary degree he had received from Yale a few months earlier. Later that day, a White House photographer snapped a photo of Kerry sailing with Kennedy and his family in Narragansett Bay.

Yale University

In 1962, Kerry entered Yale University, majoring in political science. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966. Kerry played on the soccer, hockey, lacrosse and fencing teams; in addition, he took flying lessons.

In his sophomore year, Kerry became the Chairman of the Liberal Party of the Yale Political Union, and a year later he served as President of the Union. Amongst his influential teachers in this period was Professor H. Bradford Westerfield, who was himself a former President of the Political Union. His involvement with the Political Union gave him an opportunity to be involved with important issues of the day, such as the civil rights movement and Kennedy's New Frontier program. He was also a member of the secretive Skull and Bones Society. He also traveled to Switzerland through AIESEC Yale.

Under the guidance of the speaking coach and history professor Rollin Osterweis, Kerry won many debates against other college students from across the nation. In March 1965, as the Vietnam War escalated, he won the Ten Eyck prize as the best orator in the junior class for a speech that was critical of U.S. foreign policy. In the speech he said, "It is the spectre of Western imperialism that causes more fear among Africans and Asians than communism and thus, it is self-defeating."

Kerry, viewed as a capable speaker, was chosen to give the class oration at graduation. His speech was a broad criticism of American foreign policy, including the Vietnam War, in which he would soon participate.

Military service (1966–1970)

Duty on the USS Gridley

On February 18, 1966, Kerry enlisted in the Naval Reserve. He began his active duty military service on August 19, 1966. After completing sixteen weeks of Officer Candidate School at the U.S. Naval Training Center in Newport, Rhode Island, Kerry received his officer's commission on December 16, 1966. During the 2004 election, Kerry posted his military records at his website, and permitted reporters to inspect his medical records. In 2005, Kerry released his military and medical records to the representatives of three news organizations, but has not authorized full public access to those records.

Kerry's first tour of duty was as an ensign on the guided missile frigate in 1968. The executive officer of the ''Gridley'' described the deployment as: "We deployed from San Diego to the Vietnam theatre in early 1968 after only a six-month turnaround, and spent most of a four month deployment on rescue station in the Gulf of Tonkin, standing by to pick up downed aviators."

During his tour on the ''Gridley'', Kerry requested duty in Vietnam, listing as his first preference a position as the commander of a Fast Patrol Craft (PCF), also known as a "Swift boat." These boats have aluminum hulls and have little or no armor, but are heavily armed and rely on speed. "I didn't really want to get involved in the war", Kerry said in a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. "When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that's what I thought I was going to be doing." However, his second choice of billet was on a river patrol boat, or "PBR", which at the time was serving a more dangerous duty on the rivers of Vietnam.

On June 16, 1968, Kerry was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. On June 20, 1968, he left the ''Gridley'' for Swift boat training at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado.

Swift boat duty

On November 17, 1968, Kerry reported for duty at Coastal Squadron 1 in Cam Ranh Bay in South Vietnam. In his role as an officer in charge of Swift boats, Kerry led five-man crews on a number of patrols into enemy-controlled areas. His first command was Swift boat PCF-44, from December 6, 1968 to January 21, 1969, when the crew was disbanded. They were based at Coastal Division 13 at Cat Lo from December 13, 1968 to January 6, 1969. Otherwise, they were stationed at Coastal Division 11 at An Thoi. On January 30, 1969, Kerry took charge of PCF-94 and its crew, which he led until he departed An Thoi on March 26, 1969, and subsequently the crew was disbanded.

On January 22, 1969, Kerry and several other officers had a meeting in Saigon with Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, the commander of U.S. Naval forces in Vietnam, and U.S. Army General Creighton Abrams, the overall commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Kerry and the other officers reported that the "free-fire zone" policy was alienating the Vietnamese and that the Swift boats' actions were not accomplishing their ostensible goal of interdicting Viet Cong supply lines. According to his biographer, Douglas Brinkley, Kerry and the other visiting officers felt their concerns were dismissed with what amounted to a pep talk (''Tour of Duty,'' pp. 254–261).

Military honors

During the night of December 2, 1968 and early morning of December 3, 1968, Kerry was in charge of a small boat operating near a peninsula north of Cam Ranh Bay together with a Swift boat (PCF-60). According to Kerry and the two crewmen who accompanied him that night, Patrick Runyon and William Zaladonis, they surprised a group of men unloading sampans at a river crossing, who began running and failed to obey an order to stop. As the men fled, Kerry and his crew opened fire on the sampans and destroyed them, then rapidly left. During this encounter, Kerry received a shrapnel wound in the left arm above the elbow. It was for this injury that Kerry received his first Purple Heart.

Kerry received his second Purple Heart for a wound received in action on the Bo De River on February 20, 1969. The plan had been for the Swift boats to be accompanied by support helicopters. On the way up the Bo De, however, the helicopters were attacked. They returned to their base to refuel and were unable to return to the mission for several hours.

As the Swift boats reached the Cua Lon River, Kerry's boat was hit by a RPG round, and a piece of shrapnel hit Kerry's left leg, wounding him. Thereafter, they had no more trouble, and reached the Gulf of Thailand safely. Kerry still has shrapnel in his left thigh because the doctors tending to him decided to remove the damaged tissue and close the wound with sutures rather than make a wide opening to remove the shrapnel. Kerry received his second Purple Heart for this injury, but like several others wounded earlier that day, he did not lose any time off from duty.

Eight days later, on February 28, 1969, came the events for which Kerry was awarded his Silver Star. On this occasion, Kerry was in tactical command of his Swift boat and two others in an eight boat formation. Their mission on the Duong Keo river included bringing a demolition team and dozens of South Vietnamese Marines to destroy enemy sampans, structures and bunkers as described in the story ''The Death Of PCF 43''. Running into an ambush, Kerry "directed the boats to turn to the beach and charge the Viet Cong positions" and he "expertly directed" his boat's fire and coordinated the deployment of the South Vietnamese troops, according to the original medal citation (signed by Admiral Zumwalt). Going a short distance farther, Kerry's boat was the target of an RPG round; as the boat beached at the site, a VC with a rocket launcher jumped and ran from a spider hole. While the boat's gunner opened fire, wounding the VC on the leg, and while the other boats approached and offered cover fire, Kerry jumped from the boat and chased the VC and killed him, capturing a loaded rocket launcher.

Kerry's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander George Elliott, joked to Douglas Brinkley in 2003 that he didn't know whether to court-martial Kerry for beaching the boat without orders or give him a medal for saving the crew. Elliott recommended Kerry for the Silver Star, and Zumwalt flew into An Thoi to personally award medals to Kerry and the rest of the sailors involved in the mission. The Navy's account of Kerry's actions is presented in the original medal citation signed by Zumwalt. The engagement was documented in an after-action report, a press release written on March 1, 1969, and a historical summary dated March 17, 1969.

On March 13, 1969, five Swift boats were returning to base together on the Bay Hap river from their missions that day, after a firefight earlier in the day (during which time Kerry received a slight shrapnel wound in the buttocks from blowing up a rice bunker), and debarking some but not all of the passengers at a small village. They approached a fishing weir (a series of poles across the river for hanging nets), so that one group of boats went around left, hugging the shore, and a group with Kerry's 94 boat went around right along the shoreline. A mine was detonated directly beneath the lead boat, PCF-3, as it crossed the weir to the left, lifting PCF-3 completely into the air.

James Rassmann, a Green Beret advisor who was aboard PCF-94, was knocked overboard when, according to witnesses and the documentation of the event, a mine or rocket exploded close to the boat. According to the documentation for the event, Kerry's arm was injured when he was thrown against a bulkhead during the explosion. PCF 94 returned to the scene and Kerry rescued Rassmann from the water. Kerry received the Bronze Star for his actions during this incident; he also received his third Purple Heart.

After the crew of PCF-3 had been rescued, and the most seriously wounded sailors evacuated by two of the PCFs, PCF 94 and another boat remained behind and helped salvage the stricken boat together with a damage-control party that had been immediately dispatched to the scene.

Controversy

As the presidential campaign of 2004 developed, approximately 200 Vietnam veterans formed the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), subsequently renamed Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, which held press conferences, ran ads and endorsed a book questioning Kerry's service record and his military awards. The group included several members of Kerry's unit, such as Larry Thurlow, who commanded a swift boat alongside of Kerry's, and Stephen Gardner, who served on Kerry's boat.

Return from Vietnam

After Kerry's third qualifying wound, he was entitled per Navy regulations to re-assignment away from combat duties. Navy records show that Kerry's preferred choice for re-assignment was as an aide in Boston, New York or Washington, D.C.

On March 26, 1969, after a final patrol the night before, Kerry was transferred to Cam Ranh Bay to await his orders. He was there for five or six days and left Vietnam in early April. On April 11, 1969, he reported to the Brooklyn-based Atlantic Military Sea Transportation Service, where he would remain on active duty for the following year as a personal aide to an officer, Rear Admiral Walter Schlech. On January 1, 1970 Kerry was temporarily promoted to full Lieutenant. Kerry had agreed to an extension of his active duty obligation from December 1969 to August 1970 in order to perform Swift Boat duty, but in January, 1970, he requested early discharge in order to run for Congress the following fall. He was discharged from active duty on March 1, 1970.

John Kerry was on active duty in the United States Navy from August 1966 until January 1970. He continued to serve in the Naval Reserve until February 1978. Kerry lost at least five friends in the war including Yale classmate Richard Pershing, who was killed in action on February 17, 1968.

Anti-war activism (1970–1971)

After returning to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW). Then numbering about 20,000, VVAW was considered by some (including the administration of President Richard Nixon) to be an effective, if controversial, component of the antiwar movement.

On April 22, 1971, Kerry became the first Vietnam veteran to testify before Congress about the war, when he appeared before a Senate committee hearing on proposals relating to ending the war. He was still a member of the United States Navy Reserve, holding the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. Wearing green fatigues and service ribbons, he spoke for nearly two hours with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in what has been named the Fulbright Hearing, after the Chairman of the proceedings, Senator J.W. Fulbright. Kerry began with a prepared speech, in which he presented the conclusions of the Winter Soldier Investigation, and then went on to address larger policy issues.

The day after this testimony, Kerry participated in a demonstration with thousands of other veterans in which he and other veterans threw their medals and ribbons over a fence erected at the front steps of the United States Capitol building to dramatize their opposition to the war. Jack Smith, a Marine, read a statement explaining why the veterans were returning their military awards to the government. For more than two hours, almost 1000 angry veterans tossed their medals, ribbons, hats, jackets, and military papers over the fence. Each veteran gave his or her name, hometown, branch of service and a statement. Kerry threw some of his decorations as well as some given to him by other veterans to throw. As Kerry threw his decorations over the fence, his statement was: "I'm not doing this for any violent reasons, but for peace and justice, and to try and make this country wake up once and for all." The documentary film ''Sir! No Sir!'' includes archival footage of Kerry at the demonstration: he is one of several young men seen throwing things over the fence.

Media appearances

Because Kerry was a decorated veteran who took a stand against the government's official position, he was frequently interviewed by broadcast and print media. He was able to use these occasions to bring the themes of his Senate testimony to a wider audience.

For example, Kerry appeared more than once on ''The Dick Cavett Show'' on ABC television. On one Cavett program (June 30, 1971), in debating John O'Neill, Kerry argued that some of the policies instituted by the U.S. military leaders in Vietnam, such as free-fire zones and burning noncombatants' houses, were contrary to the laws of war. In the ''Washington Star'' newspaper (June 6, 1971), he recounted how he and other Swift boat officers had become disillusioned by the contrast between what the leaders told them and what they saw: "That's when I realized I could never remain silent about the realities of the war in Vietnam."

On NBC's ''Meet The Press'' in 1971, Kerry was asked whether he had personally committed atrocities in Vietnam. He responded:

Operation POW

Kerry's prominence also made him a frequent leader and spokesman at antiwar events around the country in 1971. One of particular note was Operation POW, organized by the VVAW in Massachusetts. The protest got its name from the group's concern that Americans were prisoners of the Vietnam War, as well as to honor American POWs held captive by North Vietnam.

The event sought to tie antiwar activism to patriotic themes. Over the Memorial Day weekend, veterans and other participants marched from Concord to a rally on Boston Common. The plan was to invoke the spirit of the American Revolution and Paul Revere by spending successive nights at the sites of the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill, culminating in a Memorial Day rally with a public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

The second night of the march, May 29, 1971, was the occasion for Kerry's only arrest, when the participants tried to camp on the village green in Lexington. At 2:30 a.m. on May 30, 1971, local and state police awoke and arrested 441 demonstrators, including Kerry, for trespassing. All were given the Miranda Warning and were hauled away on school buses to spend the night at the Lexington Public Works Garage. Kerry and the other protesters later paid a $5 fine, and were released. The mass arrests caused a community backlash and ended up giving positive coverage to the VVAW.

Despite his role in Operation POW and other VVAW events, Kerry eventually quit the organization over leadership differences. Kerry has been criticized regarding VVAW—see John Kerry VVAW controversy for more details.

Early political career (1972–1985)

1972 campaign

In February 1972, after Kerry previously passed on an opportunity to run in another district, his wife, Julia bought a house in Worcester. Residence there would have required Kerry to run for Congress against an incumbent Democrat, Harold D. Donohue. Instead however, the couple rented an apartment in Lowell. The incumbent in that district, F. Bradford Morse, was a Republican who was thought to be retiring.

Counting Kerry, the Democratic primary race in 1972 had 10 candidates. One of these was State Representative Anthony R. DiFruscia of Lawrence. Both Kerry's and DiFuscia's campaign HQs were in the same building. On the eve of the September primary, Kerry's younger brother Cameron and campaign field director Thomas J. Vallely, both then 22 years old, were found by police in the basement of this building, where the telephone lines were located. They were arrested and charged with "breaking and entering with the intent to commit grand larceny", but the case was dismissed about a year later. At the time of the incident, DiFruscia alleged that they were trying to disrupt his get-out-the vote efforts. Vallely and Cameron Kerry maintained that they were only checking their own telephone lines because they had received an anonymous call warning that the Kerry lines would be cut.

Although Kerry's campaign was hurt by the election-day report of the arrest, he still won the primary, narrowly beating state Representative Paul J. Sheehy. DiFruscia placed third. Kerry lost in Lawrence and Lowell, his chief opponents' bases, but placed first in 18 of the district's 22 towns.

In the general election, Kerry was initially favored to defeat the Republican candidate, former state Representative Paul W. Cronin, and an independent, Roger P. Durkin. A major obstacle, however, was the district's leading newspaper, the conservative leaning ''Sun''. The paper editorialized against him. It also ran critical news stories about his out-of-state contributions and his "carpetbagging", because he had moved into the district only in April. Subsequently released "Watergate" Oval Office tape recordings of the Nixon White House showed that defeating Kerry's candidacy had attracted the personal attention of President Nixon.

The final blow came when, four days before the election, Durkin withdrew in favor of Cronin. Cronin won the election, becoming the only Republican to be elected to Congress that November in a district carried by Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern.

District Attorney tenure

After Kerry's 1972 defeat, he and his wife bought a house in Lowell. He spent some time working as a fundraiser for the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), an international humanitarian organization. In September 1973, he entered Boston College Law School. In July 1974, while attending law school, Kerry was named executive director of Mass Action, a Massachusetts advocacy association.

He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Boston College in 1976. While in law school he had been a student prosecutor in the office of the District Attorney of Middlesex County, John J. Droney. After passing the bar exam and being admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1976, he went to work in that office as a full-time prosecutor.

In January 1977, Droney promoted him to First Assistant District Attorney. In that position, Kerry had dual roles. First, he tried cases, winning convictions in a high-profile rape case and a murder. Second, he played a role in administering the office of the district attorney by initiating the creation of special white-collar and organized crime units, creating programs to address the problems of rape and other crime victims and of witnesses, and managing trial calendars to reflect case priorities. It was in this role in 1978 that Kerry announced an investigation into possible criminal charges against then Senator Edward Brooke, regarding "misstatements" in his first divorce trial.

Lieutenant Governor tenure

In 1979, Kerry resigned from the District Attorney's office to set up a private law firm with another former prosecutor. And, although his private law practice was a success, Kerry was still interested in public office. He re-entered electoral politics by running for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and won a narrow victory in the 1982 Democratic primary. The ticket, with Michael Dukakis as the gubernatorial candidate, won the general election without difficulty.

The position of Lieutenant Governor carried few inherent responsibilities. Dukakis, however, delegated additional matters to Kerry. In particular, Kerry's interest in environmental protection led him to become heavily involved in the issue of acid rain. His work contributed to a National Governors Association resolution in 1984 that was a precursor to the 1990 amendments to the federal Clean Air Act.

During his campaign, Kerry had argued that nuclear evacuation planning was "a sham intended to deceive Americans into believing they could survive a nuclear war".

Election for U.S. Senate

The junior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas, announced in 1984 that he would be stepping down for health reasons. Kerry decided to run for the seat. As in his 1982 race for Lieutenant Governor, he did not receive the endorsement of the party regulars at the state Democratic convention. Congressman James Shannon (a favorite of House Speaker Tip O'Neill) was the early favorite to win the nomination, and he "won broad establishment support and led in early polling." Again as in 1982, however, Kerry prevailed in a close primary. In his campaign, he promised to mix liberalism with tight budget controls. As the Democratic candidate, he was elected to the Senate despite a nationwide landslide for the re-election of Republican president Ronald Reagan, for whom Massachusetts voted by a narrow margin. In his acceptance speech, Kerry asserted that his win meant that the people of Massachusetts "emphatically reject the politics of selfishness and the notion that women must be treated as second-class citizens." Kerry was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in January 1985.

U.S. Senate tenure (1985–present)

Iran-Contra hearings

On April 18, 1985, a few months after taking his Senate seat, Kerry and Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa traveled to Nicaragua and met the country's president, Daniel Ortega. Though Ortega was democratically elected, the trip was criticized because Ortega and his leftist Sandinista government had strong ties to Cuba and the USSR. The Sandinista government was opposed by the right-wing CIA-backed rebels known as the Contras. While in Nicaragua, Kerry and Harkin talked to people on both sides of the conflict. Through the senators, Ortega offered a cease-fire agreement in exchange for the US dropping support of the Contras. The offer was denounced by the Reagan administration as a "propaganda initiative" designed to influence a House vote on a $14 million Contra aid package, but Kerry said "I am willing ... to take the risk in the effort to put to test the good faith of the Sandinistas." The House voted down the Contra aid, but Ortega flew to Moscow to accept a $200 million loan the next day, which in part prompted the House to pass a larger $27 million aid package six weeks later.

In April 1986, Kerry and Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut, proposed that hearings be conducted by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding charges of Contra involvement in cocaine and marijuana trafficking. Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Republican chairman of the committee, agreed to conduct the hearings.

Meanwhile, Kerry's staff began their own investigations and, on October 14, issued a report that exposed illegal activities on the part of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, who had set up a private network involving the National Security Council and the CIA to deliver military equipment to right-wing Nicaraguan rebels (Contras). In effect, North and certain members of the President's administration were accused by Kerry's report of illegally funding and supplying armed militants without the authorization of Congress. Kerry's staff investigation, based on a year-long inquiry and interviews with fifty unnamed sources, is said to raise "serious questions about whether the United States has abided by the law in its handling of the contras over the past three years."

The Kerry Committee report found that "the Contra drug links included ... payments to drug traffickers by the U.S. State Department of funds authorized by the Congress for humanitarian assistance to the Contras, in some cases after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies on drug charges, in others while traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies." The US State Department paid over $806,000 to known drug traffickers to carry humanitarian assistance to the Contras. Kerry's findings provoked little reaction in the media and official Washington.

The Kerry report was a precursor to the Iran-Contra affair. On May 4, 1989, North was convicted of charges relating to the Iran/Contra controversy, including three felonies. On September 16, 1991, however, North's convictions were overturned on appeal.

George H.W. Bush administration

On November 15, 1988, at a businessmen's breakfast in East Lynn, Massachusetts, Kerry made a joke about then-President-elect George H.W. Bush and his running mate, saying "if Bush is shot, the Secret Service has orders to shoot Dan Quayle." He apologized the following day.

During their investigation of Noriega, Kerry's staff found reason to believe that the Pakistan-based Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) had facilitated Noriega's drug trafficking and money laundering. This led to a separate inquiry into BCCI, and as a result, banking regulators shut down BCCI in 1991. In December 1992, Kerry and Senator Hank Brown, a Republican from Colorado, released ''The BCCI Affair'', a report on the BCCI scandal. The report showed that the bank was crooked and was working with terrorists, including Abu Nidal. It blasted the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Customs Service, the Federal Reserve Bank, as well as influential lobbyists and the CIA.

Kerry was criticized by some Democrats for having pursued his own party members, including former Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford, although Republicans said he should have pressed against some Democrats even harder. The BCCI scandal was later turned over to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Precursors to presidential bid

In 1996, Kerry faced a difficult re-election fight against Governor William Weld, a popular Republican incumbent who had been re-elected in 1994 with 71% of the vote. The race was covered nationwide as one of the most closely watched Senate races that year. Kerry and Weld held several debates and negotiated a campaign spending cap of $6.9 million at Kerry's Beacon Hill mansion. Both candidates spent more than the cap, with each camp accusing the other of being first to break the agreement. There is no evidence that this led to Kerry's win in a very close race but it is more than possible that this contributed to his victory. During the campaign, Kerry spoke briefly at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Senator Kerry won re-election with 53 percent to Weld's 45 percent.

In the 2000 presidential election, Kerry found himself close to being chosen as the vice presidential running mate.

A release from the presidential campaign of presumptive Democratic nominee Al Gore listed Kerry on the short list to be selected as the vice-presidential nominee, along with North Carolina Senator John Edwards, Indiana Senator Evan Bayh, Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt, New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. Gore eventually selected Lieberman as the nominee, but Kerry continued to campaign on behalf of the Gore-Lieberman campaign through Election Day.

Voting record

Overall

Most analyses place Kerry's voting record on the left within the Senate Democratic caucus. During the 2004 presidential election he was portrayed as a staunch liberal by conservative special interest groups and the Bush campaign, who often noted that in 2003 Kerry was rated the ''National Journal'''s top Senate liberal. However, that rating was based only upon voting on legislation within that past year. In fact, in terms of career voting records, the ''National Journal'' found that Kerry is the 11th most liberal member of the Senate. Most analyses find that Kerry is at least slightly more liberal than the typical Democratic Senator. Kerry has stated that he opposes privatizing Social Security, supports abortion rights for adult women and minors, supports same-sex marriage, opposes capital punishment except for terrorists, supports most gun control laws, and is generally a supporter of trade agreements. Kerry supported the North American Free Trade Agreement and Most Favored Nation status for China, but opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

In July 1997 Kerry joined his Senate colleagues in voting against ratification of the Kyoto Treaty on global warming without greenhouse gas emissions limits on nations deemed developing, including India and China. Since then, Kerry has attacked President Bush, charging him with opposition to international efforts to combat global warming.

On October 1, 2008, Kerry voted for S. Amdt. 5685 to H.R. 1424, also known as the "bailout bill."

Iraq

In 1991, during the debate before the Gulf War, Kerry initially opposed the immediate use of military force to expel Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait. The United Nations had imposed sanctions on Iraq, and Kerry argued that the sanctions then in place should be given more time to work.

On December 14, 2001, 3 months after the attacks of 9/11, Kerry said on Larry King Live that "I think we clearly have to keep the pressure on terrorism globally. This doesn't end with Afghanistan by any imagination. And I think the president has made that clear. I think we have made that clear. Terrorism is a global menace. It's a scourge. And it is absolutely vital that we continue against, for instance, Saddam Hussein."

More recently, Kerry said on October 9, 2002; "I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." Bush relied on that resolution in ordering the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Kerry also gave a January 23, 2003 speech to Georgetown University saying "Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator; leading an oppressive regime he presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real." Kerry did, however, warn that the administration should exhaust its diplomatic avenues before launching war: "Mr. President, do not rush to war, take the time to build the coalition, because it's not winning the war that's hard, it's winning the peace that's hard."

After the invasion of Iraq, when no weapons of mass destruction were found, Kerry strongly criticized Bush, contending that he had misled the country: "When the President of the United States looks at you and tells you something, there should be some trust."

Kerry had spoken before the war about the sorts of weapons many believed Saddam Hussein had. On the Senate floor on October 9, 2002, he said that "According to the CIA's report, all U.S. intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons. There is little question that Saddam Hussein wants to develop nuclear weapons."

Leadership

During his Senate career, Kerry has sponsored or cosponsored dozens of bills. Some of his notable bills have addressed small business concerns, education, terrorism, veterans' and Vietnam War POW/MIA issues, marine resource protection and other topics. Of those bills with his sponsorship, as of December 2004, 11 have been signed into law.

Kerry chaired the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs from 1991 to 1993. The committee's report, which Kerry endorsed, stated there was "no compelling evidence that proves that any American remains alive in captivity in Southeast Asia." In 1994 the Senate passed a resolution, sponsored by Kerry and fellow Vietnam veteran John McCain, that called for an end to the existing trade embargo against Vietnam; it was intended to pave the way for normalization. In 1995, President Bill Clinton normalized diplomatic relations with the country of Vietnam. His long-time senior Senate staff includes Chief of Staff David "Mac" McKean and Legislative Director George Abar.

Kerry was the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 1987 to 1989. He was reelected to the Senate in 1990, 1996 (after winning re-election against the then-Governor of Massachusetts Republican William Weld), 2002, and 2008. In January 2009, Kerry replaced Joe Biden as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Committee assignments

As of 2009, Kerry serves on four Senate committees and nine subcommittees:

Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

*Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security

*Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet (Chairman)

*Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion

*Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard

*Subcommittee on Science and Space

*Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security

Committee on Finance

*Subcommittee on Health Care

*Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure

*Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness

Committee on Foreign Relations (Chairman)

Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction

Caucus memberships

Congressional Bicameral High-Speed and Intercity Rail Caucus

Congressional Internet Caucus

Congressional Vietnam-Era Veterans Caucus (Co-Chair)

International Conservation Caucus

Senate Prosecutors Caucus (Co-Chair)

Seniority

As of 2009, Kerry ranked 13 among 99 Senators by seniority. However, he was junior Senator from his state due to longevity of Ted Kennedy's service. In the 111th Congress, Kerry was the most senior ''junior Senator''. On Tuesday, August 25, 2009, Kerry became the senior senator from Massachusetts following Ted Kennedy's death.

2004 presidential campaign

In the 2004 Democratic Presidential primaries, John Kerry defeated several Democratic rivals, including Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina.), former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and retired Army General Wesley Clark. His victory in the Iowa caucuses is widely believed to be the tipping point where Kerry revived his sagging campaign in New Hampshire and the February 3, 2004, primary states like Arizona, South Carolina and New Mexico. Kerry then went on to win landslide victories in Nevada and Wisconsin. Kerry thus won the Democratic nomination to run for President of the United States against incumbent George W. Bush. On July 6, 2004, he announced his selection of John Edwards as his running mate. Democratic strategist Bob Shrum, who was Kerry's 2004 campaign adviser, wrote an article in ''Time'' magazine claiming that after the election, Kerry had said that he wished he'd never picked Edwards, and that the two have since stopped speaking to each other. In a subsequent appearance on ABC's ''This Week'', Kerry refused to respond to Shrum's allegation, calling it a "ridiculous waste of time."

On November 3, 2004, Kerry conceded the race. Kerry won 59.03 million votes, or 48.3 percent of the popular vote; Bush won 62.04 million votes, or 50.7 percent of the popular vote. Kerry carried states with a total of 252 electoral votes. One Kerry elector voted for Kerry's running mate, Edwards, so in the final tally Kerry had 251 electoral votes to Bush's 286. Although, as in the previous election, there were disputes about the voting, no state was as close as Florida had been in 2000 (''see 2004 United States presidential election controversy and irregularities'').

Post-presidential election activities

2008 presidential election

Immediately after the 2004 election, some Democrats mentioned Kerry as a possible contender for the 2008 Democratic nomination. His brother had said such a campaign was "conceivable", and Kerry himself reportedly said at a farewell party for his 2004 campaign staff, "There's always another four years."

Kerry established a separate political action committee, Keeping America's Promise, that raised money and channeled contributions to Democratic candidates in state and federal races. Through Keeping America's Promise in 2005, Kerry raised over $5.5 million for other Democrats up and down the ballot. Through his campaign account and his political action committee, the Kerry campaign operation generated more than $10 million for various party committees and 179 candidates for the US House, Senate, state and local offices in 42 states focusing on the midterm elections during the 2006 election cycle. "Cumulatively, John Kerry has done as much if not more than any other individual senator", Hassan Nemazee, the national finance chairman of the DSCC said.

On January 10, 2008, Kerry endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama for President. He was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate for Senator Obama, although fellow Senator Joe Biden was eventually chosen. After Biden's acceptance of the vice presidential nomination, speculation arose that John Kerry would be a candidate for Secretary of State in the Obama administration. However, Senator Hillary Clinton was offered the position. Kerry has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Clinton should she decide to retire in 2012.

Controversial comments

On October 30, 2006, Kerry was a headline speaker at a campaign rally being held for Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, California. Speaking to an audience composed mainly of college students, Kerry said, "You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

The day after the remarks were made public, leaders from both sides of the political spectrum, including Republicans President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain and then-Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, said that Kerry's comments were insulting to American military forces fighting in Iraq. Democratic Representative Harold Ford, Jr. called on Kerry to apologize and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Bob Casey, Jr. canceled an appearance with Kerry.

Kerry initially stated: "Let me make it crystal clear, as crystal clear as I know how. I apologize to no one for my criticism of the president and of his broken policy." Kerry also responded to criticism from George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Kerry said that he had intended the remark as a jab at President Bush, and described the remarks as a "botched joke", having inadvertently left out the key word "us" (which would have been, "If you don't, you get ''us'' stuck in Iraq"), as well as leaving the phrase "just ask President Bush" off of the end of the sentence. In Kerry's prepared remarks, which he released during the ensuing media frenzy, the corresponding line was "... you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq. Just ask President Bush." He also claimed that from the context of the speech which, prior to the "stuck in Iraq" line, made several specific references to Bush and elements of his biography, that Kerry was referring to President Bush and not American troops in general.

After two days of media coverage, citing a desire not to be a diversion, Kerry apologized to those who took offense at what he called the misinterpretation of his comment.

Climate change

Kerry said in Bali an administration run by the Democrats would mean the difference between night and day on policies to fight global warming and the Democrats would, unlike Bush, back mandatory emissions targets and pass a bill to create a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide emissions.

GI Bill support

Kerry has teamed up with Congressman Peter T. King to help sponsor a new GI Bill to help give incentives for military personnel.

Ted Kennedy funeral

Kerry served as an honorary pallbearer for the late former Senator Ted Kennedy.

Yacht moored in Rhode Island

According to the ''Boston Herald'', dated July 23, 2010, Kerry commissioned construction on a new $7 million dollar yacht (A Friendship 75) in New Zealand and moored it in Portsmouth, Rhode Island where the Friendship yacht company is based. The article claimed this allowed him to avoid paying Massachusetts taxes on the property including approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000. However, on July 27, 2010, Kerry stated he had yet to take legal possession of the boat, had not intended to avoid the taxes, and that when he took possession, he would pay the taxes whether he owed them or not.

Libya

During the 2011 Libyan uprising, "Kerry was one of the earliest lawmakers calling for the U.S. to impose a no-fly zone in Libya."

Afghanistan/Pakistan

Kerry "has emerged in the past few years as an important envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan during times of crisis," a ''Washington Post'' report stated in May, 2011, as Kerry undertook another trip to the two countries. The killing of Osama bin Laden "has generated perhaps the most important crossroads yet," the report continued, as the senator spoke at a press conference and prepared to fly from Kabul to Pakistan. Among matters discussed during the May visit to Pakistan, under the general rubric of "recalibrating" the bilateral relationship, Kerry sought and retrieved from the Pakistanis the tail-section of the U.S. helicopter which had had to be abandoned at Abbottabad during the bin Laden strike.

Electoral history

See also

Daily Kos, Kerry is an occasional contributor to this political community blog

University of Florida Taser incident

References

Further reading

Brinkley, Douglas, ''Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War'', William Morrow & Company, 2004. ISBN 0-06-056523-3

Kerry, John and Vietnam Veterans Against the War, ''The New Soldier'', MacMillan Publishing Company, 1971. ISBN 0-02-073610-X

Kerry, John, ''The New War: The Web of Crime That Threatens America's Security,'' Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-81815-9

Kerry, John, ''A Call to Service: My Vision for a Better America'', Viking Press, 2003. ISBN 0-670-03260-3

Kerry, John and Teresa Heinz Kerry, ''This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future'', PublicAffairs, 2007. ISBN 978-1-586-48431-6

Kranish, Michael, Brian C. Mooney, and Nina J. Easton. ''John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography by The Boston Globe Reporters Who Know Him Best'', PublicAffairs, 2004. ISBN 1-58648-273-4

McMahon, Kevin, David Rankin, Donald W. Beachler and John Kenneth White. ''Winning the White House, 2004'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. ISBN 1-4039-6881-0

O'Neill, John E. & Corsi, Jerome R. ''Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry'', Regnery Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-89526-017-4

{{U.S. Senator box |state=Massachusetts |class=2 |before=Paul Tsongas |start=January 2, 1985 |alongside=Ted Kennedy, Paul G. Kirk, Scott Brown}} |- |- |- |- |-

External links

Official

JohnKerry.com—John Kerry's political web site

Kerry's military records—from JohnKerry.com via the Internet Archive

John Kerry for Senate-Official 2008 senatorial re-election campaign website

John Kerry's Online Office—Official senatorial site

Campaign for Our Country—PAC led by Kerry

Information

Political donations made by John Kerry

Snopes.com: "Service Mettle"—''Snopes.com'' on Kerry's Vietnam service medals

Profile from SourceWatch

About.com: Genealogy - Ancestry of John Forbes Kerry

Irish Catholic or Czech Jew?—Kerry's long lost Jewish ethnic ancestry

Statements and interviews

John Kerry's letter to his parents about Richard Pershing's death—1968.

Statement on behalf of Vietnam Veterans Against the War—April 1971.

John Kerry's Senate hearing testimony to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1971 (PDF file)

John Kerry's complete 1971 statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from National Review

Selections from John Kerry's 1971 statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Interview with John Kerry, 1982, ''WGBH'', Vietnam War

Interview with John Kerry, 1984, ''WGBH'', endorsement by the Black Political Task Force

The BCCI Affair, A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, by Senator John Kerry and Senator Hank Brown, December 1992

Obama rally with John Kerry and Others MP3 on February 2, 2008 in Sacramento, CA

Kerry Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Media coverage

Gibbs, Nancy and Waller, Douglas, What Kind of President Would Kerry Be?, Time, February 9, 2004

Schanberg, Sydney H., When John Kerry's Courage Went M.I.A., ''The Village Voice,'' February 17, 2004

Klein, Joe, "The Long War of John Kerry: Can a Massachusetts Brahmin become President?", ''The New Yorker'', December 2, 2002.

Kranish, Michael, John Kerry: Candidate in the making, ''The Boston Globe'', June 15, 2003

Profile: John Kerry, Paul Reynolds, BBC News, 5 November 2004

Frontline: the choice 2004—Thorough two-hour special comparing Kerry and Bush

Researcher Alleges Potential Plagiarism in 11 Passages of Kerry's Writings

This Land! Popular viral video featuring John Kerry, 2004.

Healthlink

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